I thought I'd add in some music into this A-to-Z Challenge so I picked John Lennon for 'J'.
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the band the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. (Wikipedia)
I don't think I need to say more. Let's get on with some of that good stuff. Enjoy!
I need to check my dad's vinyl collection to see if there is The Beatles' "Love Me Do" record. I hear it fetches between 150 - 200 British pounds if it's still in reasonably good condition. But then again, it would make one great collectible.
The Beatles' "Love Me Do", their first hit turns 50 today, Friday. 50 years seem so long ago but The Beatles is one of the bands that have stood the test of time whose songs are still being played even to this day. The Beatles, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, remain one of my favourite pop groups from a past era. Those must have been happy times. They don't make music like they used to, I hear older folks say.
Here's the foot-tapping, bubbly "Love Me Do" for your listening pleasure. Fun to watch too..
If John Lennon were to be alive this day, he would have turned 70 yesterday or rather today in the west. Anyway, Happy 70th Birthday, John Lennon!
Below is the logo Google has done up to commemorate John's birthday. If you go to the Google site and click on the logo, you'll be treated to a lovely animated graphic to the tune of "Imagine". Very nice..
Is this cover by John Lennon sexy or what?! It really grows on you. Give it a listen.
I found this video after putting up the previous post on the tribute to John Lennon. Actually, I was still listening to more Beatles numbers on YouTube when I spotted this one. It's a case of the more you know (about the Beatles music), the more you know you don't know. The Beatles, either as a group or solo, did a lot of covers of old songs, this is one of them. I read they did them well too, so I'm going to start checking them out and maybe post them here..
Yesterday, exactly 29 years ago on Dec 8, the world was stunned by news of the killing of one of the greatest musicians of our time, John Lennon.
On the night of 8 December 1980, at around 10:50 pm, Mark David Chapman shot Lennon in the back four times in the entrance of the Dakota apartment building. Earlier that evening, Lennon had autographed a copy of Double Fantasy for Chapman, who had been stalking Lennon since October.
I'd like to pay tribute to this great musician and a funny man, John Lennon of The Fab Four, The Beatles.
Below are a few videos of their concert held on the rooftop of Apple Studios on Abbey Road. The lunch-hour concert lasted for just a few numbers before the cops arrived to stop it due to complaints received about the disturbance.
A little sidetrack here, Astro this month is showing 'Across the Universe', a contemporary musical of all Beatles songs and there's even an imitation of the rooftop concert scene. Good storyline and good singing too plus a look at life in the '60s. If you have Astro, go watch it. It's on HBO. I caught it a few times. Yeah, that's how much I like their songs. The Beatles forever!!
Oops! I've said more than enough already, so here are the videos. Enjoy..
This was the last song before the cops arrived to stop the gig. This performance was just days after the song was written so the guy is actually holding up the lyrics.
Of course, we can't forget this inspirational song of John's - Imagine. I wonder if he were to be alive today, for all the peace he was advocating, would he step up to be the world's peacemaker between warring nations. But we will never know, will we? We can only Imagine..
Give this sexy cover of "Be My Baby" by John Lennon a listen too..
(Acknowledgement: Thank you, YouTube and the people who are posting these wonderful videos. You are helping to preserve history.)
You would have noticed the video clip posted on the sidebar, Paul McCartney's "When I'm 64". This one:
Ex-Beatle, Paul McCartney, celebrated his 64 plus 3 birthday on June 18, Thursday last. Paul is two of the four surviving Beatles, the other being Ringo Starr. I have always enjoyed The Beatles' music, so I thought I'd do up a belated birthday post for Paul and The Beatles. Coincidentally, I stumbled upon an interesting article on this popular British 60s/70s pop group, popularly known as The Fab Four, so I thought I'd borrow it for your reading pleasure.
In the Town where I was Born... Liverpool today is a tourist destination for more than just the Beatles: from Tall ship races to Tate Liverpool , Aintree horseracing to Albert Dock, this is a city with a real buzz about it. But for millions of music lovers, since the early 1960s Liverpool has been synonymous with the most influential band in rock and pop history.
Before the lure of London and New York took the Fab Four away from their Merseyside home, they left an indelible mark on the place, a fact celebrated at many venues across Liverpool. The National Trust is in on the act, preserving John Lennon 's childhood home, Mendips , at 251 Menlove Road in Woolton, and Paul McCartney 's humbler counterpart at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton and there is a combined tour of the two available for fans.
When the future musicians moved on to senior school, Paul (like George after him) got into the prestigious Liverpool Institute, John, already noted as a very difficult pupil, Quarry Bank Grammar. The serendipity of the meeting of the two central Beatles is seen in the proximity of John's art school, Liverpool College of Art, which backs the Liverpool Institute, which is said to have facilitated impromptu rehearsals in their earliest collaborations.
Paul and John met, however, at St Peter's Church Hall, in Woolton, a place that John's Quarrymen band played before their encounter. In the churchyard there is the grave of the Rigby family, including one Eleanor. Paul, who wrote the song, thought he got the name from other sources, but perhaps was subconsciously influenced by seeing it.
As musicians and students everywhere will, the Beatles enjoyed a good drink. Pubs all over the city lay claim to their custom, but some have a better right than others: Ye Cracke in Rice Street is pretty authentic still; and The Philharmonic was one of John‚s favoured watering holes in Hope Street, not far from the art school.
When they graduated to performing the boys played local clubs like Pete Best‚s Casbah Coffee Club in West Derby, and of course The Cavern, where they played nearly 300 times (the original site was knocked down to make a supermarket, but the bricks were saved and a replica rebuilt nearby in Mathew Street).
For those wanting to make a fuller - and easier - day of it, there are organised Beatles tours. Or you can drift around the city on your own, spotting Lime Street from their version of Maggie May, or Mae as they preferred; Strawberry Field, the former Sally Army kids home is another for the list, and Penny Lane of course.
If you are short of time, The Beatles Story on Albert Dock is a quick and quality induction, and The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street has a vast array of Fab Four product on display. You'll not be alone of course, the draw of the band bringing crowds still: Where do they all come from? From all over the world actually!
So, there you have, if you make a trip to Liverpool, the places mentioned here would be the places you don't want to miss.
