1.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
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John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is the debut studio album by English rock musician John Lennon. It was released in 1970, after Lennon had issued three albums with Yoko Ono and Live Peace in Toronto 1969, a live performance in Toronto credited to the Plastic Ono Band. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band is generally considered one of Lennons finest solo albums, documenting with honesty and artistic integrity his emotional and mental state at that point in his career. In 1987, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it fourth in its list The 100 Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years and in 2012, janovs therapy technique emphasised emotionally reliving repressed childhood traumas rather than analytical discussion. Lennons therapy was never completed due to the expiry of his US visa, with the experience he received from the therapy, he was able to channel his emotions into an albums worth of self-revelatory material. Lennon and Ono returned from the US on 24 September 1970, to start working on Lennons album a few days later. The group jammed to a variety of songs in between recording new tracks, When a Boy Meets a Girl, Thats All Right Mama, Glad All Over, Honey Dont, Dont Be Cruel, Hound Dog, and Matchbox. Plastic Ono Band refers to the conceptual band Lennon and Ono had formed in 1969 of various supporting musicians they would use on their various solo albums, Lennon asked Spector, who had produced Lennons hit Instant Karma. earlier that year, to co-produce the album. Spector played piano on Love, but Lennon and Ono produced the album largely on their own, Spector mixed the album for three days towards the end of October. Look at Me dates from the period of The Beatles, and is built on a fingerpicking guitar pattern very similar to the one Lennon used in Dear Prudence, Happiness Is a Warm Gun, Lennon learned this technique from Donovan while the two were in Rishikesh. The album was released in Japan under the title ジョンの魂, which translates as Johns Soul, Lennons album cover is almost identical to Onos companion piece, the subtle difference being that on Onos cover, she is lying on Lennons body. The photo was snapped with a consumer-grade Instamatic camera by actor Dan Richter, the initial compact disc issue of the album listed the title and artist, while the 2000 remastered version restores the original artwork. In addition, the original LP had no track listing on the back cover, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was released in both the UK and US on 11 December 1970, the same day as Yoko Onos matching album. Mother, backed with Onos track Why, was released as a single in the US. After Lennons death, the album, along with seven other Lennon albums, was reissued by EMI as part of a box set, which was released in the UK on 15 June 1981. In 2003, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissued the album in 24-karat Gold CD audio and 180 gram half-speed mastered GAIN2 Ultra Analog in vinyl reissues, in 2010, a digital remaster of Lennons entire discography was released, using original mixes and artwork. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was received with critical praise upon release. Critic Greil Marcus remarked, Johns singing in the last verse of God may be the finest in all of rock, in early 1971, the album reached number eight on the UK and went to number six in the US, spending eighteen weeks in the Top 100
2.
Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band
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Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band is the avant-garde debut studio album by Yoko Ono. The album came after recording three experimental releases with John Lennon and a album as a member of The Plastic Ono Band. Also recorded on this day were Dont Worry Kyoko which ended up on the next album Fly, and Between the Takes which was released on Flys 1998 CD reissue. Initially on Apple Records, through EMI, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band was released to considerable critical disdain in 1970, Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band failed to chart in the UK but reached number 182 in the US. Notable exceptions were the estimations of Billboard who called it visionary, more recently, the album has been credited with having an influence, particularly on musicians, grossly disproportionate to its sales and visibility. The covers of Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band and John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band albums are nearly identical, the photos were taken with a cheap Instamatic camera on the grounds of Tittenhurst Park by actor Daniel Richter, who was working as their assistant. The album was reissued on CD by Rykodisc in 1997 with three tracks from the era and an LP replica special edition was issued by V2 Records in Japan in 2007. The album will be reissued on LP, CD, and digitally by Secretly Canadian on November 11th,2016 with bonus tracks, all songs written by Yoko Ono
3.
OZ (magazine)
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OZ was an underground alternative magazine. First published in Sydney, Australia, in 1963, a version appeared in London. The original Australian OZ took the form of a magazine published between 1963 and 1969, while the British incarnation was a psychedelic hippy magazine which appeared from 1967 to 1973. Strongly identified as part of the press, it was the subject of two celebrated obscenity trials, one in Australia in 1964 and the other in the United Kingdom in 1971. On both occasions the magazines editors were acquitted on appeal after initially being found guilty and sentenced to jail terms. An earlier,1963 obscenity charge was dealt with expeditiously when, upon the advice of a solicitor, the central editor throughout the magazines life in both Australia and Britain was Richard Neville. Co-editors of the Sydney version were Richard Walsh and Martin Sharp, co-editors of the London version were Jim Anderson and, later, Felix Dennis. The original Australian editorial team included university students Neville, Walsh and Sharp, and Peter Grose, other early contributors included art critic Robert Hughes and future author Bob Ellis. Influenced by the comedy of Lenny Bruce, Neville and friends decided to found a magazine of dissent. The 16-page first issue, published on April Fools Day 1963, caused a sensation and it parodied The Sydney Morning Herald and led with a front-page hoax about the collapse of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. These stories though, would lead to the magazines first round of obscenity charges. In mid-1963, shortly after the publication of issue No, with end-of-year exams looming, OZ issue No.5 was postponed until the Christmas break. When eventually issued, it included a satire on the ongoing police harassment of gay people. g. As a result of this slight to their integrity, police seized 140 copies of OZ from a Kings Cross, NSW newsagent and took them to a magistrate. Two other items in early issues incurred the wrath of the NSW police. One was Martin Sharps ribald satirical poem about youths gatecrashing a party, entitled The Word Flashed Around The Arms, as soon as the case began they were confronted by the blatant bias and hostility of the magistrate hearing the case, Mr Gerald Locke, SM. In subsequent issues OZ made several investigations into the realms of Sydneys underworld. The list deliberately left the number 1 spot blank, but at number 2 was the name Len who was described as a fence, the Top 20 list also reportedly played a part in the death of Sydney criminal Jacky Steele, who was shot in Woollahara in November 1965
4.
Rock music
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It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of genres such as electric blues and folk. Musically, rock has centered on the guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of subgenres, including new wave, post-punk. From the 1990s alternative rock began to rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures and this trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers. The basic rock instrumentation was adapted from the blues band instrumentation. A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group, Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies are often derived from older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock, because of its complex history and tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition. These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music and rhythm, as a result, it has been seen as articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality, according to Simon Frith rock was something more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the concept of art as artistic expression, original. The foundations of music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
5.
Experimental music
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The practice became prominent in the mid-20th century, particularly in North America. John Cage was one of the earliest composers to use the term and one of experimental musics primary innovators, utilizing indeterminacy techniques and seeking unknown outcomes. Also, in America, a distinct sense of the term was used in the late 1950s to describe computer-controlled composition associated with composers such as Lejaren Hiller. Harry Partch as well as Ivor Darreg worked with other tuning scales based on the laws for harmonic music. For this music they developed a group of experimental musical instruments. Musique concrète, is a form of music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. Elements of experimental music include indeterminate music, in which the composer introduces the elements of chance or unpredictability with regard to either the composition or its performance. The Groupe de Recherches de Musique Concrète, under the leadership of Pierre Schaeffer, publication of Schaeffers manifesto was delayed by four years, by which time Schaeffer was favoring the term recherche musicale, though he never wholly abandoned musique expérimentale. John Cage was also using the term as early as 1955, according to Cages definition, an experimental action is one the outcome of which is not foreseen, and he was specifically interested in completed works that performed an unpredictable action. Rebners lecture extended the concept back in time to include Charles Ives, Edgard Varèse, nyman opposes experimental music to the European avant-garde of the time, for whom The identity of a composition is of paramount importance. David Cope also distinguishes between experimental and avant garde, describing music as that which represents a refusal to accept the status quo. That is, for the most part, experimental music studies describes a category without really explaining it and this was an attempt to marginalize, and thereby dismiss various kinds of music that did not conform to established conventions. In 1955, Pierre Boulez identified it as a new definition makes it possible to restrict to a laboratory. He concludes, There is no such thing as experimental music … and it is therefore not a genre, but an open category, because any attempt to classify a phenomenon as unclassifiable and elusive as experimental music must be partial. Furthermore, the indeterminacy in performance guarantees that two versions of the same piece will have virtually no perceptible musical facts in common. The term experimental music was used contemporaneously for electronic music, particularly in the early musique concrète work of Schaeffer, a number of early 20th-century American composers, seen as precedents to and influences on John Cage, are sometimes referred to as the American Experimental School. These include Charles Ives, Charles and Ruth Crawford Seeger, Henry Cowell, Carl Ruggles, for this music they both developed custom-built musical instruments often characterized as experimental instruments. La Monte Young is known for using this technique when he began working on his minimal drone pieces which consisted of layers of sounds in different pitches
6.
Apple Records
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Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as an outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger. In practice, by the mid-1970s, the roster had become dominated with releases by the former Beatles as solo artists, Allen Klein managed the label from 1969 to 1973. It was then managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the four Beatles and he retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones. At this time, the Beatles were contracted to EMIs Parlophone label in the United Kingdom, in a new distribution deal, EMI and Capitol agreed to distribute Apple Records until 1975, while EMI retained ownership of the Beatles recordings. Beatles recordings issued in the United Kingdom on the Apple label carried Parlophone catalogue numbers, Apple Records owns the rights to all of the Beatles videos and movie clips, and the rights to recordings of other artists signed to the label. The first catalogue number, Apple 1, was a pressing of Frank Sinatra singing Maureen Is a Champ to the melody of The Lady Is a Tramp for Ringo Starrs then-wife Maureen. BeatlesandBeyond Radio presenter Pete Dicks reports that the title is actually Lady is a Champ, in 1969, the Beatles were in need of financial and managerial direction and Lennon was approached by Allen Klein, manager of the Rolling Stones at the time. Klein went on to manage Apple, by virtue of his support from the Beatles. McCartney had suggested his then new father-in-law Lee Eastman for the job, after Klein took control of Apple, several sub-divisions, including Apple Electronics, were shut down, and some of Apple Records artistic roster effectively dropped. Thereafter, new signings were not so numerous, and tended to arrive through the actions of ex-Beatles. McCartney had little input into Apple Records roster after 1970, Klein managed Apple Corp. until March 1973 when his contract expired. In May 1971, the Beatles entire pre-Apple catalogue on the American Capitol label were re-issued on the Apple label, after Kleins departure, Apple was then managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the four Beatles and their heirs. Apple Records distribution contract with EMI expired in 1976 and control of the Beatles catalogue, including solo recordings to date by George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr, reverted to EMI. The original UK versions of the Beatles albums were released worldwide on compact disc in 1987 and 1988 on the Parlophone label, previously, Abbey Road had been issued on CD by the EMI-Odeon label in Japan in the early 1980s. Although this was a release, it was not authorised by the Beatles. Following the settlement of Apples ten-year lawsuit against EMI in 1989, new projects began to forward, including the Live at the BBC album. It was after the Anthology project that the company resumed making large profits again
7.
The Beatles
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The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960, with Stuart Sutcliffe initially serving as bass player. The core of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them. They acquired the nickname the Fab Four as Beatlemania grew in Britain the next year, from 1965 onwards, the Beatles produced increasingly innovative recordings, including the albums Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road, after their break-up in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers of varying lengths. McCartney and Starr, the members, remain musically active. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of cancer in November 2001. The Beatles are the band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act, according to the RIAA, the Beatles are also the best-selling music artists in the United States, with 178 million certified units. In 2008, the group topped Billboard magazines list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, as of 2016 and they have received ten Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and they were also collectively included in Time magazines compilation of the twentieth centurys 100 most influential people. In March 1957, John Lennon, then aged sixteen, formed a group with several friends from Quarry Bank school. They briefly called themselves the Blackjacks, before changing their name to the Quarrymen after discovering that a local group was already using the other name. Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after he, in February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison to watch the band. The fourteen-year-old auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing, after a month of Harrisons persistence, they enlisted him as their lead guitarist. By January 1959, Lennons Quarry Bank friends had left the group, the three guitarists, billing themselves at least three times as Johnny and the Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. They used the name until May, when they became the Silver Beetles, before undertaking a tour of Scotland as the backing group for pop singer. By early July, they had changed their name to the Silver Beatles, allan Williams, the Beatles unofficial manager, arranged a residency for them in Hamburg, but lacking a full-time drummer they auditioned and hired Pete Best in mid-August 1960
8.
The Flaming Lips
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The Flaming Lips are an American rock band formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1983. In 2002, Q magazine named the Flaming Lips one of the 50 Bands to See Before You Die, the band is best known for its associations with 1960s and 1970s psychedelic subculture, with elements of this culture permeating the groups instrumentation, effects, and composition. Coynes lyrics, in particular, both reference and embody the fascination with the fiction and space opera genres of fiction that were popular during the golden age of psychedelic subculture. The group recorded albums and EPs on an indie label, Restless, in the 1980s. After signing to Warner Brothers, they scored a hit in 1993 with She Dont Use Jelly and they have had more hit singles in Europe than in the U. S. In February 2007, they were nominated for a 2007 BRIT Award in the Best International Act category, by 2007, the group garnered three Grammy Awards, including two for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The Flaming Lips formed in Norman, Oklahoma in 1983 with Wayne Coyne on guitar, his brother Mark singing lead vocals, the band debuted at Oklahoma Citys Blue Note Lounge. After they went through a host of different drummers, Richard English joined the band in 1984 and that same year they recorded their only release with Mark Coyne singing lead vocals–The Flaming Lips. After his brothers departure, Wayne assumed the duties and the band released their first full-length album, Hear It Is. This line-up recorded two albums, 1987s Oh My Gawd. and 1989s Telepathic Surgery, the latter originally planned to be a 30-minute sound collage. Nathan Roberts replaced English and Jonathan Donahue joined in 1989, in a Priest Driven Ambulance, their first album with producer Dave Fridmann, was recorded at the State University of New York in Fredonia for $5 an hour on a $10,000 budget. The album was host to an expansion in the bands sound and their previous experiments in tape loops. During this period, Coyne made his transition to a higher, more strained vocal style akin to Neil Young, in 1991, the band started recording their major label debut Hit to Death in the Future Head. After the recording of this album Donahue left the band to concentrate on Mercury Rev and Roberts left the band as well and they were replaced by Ronald Jones and Steven Drozd respectively. In 1993, they released Transmissions from the Satellite Heart and this was the only studio album since In a Priest Driven Ambulance to date in which Dave Fridmann has not been involved. The success of this led to long stints of touring, opening for bands including the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Clouds Taste Metallic was released to much fanfare in late 1995. The strain of the year-long Clouds tour, added to the stress from the three years touring in support of Transmissions, was a factor in the departure of Ronald Jones in late 1996
9.
John Lennon
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John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful and musically influential band in the history of popular music. He and fellow member Paul McCartney formed a songwriting partnership. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the craze as a teenager, his first band, the Quarrymen, first became the Silver Beatles. After his marriage to Yoko Ono in 1969, he added Ono as one of his middle names, Lennon disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to raise his infant son Sean, but re-emerged with Ono in 1980 with the new album Double Fantasy. He was murdered three weeks after its release, Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing, drawings, on film and in interviews. By 2012, Lennons solo album sales in the United States exceeded 14 million and, as writer, co-writer, or performer, he is responsible for 25 number-one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth and, in 2008, Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth-greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, in 1988 as a member of the Beatles and in 1994 as a solo artist. Lennon was born in war-time England, on 9 October 1940 at Liverpool Maternity Hospital, to Julia and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman of Irish descent and his parents named him John Winston Lennon after his paternal grandfather, John Jack Lennon, and then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill. When he eventually came home six months later, he offered to look after the family, after her sister, Mimi Smith, twice complained to Liverpools Social Services, Julia handed the care of Lennon over to her. In July 1946 Lennons father visited Smith and took his son to Blackpool, Julia followed them—with her partner at the time, Bobby Dykins—and after a heated argument his father forced the five-year-old to choose between them. Lennon twice chose his father, but as his mother walked away, he began to cry and followed her, according to author Mark Lewisohn, Lennons parents agreed that Julia should take him and give him a home as Alf left again. A witness who was there that day, Billy Hall, has said the scene often portrayed with a young John Lennon having to make a decision between his parents never happened. It would be 20 years before he had contact with his father again, Throughout the rest of his childhood and adolescence he lived at Mendips,251 Menlove Avenue, Woolton with his aunt and uncle, Mimi and George Smith, who had no children of their own. His aunt purchased volumes of stories for him, and his uncle. In September 1980, Lennon commented about his family and his rebellious nature, Part of me would like to be accepted by all facets of society, but I cannot be what I am not. I was the one who all the other boys parents—including Pauls father—would say, the parents instinctively recognised I was a troublemaker, meaning I did not conform and I would influence their children, which I did. I did my best to disrupt every friends home, partly out of envy that I didnt have this so-called home
10.
Yoko Ono
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Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist who is also known for her work in performance art and filmmaking. She is the wife and widow of singer-songwriter John Lennon of the Beatles. Ono grew up in Tokyo, and studied at Gakushuin and she withdrew from her course after two years and rejoined her family in New York in 1953. She spent some time at Sarah Lawrence College, and then involved in New York Citys downtown artists scene. She first met Lennon in 1966 at her own art exhibition in London and she brought feminism to the forefront in her music, influencing artists as diverse as the B-52s and Meredith Monk. Ono achieved commercial and critical acclaim in 1980 with the chart-topping album Double Fantasy, public appreciation of Onos work has shifted over time, helped by a retrospective at a Whitney Museum branch in 1989 and the 1992 release of the six-disc box set Onobox. She received a Golden Lion Award for lifetime achievement from the Venice Biennale in 2009, as Lennons widow, Ono works to preserve his legacy. She funded Strawberry Fields in New York City, the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, and she has made significant philanthropic contributions to the arts, peace, Philippine and Japan disaster relief, and other causes. In 2012 Yoko Ono received the Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt Human Rights Award endowed by Alexandra Hildebrandt, the award is given annually in recognition of extraordinary, non-violent commitment to human rights. Ono continues her activism, inaugurating a biennial $50,000 LennonOno Grant for Peace in 2002. She has a daughter, Kyoko Chan Cox, from her marriage to Anthony Cox, Ono was born on February 18,1933, in Tokyo, to Isoko Ono and Eisuke Ono, a banker and former classical pianist. Isokos father was ennobled in 1915, isokos maternal grandfather Zenjiro Yasuda was an affiliate of the Yasuda clan and zaibatsu. Eisuke came from a line of samurai warrior-scholars. The kanji translation of Yokos first name Yoko means ocean child, Two weeks before Yokos birth, Eisuke was transferred to San Francisco by his employer, the Yokohama Specie Bank. The rest of the family followed soon after, with Yoko meeting Eisuke when she was two and her younger brother Keisuke was born in December 1936. Yoko was enrolled in piano lessons from the age of 4, in 1937, the family was transferred back to Japan and Ono enrolled at Tokyos Gakushuin, one of the most exclusive schools in Japan. In 1940, the moved to New York City. The next year, Eisuke was transferred from New York City to Hanoi, Ono was enrolled in Keimei Gakuen, an exclusive Christian primary school run by the Mitsui family
11.
Eric Clapton
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Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the only inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important, Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone magazines list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and fourth in Gibsons Top 50 Guitarists of All Time. He was also named number five in Time magazines list of The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players in 2009, in the mid-1960s Clapton left the Yardbirds to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Furthermore, he formed rock band Blind Faith with Baker, Steve Winwood. For most of the 1970s Claptons output bore the influence of the style of J. J. Cale. His version of Marleys I Shot the Sheriff helped reggae reach a mass market, two of his most popular recordings were Layla, recorded with Derek and the Dominos, and Robert Johnsons Crossroads, recorded with Cream. Following the death of his son Conor in 1991, Claptons grief was expressed in the song Tears in Heaven, Clapton has been the recipient of 18 Grammy Awards, and the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2004 he was awarded a CBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music, in 1998, Clapton, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, founded the Crossroads Centre on Antigua, a medical facility for recovering substance abusers. Clapton was born on 30 March 1945 in Ripley, Surrey, England, to 16-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Walter Fryer, Fryer shipped off to war prior to Claptons birth and then returned to Canada. The similarity in surnames gave rise to the belief that Claptons real surname is Clapp. Years later, his mother married another Canadian soldier and moved to Germany, Clapton received an acoustic Hoyer guitar, made in Germany, for his thirteenth birthday, but the inexpensive steel-stringed instrument was difficult to play and he briefly lost interest. Two years later Clapton picked it up again and started playing consistently, Clapton was influenced by the blues from an early age, and practised long hours to learn the chords of blues music by playing along to the records. He preserved his practice sessions using his portable Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder and his guitar playing was so advanced that, by the age of 16, he was getting noticed. Around this time, Clapton began busking around Kingston, Richmond, in 1962, Clapton started performing as a duo with fellow blues enthusiast David Brock in pubs around Surrey. When he was seventeen years old, Clapton joined his first band, an early British R&B group and he stayed with this band from January until August 1963. In October of that year, Clapton did a stint with Casey Jones & the Engineers. In October 1963, Clapton joined the Yardbirds, a rock and roll band
12.
Klaus Voormann
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Klaus Voormann is a German artist, musician, and record producer. He designed artwork for bands including the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Wet Wet Wet. His most notable work as a producer was his work with the band Trio and his association with the Beatles dated back to their time in Hamburg in the early 1960s. Following the bands split, rumours circulated of the formation of a group named the Ladders, consisting of Lennon, Harrison, Starr, in the 1990s, he designed the artwork for the Beatles Anthology albums. In 2009, he released his solo album A Sidemans Journey. Klaus Voormann was born in Berlin, Germany, and raised in the suburbs of North Berlin and his father was a physician and he was one of six brothers. In his July 2010 interview on Talking Germany, Voormann discussed his dyslexia, the Voormann family were interested in art, classical music, and books, with a feeling for history and tradition. His parents decided that instead of studying music it would be best for Klaus to study art in Berlin at the Meisterschule für Grafik und Buchgewerbe. It was in Hamburg that Voormann first met Astrid Kirchherr, after an argument with her and Jürgen Vollmer one day, Voormann wandered down the Reeperbahn, in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, and heard music coming from the Kaiserkeller club. He walked in on a performance by Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, the next group to play was the Beatles. Voormann was left speechless by the performances and he had never heard rock n roll before, having previously only listened to traditional jazz, with some Nat King Cole and Platters mixed in. Voormann invited Kirchherr and Vollmer to watch the performances the next day, after joining Voormann at a performance, the trio decided upon spending as much time as possible close to the group and immersing themselves in the music. During a break, Voormann tried to talk to Lennon, Lennon took little interest, and brushed Voormann off, suggesting that he talk to Stuart Sutcliffe, who, Lennon said, is the artist round here. Sutcliffe did not share Lennons attitude, and was fascinated by the trio and he later wrote that he could hardly take his eyes off them, and had tried to talk to them during the next break, but they had already left the club. Lennon dubbed the trio the Exies, as a joke about their affection for existentialism, Voormann was in a relationship with Kirchherr at the time, and lived just around the corner from her parents upper-class home in the Altona district of Hamburg. Kirchherrs bedroom, which was all in black, including the walls, after the visits to the Kaiserkeller their relationship became purely platonic, as Astrid started dating Sutcliffe, who was fascinated by her, although she always remained a close friend of Voormann. In the early 1960s, Voormann decided to leave Germany and move to London, Voormann lived with Harrison and Ringo Starr for a time before finding work as a commercial artist and renting an apartment of his own. He returned to Hamburg in 1963, where he founded a band with Paddy Chambers, Voormann and Gibson Kemp called Paddy, in 1966, Voormann returned to London and was asked by Lennon to design the sleeve for the album Revolver
13.
Alan White (Yes drummer)
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Alan White is an English drummer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the progressive rock band Yes, which he joined in 1972. Born and raised in County Durham, White took up piano, in 1969, he joined the Plastic Ono Band after John Lennon invited him to play at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival. White went on to play on other recordings by Lennon, George Harrison, Ginger Bakers Air Force, White joined Yes in July 1972 as a replacement for their original drummer, Bill Bruford. White has performed on over 50 albums throughout his career, including those by Joe Cocker, Ginger Baker, White will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes in 2017. White was born on 14 June 1949 in the village of Pelton and his father had different jobs, working as a clerk, shop keeper, and a lorry and bus driver who also played the piano in local pubs. His grandfather played the piano and his uncle was a drummer in local dance bands and he attended at a technical school and, at age seven, moved to the nearby town of Ferryhill, where he spent the rest of his childhood. White names his uncle as a big influence, White felt he was pushed to learn and play like his drum instructor and wished to be more individual on the instrument, so he began to develop his own style. His parents went on to buy him a metallic silver Ludwig kit, several months into formal drumming lessons, White joined his first band, a local group named the Downbeats, at thirteen. They performed songs by the Beatles, the Searchers, and Gerry, the group became well known in the Newcastle area, playing working mens clubs and dance halls as much as seven nights a week until late. Whites school teachers only found out about his activities when the band were featured in the local newspaper, during his time in the band, White also had a paper round. In 1964, the Downbeats changed their name to the Blue Chips and they won the contest and were awarded with money, new equipment, and recording contract and recorded several singles. They returned home, and disbanded soon after, White reduced his music commitments in order to pass his school exams, after which he became interested in studying technical drawing at college with the plan to become an architect. However, at seventeen, White chose to pursue music and toured the circuit as part of Billy Furys band the Gamblers. White went on to play in Happy Magazine, later known as Griffin, with Alan Marshall and Kenny Craddock, White continued to tour and play with Price in his group, the Alan Price Set and took up several jobs as a session musician. In 1969, White received a call from John Lennon who invited him to join his Plastic Ono Band for their performance at the Toronto Rock. Lennon had attended a Griffin performance in a club and wanted White to join the band of Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, and Klaus Voorman. White disbelieved Lennons call and offer and thought he was a prankster, the set was later released as a live album, Live Peace in Toronto 1969. The gig landed White further session jobs, including work on Imagine and Instant Karma. for Lennon
14.
Billy Preston
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William Everett Billy Preston was an American musician whose work included R&B, rock, soul, funk and gospel. He then went on to fame as a solo artist, with hit pop singles including Thats the Way God Planned It, Outa-Space, Will It Go Round in Circles, Space Race. Preston was the musician to be credited on a Beatles recording other than the groups four members. Preston was born on September 2,1946 in Houston, when he was three, the family moved to Los Angeles, where Preston began playing piano while sitting on his mother Robbies lap. Noted as a prodigy, Preston was entirely self-taught and never had a music lesson. By the age of ten, Preston was playing organ onstage backing several gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland, at age eleven, Preston appeared on Nat King Coles national TV show singing the Fats Domino hit, Blueberry Hill with Cole. Also at eleven, he appeared in the W. C, handy biopic starring Nat King Cole, St. Louis Blues, playing W. C. In 1962, Preston joined Little Richards band as an organist, in 1963, he played the organ on Sam Cookes Night Beat album and released his own debut album,16 Yr Old Soul, for Cookes SAR Records label. In 1965, he released the album The Most Exciting Organ Ever and performed on the rock, in 1967, he joined Ray Charles band. Following this exposure, several musicians began asking Preston to contribute to their sessions, Preston first met the Beatles as a 16-year-old in 1962, while part of Little Richards touring band, when their manager Brian Epstein organized a Liverpool show, at which the Beatles opened. The Washington Post explained their subsequent meeting, Preston is one of people referred to as the Fifth Beatle. At one point during the Get Back sessions, John Lennon proposed the idea of having him join the band. Preston played with the Beatles for several of the Get Back sessions, some of the material from which would later be culled to make the film Let it Be, Preston also accompanied the band for its rooftop concert, the groups final public appearance. In April 1969, their single Get Back was credited to The Beatles with Billy Preston, the credit was bestowed by the Beatles to reflect the extent of Prestons presence on the track, his electric piano is prominent throughout and he plays an extended solo. Preston also worked, in a limited role, on the Abbey Road album, contributing to the tracks I Want You. In 1978, he appeared as Sgt, pepper in Robert Stigwoods film Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was based on the Beatles album of the same name, and sang Get Back as the penultimate song. Signed to the Beatles Apple Records label, in 1969, Preston released the album Thats the Way God Planned It, produced by Harrison, Preston also worked on solo releases by Lennon and Ringo Starr
15.
Delaney & Bonnie
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Delaney & Bonnie were the American musical duo, singers and songwriters Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. Delaney Bramlett learned the guitar in his youth and he moved to Los Angeles in 1959, where he became a session musician. His most notable work was as a member of the Shindogs. Which also included guitarist and keyboardist Leon Russell and she moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and met and married Bramlett later that year. Delaney Bramlett and Leon Russell had many connections in the business through their work in the Shindogs and formed a band of solid, if transient, musicians around Delaney. The band became known as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, because of its changes of personnel. They secured a contract with Stax Records after they had completed work on their first album, Home, in early 1969 at Russells home studio. In his 2007 autobiography, Eric Clapton claimed that Delaney & Bonnie, Delaney and Bonnie moved to Elektra Records for their second album, The Original Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The Apple contract was voided, but this incident began a falling-out between Delaney and Elektra, culminating in the bands release from their Elektra contract in late 1969. On the strength of Accept No Substitute, and at his friend Harrisons suggestion, Eric Clapton took Delaney & Bonnie, Clapton became fast friends with Delaney, Bonnie and their band, preferring their music to Blind Faiths. Clapton helped broker a new deal for Delaney and Bonnie with his then-US label, Atco Records, and performed on Delaney and Bonnies third album. This album would be their most successful, reaching number 29 on the Billboard album chart, Clapton also recruited Delaney and Bonnie and their band to back him on his debut solo album, recorded in late 1969 and early 1970 and produced by Delaney. Delaney and Bonnie continued to make well-regarded, if modestly selling, by late 1971 Delaney and Bonnies often tempestuous relationship began to show signs of strain. Columbia released this album, in a different track sequence from that submitted to Atco, as D&B Together and it was Delaney and Bonnies last album of new material. Delaney and Bonnie continued to work in the business after their breakup. Delaneys final solo album, A New Kind of Blues, was released in early 2008, Bonnie enjoyed success during the 1970s and early 1980s as a backing singer with Elvin Bishop, Stephen Stills and the Allman Brothers Band. She subsequently turned to acting, appearing in a role on the TV series Roseanne. Her album Beautiful was released in 2008, Delaney and Bonnie are generally best remembered for their albums On Tour with Eric Clapton and Motel Shot
16.
George Harrison
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George Harrison, MBE was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and music and film producer who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Although most of the Beatles songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and his songs for the group included Taxman, Within You Without You, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Here Comes the Sun and Something, the last of which became the Beatles second-most covered song. Harrisons earliest musical influences included George Formby and Django Reinhardt, Carl Perkins, Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry were subsequent influences. By 1965 he had begun to lead the Beatles into folk rock through his interest in the Byrds and Bob Dylan, having initiated the bands embracing of Transcendental Meditation in 1967, he subsequently developed an association with the Hare Krishna movement. He also organised the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh with Indian musician Ravi Shankar, in his role as a music and film producer, Harrison produced acts signed to the Beatles Apple record label before founding Dark Horse Records in 1974 and co-founding HandMade Films in 1978. Harrison released several best-selling singles and albums as a solo performer, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 11 in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee – as a member of the Beatles in 1988, Harrisons first marriage, to model Pattie Boyd in 1966, ended in divorce in 1977. The following year he married Olivia Harrison, with whom he had one son, Harrison died in 2001, aged 58, from lung cancer. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in India and he left an estate of almost £100 million. Born in Liverpool, United Kingdom, on 25 February 1943, Harrison was the youngest of four children of Harold Hargreaves Harrison and he had one sister, Louise, and two brothers, Harry and Peter. His mother was an assistant from a Catholic family with Irish roots. His future wife, the model Pattie Boyd, described Harrisons parents as quite short, an enthusiastic music fan, she was known among friends for her loud singing voice, which at times startled visitors by rattling the Harrisons windows. While pregnant with George, she listened to the weekly broadcast Radio India. Harrisons biographer Joshua Greene wrote, Every Sunday she tuned in to mystical sounds evoked by sitars and tablas, hoping that the music would bring peace. Harrison was born and lived the first six years of his life at 12 Arnold Grove, Wavertree, Liverpool, the home had an outdoor toilet and its only heat came from a single coal fire. In 1949 the family were offered a house and moved to 25 Upton Green. In 1948, at the age of five, Harrison enrolled at Dovedale Primary School and he passed the eleven-plus exam and attended Liverpool Institute High School for Boys from 1954 to 1959. Though the institute did offer a course, Harrison was disappointed with the absence of guitars
17.
Ringo Starr
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Richard Starkey, MBE, known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles. He occasionally sang lead vocals, usually for one song on an album, including With a Little Help from My Friends, Yellow Submarine and their cover of Act Naturally. He also wrote the Beatles songs Dont Pass Me By and Octopuss Garden, Starr was twice afflicted by life-threatening illnesses during childhood, and as a result of prolonged hospitalisations fell behind in school. In 1955, he entered the workforce and briefly held a position with British Rail before securing an apprenticeship at a Liverpool equipment manufacturer, soon afterwards, he became interested in the UK skiffle craze, developing a fervent admiration for the genre. In 1957, he cofounded his first band, the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, when the Beatles formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. After achieving moderate success with that band in the UK and Hamburg, he quit the Hurricanes and joined the Beatles in August 1962, Starr played key roles in the Beatles films and appeared in numerous others. After the bands break-up in 1970, he released several singles including the US number four hit It Dont Come Easy. In 1972, he released his most successful UK single, Back Off Boogaloo and he achieved commercial and critical success with his 1973 album Ringo, which was a top ten release in both the UK and the US. He has been featured in a number of documentaries and hosted television shows, since 1989, he has toured with twelve variations of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. Ringos popularity brought forth a new paradigm and we started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music and he was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2011, Rolling Stone readers named Starr the fifth-greatest drummer of all time. Starr, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a Beatle in 1988, was inducted for his solo career in 2015. Richard Starkey was born on 7 July 1940, at 9 Madryn Street, in Dingle and he is the only child of confectioners Elsie and Richard Starkey. Elsie enjoyed singing and dancing, a hobby that she shared with her husband, an avid fan of swing. Prior to the birth of their son, whom they nicknamed Ritchie, the couple had spent much of their time on the local ballroom circuit. Elsie adopted an approach to raising her son that bordered on fixation. Subsequently, Big Ritchie, as Starkeys father became known, lost interest in his family, choosing instead to spend hours drinking and dancing in pubs
18.
Sean Lennon
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Sean Taro Ono Lennon is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, sean Lennon was born in New York City on October 9,1975, his fathers 35th birthday. He is of Irish, Welsh, and English descent on his fathers side, julian Lennon is his half-brother, and Kyoko Chan Cox is his half-sister. After Seans birth, John became a husband, caring for his young son until his death on December 8,1980. He attended Columbia University for three semesters before dropping out to focus on his music, in January 1984, when Steve Jobs was visiting Manhattan, he attended a party that his mother was throwing for Lennon, and Jobs gave him one of the very first Macintosh computers. His parents kick-started his musical career, his debut into the world came at age five. From childhood into his teen years, Lennon continued to collaborate with his mother, contributing vocals and receiving credit on her solo albums Its Alright, Starpeace. At 16 Lennon co-wrote the song All I Ever Wanted with Lenny Kravitz for his 1991 album Mama Said, by 1995 Lennon had formed the band IMA to play alongside his mother on her album Rising. Lennon also made appearances in film, featured in the cast of Michael Jacksons 1988 Moonwalker, Escher prints in Sonys 1990 promotional short-film Infinite Escher. In 1996, Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto were invited by Ono to remix the song Talking to the Universe for a Rising remix EP Rising Mixes and they met Lennon and invited him to join them on tour as a bass player. This eventually led to Lennons contributing to their side-project Butter 08 and he continued to play with them on tour, joining them on television and providing bass guitar and vocals on their EP Super Relax. Through his association with Cibo Matto, Lennon was approached by Adam Yauch, regarding Grand Royal, Lennon has said, I think I found the only label on the planet who doesnt care who my parents are and what my name is. Its a good feeling to know that I wouldnt have gotten the offer if they wouldnt have liked my songs, thats pretty rare in the music business. Lennons solo debut Into the Sun, was released in 1998, a music video for Home, a single from the album, was directed by Spike Jonze and enjoyed extended airplay on MTV. The album was produced by fellow Cibo Matto member Yuka Honda and they struck up a personal relationship as well as a creative one. He went on to tour supporting Into the Sun, during this period he appeared on radio programs such as The Howard Stern Show and KCRWs Morning Becomes Eclectic. He later recalled promoting the album as a bitter experience due to the focus on his family rather than his own music. In 1999, Lennons EP Half Horse, Half Musician was released featuring new such as Heart & Lung
19.
Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins
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1, Two Virgins is the first of three experimental albums released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Apple Records. It was the result of a session of musical experimentation with Yoko in Johns home studio at Kenwood, while his wife. In an attempt to avoid controversy, the LP record was sold in a paper bag, and distributed by Track and Tetragrammaton in the United Kingdom. Two Virgins, while failing to chart in the UK, reached number 124 in the US, the album was followed six months later by Unfinished Music No. John Lennon met Yoko Ono in November 1966 at the Indica Gallery in London after he received an invitation from its owner, John Dunbar, Lennon described the exhibition as positive and kept in touch with Ono. Two years later, Cynthia Lennon, feeling miserable and increasingly distanced from her husband, decided to go on holiday to Greece with her friends Jenny Boyd, whilst on his own, Lennon called Ono and invited her over for the night. Lennon then played her some of his tapes which consisted of recordings and electronic sounds. After hearing the tapes, Ono insisted that they make their own recording, Cynthia returned home unexpectedly the next day to find them sitting cross-legged on the floor in matching white robes, staring into each others eyes. The Unfinished Music series was an attempt by the pair to keep a record of their life together, with Onos Grapefruit in mind, they had imagined that the sound was not etched into the vinyls grooves but was meant to be created by the listeners mind. Lennon described Unfinished Music as saying whatever you want it to say and it is just us expressing ourselves like a child does, you know, however he feels like then. What were saying is make your own music, both of them had experience in avant-garde music, Ono had staged various multimedia events in New York during the early 1960s, and Lennon had worked on audio experimentation in the Beatles. Lennons longtime friend Peter Shotton recalled later in his memoir that many of the heard on the album were made by John. Lennon recorded directly to two-track stereophonic, but much of the material was monophonic. The song Together, written by George Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown, shortly after the release of the Two Virgins, John stated in an interview that he believed the album can change people, as others have changed my head, just with their records. He then claimed thats what Yoko and my singing is, to change it like that. Lennon talked about making the album and Onos influence on him, in an interview in 1980 with Playboys David Sheff, Well, after Yoko and I met, I was still thinking it was an artistic collaboration, as it were – producer and artist, right. And Yoko came to visit me, instead of making love, we went upstairs and made tapes. I had this room full of different tapes where I would write and make strange loops, so we made a tape all night
20.
The Beatles (album)
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The Beatles, also known as the White Album, is the ninth studio album by English rock group the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. A double album, its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the name embossed. The albums songs range in style from British blues and ska to tracks influenced by Chuck Berry, most of the songs on the album were written during March and April 1968 at a Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India. The group returned to EMI Studios in May to commence recording sessions lasted through to October. During these sessions, arguments broke out among the Beatles, another divisive element was caused by the constant presence of John Lennons new partner, Yoko Ono, whose attendance at the sessions broke with the Beatles policy regarding wives and girlfriends. After a series of problems, including producer George Martin taking a leave of absence and engineer Geoff Emerick quitting. The same tensions continued throughout the year, leading to the eventual break-up of the Beatles in April 1970. On release, The Beatles received favourable reviews from the majority of music critics, other commentators found its satirical songs unimportant and apolitical amid the turbulent political and social climate of 1968. The band and Martin have since debated whether the group should have released an album instead. Nonetheless, The Beatles reached number one on the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States and has since been viewed by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time. By 1968, the Beatles had achieved commercial and critical success, peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, was number one in the UK the previous year and charted for 27 weeks, selling 250,000 copies in the first week after release. Time magazine had written in 1967 that Sgt, the band received a negative critical response for the film Magical Mystery Tour, but fan response was nevertheless positive. Most of the songs for The Beatles were written during a Transcendental Meditation course with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, India, between February and April 1968. The retreat involved long periods of meditation, conceived by the band as a respite from all worldly endeavours – a chance, in John Lennons words. Both Lennon and Paul McCartney quickly re-engaged themselves in songwriting, often meeting clandestinely in the afternoons in each others rooms to review their new work, regardless of what I was supposed to be doing, Lennon would later recall, I did write some of my best songs there. Author Ian MacDonald said Sgt Pepper was shaped by LSD, but the Beatles took no drugs with them to India aside from marijuana, and their clear minds helped the group with their songwriting. The stay in Rishikesh proved especially fruitful for George Harrison as a songwriter, the Beatles left Rishikesh before the end of the course. Ringo Starr was the first to leave, as he could not stomach the food, McCartney departed in mid-March, while Harrison and Lennon were more interested in Indian religion and remained until April
21.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
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The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is a film released in 1996 of an 11 December 1968 event organized by the Rolling Stones. The event comprised two concerts on a stage and included such acts as the Who, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull. John Lennon and his fiancee Yoko Ono performed as part of a supergroup called the Dirty Mac, along with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, and Keith Richards. The Stones contended they did so due to their substandard performance, many others believe that the true reason for not releasing the video was that the Who, who were fresh off a concert tour, upstaged the Stones on their own production. Led Zeppelin were also considered but the idea was also dropped. The project was conceived by Mick Jagger as a way of branching out from conventional records. Jagger approached Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who had directed two promos for Stones songs, to make a full-length TV show for them. According to Lindsay-Hogg, the idea of combining music and a circus setting came to him when he was trying to come up with ideas, he drew a circle on a piece of paper. The Stones and their guests performed in a replica of a big top on a British sound stage—the Intertel Studio, Wycombe Road. By that time the audience and most of the Stones were exhausted, Jagger was reportedly so disappointed with his and the bands performance that he cancelled the airing of the film, and kept it from public view. Pete Townshend recalled, When they really get moving, there is a kind of magic that starts to replace the ]. That didnt happen on occasion, theres no question about that. They werent just usurped by The Who, they were usurped by Taj Mahal – who was just, as always. They were usurped to some extent by the event itself, the crowd by the time the Stones went on were radically festive. Ian Anderson remarked, Poor old Brian Jones was well past his sell-by date by then… We spoke to Brian and he was rather cut off from the others – there was a lot of embarrassed silence. This was duly reported, whereupon Mick Jagger was mightily upset, I had to send a grovelling apology to his office. The last song, Salt of the Earth, was sung live by Keith Richards, according to Bill Wymans book, Rolling with the Stones, the Stones also performed Confessing the Blues, Route 66 and an alternative take of Sympathy for the Devil with Brian Jones on guitar. The project was abandoned until Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg attempted to edit the film in 1992 but, due to missing principal footage, subsequent to their discovery, Gochanour/Klein completed the unfinished film in fall of 1996
22.
Keith Richards
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Keith Richards is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, best-selling memoirist and founding member of the rock band the Rolling Stones. The magazine of the same name credited Richards for rocks greatest single body of riffs on guitar, fourteen songs that Richards wrote with the Rolling Stones lead vocalist Mick Jagger are listed among Rolling Stone magazines 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The Stones are generally known for their guitar interplay of rhythm, in spite of this, Richards plays the only guitar tracks on some of their most famous songs including Paint It Black, Ruby Tuesday, Sympathy for the Devil, Gimme Shelter, and Angie. Richards was born 18 December 1943 at Livingston Hospital, in Dartford, Kent and he is the only child of Doris M. L. and Herbert W. Richards. His father was a worker who was injured in World War II during the Normandy invasion. His great-grandfathers family originated from Wales and his maternal grandfather, Augustus Theodore Gus Dupree, who toured Britain with a jazz big band, Gus Dupree and his Boys, fostered Richards interest in guitar. Richards has said that it was Dupree who gave him his first guitar and his grandfather teased the young Richards with a guitar that was on a shelf that Richards couldnt reach at the time. Finally Dupree told Richards, that if Richards could reach the guitar then he could have it, Richards then devised all manner of ways of reaching the guitar, putting books and cushions on a chair and finally got the guitar and his grandfather let him have it. His grandfather taught him the rudiments of Richards first tune, Malagueña and he worked on the number like mad and then his grandfather let him keep the guitar. He called it the prize of the century, Richards played at home, listening to recordings by Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and others. His father, on the hand, disparaged his sons musical enthusiasm. One of Richards first guitar heroes was Scotty Moore, Richards attended Wentworth Primary School with Mick Jagger and was his neighbour until 1954, when the family moved. From 1955 to 1959 he attended Dartford Technical High School for Boys, recruited by Dartford Techs choirmaster, R. W. Jake Clare, Richards sang in a trio of boy sopranos at, among other occasions, Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II. In 1959 Richards was expelled from Dartford Tech for truancy and transferred to Sidcup Art College, at Sidcup he was diverted from his studies proper and devoted more time to playing guitar with other students in the boys room. At this point Richards had learned most of Chuck Berrys solos, Richards met Jagger on a train as Jagger was heading for classes at the London School of Economics. The mail-order rhythm & blues albums from Chess Records by Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters that Jagger was carrying revealed a mutual interest, along with mutual friend Dick Taylor, Jagger was singing in an amateur band, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, which Richards soon joined. The Blues Boys folded when Brian Jones, after sharing thoughts on their joint interest in the music, invited Mick and Keith to the Bricklayers Arms pub. By mid-1962 Richards had left Sidcup Art College to devote himself to music and moved into a London flat with Jagger and his parents divorced about the same time, resulting in his staying close to his mother and remaining estranged from his father until 1982
23.
The Rolling Stones
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The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The original line-up consisted of Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Stewart was removed from the official line-up in 1963 but continued as a touring member until his death in 1985. Jones left the less than a month prior to his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor. After Taylor left the band, Ronnie Wood took his place in 1975 and has been on guitar in tandem with Richards ever since, following Wymans departure in 1993, Darryl Jones joined as their touring bassist. Other touring keyboardists for the band have been Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, the band was first led by Jones, but after teaming as the bands songwriters, Jagger and Richards assumed leadership while Jones dealt with legal and personal troubles. The Rolling Stones were at the forefront of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the US in 1964, and identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the group began a period of musical experimentation in the mid-1960s that peaked with the psychedelic album Their Satanic Majesties Request. During this period, they were first introduced on stage as The Worlds Greatest Rock, the band continued to release commercially successful records in the 1970s and sold many albums, including Some Girls and Tattoo You, which were their most popular albums worldwide. From 1983 to 1987, tensions between Jagger and Richards almost caused the band to split, however, they managed to patch up their friendship in 1987. They separated temporarily to work on projects and experienced a comeback with Steel Wheels. Since the 1990s, new recorded material from the group has been increasingly less well-received, despite this, the Rolling Stones have continued to be a huge attraction on the live circuit, with stadium tours in the 1990s and 2000s. By 2007, the band had four of the top five highest-grossing concert tours of all time, Voodoo Lounge Tour, Bridges to Babylon Tour, Licks Tour and A Bigger Bang Tour. The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, Rolling Stone magazine ranked them fourth on the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list and their estimated album sales are above 250 million. They have released 30 studio albums,18 live albums and numerous compilations, Let It Bleed was their first of five consecutive number one studio and live albums in the UK. Sticky Fingers was the first of eight number one studio albums in the US. In 2008, the band ranked 10th on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists chart, in 2012, the band celebrated its 50th anniversary. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were childhood friends and classmates in Dartford, Kent, Jagger had formed a garage band with Dick Taylor, mainly playing Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Howlin Wolf and Bo Diddley material. Jagger met Richards again in 1960 on platform two of Dartford railway station, the Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records that Jagger carried revealed a common interest that prompted their musical partnership
24.
Mitch Mitchell
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John Graham Mitch Mitchell was an English drummer who was best known for his work in the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009, Mitchell was born in Ealing, Middlesex to Phyliss C and Thomas J Mitchell. As a teenager, he starred in a television programme, Jennings and Derbyshire. Mitchell became a musician working at Jim Marshalls drum shop on Saturdays while still at school. In 1965, he also replaced temporarily Viv Prince as drummer in the Pretty Things, from December 1965 until October 1966, Mitchell was the drummer of Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, appearing on their 1966 album, Sweet Things. In a 2015 interview, Fame recalled, His main hero was jazz drummer Ronnie Stephenson and if you look at early film clips of Mitch, he had that Ronnie Stephenson look, the way he set his jaw. And he loved crashing around on the cymbals like Ronnie, when he started splashing around Id say, Just play the hi-hat. Mitchell auditioned for Hendrixs band in October 1966, edging out drummer Aynsley Dunbar on the flip of a coin, Mitchells fast, driving, jazz influenced playing meshed well with Hendrixs open-ended, revolutionary approach to the electric guitar. Mitchell came from a background, and like many of his contemporaries in the London scene, was influenced by Elvin Jones, Max Roach. He played in Hendrixs Experience trio from October 1966 to mid-1969, in the Woodstock band, in December 1968, Mitchell played with the Dirty Mac, an all-star band assembled for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Others included John Lennon as vocalist and rhythm guitarist Winston Leg-Thigh, Yoko Ono providing improvised primal screams, Eric Clapton as guitarist, the group recorded a cover of Yer Blues as well as a jam called Whole Lotta Yoko. Mitchell also took part in Miles Davis demo sessions for the 1969 album Bitches Brew, after Hendrixs death, Mitchell finished production work with engineer Eddie Kramer on incomplete Hendrix recordings, resulting in the releases The Cry of Love and Rainbow Bridge. In 1972, he teamed up with guitarists Mike Pinera and April Lawton to form Ramatam and they recorded the first of Ramatams two albums and were an opening act for Emerson, Lake & Palmer at a number of concerts. Mitchell and Hendrix had been offered spots in the band Keith Emerson and Greg Lake were forming, Ramatam never achieved commercial success and Mitchell left the act before their second LP was released. Mitchell also performed in concerts with Terry Reid, Jack Bruce, Mitchell drummed alongside John Halsey in the 1970s jam band, Hinkleys Heroes, the only time he played alongside another drummer. Michael Jeffery, Hendrixs manager, had relegated Mitchell and Noel Redding to paid employees without a share in future revenues. This had limited their earnings, since Mitchell and Redding had been excluded from sharing in revenues generated from the Experience. Financial hardship pressured Mitchell in the mid-1970s to sell a prized Hendrix guitar and he also sold his small legal claim to future Hendrix record sales for about $200,000
25.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
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The Jimi Hendrix Experience was an American-English rock band that formed in Westminster, London, in September 1966. Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding, and drummer Mitch Mitchell comprised the group, during this time, they released three studio albums and became one of the most popular acts in rock. In April 1970, Hendrix, Mitchell, and bassist Billy Cox performed and recorded until Hendrixs death on September 18,1970 and this later trio was sometimes billed as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but the title was never formalized. Highly influential in the popularization of hard rock and psychedelic rock, the Experience was best known for the skill, style, in 1992, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Jimi Hendrix arrived in England on September 24,1966, and with his new manager and former Animals bassist, Chas Chandler, formed a band with bassist Noel Redding. Mitchell was a seasoned London drummer formerly with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, Hendrix chose Redding because of his attitude towards music and his hairstyle. Redding had been a player until that time, but played bass in the band. The name The Jimi Hendrix Experience was coined by their business manager Michael Jeffery, the first official appearance of The Jimi Hendrix Experience was at the Novelty in Évreux, France, on October 13,1966. Six days later the band played their first UK gig at a showcase at the Scotch of St James. Though conceived as back-up band for Hendrix, the Experience, as a unit, gained fame and critical acclaim. Following the lead of Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was one of the first groups to popularize the power trio format, which limited a rock bands line-up to guitar, bass and drums. Hendrix combined lead and rhythm guitar styles and used special effects to modify his guitar such as feedback. Mitchell sometimes utilized jazz-influenced grooves, while Redding played simple bass lines that helped to anchor the bands sound, visually, they set the trend in psychedelic clothes and hairstyles. The Whos Pete Townshend admitted, changed the sound of electric guitar. Clapton agreed, after Pete Townshend and I went to see him play, I thought that was it, the group came to prominence in the US after the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, one of the first major rock music festivals. The bands performance ended with Hendrix famously setting his psychedelically painted Fender Stratocaster on fire, after the festival they toured with the Monkees, but left the tour two weeks later, reportedly due to lack of audience response. By April 1969, however, Hendrixs deteriorating relations with Redding were coming to a head, the original group held together long enough to fulfill their existing engagements, culminating in the Denver Pop Festival on June 29,1969. After hearing that Hendrix was planning to expand the Experience lineup without first consulting him, Redding quit the group, Hendrix and Mitchell experimented with a larger ensemble that included bassist Billy Cox
26.
Ivry Gitlis
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Ivry Gitlis is an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. Yitzhak-Meir Gitlis was born in Haifa, Palestine Mandate to Jewish parents, Gitlis acquired his first violin when he was five years old and started lessons under Mme Velikovsky together with his friend Zvi Zeitlin. He then studied privately with Mira Ben-Ami, a pupil of Joseph Szigeti, when he was eight, she arranged for him to play for Bronisław Huberman, which prompted a fundraising campaign to allow him to study in France. In 1933 he arrived with his mother in Paris and started to take lessons with Marcel Chailley, being very close to their family, he was introduced to George Enescu and Jacques Thibaud. In that period he decided to change his birth name ) to Ivry, at 11, Gitlis entered the Conservatoire de Paris in the class of Jules Boucherit, and graduated in 1935. Later, in 1939–1940, his teachers included George Enescu and Jacques Thibaud in Paris and Carl Flesch in Spa, Belgium and later in London. In 1940, during World War II, he went to London where he first worked for two years in a war factory and was assigned to the artists branch of the British Army. He gave numerous concerts for the Allied soldiers and in war factories, after the war he made his successful debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and subsequently played with the BBC and all other principal orchestras of Great Britain. In 1951, as suggested by his teacher Alice Pashkus, he participated in the Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris, where he took fifth place. During the preliminary stages of the competition, a rumor circulated that he had stolen a Stradivarius violin during the war, six years after the fall of Hitler, being a Jew in France was still causing debate. In the same year, Gitlis made his debut in Paris, playing in a recital at the Salle Gaveau, in the 1950s, he moved to the United States where he met Jascha Heifetz. There he made tours, managed by Sol Hurok, including those conducted by Eugene Ormandy. Back in Europe, between 1954 and 1955, he recorded for the Vox label concertos by Berg, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Stravinsky and with the conductor Jascha Horenstein, Bartók, Bruch and Sibelius. His recording of Bartoks 2nd Violin Concerto and Solo Violin Sonata -Vox PL 9020- received the Best Record of the Year award from the New York Herald Tribune in 1955, in 1963, he was the first Israeli violinist to play in the Soviet Union. He gave a series of concerts under the exchange program of the Soviet Union and Israel. His other concerts were given in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, in 1968, he participated in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus film project, performing Whole Lotta Yoko with Yoko Ono and The Dirty Mac, recently released on DVD. Many composers were fascinated by his sound and way of playing, among whom René Leibowitz who dedicated the Violin Concerto Op, in 1972, Gitlis founded the Festival de Vence, famous for its innovative programming. He is also the inspirer and organiser of the Saint André de Cubzac, Alfortville and he has often visited Japan where he is very popular
27.
Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions
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2, Life with the Lions is the second of three experimental albums of avant-garde music released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in May 1969 on Zapple, a sub label of Apple. It was a successor to 1968s highly controversial Unfinished Music No.1, Two Virgins, the album peaked in the United States at number 174. The Cambridge performance, to which Ono had been invited and to which she brought Lennon, was Lennon, a few of the albums tracks were previewed by the public, thanks to Aspen magazine. The album was remastered in 1997, beatle John Lennon and Yoko Onos Unfinished Music series was an attempt by Lennon and Ono to make a record of their life together. With Onos Grapefruit in mind, Lennon and Ono imagined that the sound wasnt printed into the vinyls grooves, Lennon described Unfinished Music as saying whatever you want it to say. It is just us expressing ourselves like a child does, you know, what were saying is make your own music. A few of the tracks ended up on the album were released as a mono 8 square flexi record that was given away with copies of the American magazine Aspen. The record, which featured mostly Ono on the first side, with Lennon contributing the second side as one track. Before Lennon and Ono were together as a couple, Ono was asked to perform at a jazz concert in Lady Mitchell Hall at Cambridge University. Ono, who was going to cancel her performance, was persuaded by Lennon to perform, Lennon and Ono had their first performance together for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus film, where they were part of the band The Dirty Mac. Concepts from Fluxus art were used for the album, Ono has used ideas from it before, the piece takes up all of side one and consists of Onos vocalisations and screaming accompanied by electric guitar feedback from Lennon. Saxophonist John Tchicai and percussionist John Stevens join Ono and Lennon near the end of the piece, throughout the performance, Lennon kept his back to the audience. The original version of the piece was longer, in a 2010 interview with Cambridge News, Tchicai said that the concert was split in two, the first set was Lennon and Ono, and the other consisted of jazz improvisation players. Recalled Tchica, Lennon and Ono said to the players, If you would like to us for some improvisation. Barnett said that Lennon had been trying to show off and be more avant-garde than anyone in avant-garde music. Side two of the album was recorded on a tape in their suite at Queen Charlottes Hospital in London.1, Two Virgins because of its controversial sleeve. Babys Heartbeat is an infant mortality recording, made with a Nagra microphone. Ono first referenced infant mortality in her book Grapefruit, then in her song Greenfield Morning I Pushed an Empty Baby Carriage All Over the City from her album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band, babys Heartbeat is similar to the Beatles I Want You in that both end suddenly
28.
Wedding Album
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Wedding Album is the final in a succession of three experimental albums by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. 1, Two Virgins and Unfinished Music No, the album was released as by John and Yoko, without last names mentioned. The two recorded on individual speakers, Lennon described the heartbeats as being like African drums, and the piece being like an extended, very extreme John and Marsha that was out years ago by Stan Freberg. It really makes your hair stand on end, Lennon edited the two together on May 1,1969. Amsterdam, the side, had been recorded first, in a hotel room at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam, Holland. The piece consists of explaining their campaign for peace, conversations. An early form of what would become John John Lets Hope for Peace forms the beginning of Amsterdam, there were also four other musical interludes including Lennon performing a blues-style composition on acoustic guitar, featuring the words Goodbye Amsterdam Goodbye. Ono sings Grow Your Hair, a song regarding peace, Lennon sings a brief excerpt in a cappela of the Beatles song Good Night. The last interlude is a recitation of the words Bed peace. Outtakes and interviews from Lennon and Onos Bed-In were released as promo 7 vinyl acetates by Bell, Wedding Album was initially released on Apple on 20 October 1969 in the US, and 7 November 1969 in the UK. It also included a bag that had Bagism printed on it. The album did not chart in the UK, but managed to peak at number 178 in the US, regarding the limited success, Lennon later addressed it saying, It was like our sharing our wedding with whoever wanted to share it with us. We didnt expect a hit out of it. It was more of a. thats why we called it Wedding Album and you know, people make a wedding album, show it to the relatives when they come round. What you call fans, or people that follow us outside, so that was our way of letting them join in on the wedding. The album was available on vinyl, cassette tape and 8-track tape, the album was also advertised through magazine print advertisements, which Lennon and Onos previous two albums had not been. The album was reissued in 1997 through Rykodisc with three bonus cuts – two of them B-sides by The Plastic Ono Band composed by Ono. When Wedding Album was released, at least one music press reviewer was led to believe that the album was more experimental than it actually was
29.
Give Peace a Chance
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Give Peace a Chance is a song written by John Lennon, and performed with Yoko Ono in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the British singles chart, the song was written during Lennons Bed-In honeymoon in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When asked by a reporter what he was trying to achieve by staying in bed and he went on to say this several times during the Bed-In. Lennon played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, when released in 1969, the song was credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon later stated his regrets about being “guilty enough to give McCartney credit as co-writer on my first independent single instead of giving it to Yoko, who had actually written it with me. ”However, it has also been suggested that the credit was a way of thanking McCartney for helping him record The Ballad of John and Yoko at short notice. The original last verse of the song refers to, John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary, Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper, Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, and Hare Krishna. The third verse contains a reference to masturbation, but Lennon changed this to mastication on the lyric sheet. He later admitted this was a cop out but wanted to avoid unnecessary controversy, Give Peace a Chance, backed with Onos Remember Love as the B-side, was released on 4 July 1969 in the UK, and a few days later on 7 July 1969 in the US. The song reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and they were led by Pete Seeger, who interspersed phrases like, Are you listening, Nixon. Between the choruses of protesters singing, All we are saying, the British group Yes also paid tribute to Lennons words on their 1971 release The Yes Album, in Your Move. After being issued as a single, it appeared on album in a form for the singles compilation Shaved Fish in 1975. The tracks first full-length album appearance was on the compilation The John Lennon Collection, although technically the first solo single released by a member of The Beatles while the band was still intact, the artist credit was to the Plastic Ono Band, not John Lennon. Shortly after the death of Lennon, fans gathered outside the Dakota, the single re-charted in January 1981, peaking at number 33. The song is one of three Lennon solo songs, along with Instant Karma. and Imagine, in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and it reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart on 16 August 2008. The last instalment was released 18 February 2009, Yokos birthday, the Jazz Crusaders recorded the song on their 1970 Liberty LP Give Peace a Chance. The song was featured in an episode of the TV series Mad About You in 1995, Hot Chocolate released the song as a 45 single on the Apple label, Apple 18, as Hot Chocolate Band, in a reggae version in October 1969. Mitch Miller selected the song as the track of the 1970 Mitch Miller. Prince Busters version is on Melodisc Records subsidiary Fab, released in 1970, in 1991, Ono recorded a new version of the song in response to the imminent Gulf War
30.
Paul McCartney
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Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained fame with the rock band the Beatles, largely considered the most popular. His songwriting partnership with Lennon is the most celebrated of the post-war era, after the bands break-up, he pursued a solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine. McCartney has been recognised as one of the most successful composers and performers of all time, More than 2,200 artists have covered his Beatles song Yesterday, more than any other copyrighted song in history. Wings 1977 release Mull of Kintyre is one of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States. McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr all received The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1965, McCartney has released an extensive catalogue of songs as a solo artist and has composed classical and electronic music. He has taken part in projects to promote international charities related to subjects as animal rights, seal hunting, land mines, vegetarianism, poverty. He has married three times and is the father of five children, James Paul McCartney was born on 18 June 1942 in Walton Hospital, Liverpool, England, where his mother, Mary Patricia, had qualified to practise as a nurse. His father, James McCartney, was absent from his sons birth due to his work as a firefighter during World War II. Paul has one brother, Michael. Though the children were baptised in their mothers Catholic faith, their father was a former Protestant turned agnostic, McCartney attended Stockton Wood Road Primary School in Speke from 1947 until 1949, when he transferred to Joseph Williams Junior School in Belle Vale because of overcrowding at Stockton. In 1953, with three others out of ninety examinees, he passed the 11-Plus exam, meaning he could attend the Liverpool Institute. In 1954, he met schoolmate George Harrison on the bus from his home in Speke. The two quickly became friends, McCartney later admitted, I tended to talk down to him because he was a year younger. McCartneys mother Mary was a midwife and the primary wage earner, her earnings enabled them to move into 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton. She rode a bicycle to her patients, McCartney described an early memory of her leaving at about three in the morning streets, on 31 October 1956, when McCartney was fourteen, his mother died of an embolism. McCartneys loss later became a point of connection with John Lennon, whose mother, McCartneys father was a trumpet player and pianist, who had led Jim Macs Jazz Band in the 1920s. He kept a piano in the front room, encouraged his sons to be musical and advised Paul to take piano lessons
31.
Abbey Road
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Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969 by Apple Records. The recording sessions for the album were the last in all four Beatles participated. Although Let It Be was the album that the Beatles completed before the bands dissolution in April 1970. A double A-side single from the album, Something/Come Together, released in October, Abbey Road is a rock album that incorporates genres such as blues, pop, and progressive rock, and it makes prominent use of the Moog synthesizer and the Leslie speaker. Side two contains a medley of song fragments edited together to form a single piece, John Lennon had privately left the group by the time the album was released and McCartney publicly quit the following year. A 16-minute medley of short songs comprise the majority of side two, closing with the lyric and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. Many critics now view the album as the Beatles best and rank it as one of the greatest albums of all time, in particular, George Harrisons contributions, Something and Here Comes the Sun, are considered to be among the best songs he wrote for the group. The albums cover features the four members walking across a zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios and has become one of the most famous. As of 2011, Abbey Road remains one of the Beatles best-selling albums, the first sessions for Abbey Road began on 22 February 1969, only three weeks after the Get Back sessions, in Trident Studios. There, the recorded a backing track to I Want You with Billy Preston accompanying them on Hammond organ. No further group recording occurred until April because of Ringo Starrs commitments on the film The Magic Christian. After a small amount of work that month and a session for You Never Give Me Your Money on 6 May, Recording continued through July and August, with the last backing track, for Because, being taped on 1 August. Overdubs continued through the month, with the sequencing of the album coming together on 20 August – the last time all four Beatles appeared in a studio together. McCartney, Starr and Martin have reported positive recollections of the sessions, while George Harrison said, nevertheless, there was a significant amount of tension between the group members. According to author Ian MacDonald, McCartney had an argument with Lennon during the sessions. Lennons wife Yoko Ono had become a permanent presence at Beatles recordings, halfway through recording in June, Lennon and Ono were involved in a car accident. A doctor told Ono to rest in bed, so Lennon had one installed in the studio so she could observe the process from there. The albums two halves represented a compromise, Lennon wanted a release with distinct and unrelated songs while McCartney
32.
Toronto Rock and Roll Revival
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The Toronto Rock and Roll Revival was a one-day, twelve-hour music festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 13,1969. It featured a number of musical acts from the 1950s and 1960s. The festival is notable as featuring an appearance by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, as the Plastic Ono Band. The festival was also the subject of the D. A. Pennebaker film, the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival was held at Varsity Stadium, at the University of Toronto, before an audience of over 20,000. Kim Fowley was listed as the Master of Ceremonies, screaming Lord Sutch was later added to the bill, as was the Toronto area band FLAPPING. Prior to the addition of FLAPPING, the local band on the bill was Whiskey Howl. The appearance of John Lennon, Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band was not publicly known in advance. As recounted by co-producer John Brower, The festival was produced by John Brower and Kenny Walker, Fowley correctly surmised that given Lennons love of the music of Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Gene Vincent he would be prompted to accept the invitation. Lennon however went Brower one better by suggesting that they wouldnt want to come unless they could play and it was at this festival that audience members first lit matches and lighters to welcome a performer on stage. Fowley came up with this as a means to ease John Lennons stage fright, Fowley appeared on stage just before introducing the Plastic Ono Band and had everyone get their matches ready whereupon Lennon and company took the stage to a spectacular show of lights. This has since become a tradition in rock and roll, but was first experienced here, Brower and Lennon attempted to produce a world peace festival in 1970, but failed to agree on details and were overwhelmed with both political and internecine opposition. It was at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival that the Alice Cooper chicken incident took place, a chicken was reportedly thrown on stage and thrown back into the audience by lead singer Alice, a photo of which was sent by wire around the world. Various mutually supportive performances occurred at the festival, in addition, appearances at the festival served to revitalize the careers of certain performers from the 1950s. For example, according to one reviewer, in relation to Little Richards performance. he, by the time he finished racing through the closing notes of his Long Tall Sally finale, he was sopping wet with his shirt torn to shreds by the crowd below. In 30 frenetic minutes Little Richard had just made his comeback, the Doors, as the headlining act, closed the show. The bands appearance at the 1969 festival would be their last appearance in Toronto, the resulting documentary, Sweet Toronto, was released in 1971. As a result of Pennebakers involvement, the performances of most of the artists were recorded and filmed and this has led to many authorized and unauthorized audio and video releases. Authorized video releases include the concert performances of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis
33.
Live Peace in Toronto 1969
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Live Peace in Toronto 1969 is a live album by the Plastic Ono Band, released December 1969 on Apple. Recorded at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival, it was the first live album released by any member of the Beatles separately or together, the band included Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, and drummer Alan White. The group had brief rehearsals before appearing on the stage to perform songs, one of which. Eventually returning home, Lennon mixed the album in a day, the album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified a gold album by the RIAA, and failed to chart in the UK. The original LP came with a thirteen-month 1970 calendar, a video of several performances, not just the Plastic Ono Bands set, was released on video. Since its first release, the album has been reissued a number of times and they also booked more modern acts such as Alice Cooper, Chicago, and The Doors. On 12 September, Brower contacted Lennon to see if he would be willing to be the master of ceremonies, Lennon offered instead to perform at the festival, bringing his own band, the Plastic Ono Band. Brower agreed, and Lennon quickly assembled a band and he initially approached Beatles band-mate George Harrison to play lead guitar, but Harrison turned him down, so Eric Clapton was chosen instead. White got a call from Lennon, and assumed it was a friend prank calling him. On the morning of the flight, the day before the concert, on 12 September, Lennon, Ono. At this point, Clapton had not been aware of the concert, Brower had managed to get through to Clapton and told him to contact Lennon and Ono, who were still in bed. Clapton said he got a call on the day we were to leave and he said that someone had asked him to do that concert. So I had to make the airport in an hour, the group had two rehearsals, one was during the transatlantic flight from London to Toronto, and the other shortly before appearing on stage at the actual festival. Lennon said the group didnt know what to play, as they had not previously performed together, also on the flight, Lennon gained the confidence, that when he got back to England, to leave the Beatles. Lennon told this to Clapton, and shortly afterwards, to the Beatles then-manager, the group played eight songs to a crowd of 25,000 people. Before the start of the Plastic Ono Bands performance, they were introduced by Kim Fowley, Cold Turkey, presented as the newest song that John wrote by Ono, had Lennon reading the lyrics off a clip-board. Ono selected a song which had been the B-side of Cold Turkey, Dont Worry Kyoko, shortly before the band went into Dont Worry Kyoko, Lennon announced that Ono was gonna do her thing all over you. With their stage remarks, Lennon and Ono linked the appearance here to their campaign for peace
34.
Cold Turkey
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Cold Turkey is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apples 1001 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1813 in the United States. It is the solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs first appearance on an album was Live Peace in Toronto 1969 where the song had performed live on 13 September 1969 with Lennon reading the lyrics off a clip-board. According to Peter Brown in his book The Love You Make, Lennon thought people would laugh at him if they knew the truth about the songs origin, so he said it was inspired by his recent heroin withdrawal. Cold Turkey was recorded in Abbey Road Studio 2, and features Eric Clapton, there are other versions besides the single, several of which are acoustic, and a live version included on Live in New York City that features Ono adding vocalizations. The single was released with a standard green Apple label, with the words Play Loud printed on the plug of the UK pressing and above. This instruction would also appear on the labels of Lennons next solo single, Cold Turkey rose to number 14 on the UK Singles Chart on 15 November 1969. With love, John Lennon of Bag, in March 2005, Q magazine placed Cold Turkey at number 74 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The original single cover art features Lennons head with glasses on an X-ray image, an alternative sleeve with the X-ray photographs of John and Yoko side by side, rather than on either side of the cover, was issued in several European countries. The Japanese version includes a photo of both in a smaller size. Yoko introduced it as the newest song written by John, John added that the band had never played the song together as a group before. He also performed this song on 15 December 1969, along with Dont Worry Kyoko and this version would be available on his Some Time in New York City album. Lennon performed the song again, at two Madison Square Garden shows, on 30 August 1972, hubbards version, featuring Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter and Lenny White, is influenced by funk and free jazz. A live recording of the song appears on the 1979 LP A Can of Bees by the Soft Boys. The Godfathers recorded a version of the song in 1986 with producer Vic Maile, the track was also covered by PiL originator/guitarist Keith Levene on his solo album Violent Opposition in 1989. Cheap Trick recorded two versions of the song in 1994, one went on the album Working Class Hero, A Tribute to John Lennon, and the other was released on one of the Bun E. s Basement Bootleg albums. Beki Bondage of Vice Squad released a version on her 2000 solo covers album also called Cold Turkey, Lenny Kravitz recorded a version for the 2007 benefit album Instant Karma, The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Billy Talent did a cover for it on the B-side for their single Rusted from the Rain in 2009, most recently, Alice Cooper covered the song with his supergroup Hollywood Vampires on their debut album, released September 11,2015
35.
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
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You Know My Name is a song by the Beatles originally released as the B-side of the single Let It Be on 6 March 1970. Although first issued with their single, it was recorded in four separate sessions beginning with three in May and June 1967, and one in 1969. The song is a music hall comedy number, Lennon came up with the lyric/title after seeing a phone book. He said, That was a piece of unfinished music that I turned into a record with Paul. I was waiting for him in his house, and I saw the book was on the piano with You know the name. That was like a logo, and I just changed it, McCartney once told Beatles recording analyst Mark Lewisohn, are only just discovering things like You Know My Name — probably my favourite Beatles track. He went on to explain, Its so insane, I mean, what would you do if a guy like John Lennon turned up at the studio and said, Ive got a new song. And he replied You know my name look up the number, I asked, Whats the rest of it. No, no words, those are the words. And I want to do it like a mantra, the lounge section includes a reference to Denis ODell, associate producer on the A Hard Days Night film, whom Lennon had also worked with on How I Won the War. Partway through the song, Lennon introduces McCartney as lounge singer Denis O’Bell. The reference prompted numerous telephone calls to ODells home by fans who told him, We have your name and now weve got your number, as well as personal visits by fans wanting to live with him. The song is in the key of D and begins with a I–IV–V7–I–IV–V7–I chord progression, a point of interest is the raised A melody note against a D/F♯ chord on name, three and name. A significant moment is the substitution of a chord for the more standard II7 as part of the progression to V7. The song is notable for use of the 5th chord tone on the VII chord to produce extra dissonance. All four Beatles participated in the first three recording sessions on 17 May,7 and 8 June 1967, a saxophone part was recorded on 8 June which was played by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. The recording of the song was unfinished and untouched until 30 April 1969 when Lennon and McCartney laid down all the vocal tracks. George Harrison and Ringo Starr did not participate in this last session, even at this time I was thinking What are they doing with this old four-track tape, recording these funny bits onto this quaint song
36.
Delaney Bramlett
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Delaine Alvin Delaney Bramlett was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Bramlett was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, by 1965, Bramlett was a regular member of the Shindogs, the house band of the television show Shindig. During this time, he worked with J. J, cale and Leon Russell and released some unsuccessful solo singles. One of these, Guess I Must Be Dreamin, entered the Cashbox Looking Ahead survey on May 14,1967. In the late 1960s, British guitarist Eric Clapton joined Delaney & Bonnie & Friends on tour, after which Bramlett produced and co-wrote songs for Claptons debut solo album, Clapton has credited Bramlett for pushing him to sing and teaching him the art of rock vocals. Bramlett produced King Curtiss last album, which produced two hit singles, Teasin and Lonesome Long Way from Home. Bramlett taught George Harrison, who was then with the Beatles, to slide guitar. In 2006, Bramlett was one of the artists on the Jerry Lee Lewis album Last Man Standing, singing and playing guitar on Lost Highway. In 2008, the year of his death, Bramlett released his first CD in six years, the Bramletts Never Ending Song of Love has been covered by others and was used on the soundtrack of the films RV and A Good Year. Bramlett co-wrote Claptons hit song Let It Rain, Bramlett was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame on January 18,2011. Described in an obituary as a Southern legend, Bramlett died from complications of gall bladder surgery on December 27,2008, in Los Angeles, California. 5 - Vocals, producer 1997, Hank Thompson, Hank, Real Thing - Background vocals, National dobro 1998, Ian Whitcomb, You Turn Me On, The Very Best of Ian Whitcomb - Bass guitar 1998, T
37.
Bonnie Bramlett
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Bonnie Bramlett is an American singer and occasional actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. She began as a backing vocalist for blues and R&B singers, performed with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie, Bramlett was born in Alton, Illinois. She started her career at the age of thirteen as a backup singer for blues singers such as Albert King and Little Milton. She was the first white woman to sing with Ike and Tina Turner as one of the Ikettes and she eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she met the singer Delaney Bramlett in 1967 at a bowling alley gig for his band, the Shindogs. They were married within the week and their daughter, Bekka Bramlett, who is now also a singer, was born the following year. The duo signed with Stax Records and became known as Delaney & Bonnie and they soon toured Europe with the British rock guitarist Eric Clapton. With frequent drop-in performances by noted musicians like Duane Allman, George Harrison, and Dave Mason. Despite this all-star assistance, only two songs by Delaney and Bonnie reached the charts, their best-known Never Ending Song of Love and a cover of Masons Only You Know and I Know. Delaney and Bonnie co-wrote, with Leon Russell, Superstar, popularized by the Carpenters, and the classic Let It Rain, Delaney and Bonnie disbanded, both musically and maritally, in 1972. Bonnie Bramlett continued her career as a songwriter and recording artist. She released Sweet Bonnie Bramlett in 1973, backed by the Average White Band, Bramlett continued to contribute vocals to recordings by other artists, including Little Feat and the Allman Brothers Band. Her performance appears in Havana Jam 79 a documentary film by Ernesto Juan Castellanos. Costello apologized at a conference in New York City a few days later. According to Costello, it necessary for me to outrage these people with about the most obnoxious. After exploring gospel music in the 80s, Bonnie married Danny Sheridan in 1988 and he produced her next recordings, in which she was backed by the Bandaloo Doctors, with their self-proclaimed revolutionary hard rockin blues. The groups music attracted the admiration of many Hollywood celebrities, Bonnie played a co-worker and friend of Roseanne Barrs character Roseanne Conner, with Danny Sheridan occasionally writing music and appearing as the character Hank the bass player. During this period, Delaney and Bonnies daughter, Bekka Bramlett, also started a singing career, Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett had small roles in the 1971 film Vanishing Point and in 1974s Catch My Soul. Bonnie also guest-starred in an episode of Fame in 1986 and in the 1991 movie The Doors and she also appeared in the Andrew Davis film The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher
38.
Bobby Keys
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Robert Henry Bobby Keys was an American saxophonist who performed with other musicians as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Nilsson, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, George Harrison, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keys played on hundreds of recordings and was a touring musician from 1956 until his death in 2014. Keys was born at Lubbock Army Airfield near Slaton, Texas and his mother, Lucy Keys, was 16 when she gave birth to Robert Henry, her first child. By 1946, Bill Keys got a job for the Santa Fe Railroad in Belen, the family moved to Belen, New Mexico, but young Robert stayed with his grandparents in Slaton, Texas, an arrangement he was quite happy with. Bill and Lucy would have three children, Gary and twins Debbie and Daryl. Lucy Keys went on to become a senator in New Mexico. Bobby Keys started touring at age fifteen with Bobby Vee and fellow Texan Buddy Holly, Keys met the Rolling Stones at the San Antonio Teen Fair in 1964. He is best known for his resume as a musician. Keys and Richards share exactly the same date of birth, after renewing his acquaintance with the band via Gram Parsons, a mutual friend, Keys made his debut with The Rolling Stones on the Let It Bleed track Live with Me in 1969. In addition to Brown Sugar, he was featured on such early 1970s Stones songs as Cant You Hear Me Knocking. Keys and Mick Jagger also became close in the early 1970s, together with Jim Price on trumpet, Keys toured with the Stones from 1970 to 1972. According to legend, Keys was abruptly dismissed by an incensed Jagger after filling a bathtub with Dom Perignon champagne and drinking most of it. Although Keys did not dispute the incident, he maintained in his memoir that he left the tour of his own volition to curtail his heroin addiction for the sake of his family. As a result of turmoil, Keys only guested on some shows of the 1975 and 1978 American tours. He performed only four tracks on the 1981 tour, on which Ernie Watts was the saxophonist, Keys was reinstated as the bands main touring saxophonist on the 1982 European Tour, together with Gene Barge. Keys played with the Stones on all subsequent tours up to his death, prior to touring with the Stones, Keys played with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends with Eric Clapton and George Harrison in 1969. In particular, the year 1970 was a series of notable performances. Keys started the working on Claptons first solo LP
39.
Jim Price (musician)
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James Jim Price was, together with Bobby Keys and Jim Horn, one of the most in demand horn session players of the 1970s. He toured extensively with The Rolling Stones from 1970 until 1973, including their 1972 American Tour, from September 1968 to February 1969, Price played with New Buffalo Springfield. He also toured and recorded with Delaney, Bonnie and Friends, Joe Cockers Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Price worked as a session musician, playing trombone and trumpet in the Los Angeles area. His work on the Delaney & Bonnie album Accept No Substitute led to touring with the band and he next appeared on Claptons self-titled solo album. Also that year, he worked on All Things Must Pass with George Harrison and Mad Dogs, the next year he appeared on Barbra Streisands album Barbra Joan Streisand. He also worked as producer in this period. During the 1980s and 1990s, Price composed music for motion pictures, television programs. In addition he was the composer and music director for the ABC two-hour special All-Star Pro Sports Awards. Price also composed, arranged, and produced music score for MPCA feature film Hangfire, starring Brad Davis, Kim Delaney, George Kennedy, and Yaphet Kotto, official website Unofficial website Allmusic. com biography
40.
Keith Moon
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Keith John Moon was an English drummer who played with the English rock band the Who. He was noted for his style and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour. His drumming continues to be praised by critics and musicians, Moon grew up in Alperton, a suburb of Wembley, in Middlesex, and took up the drums during the early 1960s. After playing with a band, the Beachcombers, he joined the Who in 1964 before they recorded their first single. Moon remained with the band during their rise to fame, and was recognised for his drumming style, which emphasised tom-toms, cymbal crashes. He occasionally collaborated with musicians and later appeared in films. In addition to his talent as a drummer, however, Moon developed a reputation for smashing his kit on stage and he was fascinated by blowing up toilets with cherry bombs or dynamite, and by destroying television sets. Moon enjoyed touring and socialising, and was bored and restless when the Who were inactive and his 21st birthday party in Flint, Michigan, has been cited as a notorious example of decadent behaviour by rock groups. Moon suffered a number of setbacks during the 1970s, most notably the death of chauffeur Neil Boland. He became addicted to alcohol, particularly brandy and champagne, and acquired a reputation for decadence and dark humour, after moving to Los Angeles with personal assistant Peter Dougal Butler during the mid-1970s, Moon recorded his only solo album, the poorly received Two Sides of the Moon. While touring with the Who, on occasions he passed out on stage and was hospitalised. By their final tour with him in 1976, and particularly during production of The Kids Are Alright and Who Are You, the drummers deterioration was evident. Moon moved back to London in 1978, dying in September of that year from an overdose of Heminevrin, Keith John Moon was born to Alfred Charles and Kathleen Winifred Moon on 23 August 1946 at Central Middlesex Hospital in northwest London, and grew up in Wembley. He was hyperactive as a boy, with a restless imagination, Moon attended Alperton Secondary Modern School after failing his eleven plus exam, which precluded his attending a grammar school. His art teacher said in a report, Retarded artistically and his music teacher wrote that Moon has great ability, but must guard against a tendency to show off. Moon joined his local Sea Cadet Corps band at the age of twelve on the bugle and he was interested in practical jokes and home science kits, with a particular fondness for explosions. On his way home from school, Moon would often go to Macaris Music Studio on Ealing Road to practise on the drums there and he left school at age fourteen, around Easter in 1961. Moon then enrolled at Harrow Technical College, this led to a job as a radio repairman, Moon took lessons from one of the loudest contemporary drummers, Screaming Lord Sutchs Carlo Little, at ten shillings per lesson
41.
The Who
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The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964. Their classic line-up consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential bands of the 20th century, selling over 100 million records worldwide and holding a reputation for their live shows. The Who developed from a group, the Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements, featuring auto-destructive art by destroying guitars. Their first single as the Who, I Cant Explain, reached the UK top ten, followed by a string of singles including My Generation, Substitute and Happy Jack. In 1967, they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and released the US top ten single I Can See for Miles, the groups fourth album, 1969s rock opera Tommy, included the single Pinball Wizard and was a critical and commercial success. Live appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight Festival, along with the live album Live at Leeds, with their success came increased pressure on lead songwriter and visionary Townshend, and the follow-up to Tommy, Lifehouse, was abandoned. Songs from the project made up 1971s Whos Next, which included the hit Wont Get Fooled Again, the group released the album Quadrophenia in 1973 as a celebration of their mod roots, and oversaw the film adaptation of Tommy in 1975. They continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at the end of 1976, the release of Who Are You in 1978 was overshadowed by the death of Moon shortly after. Kenney Jones replaced Moon and the group resumed activity, releasing a film adaptation of Quadrophenia, after Townshend became weary of touring, the group split in 1982. The Who occasionally re-formed for live appearances such as Live Aid in 1985, a 25th anniversary tour in 1989 and they resumed regular touring in 1999, with drummer Zak Starkey. After Entwistles death in 2002, plans for a new album were delayed, Townshend and Daltrey continued as the Who, releasing Endless Wire in 2006, and continued to play live regularly. They are cited as an influence by rock, punk rock and mod bands. The founding members of the Who, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, grew up in Acton, London and went to Acton County Grammar School. Townshend and Entwistle became friends in their year of Acton County. Both were interested in rock, and Townshend particularly admired Cliff Richards début single, Entwistle moved to guitar, but struggled with it due to his large fingers, and moved to bass on hearing the guitar work of Duane Eddy. He was unable to afford a bass and built one at home, after Acton County, Townshend attended Ealing Art College, a move he later described as profoundly influential on the course of the Who. Daltrey, who was in the year above, had moved to Acton from Shepherds Bush and he had trouble fitting in at the school, and discovered gangs and rock and roll
42.
Instant Karma!
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Instant Karma. – sometimes referred to as Instant Karma. – is a song written by English musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. In the UK, the single was credited to Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band, Instant Karma. was written, recorded and released within a period of ten days, making it one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. Recorded at Londons Abbey Road Studios, Instant Karma, employs Spectors signature Wall of Sound technique and features contributions from George Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Alan White and Billy Preston. The B-side was a song composed and performed by Yoko Ono, recently shorn of the long hair synonymous with their 1969 campaign for world peace, Lennon and Ono promoted the single with an appearance on Britains Top of the Pops. Instant Karma. has appeared on many Lennon compilations, including Shaved Fish, Lennon Legend and Power to the People, a version recorded at the One to One concerts in August 1972 was included on his posthumously released Live in New York City album. The song continues to receive praise as one of the finest recordings from Lennons solo career. Paul Weller, Duran Duran and U2 are among the acts who have covered Instant Karma, the chorus of which inspired the title to Stephen Kings 1977 novel The Shining. Together with his wife, Yoko Ono, John Lennon spent New Year 1970 in Aalborg, Denmark, establishing a relationship with Onos former husband, artist Tony Cox, and visiting Cox and Onos daughter Kyoko. The visit coincided with the start of what Lennon termed Year 1 AP, following his and Onos much-publicised Bed-Ins, on 27 January 1970, two days after returning to the UK, Lennon woke up with the beginnings of a song inspired by his conversations with Cox and Kendall. Working at home on a piano, Lennon developed the idea and came up with a melody for the composition, which he titled Instant Karma. The song employs a similar structure to that of Three Blind Mice and Some Other Guy, after Lennon had used the same progression in his 1967 composition for the Beatles. Later in 1970, he would adopt the melody of Three Blind Mice, in their book The Words and Music of John Lennon, Ben Urish and Kenneth Bielen suggest that in the first verse of Instant Karma. Lennon rebukes his listeners with the lines, Get yourself together / Pretty soon youre gonna be dead. Norman comments on the catchphrase of the moment contained in the first of these two lines, which together provide a warning that is obviously not to be taken literally. Author Mark Hertsgaard notes the lyric Why in the world are we here, as a further example of Lennon asking what purpose his life on earth was to serve, after his 1966 composition Strawberry Fields Forever. Norman describes the chorus as Lennon restating his message of peace campaigning and non-violent, Lennon biographer John Blaney writes that the song is an appeal for mankind to take responsibility for its fate and that it was Lennon developing his own brand of egalitarianism. Lennon completed the writing of Instant Karma. in an hour and he then telephoned bandmate George Harrison and American producer Phil Spector, who was in London at the invitation of the Beatles Apple Corps manager, Allen Klein. According to Lennons recollection, he told Spector, Come over to Apple quick, although still officially a member of the Beatles, Lennon had privately announced his departure from the group in September 1969
