OT: 40 years ago today

[8893]

Playing the Beatles to a 20-something these days might not be an earth-shattering experience, but it's always amazing to me how their fingerprints are on so much of the music that followed them. There are so many Beatles songs touching so many different sounds that you would absolutely be forgiven if you thought you were hearing some new indie band rather than something from 50 years ago.

Don’t be so sure about the 20-somethings.

My oldest is 21 and listens to and knows all the stuff that the other basic 21 year olds listen to, but her bedroom wall is literally plastered with Beatles photos, she has a bunch more in her apartment at school and she reveres them; and so does my 19 year old, whom I brought to see Paul McCartney at MSG a couple years ago. When she told me that seeing him play ”Hey Jude” was the happiest moment of her life, well, it made me very happy. Still does. Otherwise she mostly listens to rap and hip hop and loves Mac Miller (and turned me on to him).

 

[cullaville]

Amazingly I did not hear until I got to work the next day. I had started a new job on that Monday and was going to school at night so I probably got home had something to eat and went to bed. Did not listen to tv or radio in the morning, walked to work so no car radio. I remember getting on the elevator and woman said how horrible the news was and I being completely oblivious asked her what news - she must have thought I was completely insane.

 

[Mr. French]

A bit before my time to have an impact and I was more of Stones/Zeppelin guy than a Beatles guy...... and Harrison was my favorite of the Beatles, but yeah, you could tell it had an impact on plenty of people. I was young enough to not understand being shot at the Dakota and then seeing pictures of NYC. I was expecting Rushmore.

For people my age, I'm guessing Cobain or Princess Di were probably the deaths that shocked the world and made it stand still. MJ was a huge story too but his demise was somewhat predictable.

I was like 10 with Princess Di, so I didn't know much about her but I vividly remember the news and the impact. Same with Oklahoma City bombing and of course 9/11.

Ironically, Princess Di news and OKC news both occurred on or right as I got home from vacation in Myrtle Beach, which I did yearly for about 4-5 years at those times.

 

[cullaville]

As tragic as December 8 1980 was please let us never forget the December 7 tragedy at Pearl Harbor. This was as startling to my parents generation as John Lennon's death was to us -plus the fact that so many of that generation joined the service with tragic consequences.

 

[Guapo]

I’m 30 years old and love the Beatles.

I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I got my Spotify year end review thing and they were still my most listened to artist from this past year.

Obviously, the Lennon assassination was before my time; but my uncle was watching the game at a bar on route 1 in Peabody, MA and, as soon as Cosell broke the news, he and the friends he was watching with jumped in the car and drove through the night to Central Park.

 

[8893]

It blew me away that there was something that hit a 5 year old's ears that caused her to want to know more about them.

Long story less long, they touched people. Still do.

There has long been a theory that they unlocked the DNA for the "happiness gene" in music. It is absolutely uncanny how durable that catalogue is.

There are so many Beatles songs touching so many different sounds that you would absolutely be forgiven if you thought you were hearing some new indie band rather than something from 50 years ago.

Apropos of this discussion, I was pondering the durable and timeless appeal of the Beatles this morning on my drive to work while listening to Chris Carter's Breakfast with the Beatles show on the Sirius Beatles channel. It's a great listen and I almost always learn something new, even after decades of obsessing over them. One of the things he frequently reinforces is the importance of George Martin, who I think deserves a lot of credit for the durability of the material and the types of touches that still make it sound fresh today.

Carter did one set today where he featured five Beatles songs on which George Martin played piano. Listening to each was a great illustration of Martin's impact, both as a producer, and often as a musician. With the exception of "All You Need Is Love," the piano plays a central part of the appeal of each of these songs--so much so that it is probably the most identifiable aspect of each one:

"Money (That's What I Want)"
"Rocky Racoon"
"In My Life"
"All You Need Is Love"
"Lovely Rita"

I turned the volume to the max on that last one because I had almost forgotten how great it is; it's easy to get lost among all the great tracks on that album.

Anyways, in terms of trying to understand what made the Beatles music as timeless as it is, I think George Martin was invaluable.

Two other things that I think are frequently under-appreciated about the Beatles are (1) the amount of live performances they had done before their first record was ever released (see Ron Howard's Eight Days a Week for an excellent documentary of their live performance history); and (2) the rigor of John's and Paul's songwriting practice, whereby they would hole up in hotel rooms and make themselves write a certain number of songs so they could keep up the breakneck pace of their album releases. They really struck while the iron was hot and wrung the sponge dry in terms of harnessing their creativity during their peak years.

Oh, and if anyone hasn't seen James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" with McCartney, the scene at the end where generations are dancing together really shows the broad appeal of the music.



I still maintain that McCartney is the most popular living human on the planet.

 

[Vancat]

Agree- they were an amazing phenomenon. Grew up listening to my older brothers playing them and in turn became a fan.

My late-20s nephew, who is a musician, recently took it upon himself to actively listen to their music, since they were obviously important in music history and a huge influence on many who followed. To my surprise, he was rather blase about them and really only liked the Abbey Road album.

I have always been amazed at their breadth of appeal. My parents even liked them (or at least some songs) and they were born in the 20s. I love the posts above that say their youngsters instinctively like the Beatles.

The other thing is how well the songs have held up.

Oh, and YES about George Martin. The 5th Beatle.

 

[JakeTheDog]

I was born in 87 and really got into the Beatles around the turn of the century. In addition to the appeal of the music there is a certain mythos surrounding the Beatles and their history. From the skiffle beginnings to the Berlin shows to the Cavern Club and all the various theories and details about their time as the most popular band in the world. It’s easy to get lost in the depths of their journey to the top.

And while they wrote many timeless songs, “In My Life” has to be my favorite.

“There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed...”

RIP John

 

[8893]

Oh, and YES about George Martin. The 5th Beatle.

I was going to use the "Fifth Beatle" tag because I consider him to be the most worthy of it, but that often gets confused because at least five other guys have been called that:

Pete Best
Brian Epstein
Stu Sutcliffe
Klaus Voorman
Billy Preston

 

[Guapo]

The combination of chord progressions and harmonies add such a layer of complexity and texture to their music, it’s still largely unmatched and it can still give me chills.

perhaps this is what @8893 was talking about with the “happiness” DNA thing

 

[8893]

The combination of chord progressions and harmonies add such a layer of complexity and texture to their music, it’s still largely unmatched and it can still give me chills.

perhaps this is what @8893 was talking about with the “happiness” DNA thing

I was blown away by the layers of "Lovely Rita" when I listened to it this morning at full volume in the car.

A 2:42 powerhouse.

And that's the other thing: The vast majority of their catalogue is under three minutes, which is really an art and skill unto itself. I abide by the wisdom in Twain's "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." And Tom Petty's, "Don't bore us: get to the chorus."

These guys innately understood both, and a whole lot more.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Like millions of others, this is how I found out:



It was the end of the innocence for me.

Chills watching that.

I've waited a day before reading this thread, having already weighed in on Facebook among people I know IRL, and clearly among more age peers where my having heard "Meet the Beatles" when it came out in the winter of my 5th grade year is no big deal. It was a household purchase, not really my older sister's, but something my mom bought and said I had equal right to listen to.

It was just a few months after the JFK assassination, which was a world-changer. Yesterday I grouped Lennon's death with JFK and 9/11 as my Top 3 "Where were you when...?" remembrances.

On December 8,1980, I was at the Brooklyn apartment of a co-worker. I worked for a (mostly jazz) record company. It was a non-company holiday gathering. Most everybody there was a serious music fan. The news took the air out of everybody, as much as it seemed impossible to grasp or believe. I went back home in a saddened daze.

The record company was on West 55th St, so I got myself up to The Dakota the next day or so, just to be among other people. By that time, I had thousands of records, my musical tastes had exploded in so many directions, and the Beatles members as solo acts held little active interest for me, though "Double Fantasy's" recent release held some hopeful signs after a hiatus during which John was otherwise thought to be depressed and hiding out in The Dakota smoking pot & watching TV.

John remained my clear favorite, mostly because of "Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine," and politics that resonated with me (See "Working Class Hero"). I'd claim that he retained the greatest artistic integrity.

I still liked the full Beatles catalog, I still do. It's great. Full stop.

I got to experience The Beatles in real time, with their records as new releases, including "Let it Be" (also as a movie, in theaters) during my junior year of high school, the year I first began to listen to music with a voracious appetite that has never dimmed in a half century (holy cr*p).

Somebody asked for recollections, so I hope that wasn't too much.

Oh yeah, @Deepster posted about his daughter at 5 taking note and asking, "Who's that?" when she heard their music. My daughter did the same thing at 4. When I told her, she asked, "Why are they Beatles?" I don't know what that meant, and I don't know how I answered, but I've never forgotten the question.

 

[HuskyHawk]

There has long been a theory that they unlocked the DNA for the "happiness gene" in music. It is absolutely uncanny how durable that catalogue is.

I has worked on me since I was a kid, and it worked on my kids without me even trying. They each can pick out the Beatles (and the Band) anywhere, anytime, and they will instinctively start singing along.

It still works, even when they aren't signing it. Yesterday just brilliantly shows how and why. Can't be topped.

Thanks for the grim reminder, I had forgotten the date. Don't know how I heard, but I'd guess it was MNF.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Probably found out via Cosell but dont' recall. What I do remember is my high school biology teacher tried starting class and was too broken up to speak. He jumped up on the lab table & talked to us as peers about his life what music meant to him and how it contributed to him teaching biology. Most memorable 45 minutes of high school by a lot.

You had a weed smoking biology teacher too? NIce!

 

[Guapo]

I was blown away by the layers of "Lovely Rita" when I listened to it this morning at full volume in the car.

A 2:42 powerhouse.

And that's the other thing: The vast majority of their catalogue is under three minutes, which is really an art and skill unto itself. I abide by the wisdom in Twain's "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." And Tom Petty's, "Don't bore us: get to the chorus."

These guys innately understood both, and a whole lot more.

Songs like “Please Please Me” and “It Won’t Be Long” are unreal good and just 2 minutes long. It Won’t Be Long packs more chords into it than most overwrought 5 minute songs

 

[David 76]

What I don't think people appreciate is the very short window of time the Beatles had. And all the music they created in that relatively short period.
Plus we were able to watch them grow up and grow as musicians.

My 21 year old has always been a fan and to my delight his favorites are Revolver and Rubber Soul.

Oh,and if your third best songwriter is George. That is amazing.

 

[tzznandrew]

I still maintain that McCartney is the most popular living human on the planet.

How could he not be? He's the last serious vestige of the greatest pop group ever anywhere. They are pop and yet not, bursting with multitudes of influence and originality.

John was more troubled, innovative and interesting as an artist, and it's no surprise that he was drawn to someone who (despite her reputation) was also very talented like Yoko Ono.

But Paul has a charm and can do what so few other artists—regardless of medium—can do, which is invoke uncomplicated joy in a seemingly simple—but deceptively complex—way.

No art is easy, but art of pain and sadness is easier to create, fundamentally, than an art that is purely joyful.

 

[8893]

No art is easy, but art of pain and sadness is easier to create, fundamentally, than an art that is purely joyful.

That is an interesting thought that I never contemplated before.

I am inclined to agree with you, but I will definitely ponder it.

 

[Deepster]

What I don't think people appreciate is the very short window of time the Beatles had. And all the music they created in that relatively short period.
Plus we were able to watch them grow up and grow as musicians.

My 21 year old has always been a fan and to my delight his favorites are Revolver and Rubber Soul.

Oh,and if your third best songwriter is George. That is amazing.

I was just going to post this.

The entire Beatles recorded catalogue took place in 8 years. They had 20 #1 hits. And maybe the most impressive achievement, never ever to be touched from this point forward?

In 1964, at one point they had the top 5 songs on the Billboard 100.

 

[tzznandrew]

That is an interesting thought that I never contemplated before.

I am inclined to agree with you, but I will definitely ponder it.

There's very little enduring literature out there that is purely happy.

Perhaps it's because Tolstoy (as usual) was correct: All happy families are the same, each unhappy family is unhappy in their own way. And we as people like a little bit of difference and adventure in our art.

Paul somehow creates difference and happiness.

It's that yin and yang with him and John—with the talent of Harrison and the production of Martin—it's nearly impossible to replicate. How many bands have two talented songwriters, let alone three? How many bands that have just two talented songwriters have two talented songwriters who write in such different modes? And no one who has listened too long would mistake a Harrison song for a McCartney or a Lennon song.

 

[Guapo]

It should be noted that, when we talk about the Lennon/McCartney difference in song writing, that largely applies only to the second half of the Beatles catalog. The earlier Beatles catalog are legitimate Lennon/McCartney collaborations and the tension between where those two were coming from is what often leads to some of the more interesting themes, especially for pop music at that time. Most of the love songs are not as simple as “I’m in love and I’m so happy!”

 

[Guapo]

It should be noted that, when we talk about the Lennon/McCartney difference in song writing, that largely applies only to the second half of the Beatles catalog. The earlier Beatles catalog are legitimate Lennon/McCartney collaborations and the tension between where those two were coming from is what often leads to some of the more interesting themes, especially for pop music at that time. Most of the love songs are not as simple as “I’m in love and I’m so happy!”

For example, go listen to “If I Fell” there’s a lot going on there, aside from the incredible intricate harmonies. It’s not an “I love you, you love me, we’re as happy as can be” song.

 

[Guapo]

For example, go listen to “If I Fell” there’s a lot going on there, aside from the incredible intricate harmonies. It’s not an “I love you, you love, we’re as happy as can be” song.

even songs that you probably haven’t thought about deeply ever like “I want to hold your hand” is a song about longing. Or, the set up of “she loves you”, they’re talking to another guy with, in my opinion, somewhat of a implicit threat that they will take his girl if he doesn’t sees that she loves him (echoed in “Youre going to lose that girl”). In “It Won’t be Long” everyone else is having fun but John is sitting off on his own

 

[8893]

even songs that you probably haven’t thought about deeply ever like “I want to hold your hand” is a song about longing. Or, the set up of “she loves you”, they’re talking to another guy with, in my opinion, somewhat of a implicit threat that they will take his girl if he doesn’t sees that she loves him (echoed in “Youre going to lose that girl”). In “It Won’t be Long” everyone else is having fun but John is sitting off on his own

In a similar vein, I heard Peter Asher's show on the Beatles channel a few weeks ago and he was talking about "Drive My Car" and "Norwegian Wood" as songs he links together because they both have "the sting in the tail," i.e., they deliver an unexpected twist at the end.

In "Drive My Car," we learn that he actually doesn't have a car; and in "Norwegian Wood" we learn that he burns her house down. I had never interpreted the lyrics that way in "Norwegian Wood," but I went back and read them after that and I can definitely see it now. I had no idea, but apparently that is what was intended, which is a really interesting twist, to put it mildly.