Ariana Grande has a whole new era—or should we say, it has her? Her excellent new Eternal Sunshine is a bold personal statement, with her most inventive, pained, reflective songs. “It’s kind of a concept album,” the pop queen said in February. “‘Cause it’s all different heightened pieces of the same story, of the same experience.” So no wonder she’s taking inspiration from the crazy boys who invented the concept album: The Beatles. In a NYC playback session for Eternal Sunshine, the pop queen revealed that...
- 3/13/2024
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
The Beatles‘ Rubber Soul is many things, but it’s not an album about Paul McCartney’s personal life. However, there are exceptions to every rule. One track from Rubber Soul is about Paul’s disillusionment with a 1960s movie star. Interestingly, Rubber Soul became a hit twice in the United Kingdom: once during the 1960s and once during the 1980s.
The Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’ was inspired by an actor who put her career over her personal life
From 1963 to 1968, Paul dated actor Jane Asher. She was most known for her roles in movies like Alfie, The Masque of the Red Death, and Deep End. Similar to John Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono, Paul’s relationship with Asher left a big impact on The Beatles’ lyrics, including those for “I’m Looking Through You.” In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed butting heads with Asher.
The Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’ was inspired by an actor who put her career over her personal life
From 1963 to 1968, Paul dated actor Jane Asher. She was most known for her roles in movies like Alfie, The Masque of the Red Death, and Deep End. Similar to John Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono, Paul’s relationship with Asher left a big impact on The Beatles’ lyrics, including those for “I’m Looking Through You.” In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed butting heads with Asher.
- 2/2/2024
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Paul McCartney Said The Beatles Wrote 1 Song With ‘Minimal Effort’ and It Got Played 4 Million Times
Sometimes, celebrities say things that really throw you for a loop. Paul McCartney said one of the wildly popular songs from The Beatles’ Rubber Soul was created with “minimum effort” at “minimum expense.” He wanted this track to serve as a blueprint for other bands. John Lennon revealed the tune was inspired by another essential 1960s artist.
The Beatles never bothered to make a song from ‘Rubber Soul’ sound funkier
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the creation of “Michelle” from Rubber Soul. “We never remixed it for dance, we never did a funky mix,” he said. “That was the end of it and it’s still around and it’s still a popular song, still clocking up numbers on the little tachometer or whatever it is they’ve got: four million broadcast performances. From that one little thing. Minimum effort, minimum expense, minimum everything.
The Beatles never bothered to make a song from ‘Rubber Soul’ sound funkier
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the creation of “Michelle” from Rubber Soul. “We never remixed it for dance, we never did a funky mix,” he said. “That was the end of it and it’s still around and it’s still a popular song, still clocking up numbers on the little tachometer or whatever it is they’ve got: four million broadcast performances. From that one little thing. Minimum effort, minimum expense, minimum everything.
- 2/2/2024
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Paul McCartney and John Lennon put so much extra work into their music sometimes that it’s remarkable. For example, they once turned the handwritten lyrics of a song from The Beatles’ Rubber Soul into a work of art. The piece soon fell into the possession of a famous musician.
Paul McCartney got high and made colorful art inspired by The Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’
On the surface, The Beatles’ “The Word” isn’t much of a psychedelic song. It has more in common with the Motown music of the 1960s than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Despite this, “The Word” has hippie vibes. It proclaims the importance of love, which The Beatles would later do in their most popular psychedelic song, “All You Need Is Love.” “The Word” also paved the way for John’s high-minded solo songs like “Imagine” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”
In the...
Paul McCartney got high and made colorful art inspired by The Beatles’ ‘Rubber Soul’
On the surface, The Beatles’ “The Word” isn’t much of a psychedelic song. It has more in common with the Motown music of the 1960s than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Despite this, “The Word” has hippie vibes. It proclaims the importance of love, which The Beatles would later do in their most popular psychedelic song, “All You Need Is Love.” “The Word” also paved the way for John’s high-minded solo songs like “Imagine” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”
In the...
- 2/1/2024
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Paul McCartney isn’t always the most confident man. He once freaked out that The Beatles’ Revolver was entirely out of tune. He explained how the other Beatles reacted to his feelings. John Lennon had something interesting to say about Revolver in retrospect.
Paul McCartney said listening to The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ horrified him
During a 2018 interview with 60 Minutes, Paul called Revolver “one of the early Beatles records.” That’s an odd statement. The Beatles bubblegum albums like Please Please Me are usually classified as their early records. Revolver came in the latter half of the band’s career and they’d already made the transition to psychedelic music by that point. Then again, Paul probably has a better understanding of The Beatles’ chronology than anyone else.
Paul wasn’t always a fan of Revolver. “I got the horrors one day,” he said. “I thought it was outta tune. I...
Paul McCartney said listening to The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ horrified him
During a 2018 interview with 60 Minutes, Paul called Revolver “one of the early Beatles records.” That’s an odd statement. The Beatles bubblegum albums like Please Please Me are usually classified as their early records. Revolver came in the latter half of the band’s career and they’d already made the transition to psychedelic music by that point. Then again, Paul probably has a better understanding of The Beatles’ chronology than anyone else.
Paul wasn’t always a fan of Revolver. “I got the horrors one day,” he said. “I thought it was outta tune. I...
- 1/28/2024
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The Beatles didn’t change the world overnight. They steadily built an audience in England with their first singles before becoming a legendary band. They suffered insults along the way, including from a fellow musician who called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots as songwriters. The Fab Four channeled a ton of creative energy into breaking pop music norms, less so into naming albums. Seven Beatles songs doubled as album titles, and now we’re ranking them.
Notes: We’re not including “Get Back” on our list. It was the working title of the album/project that became Let It Be, but The Beatles never released a record with that name. Chart placement stats via Billboard (United States) and the Official Charts Company (England).
7. ‘Yellow Submarine’ Song chart positions: No. 2 in the U.S.; No. 1 in England Album chart positions: No. 2 in the U.S.; No. 3 in England
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Notes: We’re not including “Get Back” on our list. It was the working title of the album/project that became Let It Be, but The Beatles never released a record with that name. Chart placement stats via Billboard (United States) and the Official Charts Company (England).
7. ‘Yellow Submarine’ Song chart positions: No. 2 in the U.S.; No. 1 in England Album chart positions: No. 2 in the U.S.; No. 3 in England
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- 6/20/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Paul McCartney always had a knack for songwriting. Yet Paul almost gave up on “Drive My Car” until John Lennon helped rescue it. They worked out the kinks before bringing them to the rest of The Beatles, and Paul repaid the favor by helping John finish two of Rubber Soul’s best songs.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Paul McCartney almost gave up on ‘Drive My Car’ until John Lennon saved it
Writing songs never presented much of a challenge for Paul once he got used to the process. He proved his genius as a songwriter with “Ob-la-Di, Ob-la-Da” from the White Album. A friend spoke the titular phrase during a hang-out, which sparked the bouncy tune. Macca wrote several songs on the spot and needed only a few hours to finish his synth-heavy holiday “Wonderful Christmastime.”
“Drive My Car” was the opposite.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Paul McCartney almost gave up on ‘Drive My Car’ until John Lennon saved it
Writing songs never presented much of a challenge for Paul once he got used to the process. He proved his genius as a songwriter with “Ob-la-Di, Ob-la-Da” from the White Album. A friend spoke the titular phrase during a hang-out, which sparked the bouncy tune. Macca wrote several songs on the spot and needed only a few hours to finish his synth-heavy holiday “Wonderful Christmastime.”
“Drive My Car” was the opposite.
- 5/6/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
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