This is Beyond Cool - A Ton of Beatles Songs

[Steely Dan]

A friend of mine emailed me these;

 

Beatles Tube video and lyrics

 

A day in the life

 

 

That is so cooooooolllll!! :ph34r:

[Live&DieBillsFootball]

Awesome site! Thanks for the link!

[BillsWatch]

Thank you very much.

[Tcali]

A friend of mine emailed me these;

 

Beatles Tube video and lyrics

 

A day in the life

 

 

That is so cooooooolllll!! :ph34r:

fantastic--the tunes are easily gettable from youtube--but the quotes/background part are terrific.

[Nanker]

Splendid. Thank you very much.

[Lee Otis M C]

Nothing on earth comes close. "I'd love to turn you on." I pray that I meet a girl who, when I approach her with that line, lights up a fatty, instead of slapping me in the face.

[Steely Dan]

Nothing on earth comes close. "I'd love to turn you on." I pray that I meet a girl who, when I approach her with that line, lights up a fatty, instead of slapping me in the face.

 

You just need an orchestra going through the notes quickly behind you.

 

Here's some Beatles trivia I've come across over the years:

 

On a "Day in the life" they needed a half orchestra to go from the first note to the last note as rapidly as you hear it on the record. The players had a hard time understanding what they meant. They told them they could skip notes to get there. It was so against everything they'd been taught before, The Beatles had someone get party hats to make it a more festive atmosphere.

 

On "For the benefit of Mr. Kite" all of the lyrics were taken from a circus promotional flyer. The pump organ sounds came from recording a pump organ and then cutting the tape into strips and throwing them in the air. They then taped them back radomly.

 

"Martha my dear" is about Paul McCartney's English Sheepdog Martha. McCartney has always had an English Sheepdog named Martha through the years.

 

Eric Clapton plays guitar on "While my guitar gently weeps".

 

Paul McCartney plays drums on "The ballad of John and Yoko"

 

Yesterday became an acoustic piece because the rest of the band had no idea what to add to the song.

 

"Dear Prudence" is about Mia Farrow's sister Prudence who Lennon met while with the maharishi. She rarely ventured out to be with the others.

 

"Two of us" is about Paul and Linda.

 

"Little piggies" was written after the police raided George Harrison's house for a drug bust.

 

"Strawberry fields" is about a place Lennon used to hide when he wanted serenity.

 

"Hey Jude" was written by McCartney while on his way to talk to Julian Lennon about his parents divorce. When he recorded it it was changed to "Hey Jude". McCartney said that when he was singing it to Lennon he came to the line "the movement you need is on your shoulder" and he told Lennon he was going to change it but, Lennon told him not to because he understood exactly what McCartney meant. McCartney now says he always remembers Lennon when he sings it.

 

"Lucy in the sky with diamonds" is not about LSD. It was written from a picture Julian gave John when he was a child. On

(I'm not sure which part of the Youtube links it's on) he tells Cavett when that came out he looked back on all the songs to see what else people could say about them.

 

These are all things I remember hearing, seeing in intervies or reading from books like "McCartney in his own words".

 

* A musician friend of mine says he believes that Ringo Starr is the worst drummer to ever make it that big in RR.

[Steely Dan]

of the Cavett Show where he says that.

[Steely Dan]

Link to Bob Costas interview with McCartney

[The Big Cat]

Nice, this site has the Let it Be doc, which is impossible to get your hands on.

[Max Fischer]

* A musician friend of mine says he believes that Ringo Starr is the worst drummer to ever make it that big in RR.

 

Good trivia, but I don't think many professional drummers would agree with your friend. Starr was/is revered by many "superstar" drummers who followed. As a matter of fact, Starr may be the first true superstar drummer.

[Tcali]

Good trivia, but I don't think many professional drummers would agree with your friend. Starr was/is revered by many "superstar" drummers who followed. As a matter of fact, Starr may be the first true superstar drummer.

He was a good backbeat drummer..but lets not get carried away. His skills were OK.

[Steely Dan]

Good trivia, but I don't think many professional drummers would agree with your friend. Starr was/is revered by many "superstar" drummers who followed. As a matter of fact, Starr may be the first true superstar drummer.

 

Some other people I've talked to about this believe that Nick Mason is the worst drummer to make it big.

[Lee Otis M C]

I can't see how anyone could say that Ringo is bad, overrated, or not musically talented. The Beatles went through a few drummers before they took Ringo from another English band. Rhythmically sound, he guided the Beatles through the decades and without him, who knows. It's like saying Keith Richards is overrated because he didn't get flashy. And if you look at drummers around that time period, the styles of Peart, Bonham etc didnt exist yet. Of course I prefer the clean "easy" drum sound a lot more than whacking away at double basses (boo 80's).

[Max Fischer]

He was a good backbeat drummer..but lets not get carried away. His skills were OK.

 

I know, I know, it's Wikipedia but the thoughts of other drummers is a start. It's harder to find evidence to the contrary:

 

Drumming ability and appreciation

 

Lennon said of Starr:

“ Ringo was a star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met. Ringo was a professional drummer who sang and performed and was in one of the top groups in Britain [Rory Storm and the Hurricanes] but especially in Liverpool. ... Ringo's a damn good drummer.[24] ”

 

Drummer Steve Smith said:

“ Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity. Ringo's popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers. We started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. One of Ringo's great qualities was that he composed unique, stylistic drum parts for The Beatles songs. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music and still identify the song.[25] ”

 

Many drummers list Starr as an influence, including Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters, Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós,[26] Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, Danny Carey of Tool, Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's band, Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden, Eric Carr of Kiss, Phil Rudd of AC/DC, Phil Collins, Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater, Pedro Andreu of Heroes del Silencio and others.[27] According to Collins, "Starr is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' He wouldn't know what to do."[28]

 

In his extensive survey of The Beatles' recording sessions, Mark Lewisohn confirmed that Starr was both proficient and remarkably reliable and consistent. According to Lewisohn, there were fewer than a dozen occasions in The Beatles' eight-year recording career where session 'breakdowns' were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped owing to mistakes by the other three members.[27]

 

Starr is considered to have advanced various modern drumming techniques, such as the matched grip, placing the drums on high risers for visibility as part of the band, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings, along with his general contributions to The Beatles as a whole.[25] Specific drum parts executed by Starr in notably signature fashion include the fill that brings the drums and bass guitar into "Hey Jude", the steady rock beats in "Please Please Me" and other early Beatles recordings, the drum kit pattern through the bridge of "Hello Goodbye", the drums and hi-hat rolls on "Come Together", and the driving bass drum notes found in "Lady Madonna", underlying the more intricate, double-tracked snare drum. His use of a 'sizzle' cymbal (a cymbal incorporated with rivets that vibrate) would bring a much fuller sound than standard 'ride' cymbals. Starr comments that his best drumming is on the 1966 single B-side "Rain".

 

McCartney sent Starr a postcard on 31 January 1969 (the day after the band's performance on the roof of Apple Studios) stating: 'You are the greatest drummer in the world. Really.' This postcard is included in Starr's book Postcards From The Boys.[29]

 

There are five occasions on which the drummer on a Beatles track is someone other than Starr. For the band's second recording session with Starr as a member on 11 September 1962, producer George Martin replaced the studio-inexperienced Starr with session drummer Andy White to record takes for what would be the two sides of The Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do" backed with "P.S. I Love You". Starr played tambourine on "Love Me Do" and maracas on "P.S. I Love You" for this date.[30] Initial pressings of the single used the 4 September recording with Starr on drums; subsequent pressings and the Please Please Me LP used the White sessions. McCartney took over the drums on "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" from the White Album (1968) after Starr had walked out. McCartney also played the drums on "Ballad of John and Yoko", recorded on 14 April 1969, since only Lennon and McCartney were immediately available to record the song.[31] Starr commented that he was lucky in being 'surrounded by three frustrated drummers' who could only drum in one style.[32]

[Tcali]

I know, I know, it's Wikipedia but the thoughts of other drummers is a start. It's harder to find evidence to the contrary:

 

Drumming ability and appreciation

 

Lennon said of Starr:

“ Ringo was a star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met. Ringo was a professional drummer who sang and performed and was in one of the top groups in Britain [Rory Storm and the Hurricanes] but especially in Liverpool. ... Ringo's a damn good drummer.[24] ”

 

Drummer Steve Smith said:

“ Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity. Ringo's popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers. We started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. One of Ringo's great qualities was that he composed unique, stylistic drum parts for The Beatles songs. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music and still identify the song.[25] ”

 

Many drummers list Starr as an influence, including Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters, Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós,[26] Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, Danny Carey of Tool, Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's band, Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden, Eric Carr of Kiss, Phil Rudd of AC/DC, Phil Collins, Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater, Pedro Andreu of Heroes del Silencio and others.[27] According to Collins, "Starr is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' He wouldn't know what to do."[28]

 

In his extensive survey of The Beatles' recording sessions, Mark Lewisohn confirmed that Starr was both proficient and remarkably reliable and consistent. According to Lewisohn, there were fewer than a dozen occasions in The Beatles' eight-year recording career where session 'breakdowns' were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped owing to mistakes by the other three members.[27]

 

Starr is considered to have advanced various modern drumming techniques, such as the matched grip, placing the drums on high risers for visibility as part of the band, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings, along with his general contributions to The Beatles as a whole.[25] Specific drum parts executed by Starr in notably signature fashion include the fill that brings the drums and bass guitar into "Hey Jude", the steady rock beats in "Please Please Me" and other early Beatles recordings, the drum kit pattern through the bridge of "Hello Goodbye", the drums and hi-hat rolls on "Come Together", and the driving bass drum notes found in "Lady Madonna", underlying the more intricate, double-tracked snare drum. His use of a 'sizzle' cymbal (a cymbal incorporated with rivets that vibrate) would bring a much fuller sound than standard 'ride' cymbals. Starr comments that his best drumming is on the 1966 single B-side "Rain".

 

McCartney sent Starr a postcard on 31 January 1969 (the day after the band's performance on the roof of Apple Studios) stating: 'You are the greatest drummer in the world. Really.' This postcard is included in Starr's book Postcards From The Boys.[29]

 

There are five occasions on which the drummer on a Beatles track is someone other than Starr. For the band's second recording session with Starr as a member on 11 September 1962, producer George Martin replaced the studio-inexperienced Starr with session drummer Andy White to record takes for what would be the two sides of The Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do" backed with "P.S. I Love You". Starr played tambourine on "Love Me Do" and maracas on "P.S. I Love You" for this date.[30] Initial pressings of the single used the 4 September recording with Starr on drums; subsequent pressings and the Please Please Me LP used the White sessions. McCartney took over the drums on "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" from the White Album (1968) after Starr had walked out. McCartney also played the drums on "Ballad of John and Yoko", recorded on 14 April 1969, since only Lennon and McCartney were immediately available to record the song.[31] Starr commented that he was lucky in being 'surrounded by three frustrated drummers' who could only drum in one style.[32]

 

blah blah blah...McCartney used to go into the studio at night and erase Ringos drumming tracks and put in his own drumming.A lot of what you hear on the albums is not Ringo-even if its not official.This according to Peter Brown-probably the most respected Beatles insider. McCartney stated that Ringo is a poor drummer.Of course they were nice and apologetic to eachother after the fact in the group. Its common courtesy.

I happen to think Ringo is a good drummer for the simple music the Beatles played. Hes a good rock/pop drummer with a unique style. Nothing more nothing less.And this isn't wikipedia info.

[Steely Dan]

I know, I know, it's Wikipedia but the thoughts of other drummers is a start. It's harder to find evidence to the contrary:

 

Drumming ability and appreciation

 

Lennon said of Starr:

“ Ringo was a star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met. Ringo was a professional drummer who sang and performed and was in one of the top groups in Britain [Rory Storm and the Hurricanes] but especially in Liverpool. ... Ringo's a damn good drummer.[24] ”

 

Drummer Steve Smith said:

“ Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity. Ringo's popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers. We started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. One of Ringo's great qualities was that he composed unique, stylistic drum parts for The Beatles songs. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music and still identify the song.[25] ”

 

Many drummers list Starr as an influence, including Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters, Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós,[26] Max Weinberg of the E Street Band, Danny Carey of Tool, Liberty DeVitto of Billy Joel's band, Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden, Eric Carr of Kiss, Phil Rudd of AC/DC, Phil Collins, Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater, Pedro Andreu of Heroes del Silencio and others.[27] According to Collins, "Starr is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' He wouldn't know what to do."[28]

 

In his extensive survey of The Beatles' recording sessions, Mark Lewisohn confirmed that Starr was both proficient and remarkably reliable and consistent. According to Lewisohn, there were fewer than a dozen occasions in The Beatles' eight-year recording career where session 'breakdowns' were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped owing to mistakes by the other three members.[27]

 

Starr is considered to have advanced various modern drumming techniques, such as the matched grip, placing the drums on high risers for visibility as part of the band, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings, along with his general contributions to The Beatles as a whole.[25] Specific drum parts executed by Starr in notably signature fashion include the fill that brings the drums and bass guitar into "Hey Jude", the steady rock beats in "Please Please Me" and other early Beatles recordings, the drum kit pattern through the bridge of "Hello Goodbye", the drums and hi-hat rolls on "Come Together", and the driving bass drum notes found in "Lady Madonna", underlying the more intricate, double-tracked snare drum. His use of a 'sizzle' cymbal (a cymbal incorporated with rivets that vibrate) would bring a much fuller sound than standard 'ride' cymbals. Starr comments that his best drumming is on the 1966 single B-side "Rain".

 

McCartney sent Starr a postcard on 31 January 1969 (the day after the band's performance on the roof of Apple Studios) stating: 'You are the greatest drummer in the world. Really.' This postcard is included in Starr's book Postcards From The Boys.[29]

 

There are five occasions on which the drummer on a Beatles track is someone other than Starr. For the band's second recording session with Starr as a member on 11 September 1962, producer George Martin replaced the studio-inexperienced Starr with session drummer Andy White to record takes for what would be the two sides of The Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do" backed with "P.S. I Love You". Starr played tambourine on "Love Me Do" and maracas on "P.S. I Love You" for this date.[30] Initial pressings of the single used the 4 September recording with Starr on drums; subsequent pressings and the Please Please Me LP used the White sessions. McCartney took over the drums on "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence" from the White Album (1968) after Starr had walked out. McCartney also played the drums on "Ballad of John and Yoko", recorded on 14 April 1969, since only Lennon and McCartney were immediately available to record the song.[31] Starr commented that he was lucky in being 'surrounded by three frustrated drummers' who could only drum in one style.[32]

 

Interesting.

[Max Fischer]

blah blah blah...McCartney used to go into the studio at night and erase Ringos drumming tracks and put in his own drumming.A lot of what you hear on the albums is not Ringo-even if its not official.This according to Peter Brown-probably the most respected Beatles insider. McCartney stated that Ringo is a poor drummer.Of course they were nice and apologetic to eachother after the fact in the group. Its common courtesy.

I happen to think Ringo is a good drummer for the simple music the Beatles played. Hes a good rock/pop drummer with a unique style. Nothing more nothing less.And this isn't wikipedia info.

 

Link please. More than one would be nice.

[Chandler#81]

blah blah blah...McCartney used to go into the studio at night and erase Ringos drumming tracks and put in his own drumming.A lot of what you hear on the albums is not Ringo-even if its not official.This according to Peter Brown-probably the most respected Beatles insider. McCartney stated that Ringo is a poor drummer.Of course they were nice and apologetic to eachother after the fact in the group. Its common courtesy.

I happen to think Ringo is a good drummer for the simple music the Beatles played. Hes a good rock/pop drummer with a unique style. Nothing more nothing less.And this isn't wikipedia info.

 

Simple music?!? MMT revolutionized the whole of music.

 

Anyway, Macca's new drummer, Abe Laboriel Jr., is out-of-this-world fantastic!! Theatrical, intense & brilliant, IMO.

[Buftex]

Great find...I love the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones!