Blog#7: The Beatles TV series

Left to right: John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney

     The Beatles, the TV series, was one of those Saturday morning cartoons you used to watch in your PJ's with a bowl of your favorite cereal in your lap. It was first debuted on ABC in September 25, 1965 and was very popular. There were three seasons with a total of 39 episodes, each of which had entertaining adventures as well as catchy sing alongs. It was very successful in it's first two seasons, but by the third season, it was no match for the newer shows. It was then moved to Sunday mornings until it's last episode on September 7, 1969.

     In these show, each of the Beatles is depicted differently to correspond with his real life counterpart. John Lennon is described as the leader of the band and has his characteristic sarcastic and laid back personality. Paul McCartney, depicted as the second-in-command of the band, is quite similar to John. Paul has the most aplomb and stylish personality but is also sarcastic and witty. George Harrison is portrayed as a superstitious and humorous character that sometimes falls under the peer-pressure of Paul and John. Ringo is probably the most humerous, goofy, and naive character of the four. He is often made fun of, but it just adds to his lovable and childish character.

Check out some episodes:

The Beatles - Paperback Writer

The Beatles - Help!

The Beatles - All My Loving

The Beatles - Twist and Shout

Resources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_(TV_series)#Season_1_.281965-3.2F1966.29

http://beatlefans.com/cartoons.htm
Pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#6: Mop Tops!

sporting the Tony Curtis hair-do

If you compare a mop to a Beatle's head, you will clearly understand what a mop top is. This hairstyle was popularized by the Beatles in the 60s but it originated from their friend, Jurgen Vollmer. As the story goes, Vollmer went swimming one day and when his damp hair fell over his forehead like a fringe, he left it that way and never bothered to style it.  When The Beatles met Jurgen in Hamburg, they adopted the look and discarded their origional Tony Curtis look. Technically, it was actually Jurgen who started the fad, but the Beatles received credit for it.

Ed Sullivan with a Beatles Wig

     

       The Beatles influenced many people to cut their hair in this fashion. Although it was most commonly referred to as a mop top, it was also called the"Hamlet cut" in Sweden, and the "mushroom cut" in Germany. It was also called "Arthur" by some Beatles fans. This hairdo has become a symbol of the 60's and at that time it was cool and youthful. Many toy companies began producing the "Beatles Wig". It became so popular that Ed Sullivan wore a wig to one of his shows (picture to the left). If you wanted to dress up as a man from the 60s for Halloween, I highly recommend you to get a Mop top.

Resources:

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Mop-Top

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles'_influence_on_popular_culture#The_mop-top_haircut

http://www.beatlesagain.com/a-hairy-beatles-story.html

Pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#5: Team McCartney vs. Team Lennon

      Parallel to the Team Edward vs. Team Jacob argument in today's world was the John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney argument. Who was better? It is very hard to approach this argument because more than 180 of the Beatles songs were jointly credited and written by both Paul and John. However, we can easily discern the different styles that the two of them showed in their music. While John had more of an edge to his songs and often experimented with different techniques, Paul used more melodic and harmonious styles. It is nearly impossible to put a label on the best one of the two, who were incredibly talented, and honestly it wouldn't be fair to put one of them on a pedestal and leave the other one below.

      The way I go about answering this question is by asking; who had the harder life? Paul obtained all the fame in the world and received numerous awards, partly because he managed to stay alive. On the other hand, John Lennon, during his lifetime, was constantly criticized for his infamous controversy, for possibly breaking up the band, and a few other things. I'm not saying that we should declare John the better of the two because he died at an early age, but i do believe that he deserves a special eulogy.


To read more about this insolvable argument take a look at the resources below.

Resources:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2251455/john_lennon_vs_paul_mccartney_pg2.html?cat=33
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennon/McCartney
http://musicouch.com/genres/rock/paul-mccartney-vs-john-lennon-two-very-different-song-writers/
Pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#4: Where are The Beatles now?

       The lives of The Beatles now are significantly different from how they were before the band broke up in 1970. There are only two extant Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Star, while the other two, John Lennon and George Harrison, are no longer living.

       Paul McCartney, who was the bass player, the lead vocalist, and song writer, now has a very successful solo career. In fact, he is one of the highest played solo artists alive. Ringo Starr also has a solo career, however not nearly as successful as Paul's. Originally named Richard Starkey, Ringo used to be the band's left-handed drummer who replaced Pete Best. Next John Lennon, who was the guitarist and song writer for the band, had a good solo career after the band until he was nearly stabbed to death when someone broke into his house. John was always the scapegoat who was blamed for breaking up the band, even though the band was already drifting apart.  Finally, George Harrison, who was the lead guitarist for the band, went on to play with other bands after the break up. He married Patti Byod, who later unfortunetly left George for his best friend. Harrison was a devout Hindu which was why when he died of Lung Cancer in 2001, his cremated ashes were scattered in the Ganges River. Dead or Alive, the legacy of the Beatles creativity and iconoclasm will always be praised.

Sources:
 http://musicouch.com/genres/pop/where-are-the-beatles-now/
http://sks.sirs.com/the_beatles_now
http://sks.sirs.com/lennon_lives_forever
Pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#3: Beatles myths Busted

        The Beatles are normally very secluded from the outside world and tend to stay within a little bubble with themselves, their manager, and a few other exclusive people. Combined with the fact that so many people want to know about the lives of these interesting people, rumors are bound to form. Once an idea is planted into someone's mind, no matter how erroneous it may be, it is only natural that these ideas will disseminate.

Magazine Cover

        A popular and controversial myth that originated in the 1960s was the rumor that Beatles songs contained secret messages when played backwards. People believed that some of these back masked tapes hinted to Paul McCartney being dead and replaced by a look-a-like. One piece of "evidence" was that Lennon said "I Buried Paul" in the end of one of his songs, however, he actually said "Cranberry Sauce" As you can see by the front cover of the magazine to the left,  many people strongly believed this rumor and some people still believe these notions. Hundreds of fans who followed this legend compiled "clues" to support this idea from album imagery, back-masked songs, and other sources. In my opinion, I think this is completely false. First, The Beatles don't even know how to read or write notes so it would be very hard for them to form secret messages. Second, The Beatles wrote over two hundred and fifty songs and i don't think they would had the time to slip secret messages into them.

Julian Lennon's drawing

        Another myth is that the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds stands for LSD, a drug.  I can not say that The Beatles never did drugs, but this innocent song was inspired by a picture that Julian Lennon, John Lennon's son, drew in nursery school of a girl names Lucy O'Donnell. Lennon also said that the lyrics of the song were inspired by a chapter in Lewis Carol's novel, Through a Looking Glass.

This song is pretty interesting and if you want to here: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Resources:

http://www.beatlesagain.com/bmyths.html

http://www.reversespeech.com/music_reversals.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_is_dead


pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#2: The Beatles Controversy

          The Beatles are and have been incredibly popular since they started out in the 1960s, but most people in the new generation don't know about the whole "Beatles controversy" that occurred in the mid-1960s. I also did not know about this issue until recently. To give you a summary of what happened, John Lennon was being interviewed in England and remarked that "The Beatles were more popular than Jesus." Clearly, this was a pretty radical remark but it did not receive much attention in England, which had waning levels of Christianity. Nevertheless, when an American magazine printed it 5 months later, it would be an understatement to say that there were few strong consequences.

          Most of the chaos could be seen in the bible belt in the south of the United States. It got to a point where there were organized "Beatle Burning" sessions, where people would come to publicly burn their Beatles albums. Moreover, concerts were canceled, Beatles music was banned from many countries, and threats were made to the band. During one concert they were even targeted for gunfire and after the tour ended 44 years ago, the Beatles never performed commercially again. Fans were offended and hurt when Lennon said those things, because most of them were Christian. In my opinion, Lennon was not saying The Beatles were better or greater than Jesus, rather that the Beatles were being listened to more than people were going to church. Lennon was just repeating what the church admitted to about the decline of Christianity.

To get a feel of the attitude among young people during this time, take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZU8F-eO6W0




Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_popular_than_Jesus
Pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#1: How did The Beatles get their Name?

This is a question that is usually in the backs of most people's minds because a name as The Beatles is seems pretty whimsical. If you asked John Lennon how The Beatles chose their name, he would have told you that "a man appeared on a flaming pie and told them that they would be known as the Beatles with an A." He claims that he once had a dream as a little boy of this man on a flaming pie. Although what he said might have been true, there is a lot more history behind how The Beatles cam to be known as what they are today.

The first name The Beatles had was Quarry men. This name was made by John Lennon who attended Quarry Bank School in Liverpool. This title was meant to be ironic because Lennon was not at all studious, but more of a rebellious boy. This name lasted until October 26, 1958 when the band changed their name to Johnny and the Moondogs.  During this time the most popular bands chose their name by using the template "Blank and the Blanks."At this time the band, comprised of John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney, was asked to audition for the Carol Lewis start search show. This name only lasted for the duration of their auditions, which they never got past. In 1960, the new but ephemeral member Stuart Sutcliffe conjured up the name "The Beatlals" because it was similar to "The Crickets" who were the backing band for Buddy Holly, an American singer. Finally, when the band was tired from thinking of about 10 names a week, and because they had been invited to perform in Hamburg, they sticked with just The Beatles and became legends.
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Resources:
Persails, Dave. "The Beatles: What's in the name?"http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/named.htm

"How the Beatles got their name"http://musicouch.com/genres/rock/the-beatles-how-they-got-their-name/
Pictures courtesy of Flickr and Google