“Nobody Loves You When You’re Down and Out” acoustic demo
With a few exceptions, demos are genial curiosities, adding context but little else to the standard version. You don't hear the song any different after. This one is an exception. Like a lot of folks, I've always found this song from Walls and Bridges particularly haunting, given where John Lennon was in his life (and vis a vis the music business); but [...]
Thoughts on Red and Blue?
Songs from Beatlemania! Photo from 1968! AIEEEE Robert Rodriguez, author of Fab Four FAQ 2.0, popped up on my Facebook feed this evening touting an interesting anniversary: Thirty-five years ago tomorrow, on April 2, 1973, Apple/EMI released the Beatles compilations, 1962-66 and 1967-70. Or, as they were universally called, the Beatles Red and Blue Albums, respectively. Not surprisingly, these two LPs [...]
Charles Manson Is Dead
Manson, wannabe musician. Charles Manson, who used a paranoid reading of the Beatles' "White Album" to spur his followers to murder, is dead at 83. Alas, the kind of fear-mongering false narrative that he helped pioneer is very much alive. Like the mixers of the toxic social media soup we're all swimming in today, Manson specialized in us-vs-them stories, especially [...]
The Beatles and the Historians
Available on Amazon or wherever good Beatles books are sold. After commenter Rob raved over it in this comment, I was reminded that I've been meaning to hip you all to something for a while. Longtime Dullblog commenter Erin Weber has written a book called The Beatles and the Historians, which anybody who loves this site will eat up with [...]
Top Five Songs?
"OK, so, my #1 is 'Chains'..." New commenter Tasmin writes: "I was curious on your take on lists? Specifically, Top 100 Beatles songs? The Beatles Channel has been playing a special this weekend, where listeners voted for their top 100 songs — here are the top 5: 1) A Day in the Life 2) In My Life 3) Hey Jude [...]
Interview with Jay Goeppner of the the Beatle Brothers
Chicago-based singer Jay Goeppner pours his fervent love for the music of the Beatles, and John Lennon, into every performance. His voice, and his energy onstage, are almost eerily similar to Lennon's. I've seen several of his Beatle Brothers shows, and can testify that the only time I've gotten a stronger Beatles vibe was at Paul McCartney's concerts, since rock and metal [...]
Rest in Peace, Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein, photographed by David Bailey, 1964 Chris Carter's ever-excellent "Breakfast With the Beatles" reminded me that today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Brian Epstein, the original Beatles obsessive. I've written a lot about Brian on this here site, as my own journey through showbiz has proven how important support people are to any showbiz success story. [...]
The Gospel of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”
"The E-Type on his left symbolizes individuality, whereas the Mini on his right means…" Longtime commenter Waterfalls wrote in recently with the following: "I wanted to ask the Hey Dullblog community their thoughts on the song 'Maxwell Silver Hammer', after reading some comments on Youtube where some thought the song was actually about a real murder (i.e., Joe Orton and [...]
A Deccagone mystery
The Fabs, looking nothing like they did during the Decca audition Reader Craig Fenton wrote in today with the following interesting question: "When the Beatles' Deccagone Sessions are talked about [in historical sources], there are those that state the exact order they performed are as follows 1-15: "Like Dreamers Do" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) "Money (That's What I Want)" (Gordy/Bradford) (unreleased [...]