Beatles

My Sweet Lord: He’s So Fine…I’m So Screwed!

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Geez, you write a song to honor The Lord, and you end up getting sued! That’s some crazy karma. In what is without doubt the most high-profile copyright infringement suit in music, a U.S. District Court once ordered George Harrison to pay more than $1,599,987 to music publisher Bright tunes for “subconsciously” plagiarizing The Chiffon’s “He’s Fo Fine” when writing his 1971 mega-hit “My Sweet Lord.”

Who Was the Fabbest of them All? To the Yanks of ’64, Ringo Reigned Supreme.

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The 1964 Presidential race is remembered for the landslide victory of Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater. But do you remember the “candidate” whose grassroots campaign was thrust forward by a horde of enthusiastic teenagers? Hint: it was a Beatle. Surprise! It’s probably not the one you might have guessed. When the Beatles conquered America 50 years ago, Ringo Starr quickly became the favorite of the band’s American fans, including me. From his beat-happy debut on the Ed Sullivan show, to his hilarious hip-swiveling Elvis imitation during the band’s first press conference, to his scene-stealing role in “A Hard Days Night,” Ringo charmed the Yanks like no other. Yes, in the parlance of the times, the diminutive drummer was gear that year.

Come Together, Beatles: Here’s a Check for Three Grand

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April 24, 1976, marked the last evening that Paul McCartney would spend with John Lennon. That night, Paul and his wife Linda dropped in on John and Yoko, unannounced, and the two former Beatles spent a few hours together in the Lennons’ apartment in the monolithic Dakota Building in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Don’t you just wonder what the Fab Two engaged in on that Saturday evening? Did they take turns bouncing 6-month-old Baby Sean on their knees? Nosh on a jar of Yoko’s expensive caviar? Play “Bohemian Rhapsody” on John’s turntable, hoping that Ms. Ono wouldn’t screech “scaramouche, scaramouche” along with Freddie Mercury? Well, as it turns out, they sat in the Lennons’ living room and watched Saturday Night Live! Imagine their surprise when SNL producer Lorne Michaels appeared on their TV screen, announcing an offer to pay the Beatles $3,000 to come together and perform three songs on his show!