More Beatles Playlist and dialogue from my radio shows.

Kingsburyman is also Daddy Cool   Remembering The Beatles.

 

On this Blog, I am celebrating 1968. The Beatles had returned from India at the beginning of spring, disillusioned by the Maharishi and his hanger-on's. While there, though, they worked on a lot of tunes which became the fertile material for the album released late in  1968 as a double album, nowadays  referred to as "The White Album" ; Although back in 1968, it had no title except the words "The Beatles"  simply embossed on the cover.  The very first pressings, certainly in Britain, were actually individually numbered in sequence. Those early numbered albums are highly collectible now.

First on the Playlist is Glass Onion from the white album.

 

 

SONGS

 Glass Onion 2:18 The Beatles
Fixing A Hole 2:37 The Beatles

 

Glass onion was followed by Fixing a hole; originally on Sgt. Pepper's album but also used in their Yellow Submarine animated movie.

 

Coming up is Instant Karma from John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band, followed by Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and another hit from 1968 -- Judy In Disguise by  John Fred and his Playboy Band. At  the time, Lucy in the Sky was supposed to be a veiled reference to the drug LSD. The Beatles vehemently denied it back then, claiming that people were reading too much into a co-incidence. Now, they readily admit it was very much their LSD imbibing phase. John Fred's song was clearly meant as an homage to the Beatles tune, he even makes the phrase "Judy in Disguise" sound like "Judy in the Sky". Including a lot of other psychedelic imagery in the lyrics.

  

SONGS

Instant Karma 3:24 John Lennon & Yoko Ono   2
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3:29 The Beatles Rock Sgt. Pepper's
Judy In Disguise 2:59 John Fred  Hits Of 1968 

 

Still featuring  Beatles material from the White album are songs featuring girl names in their titles. Dear Prudence, Martha My Dear, Sexy Sadie and Julia. That last one Julia, is by John written to his Mother Julia Lennon, who, when his father died while John was only 5, Julia Lennon left him with his aunt Mimi who raised him. Julia died young herself when John was only 17. A lot has been made of the possibility that the song is also for Yoko Ono who John referred to as "Mother".

 

SONGS

 

Dear Prudence 3:56 The Beatles Rock
Martha My Dear 2:29 The Beatles Rock
Sexy Sadie 3:15 The Beatles 
Julia 2:57 The Beatles Rock The Beatles (White Album) [Disc 1] 1
 

In England, films were first released in an area know as the "West End " of London, where there were a lot of cinemas. Sometimes after weeks or months of playing in the West End, the films got released to suburban theatres. Being young and trying to keep up with what's the latest hits, my friends and I often went to the West End we did not want to wait for the suburban release.  In 1966, we had gone to see, I think, James Coburn in Our Man Flint. I was walking In Leicester Square to get to the tube to go home, when I spotted a Rolls Royce outside a theatre. I was walking passed it thinking "Nice, wonder whose it is?" when a young couple came running out of the cinema -- I was now between them & the Roll's open door, The young Man crashed into me, knocking me over. He stopped, helped pick me up and asked "You all right, Mate?" I was and gave a dumb-struck nod to Paul McCartney and Jane Asher. "You sure?" -- I was. They smiled, jumped into the Rolls and sped off.

 

Here is a tune Paul was working on in early 1966: Paperback writer.

 

SONGS
Paperback Writer 2:20 The Beatles (1966)

You Won't See Me 3:20 Beatles Revolver

Taxman 2:39 The Beatles Rock Revolver 

 

After Paperback writer we heard You won't see me from Rubber Soul and Taxman, which was from the Revolver album. Taxman is sung by John, but was written by George Harrison who had just discovered how high their Tax rate was -- 95% hence the line where the Taxman says "There's one for you, nineteen for me". The high level of taxation on their creativity was also a spur to setting up Apple Corp to have more ownership& control of their productivity.  

 Now two songs from Ringo & John's solo careers. First is Ringo's cover of the Platter's 1950 hit Only You. Done as a smooth ballad not in the Do-wop style. Love by John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band phase. Also a haunting slow love song.

 

SONGS 

Only You (And You Alone) 3:24 Ringo Starr
Love 3:23 John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band

A trio of memorable tunes from their early days : First a couple of covers sandwiched around  one of their most popular love songs.

Arthur Alexander's Anna (Go To Him). The only singer-songwriter of this era who was covered by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Then the Beatles' All My Lovin', and followed by Larry William's Dizzy Miss Lizzie from their Hamburg days, but also in the movie Help!

  

SONGS

Anna (Go to Him) 2:57 The Beatles 

 All My Lovin'  2:05 The Beatles
Dizzy Miss Lizzy 2:57 The Beatles  

 Here are the Beatles with 2 rarely heard songs from the White album, Good Night and Long, Long, Long, but before them is the fun song from Sgt. Pepper : Good Morning, Good Morning. I hope you are listening to this on your stereo radio or Tuner because the Beatles and George Martin had a lot of fun with the sound effects and the Stereo separation. The fox hunters on horses run from one speaker to the other as do the barking dogs!!  This was a very popular song in 1967  for the Summer of Love stoners to experience via headphones. Cool, Man!

 

SONGS

 Good Morning Good Morning 2:41 The Beatles
Good Night 3:14 The Beatles
Long, Long, Long 3:06 The Beatles
 

More songs from Beatles For Sale & Revolver, and a smattering of other faves , but starting with

 Good Day Sunshine which is from Revolver

 

SONG 

Good Day Sunshine 2:09 The Beatles 

As an opening to their more well known songs we are also presenting a couple of early tunes -- Besame Mucho (approximates to Kiss me a lot in Spanish,).

It was a 1940's hit which indicates the wide background of tunes the early Beatles played to keep the drunken masses happy in the bars in Hamburg. This is their take on the tune done for their  audition for a contract with Decca Records.

That's Alright, Mama, a blues song from Arthur Big Boy Crudup, which was also Elvis Presley's first release done for Sun Records. It was not a hit. 

 The Beatle's recording is from the POP Goes the Beatles BBC radio show in 1963.

Then a Demo of a John Lennon song Continuing story of Bungalow Bill.

 

 

SONGS

Besame Mucho [Artist-Test] 2:37 The Beatles
That's All Right (Mama) [Live: BBC For "Pop Go The Beatles" 16th July, 1963] 2:56 The Beatles
The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill [Home-Demo] 2:33 The Beatles 

 

While in India, the  Beatles wrote a bunch of songs. On their return they set about making Demos of them at George Harrison's house.

The demo heard here, was recorded on George’s four track Ampex tape machine and features The Beatles playing acoustic guitars, along with some banging on furniture, handclaps, etc., for percussion. Accompanying John’s lead vocal, we hear a second vocal track with John speaking to Bungalow Bill and some rudimentary jungle animal noises in the background.

 Playing this now in the Summer of 2015 is exceedingly apropos. There is all the world wide  attention on the killing of Cecil the Lion in Africa; John wrote this about an incident in India when one of the people with the Beatles left for a break and went hunting; He came back with his trophy shot.

You can find quite a lot on the Internet if you wish to dig deeper. Here I'd rather press on with a great tune from George:  Awaiting on You, from his solo album, All Things Must Pass; plus a solo hit for Ringo -- Back Off Boogaloo, and the weird but catchy, Maxwell's Silver Hammer.

 

 SONGS

Awaiting on You All 2:49 George Harrison  All Things Must Pass
Back Off Boogaloo 3:20 Ringo Starr 

 Maxwell' Silver Hammer 3:30 The Beatles 

 

Now 3 perennial Beatles favourites and sing along tunes. Everybody knows these.  All My Lovin' ; All You Need Is Love and , If I Fell in Love.

 

 SONGS

 All My Lovin' 2:05 The Beatles 

All You Need Is Love 3:47 The Beatles 

If I Fell in Love 2:24 The Beatles  

 

If I fell was John's first attempt at a Ballad and he said the precursor to In My Life. If I fell was for Hard Day's Night movie. In my life was on Rubber Soul.

 

Now Can't Buy Me Love the big hit from March 1964. It was still  number 1 in the week of April 4 1964 when the Beatles had all 5 places in Billboard's Hot 100, with a further seven singles in the charts. Then follows Girl and Run For your Life from Rubber Soul and Got to Get You into my Life from Revolver.

SONGS

Can't Buy Me Love 2:13 The Beatles

Girl 2:32 The Beatles 
Run for Your Life 2:21 The Beatles
Got to Get You into My Life 2:29 The Beatles 

 

 The back ground material for this Blog comes from two books -- Ian MacDonald's' Revolution of the Mind and Beatlesongs by William J. Dowlding plus Wiki of course.

 

 

PLAYLIST SONGS

 Glass Onion 2:18 The Beatles
Fixing A Hole 2:37 The Beatles

Instant Karma 3:24 John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 3:29 The Beatles Rock Sgt. Pepper's
Judy In Disguise 2:59 John Fred  Hits Of 1968 

 

Dear Prudence 3:56 The Beatles Rock
Martha My Dear 2:29 The Beatles Rock
Sexy Sadie 3:15 The Beatles 
Julia 2:57 The Beatles Rock The Beatles (White Album)

 Paperback Writer 2:20 The Beatles (1966)

You Won't See Me 3:20 Beatles Revolver

Taxman 2:39 The Beatles Rock Revolver

 

 All My Lovin' 2:05 The Beatles 

All You Need Is Love 3:47 The Beatles 

If I Fell in Love 2:24 The Beatles 

 

Can't Buy Me Love 2:13 The Beatles

Girl 2:32 The Beatles Rock
Run for Your Life 2:21 The Beatles
Got to Get You into My Life 2:29 The Beatles 

Sir Peter O'Sullevan - Obituary from The Independent. with due acknowledgement.

Peter O'Sullevan was one of my father's favourite racing commentators and writers. Dad poured over O'Sullevan's column in the Daily Express  religiously looking for Tips !!
We watched his BBC broadcasts together often. Dad was not a book lover, but he had Peter 's books & autobiography on his bedside table always.
Similarly, Dad always favoured Lester Piggott's mount. A truly great rider who needs to be rehabilitated in the public canon. He was railroaded. I love the Queen's comment on the case.

Sir Peter O'Sullevan's voice provided the soundtrack to horse racing for more than six decades. (My emphasis.) His commentaries, whether at the Grand National, the Derby, or during wet afternoons at the gaff tracks, had a distinct air of hard-earned authority as he called home the greats such as Arkle, Red Rum, Desert Orchid, Sea Bird, Nijinsky, Dancing Brave. He became a legend himself and led an extraordinary life, both on the Turf and beyond.

Another broadsheet writer remarked that the voice had a mellifluous beauty, and mused: "The sound of Sir Peter calling the horses should be one of our exports into outer space to signify the depth of our civilisation." That last bit gets somewhat carried away, something that O'Sullevan himself would never do, at least not on air. His style – perhaps best once characterised as a "hectic drawl" – remained grounded, focused on the specifics of the action.

When working on BBC radio or TV broadcasts (51 years), or writing for the Daily Express for 35 years (a time of that paper's heyday), O'Sullevan never showed a trace of conceit, was invariably frank, had friends from all walks of life (the Etonian, horse-breeding high Tory Jakie Astor called him "Peter O'Socialist"), and built a formidable array of contacts to help inform followers of his Express copy and tips, and his own wagers.
{ Sir Lester Piggott, considered the greatest English jockey of the post war generation was found guilty of tax evasion, he was stripped of his peerage and sent to prison. Peter O'Sullevan was a great supported of Lester. My parenthetical observation.}

While sitting next to the Queen at Windsor sometime later, O'Sullevan decided to express his feelings on the matter. Recounting the occasion to a Daily Telegraph interviewer in 2014, he said: "So I thought this was an opportune moment, and launched into my Lester spiel to Her Majesty, who put down her knife and fork, and looked at me quite seriously for a moment.
"She put down her knife and fork, as I say, and said: 'I Iike the way you put it, but he was rather naughty, you know. He was not only rather naughty, but he was very stupid, because he paid it [his tax bill] on a bank that hadn't come up in the case, and hadn't been investigated.' "

{The Queen is a horse lover, too, and loves the Races. She is also, obviously, well informed of the country's peccadillos!}

Horses, though, were the first priority. Knowledge of racing was proven in a trial following a job interview with the Press Association's Fleet Street racing department, where he began working in October 1944. He started working for the BBC in 1946, with his first Grand National radio commentary in 1947.
In 1950 he joined the Express, and a year later married Canadian-born Pat.
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Sir Peter O'Sullevan, broadcaster and journalist: born Kenmare, Co Kerry 3 March 1918; Kt 1997; married Patricia Jones (died 2009); died 29 July 2015.

 

 

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