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Once There Was a Way is a 2017 alternative history novel by Bryce Zabel. It speculates what would have happened if the rock band, The Beatles, had stayed united for years after the date of their actual dissolution and disbanded years later on amicable enough terms with each other with frequent reunions later on.
The novel won the Long Form Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 2017. [1]
The divergent point is when Johnny Carson was persuaded to host The Tonight Show episode with Paul McCartney and John Lennon after all, instead of Joe Garagiola in 1968, which in real life went poorly. Instead, the episode goes so well that an after-show drinking session that the musicians had a pleasant later conversation with Carson and Ed McMahon that convinces them of the need to show up for their commitments.
In that spirit, the Beatles manage to compromise about their manager situation with Lord Richard Beeching coming on board as an executive at Apple Corp, who mediates the talent managers Allen Klein for the most of the Beatles and The Eastmans for McCartney. With Beeching's influence, a "Grand Bargain" is reached with the Beatles able to pursue their individual careers as long as they produce a Beatles album each year. In addition, other matters work out well such as McCartney deciding that his wife, Linda McCartney, could sit in on recording sessions if Lennon's, Yoko Ono, has that privilege, and the wives reach an agreeable rapport with each other.
This arrangement works well enough with successful albums such as Everest (The original title for Abbey Road ) is a combination of studio recordings and live performances at the 1969 Woodstock Festival where they appeared. The internal tensions are still present and serious enough to the point of McCartney and Lennon having their mutually insulting songs "Too Many People" and "How Do You Sleep?, but Klein inspires the whole band to record a whole album together where they can all air their grievances in song one by one to each other in a well-received album called Saville Rowe, which includes other songs like George Harrison's "Wah Wah", allowing for some emotional relief with the musical catharsis.
In addition, the band is kept together through other commitments such as starring in a well-received film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings directed by Stanley Kubrick, and a later caper film, The Hot Rock. Lennon is still involved in politics, attracting the enmity of both the Nixon Administration and a radical cell of the Weather Underground. Meanwhile, Yoko becomes frustrated at John's dissolute behavior and comes to encourage him to collaborate with the Beatles more closely to give his life a stabilizing focus. As for George, The Concert for Bangladesh charity he organized with the whole band participating becomes a major success that fully establishes him as a full creative equal to Paul and John in the public eye to his satisfaction. While Richard Nixon falls in the Watergate Scandal, that Weatherman cell kidnaps Lennon for ransom. The band is frantic to help Lennon, but their best assistance comes when George Harrison meets Steve Jobs while on a spiritual retreat in India. The computer expert devises a complex networking arrangement to correlate information as to Lennon's location, enabling his rescue. As a result, Lennon significantly increases his personal and the band's security, which prevents Mark David Chapman from murdering him in 1980.
After that, the Beatles agree to finally disband on good terms in 1975, with a farewell concert in Central Park However, Lennon eventually convinces the band to frequently reunite for concert tours, with a combination of their now predominately older audiences becoming more sedate without the constant Beatlemania shrieking, and better performance technology to make performing most of their song catalogue practical, with Eric Clapton joining the band at Harrison's insistence shortly before his death in 2001 from lung cancer. In addition, Jobs is appointed the head of Apple's moribund electronics division and he develops it into a massive electronics company, making the Beatles, along with being deeply impressed with his vision of technology, all billionaires along the way.
John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's work was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit of his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.
Malcolm Frederick Evans was an English road manager and personal assistant employed by the Beatles from 1963 until their break-up in 1970.
"Get Back" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, and written by Paul McCartney though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston". The album version of this song contains a different mix that features a studio chat between Paul McCartney and John Lennon at the beginning which lasts for 20 seconds before the song begins, also omitting the coda featured in the single version, and with a final dialog taken from the Beatles' rooftop concert. This version became the closing track of Let It Be (1970), which was released just after the group split up. The single version was later issued on the compilation albums 1967–1970, 20 Greatest Hits, Past Masters, and 1.
Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston. In practice, the roster had become dominated by the mid-1970s with releases of the former Beatles as solo artists. Allen Klein managed the label from 1969 to 1973, then it was managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the Beatles and their heirs. Aspinall retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones.
"How Do You Sleep?" is a song by English rock musician John Lennon from his 1971 album Imagine. The song makes angry and scathing remarks aimed at his former Beatles bandmate and songwriting partner, Paul McCartney. Lennon wrote the song in response to what he perceived as personal slights by McCartney on the latter's Ram album. The track includes a slide guitar solo played by George Harrison and was co-produced by Lennon, Phil Spector and Yoko Ono.
"Something" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist. Together with his second contribution to Abbey Road, "Here Comes the Sun", it is widely viewed by music historians as having marked Harrison's ascendancy as a composer to the level of the Beatles' principal songwriters, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Two weeks after the album's release, the song was issued on a double A-side single, coupled with "Come Together", making it the first Harrison composition to become a Beatles A-side. The pairing was also the first time in the United Kingdom that the Beatles issued a single containing tracks already available on an album. While the single's commercial performance was lessened by this, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States as well as charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and West Germany, and peaked at number 4 in the UK.
Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the Beatles selling over 600 million records worldwide as of 2004. Between 5 October 1962 and 8 May 1970, the partnership published approximately 180 jointly credited songs, of which the vast majority were recorded by the Beatles, forming the bulk of their catalogue.
"Too Many People" is a song by Paul McCartney from him and his wife Linda McCartney's 1971 album Ram. It was issued as the B-side of the "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" single. It was also included on The 7" Singles Box in 2022.
"Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon, and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Released as a single in July 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, it is the first solo single issued by Lennon, released while he was still a member of the Beatles, and became an anthem of the American anti-war movement during the 1970s. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the British singles chart.
The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name.
Allen Klein was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased profits for his musician clients by negotiating new record company contracts. He first scored monetary and contractual gains for Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen, one-hit rockabillies of the late 1950s, then parlayed his early successes into a position managing Sam Cooke, and eventually managed the Beatles and the Rolling Stones simultaneously, along with many other artists, becoming one of the most powerful individuals in the music industry during his era.
From 18 August 1962 to 20 September 1969, the Beatles consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Their break-up is attributed to numerous factors, including: the strain of the Beatlemania phenomenon, the 1967 death of manager Brian Epstein, bandmates' resentment of McCartney's perceived domineering, Lennon's heroin use and his relationship with Yoko Ono, Harrison's increasingly prolific songwriting, the floundering of Apple Corps, the Get Back project, and managerial disputes.
Let It Be is a 1970 British documentary film starring the Beatles and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The film documents the group's rehearsing and recording songs in January 1969 for what was to become their twelfth and final studio album Let It Be. The film includes an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, the last public performance of the four together.
The Beatles Anthology is a documentary television series on the career of the Beatles. It was broadcast on UK television in eight parts on ITV between 26 November and 31 December 1995, while in the United States it was seen as three feature-length episodes on ABC between 19 and 23 November 1995. It was released in greatly expanded form as an eight-volume VHS set and an eight-disc LaserDisc set on 5 September 1996. The series was re-released on DVD in 2003, with an 81-minute special-features disc.
"Wah-Wah" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Harrison wrote the song following his temporary departure from the Beatles in January 1969, during the troubled Get Back sessions that resulted in their Let It Be album and film. The lyrics reflect his frustration with the atmosphere in the group at that time – namely, Paul McCartney's over-assertiveness and criticism of his guitar playing, John Lennon's lack of engagement with the project and dismissal of Harrison as a songwriter, and Yoko Ono's constant involvement in the band's activities. Music critics and biographers recognise the song as Harrison's statement of personal and artistic freedom from the Beatles. Its creation contrasted sharply with his rewarding collaborations outside the group in the months before the Get Back project, particularly with Bob Dylan and the Band in upstate New York.
The Beatles were originally a quartet, but only two of the members remain. John Lennon was murdered in December 1980, and George Harrison succumbed to lung cancer in 2001. There have been numerous tributes to both of them.
"Early 1970" is a song by English rock musician Ringo Starr that was released as the B-side of his April 1971 single "It Don't Come Easy". A rare example of Starr's songwriting at the time, it was inspired by the break-up of the Beatles and documents his relationship with his three former bandmates. The lyrics to the verses comment in turn on Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison as individuals, and the likelihood of each of them making music with Starr again. In the final verse, Starr offers a self-deprecating picture of his musical abilities and expresses the hope that all four will play together in the future. Commentators have variously described "Early 1970" as "a rough draft of a peace treaty" and "a disarming open letter" from Starr to Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.
"Run of the Mill" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Harrison wrote the song shortly after the Beatles' troubled Get Back sessions in early 1969, during a period when his growth as a songwriter had inadvertently contributed to the dysfunction within the Beatles' group dynamic. The lyrics reflect the toll that running their company Apple Corps had taken on relationships within the band, especially between Paul McCartney and the other three Beatles, as well as Harrison's dismay at John Lennon's emotional withdrawal from the band. Commentators recognise "Run of the Mill" as one of several Harrison compositions that provide an insight into events behind the Beatles' break-up, particularly the difficulties surrounding Apple.
The Beatles: Get Back is a 2021 documentary series directed and produced by Peter Jackson. It covers the making of the Beatles' 1970 album Let It Be and draws largely from unused footage and audio material originally captured for the 1970 documentary of the album by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. The docuseries has a total runtime of nearly eight hours, consisting of three episodes, each of duration between two and three hours covering about one week, together covering 21 days of studio time.
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