Tag Archives: Beatles

entertainment news

Beatles are done … forever

Friends can accuse me of being slow on the uptake and I wouldn’t mind, as I recognize that in my ownself.

Example? When The Beatles released their single, “Now and Then” in 2023, they said it would be their final song. No more Beatles records for those of us who believe they are the greatest rock band in history. My first reaction was kinda goofy. What do you mean no more?

“Now and Then” was presented to Paul McCartney by Yoko Oho, John Lennon’s wife along with two other demo tapes that Paul, George Harrison and Ringo Starr finished and released as singles in 1995. They all worked on “Now and Then,” then gave up on it, as the quality of the demo tape didn’t measure up to the other two. George was the first to abandon the “Now and Then” project.

Then, in 2001, George got sick and died of cancer in November of that year. John, of course, died in 1980 in one of the most senseless acts of violence I’ve ever seen.

Paul then got a wild hair and decided to finish the recording of “Now and Then” with Ringo, using John’s voice and George’s work on the unfinished recording. Technology has advanced well beyond what was available to the lads in 1995.

Where am I going with this? “Now and Then” was the last recording with all of The Beatles taking part. There ain’t no more. All of The Beatles have said the group does not exist without all of them present. George Harrison famously said in the 1980s when asked if The Beatles would reunite: “No. Not as long as John Lennon is still dead.” There you have it. One’s death is as permanent a condition as one can find.

As the cliche goes: The group is gone, but their music lives forever.

 

entertainment news

Sadness bumps goofiness off our collective radar

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It’s the way it works sometimes.

The public gets caught up in matters that occasionally disgusts it, makes us angry, or frustrates us in the extreme.

I’m talking, of course, about the presidential campaign that is kicking itself into ultra-high gear with primaries coming up. We’re following the “horse races” in both parties and some of us at least are wondering how it’s all going to shake out.

Then we get news of an entirely different sort.

Prince Rogers Nelson died today at his Minnesota estate.

The word knew him as Prince. He was 57. Prince was, to put it mildly, a rock music icon. I am saddened beyond description to hear this news.

He came along a bit after I and others of my generation came of age. Many old folks like me listen more intently to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys than, perhaps, to artists such as Prince.

Still, there is no denying at all the man’s genius.

His creativity was unparalleled. His singing voice was, well, OK. I, though, am enthralled with the way he played the guitar.

It was magical to watch Prince play the instrument, let alone merely listen to him.

So, today many of us around the nation and the world are talking not about the goofy presidential campaign that is makes alternately angry and frustrated at the state of our national political process — but about the death of diminutive musician.

I hate the circumstance that diverts our attention away from the current political climate.

In a perverse way, though, I welcome the diversion.

I believe I’m now going to watch some Prince videos and marvel at the man’s genius.

 

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Sir Paul coming to West Texas

My pal Chip Chandler explores an issue with an obvious answer.

Writing in the Amarillo Globe-News, Chip takes note of an appearance set for June 14 of one of the greatest popular music icons of the past century. Sir Paul McCartney will appear at Lubbock’s United Spirit Arena.

“Why don’t we get big concerts like that?” Chandler asks, knowing the answer fully.

http://amarillo.com/entertainment/get-out/2014-04-16/paul-mccartney-plays-lubbock-june

Amarillo doesn’t have a venue nearly suitable for the likes of Sir Paul. You remember the band in which he was a member, yes? The Beatles? The little band that included John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Well, The Beatles gave it up as a group 40-plus years ago and McCartney has forged a pretty nice career on his own. His albums have been so-so of late, but he still puts on one hell of a concert.

A point of personal privilege: My wife and I saw Sir Paul at the Houston Astrodome one summer night in 1993 where we sang “Hey Jude” among other classics with Paul — along with 55,000 other fans crammed into the one-time Eighth Wonder of the World.

I rather envy Lubbock for having the United Spirit Arena. It was built in the late 1990s and opened with another pretty good act: Elton John, who sold out the place in a matter of minutes. I suspect Paul McCartney will do the same the moment the tickets go on sale.

The Cal Farley Coliseum ain’t nearly big enough, or stylish enough to play host to someone of McCartney’s stature, as Chandler notes.

Sigh. We’ll have to make do with reunion concerts, the occasional country star and over-the-hill pop bands that show up from time to time — although we did catch a pretty rockin’ Doobie Brothers concert at the Coliseum in 1997.

Sir Paul McCartney will get a wild welcome to West Texas when his band starts kickin’ it.

I, too, wish he’d come here.