Tag: Beatles

JEOPARDY! answers-
BILLBOARD NO.1 HITMAKERS: In May 1964 this New Orleans native was 62 years old when he bumped the Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love” from the No. 1 spot
BEATLES SONGS: The title of this Beatles song is a Yoruba phrase that means “life goes on”
THE BEATLES: Fittingly, the cover of this Beatles album shows the Fab Four engaging in a semaphore message
Questions below.

The rules of engagement

133 Slow Down, EP release (UK), Something New (US). Larry Williams’s cover adeptly done by Lennon.
132 In My Life from Rubber Soul. Another song that should rank higher except that I just burned out on it. Jaquandor, who is a relatively new Beatles convert, wrote a nice piece on the song, which is all true.
131 Martha My Dear from the white album. My first girlfriend in high school was named Martha, probably when the album came out. Yes, I know it’s about McCartney’s sheepdog.
130 Mother Nature’s Son from the white album. Pretty McCartney song.
129 The Fool on the Hill from Magical Mystery Tour. Especially like the instrumental bridge of this McCartney song.
128 Wait from Rubber Soul. Pretty ordinary song, considering it’s on a great album, but the Lennon and McCartney vocal byplay elevates it.
127 Sun King from Abbey Road. Lennon’s nonsense lyrics at the end are a hoot.
126 Hold Me Tight from With the Beatles (UK), Meet the Beatles (US). A driving McCartney tune.
125 I’ll Follow the Sun from Beatles for Sale (UK), Beatles ’65 (US). I always thought this was a pretty McCartney song, with occasional tight harmonies.
124 Baby, You’re a Rich Man from Magical Mystery Tour. Probably the least well-known song on the album, originally the B-side to All You Need Is Love. The verse and chorus don’t really fit together very well, and somehow, that’s endearing.

BeatlesNews.com– 24 Hours A Day, Eight Days A Week…

JEOPARDY! questions:
Who was Louis Armstrong?
What is Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da?
What is Help?

JEOPARDY Answers of the day-
BEATLES MUSIC: Chauffeur Alf Bicknell was the inspiration for this 1965 song
BEATLES TUNES: It’s the Beatles’ only U.S. No. 1 hit single whose title is the name of an actual place.
Questions at the end

The rules of engagement

143 Michelle from Rubber Soul. Pretty song, and in French, no less, but desperately overplayed in the day. The name became a Top 10 name for US girls from 1966 through 1980.
142 Rocky Raccoon from the white album. A cheeky McCartney folk song, enjoyable enough.
141 I’ve Got a Feeling from Let It Be. I like the fact that this was really a McCartney/Lennon song, even at that late date.
140 You Like Me Too Much from Help! (UK), Beatles VI. Like the saloonish intro to this Harrison song.
139 Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey from the white album. I was in college playing charades. My fellow players had gotten Hide Me and Monkey, so I knew they were NEVER going to get the answer. I hear a bit of Yankee Doodle, of all things, in the guitar riff.
138 What Goes On from Rubber Soul (UK), Yesterday and Today (US). The first record to credit Starkey in the writing credits, with Lennon/McCartney. Like the three-part harmony.
137 This Boy from B-side of I Want To Hold Your Hand (UK), Meet the Beatles (US). Nice Lennon vocals with McCartney and Harrison harmony.
136 The Inner Light, B-side of Lady Madonna. Harrison stole the lyrics, I believe, from some Taoist text. First Harrison song on a single.
135 Yes It Is, B-side of Ticket to Ride (UK), Beatles VI (US). More Lennon, with McCartney and Harrison vocals.
134 Thank You Girl, B-side of From Me to You (UK), The Beatles’ Second Album (US). especially like the drumming and harmonica at the end.

Beatlesnumber9, a “Super Beatles Fan Site”
The Beatles in pop culture: Triumphs and tragedies Slide show: From Nike ads to “The Royal Tenenbaums,” the moments that defiled and celebrated the Fab Four

JEOPARDY Questions
What is Ticket to Ride?
What is Penny Lane? (Incidentally, Strawberry Fields Forever only got to Number 8 in the US)

JEOPARDY Answer of the day – POP MUSIC: Take 2 letters off a Beatles song title & you get this title of Paul McCartney’s 2002 live CD of his American tour. (Question is below.)

The rules of engagement

153 From Me to You. This song wasn’t on any album I owned until the Past Masters Volume 1 CD! Fine song, actually, but I just plain forget about its existence.
152 Within You Without You from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. An interesting, if ultimately slightly pedantic theological treatise from Harrison.
151 Please Mr. Postman from With the Beatles (UK), The Beatles’ Second Album (US). A song orginally by the Motown group the Marvelettes; this is a competent cover from John, but not better than the original.
150 The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill from the white album. A very funny Lennon song, particular the falsetto. Not sure what it means, but that’s all right.
149 Ask Me Why from Please Please Me (UK), Introducing the Beatles/The Early Beatles (US). Like the Latin feel of the Lennon song. Also the double meaning of the word “please”.
148 The Night Before from Help! Just saw the movie last year for the first time in decades, a quadruple feature with A Hard Day’s Night, Yellow Submarine, and Let It Be. Lots of good music in Help!, but this is a lesser tune by McCartney.
147 Matchbox from an EP (UK), Something New (US). Ringo does a credible version of this Carl Perkins song.
146 Another Girl from Help! DITTO the 148 info.
145 Chains from Please Please Me (US), Introducing the Beatles/The Early Beatles (US). A Goffin/King song performed by a girl group called the Cookies. I like this Harrison version.
144 One After 909 from Let It Be. I didn’t realize until the Anthology albums that this was an old Lennon and McCartney song from their early days never released before. A rather jaunty piece, actually.

DM’s Beatles site, with:
– Comprehensive UK and US discographies with album covers, additional information, reviews, and comments.
– Complete song index with the lyrics. Different takes, demo and live versions, unreleased songs, and songs for others.
– Detailed history day by day, with pictures, links to albums, interviews.
– More than a thousand pictures of the Beatles, people close to them, magazine covers.
– Various information on the Beatles, their films, interviews, concerts, bootlegs.
– Popular discussion forum where you can meet Beatles fans from all over the World

JEOPARDY Question – What is ‘Back in the U.S.’?

JEOPARDY! Answer du jour – SPORTS STARS: Born in 1980, this [former] world champion figure skater was named for a Beatles hit. The question is below.

The rules of engagement

163 I’m a Loser from Beatles for Sale (UK), Beatles ’65 (US). Another downer from the Beatlemania period.
162 Something from Abbey Road. A nice, though overplayed song. But I was always a bit peevish about the way Harrison stole the first line from James Taylor when he was signed by Apple.
161 Little Child from With the Beatles (UK), Meet the Beatles (US). Nice little early tune. At some level, the earliest songs, with few exceptions, will fare less well than the middle period work. I didn’t buy Meet the Beatles album until about when Revolver came out, and as I recall, it came from my record club in STEREO when I had a mono player. At the time, these things just did not mix. Eventually, I said, the heck with it and played it anyway, to no discernible harm.
160 Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da from the white album. Another Macca dance hall song. Fun enough.
159 Only a Northern Song from Yellow Submarine. My favorite thing about this Harrisong is the title, referring to the company that published Beatles’ songs.
158 Not a Second Time from With the Beatles (UK), Meet the Beatles (US). Really like the bottom of this Lennon song.
157 Honey Don’t from Beatles for Sale (US), Beatles ’65. A nice Ringo vocal on this Carl Perkins song.
156 Cry Baby Cry from the white album. A moody Lennon tune.
155 Anna (Go to Him) from Please Please Me (UK), Introducing the Beatles./The Early Beatles. A nice Lennon cover of the Arthur Alexander song.
154 No Reply from Beatles for Sale (UK), Beatles ’65 (US). Yet another downer. I had a discussion of misheard lyrics re this song with my father at the time.

Some Beatles fans have fantasized about what the next Beatles album might have sounded like, had the band not broken up in 1970; or if they’d taken a break, then gotten back together. I was never one for such idle speculation but here’s one take and here’s another.

Dick Cavett interviews John and Yoko in 1971.
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JEOPARDY Question: Who is Michelle Kwan? (My wife’s all-time favorite skater.)

JEOPARDY Answer of the day: ROCK & ROLL HISTORY: The name “Beatles” was inspired by the backup group of this singer. (The question below.)

The rules of engagement

173 It’s All Too Much from Yellow Submarine. The niftiest part of the Harrison tune is the guitar intro.
172 Yesterday from Help! (UK), Yesterday and Today (US). When my father, sister, and I used to perform together when I was a teenager, it was in my sister’s repertoire. It’s a perfectly nice song, but for the life of me, I don’t know why it’s been covered 2500 or 3500 or however many times it has, especially since most of them sound not dissimilar to the original. I also realize the song made me, and my office mate at the time, peevish when two versions of it showed up on Anthology 2, not that far apart on the album, and I would tend to skip past it. “Scrambled Eggs,” indeed.
171 Baby’s in Black from Beatles for Sale (UK), Beatles ’65 (US). One writer suggested that the songs of this period were rather melancholy because of the stress of Beatlemania – touring, movies, plus recording. Maybe. I like the black/blue imagery, but much of the rest sounds like Lennon/McCartney circa 1962.
170 Why Don’t We Do It in the Road? from the white album. Rather funny, if insignificant song by McCartney.
169 I Me Mine from Let It Be. This is the title of a Harrison autobiography. A slight song, I do like the change of rhythms.
168 I Wanna Be Your Man from With the Beatles (UK), Meet the Beatles (US). A ditty McCartney and Lennon gave to the Rolling Stones but also had Ringo sing.
167 Girl from Rubber Soul. It’s OK, but the album is filled with much greater songs.
166 Old Brown Shoe. B-side of The Ballad of John and Yoko. It’s OK, in that laid-back Harrison style.
165 You Never Give Me Your Money from Abbey Road. This is actually HIGHER than I had planned. I thought the reprise of this song in Golden Slumbers would allow this track to be in the 200s, but the song argued otherwise.
164 P.S. I Love You from Please Please Me (UK), Introducing the Beatles/The Early Beatles. A pleasant enough story song.

Just watched on PBS How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin, about how Beatles music was smuggled into the Soviet Union and represented freedom. It also talks about the myth of a secret Soviet performance by the Beatles, generated by the song Back in the USSR. see it HERE or the first part HERE, with subsequent parts on the sidebar.

JEOPARDY! Question of the day: Who was Buddy Holly? (His backup group was called The Crickets.)