About Me
John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. When he was four years old, his parents separated and he ended up living with his Aunt Mimi. John's father was a merchant seaman and John did not see a lot of his father when he was small. As a child, John was a prankster and he enjoyed getting in trouble. As a boy and young adult, John enjoyed drawing grotesque figures and cripples. One of the reasons for his obsession with cripples and deformities was because of the Death of his Mother Julia. The John's school master thought that John could go to an art school for college, since he did not get good grades in school, but had artistic talent. He made it to art school, and was not allow to play "Rock and Roll".At this college, he met a woman by the name of Cynthia Powell, who became his first wife. As a child, John lived a life of uninterrupted calm. He didn't recall feeling desperately sad or unusually happy. Unfortunately that calm was suddenly shattered when his mother died before his 18th birthday. John did not like to talk about the death of his mother, because it was to great a sorrow to be publicized. After the death of his mother, John went to live with his Aunt Mimi. John consider his Aunt Mimi the greatest person. They lived in a little house, with frilly curtains at the windows, and an old apple tree in the front garden. When John was away from home, he thought about Aunt Mimi and her frilly curtains and her apple tree, and he realized how fortunate he was. Because, though his mother was taken away from him, he was given something precious in return.At sixteen, Elvis is what was happening. John created the group called the "Quarry Man". They performed at school. One day, Paul McCartney was introduced to him. At this point, John ask Paul if he could join the group, and he accepted the next day. Paul McCartney introduced George Harrison to John Lennon. The first recording they made was called "That will be the day" by Buddy Holly.John came up with the name Beatles for the group. John had a vision when he was 12 years old - a man appeared on a Flaming pie and said unto them 'From this day on you are Beatles with an 'A'. The Beatles were discovered by Brian Epstein in the Cavern, where they were performing. After Brian discovered the Beatles he became their manager. The Beatles released their first single "Love me Do", with George Martin as their producer. This song went up the charts the second day it was released. "Love Me Do" got up to 17. The Beatles first number one chart was "Please Please Me" written by John Lennon. This song was inspired primarily by Roy Orbison but also fed by John's infatuation with the pun in Bing Crosby's famous "Please, lend your little ears to my please,"John married Cynthia Powell in August 1962 and they had a son together who they called Julian.Cynthia described John as "Rough, ready and not her type at all, but had an irresistible character". Since the Beatles were becoming very popular at the time, Cynthia had to keep a very low profile. John Lennon divorced Cynthia and re-married with Yoko Ono who he met at the Indica Gallery in November 1966. In 1970, the Beatles broke up also, after Paul McCartney has announced that he is leaving the Beatles. After the Beatles broke up, John Lennon went his way and he tried to send out his message out clearer. He started doing this by releasing his first solo album Imagine.Imagine was a passion of John. It crystallized his dream for the world and his idealism. And it was something that John really wanted to say to the world. Imagine was the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed of all John Lennon's post-Beatles efforts. After the Beatles broke up, Paul wrote some songs with hidden message, which upset John. In response to this John wrote, "How do you sleep ?" and released this also on the Imagine album.In 1972, John Lennon gave a charity concert. The concert was held in Madison Square Garden, August 30, 1972, to help improve the living conditions of the mentally handicapped children. Starting with the Toronto Peace Festival in 1969, John with Yoko did a series of rock concerts as their statement of Peace and Love, and to spotlight various social issues effectively. All proceeds from the concerts were given to the needy. This concert in Madison Square garden turned out to be the last concert John did with the Plastic Ono Band. In 1972 the Vietnam War protest was at its height. The Feminist Movement was in a stage of awakening. The concert was filled with love of brotherhood and sisterhood. Everybody joined in on the stage at the end when they sang "Give Peace a chance". People could not contain themselves and marched down Fifth Avenue after the performance, singing "Give Peace a Chance". John Lennon performed with his new band : "Plastic Ono Band".In 1973, John and Yoko separated for 14 month, because of all the public pressure and problems they were going through. John went to Los Angeles and he was single again after a long time. John became a drunk and was only partying . May Pang became John's companion during this time as a guidance. During this time, people start seeing more of John. John recorded different records like "Mind Games", "Rock and Roll", "Walls and Bridges" . He worked with Ringo on his album, David Bowie with his "Fame" album and also with Elton John during this time. After going through all this, John realizes that there was not really anybody that loves him, besides Yoko. So he returned back to Yoko. He realizes that he really really loves her and that he could not live without her.On October 9, 1975, Yoko gave birth to John's other son Sean. John left his whole music career for 5 years to raise his son. John did not miss music at all during this period. He became a househusband and raised his son. John did not really exist anymore in the music world. John realized that there is no life without music after 5 years. He was able to write songs now with ease since there were no pressure. John wrote all the songs on "Double Fantasy" in a period of 3 weeks. This album was written, recorded, and released in 1980. When John was singing and writing this album, he was visualizing everybody in his age group. Unfortunately, John was shot in front of his apartment complex in New York while he was in the process of releasing another album "Milk and Honey". John died of the age of 40 in the Roosevelt Hospital on December 8, 1980, after receiving multiple gun shot in the back.The Double Fantasy album is a great album, which contain one ironic title songs "Just like starting over" now after John's death. John was just starting over again, when he was killed. John Lennon created the Beatles and with Paul, Ringo and George, they made great music together. John was not a follower, but a leader and was always fighting for people's right. He was a person that cared for other people and expresses himself by making different political statements. John was not only a great music writer, but also an excellent pop artist and did a lot in the Rock and Roll music world. John can not and will never be replaced by anybody. His songs will live forever in all our hearts and minds. Just Give Peace a Chance and lets work together to a great and much better world.Out of all the former Beatles, Paul McCartney by far had the most successful solo career, maintaining a constant presence in the British and American charts during the '70s and '80s. In America alone, he had nine number one singles and seven number one albums during the first 12 years of his solo career. Although he sold records, McCartney never attained much critical respect, especially when compared to his former partner John Lennon. Then again, he pursued a different path than Lennon, deciding early on that he wanted to be in a rock band. Within a year after the Beatles' breakup, McCartney had formed Wings with his wife Linda, and the group remained active for the next ten years, racking up a string of hit albums, singles, and tours in the meantime. By the late '70s, many critics were taking potshots at McCartney's effortlessly melodic songcraft, but that didn't stop the public from buying his records. His sales didn't slow considerably until the late '80s, and he retaliated with his first full-scale tour since the '70s, which was a considerable success. During the '90s, McCartney recorded less frequently, concentrating on projects like his first classical recording, a techno album, and the Beatles' Anthology.
Like Lennon and George Harrison, Paul McCartney began exploring creative avenues outside the Beatles during the late '60s, but where his bandmates released their own experimental records, McCartney confined himself to writing and production for other artists, with the exception of his 1966 soundtrack to The Family Way. Following his marriage to Linda Eastman on March 12, 1969, McCartney began working at his home studio on his first solo album. He released the record, McCartney, in April 1970, two weeks before the Beatles' Let It Be was scheduled to hit the stores. Prior to the album's release, he announced that the Beatles were breaking up, which was against the wishes of the other members. As a result, the tensions between him and the other three members, particularly Harrison and Lennon, increased and he earned the ill will of many critics. Nevertheless, McCartney became a hit, spending three weeks at the top of the American charts. Early in 1971, he returned with "Another Day," which became his first hit single as a solo artist. It was followed several months later by Ram, another home-made collection, this time featuring the contributions of his wife Linda.By the end of 1971, the McCartneys had formed Wings, which was intended to be a full-fledged recording and touring band. Former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell became the group's other members, and Wings released their first album, Wild Life, in December 1971. Wild Life was greeted with poor reviews and was a relative flop. McCartney and Wings, which now featured former Grease Band guitarist Henry McCullough, spent 1972 as a working band, releasing three singles -- the protest "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," the reggae-fied "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and the rocking "Hi Hi Hi" -- in England. Red Rose Speedway followed in the spring of 1973, and while it received weak reviews, it became his second American number one album. Later in 1973, Wings embarked on their first British tour, at the conclusion of which McCullough and Seiwell left the band. Prior to their departure, the McCartney's theme to the James Bond movie Live and Let Die became a Top Ten hit in the U.S. and U.K.. That summer, the remaining Wings proceeded to record a new album in Nigeria. Released late in 1973, Band on the Run, was simultaneously McCartney's best-reviewed album and his most successful, spending four weeks at the top of the U.S. charts and eventually going triple platinum.Following the success of Band on the Run, McCartney formed a new version of Wings with guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton. The new lineup was showcased on the 1974 British single "Junior's Farm" and the 1975 hit album Venus and Mars. At the Speed of Sound followed in 1976, and it was the first Wings record to feature songwriting contributions by the other bandmembers. Nevertheless, the album became a monster success on the basis of two McCartney songs, "Silly Love Songs" and "Let 'Em In." Wings supported the album with their first international tour which broke many attendance records and was captured on the live triple-album Wings Over America (1976). After the tour was completed, Wings rested a bit during 1977, as McCartney released an instrumental version of Ram under the name Thrillington and produced Denny Laine's solo album, Holly Days. Later that year, Wings released "Mull of Kintyre," which became the biggest-selling British single of all time, selling over two million copies. Wings followed "Mull of Kintyre" with London Town in 1978, which became another platinum record. After its release, McCulloch left the band to join the re-formed Small Faces and Wings released Back to the Egg in 1979. Though the record went platinum, it failed to produce any big hits. Early in 1980, McCartney was arrested for marijuana possession at the beginning of a Japanese tour; he was imprisoned for ten days and then released, without any charges being pressed.Wings embarked on a British tour in the spring of 1980 before McCartney recorded McCartney II, which was a one-man band effort like his solo debut. The following year, Denny Laine left Wings because McCartney didn't want to tour in the wake of John Lennon's assassination; in doing so, he effectively broke up Wings. McCartney entered the studio later that year with Beatles producer George Martin to make Tug of War. Released in the spring of 1982, Tug of War received the best reviews of any McCartney record since Band on the Run and spawned the number one single "Ebony and Ivory," a duet with Stevie Wonder that became McCartney's biggest American hit. In 1983, McCartney sang on "The Girl Is Mine," the first single from Michael Jackson's blockbuster album Thriller. In return, Jackson dueted with McCartney on "Say Say Say," the first single from Paul's 1983 album Pipes of Peace and the last number one single of his career. The relationship between Jackson and McCartney soured considerably when Jackson bought the publishing rights to the Beatles songs from underneath McCartney in 1985.McCartney directed his first feature film in 1984 with Give My Regards to Broad Street. While the soundtrack, which featured new songs and re-recorded Beatles tunes, was a hit, generating the hit single "No More Lonely Nights," the film was a flop, earning terrible reviews. The following year he had his last American Top Ten with the theme to the Chevy Chase/Dan Aykroyd comedy Spies Like Us. Press to Play (1986) received some strong reviews but the album was a flop. In 1988, he recorded a collection of rock & roll oldies called Choba B CCCP for release in the USSR; it was given official release in the US and UK in 1991. For 1989's Flowers in the Dirt, McCartney co-wrote several songs with Elvis Costello; the pair also wrote songs for Costello's Spike, including the hit "Veronica." Flowers in the Dirt received the strongest reviews of any McCartney release since Tug of War and was supported by an extensive international tour, which was captured on the live double-album Tripping the Live Fantastic (1990). For the tour, McCartney hired guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bassist Hamish Stuart, who would form the core of his band through the remainder of the '90s.Early in 1991, McCartney released another live album in the form of Unplugged, which was taken from his appearance on MTV's acoustic concert program of the same name; it was the first Unplugged album to be released. Later that year, he unveiled Liverpool Oratorio, his first classical work. Another pop album, Off the Ground, followed in 1993, but the album failed to generate any big hits, despite McCartney's successful supporting tour. Following the completion of the "New World" tour, he released another live album, Paul Is Live, in December of 1993. In 1994, he released an ambient techno album under the pseudonym the Fireman. McCartney premiered his second classical piece, "The Leaf," early in 1995, and then began hosting a Westwood One radio series called Oobu Joobu. But his primary activity in 1995, as well as 1996, was the Beatles' Anthology, which encompassed a lengthy video documentary of the band and the multi-volume release of Beatles outtakes and rarities. After Anthology was completed, he released Flaming Pie in the summer of 1997. A low-key, largely acoustic affair that had the some of the same charm of his debut, Flaming Pie was given the strongest reviews McCartney had received in years and was a modest commercial success, debuting at number two on the U.S. and U.K. charts; it was his highest American chart placing since he left the Beatles. Flaming Pie certainly benefited from the success of Anthology, as did McCartney himself -- only a few months before the release of the album in 1997, he received a Knightship.On April 17, 1998, Linda McCartney died after a three-year struggle with breast cancer. A grieving Paul kept a low profile in the months to follow, but finally returned in the fall of 1999 with Run Devil Run, a collection primarily including cover songs. The electronica-based Liverpool Sound Collage followed a year later, and the pop album Driving Rain -- a successor, of sorts, to Flaming Pie -- coming a year after that. The live album Back in the U.S. appeared in America in 2002 with the slightly different, international edition Back in the World following soon after. McCartney's next studio project included sessions with super-producer Nigel Godrich, the results of which appeared on the mellow Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard, released in late 2005.As lead guitarist for the Beatles, George Harrison provided the band with a lyrical style of playing in which every note mattered.Harrison was one of millions of young Britons inspired to take up the guitar by British skiffle king Lonnie Donegan's recording of "Rock Island Line." But he had more dedication than most, and with the encouragement of a slightly older school friend Paul McCartney he advanced quickly in his technique and command of the instrument. Harrison developed his style and technique slowly and painstakingly over the several years, learning everything he could from the records of Carl Perkins, Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Buddy Holly, and Eddie Cochran. By age 15, he was allowed to sit in with the Quarry Men, the Liverpool group founded by John Lennon, of which McCartney was a member; by 16 he was a full-fledged member of the group.The Beatles finally coalesced around Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and drummer Ringo Starr in 1962, with Harrison established on lead guitar. The Beatlemania years, from 1963 through 1966, were a mixed blessing for Harrison. The Beatles' studio sound was generally characterized by very prominent rhythm guitar parts, and on many of the Beatles' early songs, Harrison's lead guitar was buried beneath the chiming chords of Lennon's instrument. Additionally, he was thwarted as a songwriter by the presence of Lennon and McCartney the quality and prolificacy of their output left very little room on the group's albums for songs by anyone else. Despite these problems, Harrison grew markedly as a musician between 1963 and 1966, writing a handful of good songs and one classic ("If I Needed Someone"), and also making his first acquaintance of the sitar, an Indian instrument whose sound fascinated him.In 1966, Harrison finally seemed to find his voice, with two of his songs on the Revolver album, "Taxman" and "Love You Too." In the wake of the group's decision to stop touring, Harrison's playing and songwriting grew
exponentially. The period from 1968 onward was Harrison's richest with the Beatles. He displayed a smooth, elegant slide guitar technique that showed up on their last three albums, and contributed two classic songs, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Here Comes the Sun," along with "Something," which became the first Harrison song on the A-side of a Beatles single.Although never known as a strong singer, Harrison's vocals were always distinctive, especially when placed in the right setting for his first solo record following the group's 1970 break-up, All Things Must Pass, Harrison collaborated with producer Phil Spector, whose so-called "wall of sound" technique adapted well to Harrison's voice. All Things Must Pass and the accompanying single "My Sweet Lord" had the distinction of being the first solo recordings by any of the Beatles to top the charts following their breakup. Unfortunately, Harrison was later successfully sued by the publisher of the 1962 Chiffons hit "He's So Fine," which bore a striking resemblance to "My Sweet Lord."Harrison followed All Things Must Pass with rock's first major charity event, The Concert for Bangladesh, which was staged as two shows at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1971 to help raise money for aid to that famine-ravaged nation. The second of the two all-star shows was released as a movie and a live triple album. Harrison's next studio album, Living in the Material World, initially sold well, but its leaner, less opulent production lacked the majestic force of All Things Must Pass, and it lacked the earlier album's mass appeal. Subsequent Harrison albums from the 1970s into the '80s always had an audience, but except for Somewhere in England (1981), released in the wake of the murder of John Lennon with the memorial song "All Those Years Ago," none seemed terribly well-crafted or executed. During this same period, Harrison embarked on a successful career as a movie producer with the founding of Handmade Films.In 1987, Harrison made a return to the top of the charts with his album Cloud Nine, which featured his most inspired work in years, most notably a cover of an old Rudy Clark gospel number called "Got My Mind Set on You," which reached number one on the charts. In 1988, Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison formed the Traveling Wilburys, who have since released two very successful albums.In 1992 perhaps still smarting from 1974 concert reviews, would make his return to the stage in Japan with Claptons and his band backing him up.In 1997 Harrison was diagnosed with cancer and had throat surgery. He
considered his cancer to be caused by his 30+ years of smoking so he quit in 1998. In 1999 He was brutaly attacked by a deranged fan whom thought he was a devil worshipper.In 2001 he re-released All Things Must Pass which included never before heard bonus tracks. He also was working on a new album and released the first single in October called a Horse To Water co-written with his son Dhani.Throughout 2000 and 2001 Harrison would be treated for his cancer in various countries until November 29th 2001. George Harrison died of cancer at a friends home in Los Angelos around 1:30PM. George Harrison was 58.Richard Starkey was born in a small two-story terraced house in the Dingle area of Liverpool, on July 7, 1940 to parents Elise and Richard Starkey Sr, making him the oldest Beatle, three months older than John. His father was originally a Liverpool dock worker, and later worked in a bakery where he met Ringo's mother. His parents divorced in 1943, where his mother received custody of him.Richard went to St. Silas Infants' School where many illnesses plagued him. One time, a ruptured appendix, which became an inflamed peritoneum forced him to have the first of several operations. He went into a coma for two months, during which several more operations were made. One day after waking from his coma, he tried to hand a toy bus to the boy in the next bed. Richard fell over on the floor causing a concussion. It would be several more months before Ringo would leave Royal Children's Infirmary.Returning to school was very difficult; he had tremendous amounts of work to make up and received a reputation of being stupid. At the age of thirteen, Richard caught a cold which turned into chronic pleurisy causing him to stay at Myrtle Street Hospital. Lung complications ensued which resulted in him staying at the Heswall Children's Hospital until 1955.Around this time Elise had married Harry Graves who Ringo referred to as "Step Ladder". Young Ringo had a couple of jobs before his drumming career. He had a job as delivery boy for British Rail, and then took on a job as barman on a ferry to New Brighton before becoming a trainee joiner at Henry Hunt and Sons. His first drum kit came to him by way of Harry. The fire was now lit.At an early age Richard began playing drums. He would bang on anything he could get his hands on. Ringo invented muffling drums. Before Ringo, drummers didnt have dead ringers they just let the drums ring out. Ringo would put blankets or pillowcases in or on his drums. Ringo also popularized how drummers hold their sticks. Instead of using the traditional grip, Ringo used the matched grip and it became very popular.Like the other Beatles, Richard also eventually became caught up in Liverpool's Skiffle craze. After starting his own group with Eddie Miles called The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group in 1957, he joined "Rory Storm & the Hurricanes". Rory Storm was a showman and he insisted that Richard add some flare to his act by giving him a new name. Ringo was adopted because of his fetish for rings and because it sounded cowboyish and last name Starr was adopted so that his drum solos could be billed at Starr Time.Like the other Beatles, Richard also eventually became caught up in Liverpool's Skiffle craze. After starting his own group with Eddie Miles called The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group in 1957, he joined "Rory Storm & the Hurricanes". Rory Storm was a showman and he insisted that Richard add some flare to his act by giving him a new name. Ringo was adopted because of his fetish for rings and because it sounded cowboyish and last name Starr was adopted so that his drum solos could be billed at Starr Time.Every once in a while, when he was with Rory Storm, Ringo would fill in for Pete Best if he didn't show up. The Beatles had just signed with Parlophone and George Martin didn't like Pete as their drummer describing him bluntly as "not good". Ringo joined the Beatles on August 18, 1962. Rory Storm was magnanimous about the theft of his drummer, but Pete Best fans were upset, holding vigils outside Pete's house and rioting at the Cavern Club, shouting "Pete Best forever! Ringo never!"Ringo finally was accepted as the 4th Beatle and at one time was the most popular member of the group with American fans. He also proved to be more of a natural actor than any other members of the group and received favorable reviews for his performance in "A Hard Day's Night". Because of this, Ringo was placed in the center of the spotlight in The Beatles second film "HELP! Incidentally, A Hard Days Night originally called Beatlemania was derived from something that Ringo had said after a particularly long and grueling recording session.Ringo married his long-time girlfriend Maureen Cox on February 11, 1965 and the couple was to have three children: Zak, Jason, and Lee. The couple divorced in July 1975. Ringo then married Barbara Bach.Playing with The Beatles, Ringo at first had the same problem as George did which was getting his songs noticed. Mainly John and Paul would write a song or two for him to sing on a particular album. Such songs were: "Boys", "I Wanna Be Your Man," "Honey Don't", "Act Naturally", "What Goes On", "Yellow Submarine," and "With A Little Help From My Friends. The two original compositions were "Don't Pass Me By", and "Octopus's Garden".When the Beatles broke up, Ringo had a very successful solo career working with such people as: Harry Nilsson, BB King, Carly Simon and The Beach Boys. He also put out eight albums and thirteen singles. The first two albums were Sentimental Journey and Beaucoups of Blues. The two non-album singles "It Don't Come Easy" in 1971 and "Back off Boogaloo" in 1972 hit the Top Ten. In 1973 he paired with producer Richard Perry and, with assistance from the three other ex-Beatles, made RINGO, which had two ..1 hits, "Photograph", and "You're Sixteen." "Oh My My," a Top Ten hit, was also included. His 1974 record, Goodnight Vienna, which featured the hits "Only You," and "No No Song." Starr continued to release albums through 1981, but his success declined. His 1983 album Old Wave did not find a US distributor. Then in 1992 he released Time Takes Time.Ringo also appeared in various TV shows, including his own special, "Ringo", a TV mini-series "Princess Daisy" with his wife Barbara, a cameo on the Simpsons and voice-overs for the children's TV series "Thomas The Tank Engine" as well as acting for such films as: The Magic Christian, Blindman and Born to Boogie.He experienced drinking problems, which resulted in him and Barbara attending a clinic. He reappeared on the scene sober with an All-Starr Band to tour America and Japan. It was so successful that he formed another All-Starr Band in 1992, which began an American and European tour in June 1992. Members comprised his son Zak, guitarists Dave Edmunds, Nils Lofgren, Todd Rundgren and Joe Walsh, saxophonist Tim Cappello, bassist Timothy B. Schmit and keyboards player Burton Cummings. In 1997, he gave the All-Starr band another go round. The band consisted of such musicians as Peter Frampton, Jack Bruce (of Cream fame), and Gary Brooker from Procol Harem.
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