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The Beatles were originally a quartet, but only Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr remain.
John Lennon was murdered in December 1980 and George Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. There have been numerous tributes to both.
During the mid 1960s, Beatlemania was an unprecedented global phenomenon, and two songs devoted to them reached the charts: "We Love You Beatles" by The Carefrees (#39) and "A Letter to the Beatles" by The Four Preps (#85).
Over the years, many other songs mention the group in their lyrics:
The Beatles have inspired a number of tribute acts and theatrical productions; among them are the American Beatles tribute band Rain (originally Reign), which evolved into the stage production Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles ; [1] [2] the Cirque du Soleil stage production Love , which utilizes music from an accompanying 2006 remix album of the same name produced by George Martin and his son Giles Martin; [3] and the Japanese tribute band the Parrots, [4] whom in 2013 McCartney booked for and played alongside at a birthday party for his wife Nancy Shevell. [5]
Lennon was murdered in New York City by Mark David Chapman, who had a been a childhood fan of The Beatles. After his death, a crowd gathered in mourning to pay tribute to him in ten minutes of silence as requested by his widow, Yoko Ono.
Lennon has been the subject of numerous posthumous awards. His album Double Fantasy was awarded a 1982 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and a 1982 Brit Award for outstanding contribution to music. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lennon in sixth place in a countdown of the greatest artists of all time, and Lennon's song "Imagine" was voted the third greatest song of all time. [6] Several posthumous compilation albums have been released, such as Lennon Legend and Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon .
In 2006, a selection of modern recording artists released versions of Lennon's songs on a charitable album called Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur , named after a John Lennon song. Performers included U2, Lenny Kravitz, The Cure, Green Day, R.E.M., Christina Aguilera, Duran Duran, and The Black Eyed Peas, among others. U2 recorded the title track.
George Harrison had written "All Those Years ago" before the death of Lennon. The lyrics were originally different, however; upon hearing the news of Lennon's death, Harrison changed the lyrics and rewrote the song as a tribute to Lennon. [7] Surviving Beatles, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, along with McCartney's wife Linda and Wings member Denny Laine, contributed to the recording. [8]
McCartney recorded his own personal tribute to Lennon, titled "Here Today," on his 1982 album, Tug of War . [9] McCartney had been affected by Lennon's death to the extent that he became reluctant about touring.[ citation needed ]
Freddie Mercury of Queen wrote "Life Is Real" as a tribute to Lennon. The title may be a reference to the lyric 'love is real', from Lennon's 1970 song "Love", or the line 'nothing is real', from The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever".
The GDR rock band Die Puhdys dedicated Lennon their song "Hey John", performed and recorded in 1981. The band describes their fan feelings about John Lennon, especially to his song "Give Peace a Chance". The song contains Lennon samples from "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine".
Bob Dylan wrote "Roll On John" as a tribute to Lennon on his 2012 album entitled Tempest . [10]
Elton John wrote "Empty Garden (Hey, Hey Johnny)" for Lennon, a dedication for Lennon to show a love for their friendship. Elton John titled it "Empty Garden," as Lennon told him stories how he was going to create a garden outside of The Dakota, which was the building where Lennon lived, and how he never was able to grow it as he was shot by a crazed fan outside of his home in 1980.
Paul Simon wrote this song about both the fifties singer Johnny Ace and John Lennon in 1981. It was first performed for the concert in Central Park in 1981, as seen in the film, but not included on the album. It was finally released on his 1982 album "Hearts and Bones". [11]
George Harrison died from lung cancer on 29 November 2001. Tributes were performed by some of the most well known musicians of the time.
A year after Harrison's death, his final album, Brainwashed , was released. The Dark Horse Years 1976–1992 , a compilation set of a selection of his albums, was released in 2004. Harrison was voted the 21st greatest Guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Film director Martin Scorsese directed a feature-length documentary about Harrison's life, George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011).
A year after his death Harrison's friends commemorated him in a tribute concert held at the Royal Albert Hall. [12] The show featured musicians Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, and Paul McCartney among others. Harrison's son Dhani performed, playing the guitar. Jim Keltner, a session drummer who had played with Harrison in the Traveling Wilburys, also appeared.
Ringo Starr wrote and recorded a tribute song to Harrison titled "Never Without You", released on Ringo Rama in 2003.
Sir Richard Starkey, known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, usually for one song on each album, including "Yellow Submarine" and "With a Little Help from My Friends". He also wrote and sang the Beatles songs "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden", and is credited as a co-writer of four others.
The fifth Beatle is an informal title that has been applied to people who were at one point a member of the Beatles or who had a strong association with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The "fifth Beatle" claims first appeared in the press immediately upon the band's rise to global fame in 1963–64. The members have offered their own views as to who should be described with the title:
A Hard Day's Night is the third studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 by Parlophone, with side one containing songs from the soundtrack to their film of the same name. The American version of the album was released two weeks earlier, on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records, with a different track listing that included selections from George Martin's film score. In contrast to the Beatles' first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by Lennon and McCartney, showcasing the development of their songwriting partnership.
The Beatles, also referred to colloquially as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. Featuring a plain white sleeve, the cover contains no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed. This was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band's previous LP Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The Beatles is recognised for its fragmentary style and diverse range of genres, including folk, British blues, ska, music hall, proto-metal and the avant-garde. It has since been viewed by some critics as a postmodern work, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time.
"With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and sung by drummer Ringo Starr, his lead vocal for the album. As the second track on the album, it segues from the applause of the title track.
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' first release on their Apple record label and one of the "First Four" singles by Apple's roster of artists, marking the label's public launch. "Hey Jude" was a number-one hit in many countries around the world and became the year's top-selling single in the UK, the US, Australia and Canada. Its nine-week run at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 tied the all-time record in 1968 for the longest run at the top of the US charts, a record it held for nine years. It has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on music critics' lists of the greatest songs of all time.
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist. Harrison wrote "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as an exercise in randomness inspired by the Chinese I Ching. The song conveys his dismay at the world's unrealised potential for universal love, which he refers to as "the love there that's sleeping".
"All Those Years Ago" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in May 1981 as a single from his album Somewhere in England. Having previously recorded the music for the song, Harrison tailored the lyrics to serve as a personal tribute to his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon, following the latter's murder in 1980. Ringo Starr is featured on drums, and Paul McCartney overdubbed backing vocals onto the basic track. The single spent three weeks at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, behind "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, and it peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. It also topped Canada's RPM singles chart and spent one week at number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary listings.
"Rain" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 30 May 1966 as the B-side of their "Paperback Writer" single. Both songs were recorded during the sessions for Revolver, although neither appear on that album. "Rain" was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. He described its meaning as "about people moaning about the weather all the time".
Back in the U.S. is a double live album by Paul McCartney from his spring 2002 Driving USA Tour in the US in support of his 2001 release Driving Rain. It was released with an accompanying DVD to commemorate his first set of concerts in almost ten years.
"Sexy Sadie" is a song by the English rock group the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. The song was written by John Lennon in India and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon wrote the song during the Beatles' stay in India in response to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's alleged sexual advance on actress Mia Farrow. The song has been considered an early example of a diss track.
"Girl" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album Rubber Soul. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. "Girl" was the last complete song recorded for that album. "Girl" is considered to be one of the most melancholic and complex of the Beatles' earlier love songs.
"I Wanna Be Your Man" is a Lennon–McCartney-penned song first recorded and released as a single by the Rolling Stones, and then recorded by the Beatles for their second studio album With the Beatles. The song was primarily written by Paul McCartney, and finished by Lennon and McCartney in the corner of a Richmond, London club while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were talking.
Ringo's Rotogravure is the fifth studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 1976. It was the last project to feature active involvement from all four former Beatles before John Lennon's murder in 1980, and the second of two projects following the band's 1970 breakup to hold the distinction. Following the end of his contract with EMI, Starr signed on with Polydor Records worldwide.
Birth of the Beatles is a 1979 American biographical film, produced by Dick Clark Productions and directed by Richard Marquand. The film was released into cinemas worldwide, except in the United States, where it was shown as a TV film on ABC. The film focuses on the early history of the Beatles. It was released nine years after the announced break-up of the Beatles themselves, and is the only Beatles biopic to be made while John Lennon was still alive. Pete Best, the Beatles' original drummer, served as a technical advisor for the production.
The Beatles were an English rock band, active from 1960 until 1970. From 1962 onwards, the band's members were 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.
"I'm the Greatest" is a song written by English musician John Lennon that was released as the opening track of the 1973 album Ringo by Ringo Starr. With Starr, Lennon and George Harrison appearing on the track, it marks the only time that three former Beatles recorded together between the band's break-up in 1970 and Lennon's death in 1980. Lennon wrote the song in December 1970 as a wry comment on his rise to fame, and later tailored the lyrics for Starr to sing. Named after one of Muhammad Ali's catchphrases, the song partly evokes the stage-show concept of the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
After the break-up of the Beatles in April 1970, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr enjoyed success as solo artists and collaborated with each other on numerous occasions, including on both studio and live recordings. However, none of these collaborations included all four members, with the exception of "Free as a Bird" (1994), "Real Love" (1995) and "Now and Then" (2023).
Tomorrow Never Knows is a compilation album of songs by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 24 July 2012 through the iTunes Store. The album was conceived to highlight the band's influence on the history of rock music and bring together many of the Beatles' most influential rock songs. It is named after the Revolver album track "Tomorrow Never Knows", which is featured on the compilation.
Everyday Chemistry is a remix album that was made available as a free digital download on 9 September 2009. The album was released along with a story of anonymous authorship. It mashes up various songs from the Beatles' individual solo careers, including tracks from 27 albums. The album portrays itself as being taken from an alternate universe in which the Beatles had not broken up.
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