Back on January 30, 1969, The Beatles played their last public show ever. It is kind of sad that it took place on the roof of a building. For a band that broke up so long ago it is amazing how popular they still are.
The only "sad" thing about the rooftop performance was that the band was so severely fractured by that point that it was a miracle they even performed at all. Performing on a roof is not sad in and of itself; you could say there performing on top of the world.
Heartbreaking that they couldn't get past their differences, but this performance was amazing and inspired the music video for U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name." Its sad they couldn't get back together. I remember reading that they were together watching SNL when Lorne Michaels said he would pay them to play together one more time. Sad that we were robbed of Lennon so soon. We'll never know what could have happened.
I LOVE The Beatles and I'm in my 20s, they are a huge part of my life and got me thru a lot. My mom loves them as well and she gave me some of her Beatles records that she bought when they were first released. Of course since she was in her early teens, she wrote 'I love Paul' all over them! Not that I wanted to sell them or anything but still, I don't love Paul.
George is my favorite and I feel like Ringo gets ignored for no good reason. He is an extremely talented drummer!
I've kind of always liked the symmetry of their last concert being on the rooftop of Apple records, with just their friends and nearby neighbors to witness. It is, after all, how they started out.
There is something so powerful about their music and it's evolution from skiffle-band simplicity to the complexity of their final pieces together - it not only reflects the evolution of society in the 60s, it appeals cross-generationally. My tween daughter loves the Beatles, I wore out my parent's albums of theirs when I was her age (not all that long after this picture) and I expect her daughter will just as I love Sinatra and Mozart. Some music is forever.
I think my fave might be "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" but there are so many good ones. I've loved the Beatles for so long. It's amazing to think that they broke up in 1969. I was 12!
I have loved The Beatles forever, my mom always played it as I do now...My mom said she knew when John Lennon was murdered that the dream of a reunion was over and it broke her heart...John was and is our favorite Beatle...
Maxwell's Silver Hammer is always the first song that pops into my head, probably because in school that was the warm-up song for choir practice. I really like Helter Skelter too, although what those choices say about me is worrying.
Here Comes the Sun and Maxwell's Silver Hammer are from Abbey Road. While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Helter Skelter are from The White Album. Get Back is from Let it Be. No solo songs, all Beatles!
Beatles are proof that boy bands can evolve if they take heavy amounts of acid. Well, they gotta be able to play instruments and write their own material too.
I have often said that I'm the only person in the world who doesn't understand the allure for the Beatles. Were they good? Yes, very good. But I don't 'get' them, as they say. Not sure why.
@Layna, ps: don't say it around a rabid Beatles fan! My boss gave me a half hour lecture and offered to loan me music, movies, documentaries, you name it. I love him to death but I told him he sounded like a cult leader!
I used to sing "Here Comes the Sun" to my daughter when she was a baby. She's now 16 and it's still her "theme song." It's the only ring tone on her phone and she said that when she gets married, she's planning on it being her "first dance" song.
For me, most sixties rock music doesn't really hold up that well anymore (as opposed to Motown, Stax, and other R&B). But I can always listen to the Beatles, and especially early Beatles. I guess my favorite song is "I'll Follow the Sun," but really there are so many of them. And "A Hard Day's Night" is definitely one of my all-time favorite movies. If you've never seen it you really owe it to yourself. Also, if you can scrounge up a copy of "You Can't Do That," a documentary that came out about 15 years ago about the making of "A Hard Day's Night," that's a load of fun too. And for the record, when it comes to Beatles or Stones - Beatles hands down!
I didn't "get" them until I was about 30, even though my sister gave me her original Beatles records when I was in my teens. I worked at a nightclub and had a boyfriend for awhile that played in a band that performed there occasionally and he would always play While My Guitar Gently Weeps for me, love that song. But my favorite by far, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdopMqrftXs
I love the Beatles. Future Mr. Splendor de la Chanel and I listen to some of their old records as he actually has a huge collection of vinyl.
My fave songs are probably 8 Days a Week and All You Need is Love, but it's hard to pick when there are songs like Help!, A Hard Day's Night, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Yesterday in existence.
I can still remember watching Monday Night Football and Howard Cosell coming on air to say John Lennon had been shot. At the time, I had no idea who he was talking about, not even when my mother told me that John was one of the Beatles. Then every radio station was flooded with John Lennon and Beatles songs and I was "Oh, okay, now I get it." To this day, if I hear two songs by the same performer back-to-back I'm convinced they're dead until proven otherwise.
@Splendor de la Chanel (or The Artist Formerly Known as Karen) - you actually did it, that is SO funny! And klassy! Are you hanging with Beauty Dior and her unfortunate sister Homely Walmart tonight?
Something in the way she moves..... I love the Beatles. If you are ever in Vegas, see their Cirque dul Soleil show Love. It is amazing! Don't get seats too close to the front, or else you will miss out on a great part!
And you spelled klassy with a 'K.' One of my favorite things to say when I do something like drink expensive wine out of a red solo cup is to say, "It's because I'm klassy...with a K."
I appreciate the Beatles' music well enough I guess, but I've always been more of a 'Stones fan.
That said, John Lennon's importance as an historical figure will always eclipse the legacy of the music. He so completely encompasses the era that many years down the road he will be a shortcut to understanding the turbulence of the time and the evolution of the Baby Boomer generation.
LottaColada - My favourite is Here Comes the Sun too. My dad always used to play it for me on the guitar, and last year when I got married, our father daughter dance was to Here Comes the Sun :)
StewMcG - Just read your comment about you singing Here Comes the Sun to your daughter. That's really sweet you guys share the same song that my dad and I share :)
My parents met to Hey Jude, and for years I really thought that there was some religious reason why we always had the Hey Jude compilation album on display (that cover photo looked sort of like these four serious men were standing in front of a church or something)
This might sound strange, but I always just thought they were "okay" until I saw "Across the Universe" a few years ago, then became all intrigued with their catalog. Has anyone else seen that movie? Bizarre and wonderful! And I fell in love with Jim Sturgess.
RQ, you just made reading this thread a WIN - I've always wanted to see that movie, but I forgot about it. It's going on the list - thanks!
I'm Beatles all the way, no one else even comes close. I couldn't even make it through a Stones song until I was about 30. They've grown on me for some reason.
Lucas, your comment was spot on. I love the idea of John as a shortcut to understanding the whole era.
Sorry - keyboard froze up - favorite songs include Norwegian Wood and Penny Lane. I always thought Penny Lane was the sweetest tribute to the spirit of a hometown.
@RQ, I saw the movie with a rabid beetles fan who said it was amazing, but I disagree. There were a couple of great parts, I want to hold your hand was unbelievable, but the rest was mehhhh. And I love their music, but the movie was just not for me.
It's hard to pick just one song, because their music evolved so much over the few years they were together. And I Love Her, If I Fell, Come Together, Get Back, I Am The Walrus, Blackbird, the last four songs on Abbey Road, and ALL of Sargeant Pepper.
I took a music history class in college years ago called Lennon and McCartney. For credit and everything.
I love every Beatles song ever, except that Let It Be and Hey Jude both make me want to blow my brains out. I have a visceral response to those! I also love all the solo and other endeavours of each of the Beatles...it's absolutely true, talent survives.
My favourites are Oh! Darling, I'm Looking Through You, Hey Jude, Something, and I've Just Seen A Face but I love them all. But it shows how my tastes change - a few years ago it was I Am The Walrus, Helter Skelter, Lucy in the Sky, and You've Got to Hide Your Love Away. I do wonder sometimes what would've happened if John and George were still alive. Surely they would've made up eventually, John and Paul never could've been mad at each other forever and John and Yoko wouldn't have lasted this long - surely.
I was around when they hit big in North America, and I was a huge fan. George was my favorite Beatle, and Help is still a movie I will watch to chase away the blues. You're Gonna Lose That Girl is one of my favorites, as well as Ticket To Ride. Both my kids love this band and so do my grandkids, who are 12 and 14.
Oh, the Beatles are such a soundtrack to my life, from childhood through high school, the blue and red compilation albums were all we listened to during an entire spring break trip to Mexico when I was 17. My favorite song is Blackbird, but my son and I decided when he was about 5 that we are dancing to In My Life if he ever gets married. He's 21 now, and it came note radio a few months ago and he walked into the kitchen and asked if we could dance! That moment sealed my love for that song forever.
@ Chris The Beatles aren't still popular because there are so many baby boomers. It's because they created high quality music with catchy melodies and they changed the constructs of popular music of the time by constantly evolving and "pushing the envelope." I was born during the disco era and I listen to the Beatles all the time.
@Gayeld I have the same reaction as you when I hear a block of songs by the same artist but, for me, it's because of Kurt Cobain when I was in high school.
ATTN: E GEE BEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you subscribed to this thread? If so, can you email me? I have an email address on my blogger page. Please reply here first so I know to check it :)
@E Gee Bee Thanks! I will be out most of the a.m and afternoon but I will check that Yahoo account. I am concerned about a fellow regular reader that is in your area and I was wondering if you knew of local resources. See the Rhianna thread, and we can discuss over email Thank you Boss Lady Erin!
Hey! I sent lutefisk a video of this concert the other day on Facebook! I didn't realize Enty posted about it. :)
@RocketQueen - That film was BEAUTIFUL. I was always a fan of their music, but I think shortly after seeing it is when we started listening to them more at home.
Why is that sad?
ReplyDeleteThe only "sad" thing about the rooftop performance was that the band was so severely fractured by that point that it was a miracle they even performed at all. Performing on a roof is not sad in and of itself; you could say there performing on top of the world.
ReplyDeleteSo very much a part of my growing up- along with stones, csny, airplane, byrds, hendrix, joplin- best of times, worst of times.
ReplyDeleteWe'll always have their great music.
ReplyDeleteHeartbreaking that they couldn't get past their differences, but this performance was amazing and inspired the music video for U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name." Its sad they couldn't get back together. I remember reading that they were together watching SNL when Lorne Michaels said he would pay them to play together one more time. Sad that we were robbed of Lennon so soon. We'll never know what could have happened.
ReplyDeleteFave beatles song? Mine is:
ReplyDelete"Here comes the sun doo doo doo doo...."
I LOVE The Beatles and I'm in my 20s, they are a huge part of my life and got me thru a lot. My mom loves them as well and she gave me some of her Beatles records that she bought when they were first released. Of course since she was in her early teens, she wrote 'I love Paul' all over them! Not that I wanted to sell them or anything but still, I don't love Paul.
ReplyDeleteGeorge is my favorite and I feel like Ringo gets ignored for no good reason. He is an extremely talented drummer!
My fave is "Get Back"- get back, Loretta!
ReplyDeletethat song caused me to name one of my dogs Loretta. lol
ReplyDeleteThere is a local San Diego band called get back Loretta.
DeleteI've kind of always liked the symmetry of their last concert being on the rooftop of Apple records, with just their friends and nearby neighbors to witness. It is, after all, how they started out.
ReplyDeleteThere is something so powerful about their music and it's evolution from skiffle-band simplicity to the complexity of their final pieces together - it not only reflects the evolution of society in the 60s, it appeals cross-generationally. My tween daughter loves the Beatles, I wore out my parent's albums of theirs when I was her age (not all that long after this picture) and I expect her daughter will just as I love Sinatra and Mozart. Some music is forever.
My very first fancy link, how appropriate.
ReplyDeleteTheBeatlesBible
I think my fave might be "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" but there are so many good ones. I've loved the Beatles for so long. It's amazing to think that they broke up in 1969. I was 12!
ReplyDeleteThat's mine. Although, I love all of George's songs.
DeleteI have loved The Beatles forever, my mom always played it as I do now...My mom said she knew when John Lennon was murdered that the dream of a reunion was over and it broke her heart...John was and is our favorite Beatle...
ReplyDeleteMaxwell's Silver Hammer is always the first song that pops into my head, probably because in school that was the warm-up song for choir practice. I really like Helter Skelter too, although what those choices say about me is worrying.
ReplyDeleteMost if not all of the favorite songs mentioned were solo efforts. Yup, I'm that old.
ReplyDeleteHere Comes the Sun and Maxwell's Silver Hammer are from Abbey Road. While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Helter Skelter are from The White Album. Get Back is from Let it Be. No solo songs, all Beatles!
DeleteIt's really not amazing - it's more of an object lesson to today's and future artists...
ReplyDeleteTalent survives.
califblondy - I bought early Beatles 45s, I'm THAT old!
ReplyDeleteBeatles are proof that boy bands can evolve if they take heavy amounts of acid. Well, they gotta be able to play instruments and write their own material too.
ReplyDeleteI have often said that I'm the only person in the world who doesn't understand the allure for the Beatles. Were they good? Yes, very good. But I don't 'get' them, as they say. Not sure why.
ReplyDeleteYep, I never really got it either. I'm way more of a Stones girl!!
DeleteLayna, you're not alone.
ReplyDelete@Layna, ps: don't say it around a rabid Beatles fan! My boss gave me a half hour lecture and offered to loan me music, movies, documentaries, you name it. I love him to death but I told him he sounded like a cult leader!
ReplyDeleteI used to sing "Here Comes the Sun" to my daughter when she was a baby. She's now 16 and it's still her "theme song." It's the only ring tone on her phone and she said that when she gets married, she's planning on it being her "first dance" song.
ReplyDelete@StewMcG, that's so sweet!
DeleteFor me, most sixties rock music doesn't really hold up that well anymore (as opposed to Motown, Stax, and other R&B). But I can always listen to the Beatles, and especially early Beatles. I guess my favorite song is "I'll Follow the Sun," but really there are so many of them. And "A Hard Day's Night" is definitely one of my all-time favorite movies. If you've never seen it you really owe it to yourself. Also, if you can scrounge up a copy of "You Can't Do That," a documentary that came out about 15 years ago about the making of "A Hard Day's Night," that's a load of fun too. And for the record, when it comes to Beatles or Stones - Beatles hands down!
ReplyDeleteI didn't "get" them until I was about 30, even though my sister gave me her original Beatles records when I was in my teens. I worked at a nightclub and had a boyfriend for awhile that played in a band that performed there occasionally and he would always play While My Guitar Gently Weeps for me, love that song. But my favorite by far, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdopMqrftXs
ReplyDeleteThe Beatles are my all-time favorite! The White Album is a special favorite, because my parents had the 8-track, but I love all their 'eras.'
ReplyDelete"Yes It Is" is the song that gets me, because of what it meant for me at a certain time, though it's not even a good one of theirs.
There are way too many great songs--I'd be typing all day!
I don't remember this, probably because I wasn't born yet.
ReplyDeleteI love the Beatles. Future Mr. Splendor de la Chanel and I listen to some of their old records as he actually has a huge collection of vinyl.
ReplyDeleteMy fave songs are probably 8 Days a Week and All You Need is Love, but it's hard to pick when there are songs like Help!, A Hard Day's Night, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Yesterday in existence.
For a band that broke up so long ago it is amazing how popular they still are.
ReplyDeleteBaby boomers are numerous. That is why.
I can still remember watching Monday Night Football and Howard Cosell coming on air to say John Lennon had been shot. At the time, I had no idea who he was talking about, not even when my mother told me that John was one of the Beatles. Then every radio station was flooded with John Lennon and Beatles songs and I was "Oh, okay, now I get it." To this day, if I hear two songs by the same performer back-to-back I'm convinced they're dead until proven otherwise.
ReplyDelete@Splendor de la Chanel (or The Artist Formerly Known as Karen) - you actually did it, that is SO funny! And klassy! Are you hanging with Beauty Dior and her unfortunate sister Homely Walmart tonight?
ReplyDeleteSomething in the way she moves..... I love the Beatles. If you are ever in Vegas, see their Cirque dul Soleil show Love. It is amazing! Don't get seats too close to the front, or else you will miss out on a great part!
ReplyDeleteDu*
ReplyDelete@Munch, bahahhahahah @Homely Walmart!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd you spelled klassy with a 'K.' One of my favorite things to say when I do something like drink expensive wine out of a red solo cup is to say, "It's because I'm klassy...with a K."
@Layna-Mr.Slacker CANNOT STAND The Beatles.....I like them, but always preferred Led Zeppelin to them & the Stones.
ReplyDeleteI was really young, but I remember their appearance on Ed Sullivan. The Beatles were a phenomenon for the time.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the Beatles' music well enough I guess, but I've always been more of a 'Stones fan.
ReplyDeleteThat said, John Lennon's importance as an historical figure will always eclipse the legacy of the music. He so completely encompasses the era that many years down the road he will be a shortcut to understanding the turbulence of the time and the evolution of the Baby Boomer generation.
LottaColada - My favourite is Here Comes the Sun too. My dad always used to play it for me on the guitar, and last year when I got married, our father daughter dance was to Here Comes the Sun :)
ReplyDeleteStewMcG - Just read your comment about you singing Here Comes the Sun to your daughter. That's really sweet you guys share the same song that my dad and I share :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHands down, my favorite is "In My Life". Love the Beatles.
ReplyDeleteMy parents met to Hey Jude, and for years I really thought that there was some religious reason why we always had the Hey Jude compilation album on display (that cover photo looked sort of like these four serious men were standing in front of a church or something)
ReplyDeleteThis might sound strange, but I always just thought they were "okay" until I saw "Across the Universe" a few years ago, then became all intrigued with their catalog. Has anyone else seen that movie? Bizarre and wonderful! And I fell in love with Jim Sturgess.
ReplyDeleteApparently paul died and was replaced by a double. Hence they never toured ever again. Google it
ReplyDeleteRQ, you just made reading this thread a WIN - I've always wanted to see that movie, but I forgot about it. It's going on the list - thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm Beatles all the way, no one else even comes close. I couldn't even make it through a Stones song until I was about 30. They've grown on me for some reason.
Lucas, your comment was spot on. I love the idea of John as a shortcut to understanding the whole era.
Sorry - keyboard froze up - favorite songs include Norwegian Wood and Penny Lane. I always thought Penny Lane was the sweetest tribute to the spirit of a hometown.
ReplyDeleteGood! Let me know what you think AS SOON AS YOU WATCH IT ;) I lOVE discussing that movie with people and no one has seen it!
ReplyDelete@RQ, I saw the movie with a rabid beetles fan who said it was amazing, but I disagree. There were a couple of great parts, I want to hold your hand was unbelievable, but the rest was mehhhh. And I love their music, but the movie was just not for me.
DeleteI am the Walrus.
ReplyDeleteDammit, but I love the Beatles.
ReplyDeleteAnd me too, Angie. Most favorite song of ALL-time. Perfection in two minutes and twenty-eight seconds.
ReplyDeleteAngie, AKM, me 3.
DeleteIt's hard to pick just one song, because their music evolved so much over the few years they were together. And I Love Her, If I Fell, Come Together, Get Back, I Am The Walrus, Blackbird, the last four songs on Abbey Road, and ALL of Sargeant Pepper.
ReplyDeleteI took a music history class in college years ago called Lennon and McCartney. For credit and everything.
OH! And also Because. Gorgeous, complex song--reminds me of Schubert and Schumann, both musically and lyrically.
ReplyDeleteI love every Beatles song ever, except that Let It Be and Hey Jude both make me want to blow my brains out. I have a visceral response to those! I also love all the solo and other endeavours of each of the Beatles...it's absolutely true, talent survives.
ReplyDeleteMy favourites are Oh! Darling, I'm Looking Through You, Hey Jude, Something, and I've Just Seen A Face but I love them all. But it shows how my tastes change - a few years ago it was I Am The Walrus, Helter Skelter, Lucy in the Sky, and You've Got to Hide Your Love Away. I do wonder sometimes what would've happened if John and George were still alive. Surely they would've made up eventually, John and Paul never could've been mad at each other forever and John and Yoko wouldn't have lasted this long - surely.
ReplyDeleteMy Dads favourite song was Yesterday. We played it at his funeral. Miss you Dad
ReplyDeleteCranberry sauce
ReplyDeleteI was around when they hit big in North America, and I was a huge fan. George was my favorite Beatle, and Help is still a movie I will watch to chase away the blues. You're Gonna Lose That Girl is one of my favorites, as well as Ticket To Ride. Both my kids love this band and so do my grandkids, who are 12 and 14.
ReplyDeleteOh, the Beatles are such a soundtrack to my life, from childhood through high school, the blue and red compilation albums were all we listened to during an entire spring break trip to Mexico when I was 17. My favorite song is Blackbird, but my son and I decided when he was about 5 that we are dancing to In My Life if he ever gets married. He's 21 now, and it came note radio a few months ago and he walked into the kitchen and asked if we could dance! That moment sealed my love for that song forever.
ReplyDelete@ Chris The Beatles aren't still popular because there are so many baby boomers. It's because they created high quality music with catchy melodies and they changed the constructs of popular music of the time by constantly evolving and "pushing the envelope." I was born during the disco era and I listen to the Beatles all the time.
ReplyDelete@Gayeld I have the same reaction as you when I hear a block of songs by the same artist but, for me, it's because of Kurt Cobain when I was in high school.
Oh E Gee Bee - your story about your son made me misty :)
ReplyDeleteThanks @sunny, long day and it made me misty when I typed it!
ReplyDeleteMy son and i danced to Beautiful Boy at his wedding. Im tearing up writing this!
ReplyDelete"Let It Be" will be my funeral song.
ReplyDelete"Across the Universe" is forever ruined for me because it was a good friend's favorite song and was played at his funeral.
Dig a Pony, IWant You (she's so heavy), while my guitar gently weeps and the white album are my favorite
ReplyDeleteI love the Beatles! It is so hard to pick a favorite. I loved what Julie Tambor did in "Across the Universe". Awesome acting and singing!
ReplyDeleteATTN: E GEE BEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAre you subscribed to this thread? If so, can you email me? I have an email address on my blogger page. Please reply here first so I know to check it :)
Just checked this, and will email when I get to work!
ReplyDelete@E Gee Bee
ReplyDeleteThanks! I will be out most of the a.m and afternoon but I will check that Yahoo account. I am concerned about a fellow regular reader that is in your area and I was wondering if you knew of local resources. See the Rhianna thread, and we can discuss over email
Thank you Boss Lady Erin!
Hey! I sent lutefisk a video of this concert the other day on Facebook! I didn't realize Enty posted about it. :)
ReplyDelete@RocketQueen - That film was BEAUTIFUL. I was always a fan of their music, but I think shortly after seeing it is when we started listening to them more at home.