"Get Back, Loretta..."

I have always been such a BeaTles fan... I loved their music at every stage of their short career... from the time that they came to America in February, 1964... to the time that they broke up just about 6 years later...  so much great music was created by them... and I think they changed the direction of music, and created the opportunity for other bands such like the Rolling Stones... and the Kinks... and many others...



I've been thinking about relationships a great deal lately... and got to thinking about these fellows... I guess friendships/business relationships have similar pitfalls as love relationships do...


In some form or fashion, they had been popular in England and Germany for a few years... Paul was originally playing guitar... Stu Sutcliffe  was the bassist and Pete Best was the drummer...  after a falling out with one, and an illness to the other, Paul started playing bass and Ringo Starr was picked up as the drummer...


Their first visit to the States was only a few months after the assassination of JFK in Dallas... many feel that their coming to the states, and being taken to as they were by Americans... that this helped to create a shift out of the darkness that our country was experiencing...


Whether it was the early performances on Ed Sullivan... or watching their movies, 'A Hard Day's Night'... or 'Help!', they always seemed to be having so much fun together... they were making tons of money... had tons of women... the world was theirs...

John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote most of what the band played... credits for their compositions would be listed as 'Lennon/McCartney'... these were probably the two strongest egos in the group... and sooner or later, it seemed that they would have to clash... as the band grew, Lennon went to writing on his own, as did McCartney, yet, song writing credits were still listed between the two... it's easy to listen to their songs and see who wrote what...


They became disenchanted with touring in the mid '60s and stopped, yet continued to go into the studio and wrote and perform some of the most wonderful music I've ever heard...  however, bickering would develop over whose song was going to start off the album... of whose song would be the 'A' side of the single... and leave the other to the 'B' side... of course, with the BeaTles... many times, the 'B' Side song was as great, if not greater, than the 'A' Side song... for example, "Paperback Writer/Rain"... "Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields"...  


George Harrison was an accomplished song writer, but wasn't as prolific as the other two... he had said he was fortunate to get one song per album at the end...


Then somewhere in '66... maybe '67... John made the comment about the BeaTles being more popular than Jesus... and the shiznit hit the fan...


So problems developed, at first between Lennon and McCartney over writing...  then John met Yoko Ono... fell in love with her... she became a diversion for John... and a distraction to the band... and the rifts between all became even greater...


At some point, John Lennon was quoted as having said that Harrison, Starr, and he was tired of backing McCartney...

Someone decided it would be a great idea to do another album... something 'live'... and video record some performances for possible distribution...  Their long-time producer, George Martin... was shelved in favor of Phil Spector...  I'm not sure why they did this to George Martin... he was so good... had such a great ear, that he was most often regarded as 'the Fifth Beatle'...  If you have listened to any of the 'Anthology' releases... you can tell that Martin had some great ideas as to how the music should have been made... and he would have the 'lads' make those changes...


I've read that things became so stressed between these fellows that they could hardly stand to be around each other any longer... one of them would go into the studio... lay down his track and leave... and the next would come in and lay down his track... how sad... just like a dying love relationship... sometimes, one of them (Paul) felt that someone's work was inferior... and he would re-record what the other had done... some of George's work... as well as Ringo's... wound up being deleted from some of the songs on the album...


The band was dead... how sad... such a great body of work in only 6 years...


A great part of the "roof top concert" is on youtube... and I've been looking/listening to them the past couple of days... and watching the interactions between them... and at such a sad/bad time in the life of the band, they appeared to be having fun... Paul and John even look at each other... make eye contact... through out the performance... and seem to smile... like lovers with unfinished business... with something that has been left unsaid...

"get back, loretta..."

Something that many people don't know... is that for the "rooftop" session, the late great Billy Preston was playing keyboards for The BeaTles... it was said that he was there in part because ALL of the band members liked him... and he was a 'calming' influence that day... Billy Preston is also normally mentioned as having been the 'Fifth Beatle' because of his contribution to the 'Let It Be' album...



I've read where none of the BeaTles were that happy with this endeavor... Paul went to see George Martin... told him that they wanted to do another album... George Martin told him that the only way he would consider doing another album with them would be if they did it the way they used to... all band members... no fighting in the studio... and they all agreed... 

... and they recorded Abbey Road...

For several years afterwards, even after they broke up... the two, Lennon and McCartney... continued to fight and snipe at each other... just like forsaken lovers...


John Lennon wrote and recorded this song for Paul...

Do note that George Harrison was in the studio with John...  That clip there at the end, John says that song was about himself... but come on... 'the only thing you ever did was 'yesterday'... That's a direct slap at McCartney...


Could they have "kissed and made up?"  Could they have taken a break... and come back and made even greater music??


Sooo... when we push others way... is it for something that was really a deal-breaker? Or was it because we were all about ourselves...?? Because we wanted it to be all about ourselves??

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I posted not long ago about wanting another guitar... well, it happened...

It's a Hofner... I've wanted one forever... McCartney played a Hofner in the early days... and then has gone back to playing it now when he's on tour... what a great sounding bass...

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If you love someone... if you need someone... tell them... go ahead and take a chance on being foolish... if you want or need that person... that might be what it takes to get things back on track...

~shoes~