Most people I know who play the guitar
along with a lot of artists when they give interviews attribute the kindling of
their interest in music to the fab four. And how could they not, the Beatles ruled
the airwaves for a decade.
I got hooked when I heard
‘Blackbird’ and found out it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. George, on the other
hand, made guitar music sound more heavenly with ‘Here comes the Sun’ while
John gave the definitive lesson on rhythm guitar 101 with ‘Norwegian woods’.
At 12 years old (in’68) with
a rickety instrument from a roving vendor from Cebu, it was hard to replicate
the sound they made with their guitars but you just had to try or be out of
place with the gang.
In 1968, Abbey road, the
last recorded effort of the Beatles was the party favorite fronted by the
cuddle song ‘Something’ which Old blue eyes in those days kept mistaking for a
Lennon-McCartney song. ‘Come Together’ was the music to shake to with its Ringo
infested rolls and Paul’s jumping melodic treatment of the baseline. It wasn’t
really a great song, it’s just that the base and drum performance were as grade
A as it can ever be.
Everybody went to see ‘Let
It be’, the last album released by the Beatles, where in the morning after, all went and
purchased round glasses and started growing their hair, parting it at the
middle. Apart from the music, the Beatles were the fashion plate of the decade
starting from the mop top hair style to the Indian-psychedelic clothes of the
later years. I had my pieces of loose Indian shirts and beads.
But I think the biggest
contribution of the Beatles was showing the world how to have a good time.
Surely they never took themselves seriously and wore it like badge. In the 1964
interview of the Beatles upon landing on JFK, a trove of cheeky responses can
be found:
Q: Aren’t you afraid of what
the American Barbers Association in going to think of you?
Ringo: Well; we run quicker
than the English one, we’ll have a go here too, you know?
Q:What do you think your
music does for the people? Why does it excite them so much?
John: If we knew, we’d form
another group and be managers.
Emcee: Can we have the last
question?
Paul; My favorite
Q: Are you going to have a haircut?.
George: I had one yesterday.
Q: Do you fight among
yourselves?
John; only in the morning
Q:Did you always have your
hair that way?
John: Only in the morning.
Of course in the movie ‘A
hard Day’s Night’ (which is a Ringoism, a remark he supposedly made upon seeing night time set after a whole day
in the recording studio), Alun Owen wrote the script based upon what he heard the
Beatles mouthed and I can believe Lennon can come with repartees such as :
Q: how did you find America?
John: turn left after
Greenland.
In the movie, Paul’s
grandfather exchanges clothes with the butler to go to the casino. Paul remarks
he could be in a sex orgy at which all laugh and went out to find the
grandfather.
Butler (in his undies): what
about me?
John: you’re too old.
In the movie, ‘Help’, George’s
wry humor is accurately captured when the chief Scotland Yard Inspector wanted
to answer a phone call for Ringo claiming he does a good impersonation of James
Cagney.
Inspector: My dear chap this
is the famous Ringo of the famous Beatles my dear chap (in fake liverpudlian
accent).
George: doesn’t sound a bit
like Cagney.
Of course there’s the
classic “ I don’t like your tie, his response to George Martin query if there
were questions on their first meeting. An interview with Ringo featured on
YouTube had him teary eyed recounting the last days of George. Ringo visited
the bedridden George in a hospital in LA before going to his daughter in
another hospital treated also for cancer. As we was about to leave, George
said: Would you like me accompany you?
Ringo at this point in the
story laughed then wept.
Even at death George showed panache.
But music, cheekiness and
panache weren’t all that the fab four had to offer. Of course, I am now being
overly fanatic.
In the years that the
Beatles concentrated on the studio, the different temperaments started to
emerge. The personal statements in songs became the template in the era.
John brought his politics to
the fore, while George tinkered with Indian philosophies and tonal resonance
(the famous one note hold over). Paul made songs dealing with complexities in
relationships from the simple boy-girl situations conveyed in earlier ditties.
Ringo, for his part, started innovating drum rolls that to this day are studied
by drummers attested by Youtube lessons.
In the ‘Rubber soul’ album
John sang a little politics with ‘Nowhere man’ while Paul howled about a
romance going south in “I’m looking through you”. George meantime preached with
“Think for yourself’ with the mantra like ending. Ringo meantime wrote and sang
about the practical side of breaking up with “what goes on.”
An ode to the bustling life that
characterized the corporate 60s, John sang ‘I’m Only sleeping’ while Paul
continued to craft melodious love songs, prime of which is ‘Here, there and
Everywhere’ in the album ‘Revolver’. George delves to more soul searching with
‘Love you to”. Ringo meantime was assigned a Paul ditty titled ‘Yellow
submarine’ which would define the drummer to this day.
The politically leaning
songs of John would continue with ‘Revolution’ on the white album, and ‘Come
together’ in ‘Abbey road’. After the break up, John would explode with his
politics not only with music but with the protest actions he would start for
peace. ‘Imagine’ started a worldwide debate when the Christian population
jeered the first line of the song “Imagine there’s no heaven…” Certainly it
brought back memories when John was quoted as saying the Beatles were more
popular then Jesus Christ. Other songs that caught public attention were ‘Power
to the People’,’Give peace a Chance’ ‘Mind Games’ Working Class Hero’ and my
personal favorite, the only Christmas song written by Lennon, ‘Happy Christmas
War is over’
George
came up with “while my guitar gently weeps’ in the white, a guitarist anthem at
that time (although it is a well-known fact that the guitar solos were of Eric
Clapton), then segueing to “Something’ an ode to lady love Patty Boyd –Harrison
(Later Mrs. Clapton) and a lesson in finger picking with ‘Here comes the Sun’
(Written at Clapton’s place in surrey I think). After the break-up, George was
the first to hit number one in the billboards with “My Sweet Lord’ and the
triple album ‘All things must pass” in what seems a pursuit of inner calm.
Paul’s initial solo album was panned
even by the other ex-Beatles but I do have a favorite’Baby I’m Amaze’. In the
summer of 1973, the 6th or 7th installment of the James Bond
series had Paul and the newly formed wings shot up to number one with “Live and
Let Die’. From there, no one could stop the Maca from dishing out one number
one song after another, of course in between the hits of the other three. Most
beautiful of course is the song for Linda, ‘My Love’ or would Ringo shout ‘Oh
look out, Mrs McCartney’ (heard before ‘She came in through the bathroom
window’). Paul is still dishing them out 50 years after the Beatles first
conquered the world in 1963.
Ringo meantime revived a number of songs
like ‘You’re Sixteen’, ‘Only you’ and ‘Stardust’ after the break up. Initially
successful in films such as the ‘Magic Christian’ and ‘Caveman’, he suddenly
vanished from the scene but re-emerged with the all Star which tours until now,
I think. Oh I love that album where he sang all those Sinatra songs. Old blue
would have been proud.
In 1995 or ‘94, the Beatles
regrouped (even with one member dead) and came out with a number one hit after
over two decades on inactivity (as a group). That should be a record of some
sort.
I was hoping the two
remaining Beatles would do a record or maybe a show with the hologram images of
the two dead Beatles. Now, wouldn’t that be eerie? However, that is still
guaranteed to raise a smile.