Back in May 2017, the Music Industry celebrated the 50 year anniversary of what has been widely considered as the most influential music album of all-time, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band:
And recently SiriusXM satellite radio just launched a channel dedicated to all things them, (channel 18 - was originally going to be channel 9 because of Revolution #9, but that channel is dedicated to 90s music). And finally I recently saw two documentaries: Imagine: John Lennon and Living in the Material World, the George Harrison documentary. So, I'm in quite the mood. Even more so than usual, so I figured now would be a good time to try strike up a conversation on, undoubtedly, the most influential band of all-time, and in my opinion, the greatest of all-time, The Beatles!
Left to Right:
Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon.
We can talk about a wide range of things, when we were first introduced to the Beatles, our first memories, favorite albums, favorite songs, favorite Beatle. Thoughts on their careers together, what they accomplished, the impact they made, how they broke up and since then, each of them individually, etc. etc.
My very earliest memories of the Beatles date back to when I was a little kid, maybe 5 years old, sitting in the backseat of my Dad's car. Now, my Dad was born in 1954, he was a kid growing up in the 1960s, and when you're a kid growing up in the '60s listening to music, who else could it be? So of course, my Dad is a HUGE Beatles fan and he just brainwashed me and my brothers with their music. We would listen to the cassette tapes (feel old yet?) of their music, and I remember us owning multiple discs of "1" and listening to it on repeat during long roadtrips. My taste and exposure to music started with the Beatles, and even today, as I've been introduced to so many other artists and bands, I always find myself coming back to John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
My personal favorite album from them is Rubber Soul
It's my favorite because it marks the beginning of when they truly started to branch out, challenge the conventions of music at that point in time, and begin laying the groundworks to all of what was to come that would change the landscape forever. Some songs that are on here, you would never see on a record before that year, 1965, even from them, such as Norwegian Wood, Girl, The Word, In My Life, If I Needed Someone, and my favorite track from the album, Nowhere Man. This record was them saying, "Enough of that happy-go-lucky, Beatlemania, fun songs! It's time to get serious!" It was this record that launched them from being just a hype fad, to legitimate icons! This album planted the seeds that would eventually sprout with Revolver, and then completely blossom into a full-blown garden with Sgt. Pepper's. Love Rubber Soul! My favorite Beatles album!
Now as for my favorite song, off the White Album
It's a George Harrison song, I think you all know which one it is at this point. But what some of you might not know is a funny story about how it was recorded. Originally, the first recording sessions for this song were not good. At all. John, Paul, and Ringo just did not give a shit. They weren't putting effort into it and they weren't taking it seriously. So George, as way to show them up and make them take it seriously, decided to bring in his good buddy, the one and only, Eric Clapton to record the song with them, knowing that the other 3 would change their attitudes quickly, as to not offend their guest. And that solo that plays at the end of the song, that's Clapton playing it! The song is called: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
While that may be my favorite Beatles song, it's not my favorite George Harrison song (My Sweet Lord, I've Got My Mind Set On You, Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth), All Things Must Pass, and Isn't It A Pity have them beat for me). Let that be a testament to just how truly underrated George was as a songwriter, being overshadowed by the greatest songwriting duo of all-time. While My Guitar Gently Weeps, along with Something and Here Comes the Sun are 3 of the absolute best songs to come post-Pepper, and 3 of their best songs period! And it's because of that why George has become my favorite Beatle.
So those are my brief memories and thoughts that I thought I would share for the purpose of starting a thread about the band known as the Fab Four. The four, the only. The Beatles.
Hardware Comparison Threads:
Current Thread
Is Hardware Getting TOO Powerful?
Older Threads:
PlayStation/Xbox/Switch: 2022 Edition
PlayStation/Xbox/Switch Hardware Battle: 2021 Edition!
PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch: 2019 vs. 2020
PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch: 2018 vs. 2019
PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch: 2017 vs. 2018
PlayStation 4: 2015 vs. 2016 vs. 2017