Beatles

She Loves You — The Beatles’ One and Only Swan Song

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“Swan song” is a term that refers to a final effort or performance. But, when I think of swan song as it relates to The Beatles, their early hit “She Loves You” comes to mind. By September 1963, the band was fast becoming a phenomenon in England, but couldn’t manage to grab the attention of a major record label in the U.S. Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein finally turned to the small Philadelphia-based Swan Records to release the single that was flying off the shelves in the U.K.

Happy Birthday, Julian Lennon: Beautiful Boy #1

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The first baby born to a Beatle inspired two of the band’s most famous songs before he turned five years old. As the legend goes, his drawing of classmate Lucy (in the sky, with diamonds) Vodden spurred John to write THE defining psychedelic song of the 1960s. He was also the inspiration behind the Beatles’ biggest hit of all time, “Hey Jude.” Paul McCartney has long maintained that he began writing the song as “Hey Jules,” in an effort to comfort young Julian during the divorce of his father and Cynthia Powell in 1968. It’s tough being the son of a rock legend, but Julian – with a voice hauntingly like John’s – has proven that he has talent and character in his own right.

How Come Together Came Together

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John Lennon was one spinal cracker, alright. Who else would LSD guru Timothy Leary ask to write a campaign song for his ill-fated gubernatorial run against Ronald Reagan in 1969? Lennon set out to write a song based on Leary’s campaign slogan, Come Together, Join the Party. His original lyric began, “Come together right now, don’t come tomorrow, don’t come alone.” Leary felt the words were awkward and the song unusable. Little matter; the aspirations of the PhD psychologist-turned drug advocate would soon come to an end when he was imprisoned for marijuana possession. But by now John had a good title. And he ended up writing one of his edgiest, self-described gobbledygook songs, ever.

The Queen’s Speech: The Beatles are Turning Awfully Funny, Aren’t They?

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That was the pronouncement of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the transformation of the Fab Four from the droll, cheeky mop-tops of 1964, to the lysergically induced hipster-gurus of 1967. Rumor has it that the Queen voiced this “turning funny” verdict to Sir Joseph Lockwood, chairman of the Beatles’ British record company EMI, at a highbrow Buckingham Palace event that took place at the height of the boys’ cosmic journey into all things metaphysical.

John’s Karma: Let Time Wound All Heels

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The government of Richard Nixon spent thousands of taxpayer dollars, installed loads of surveillance equipment, and employed countless FBI agents in its four-year effort to deport America-loving peacenik John Lennon, whom they considered a major threat due to his left-wing political activism and relationships with anti-war “subversives.” But Instant Karma got ’em all in the end.