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The Beatles Meet Bob Dylan

Posted in Beatles, the, Bob Dylan, PEOPLE, tagged 1960s, Blowin in the Wind, Bob Dylan, Dylan meets the Beatles, John Lennon, Norwegian Wood, rubber soul, the delmonico hotel on March 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

And how many ears must one man haveBefore he can hear people cry?Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knowsThat too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the windThe answer is blowin’ in the wind (1)

In 1964, the Beatles were in awe of songwriter Bob Dylan’s gift for lyrics, as evidenced here in the excerpt from Dylan’s 1962 classic song, “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Bob Dylan, 1965

John Lennon wanted to meet Dylan but not as badly as he wanted to meet Elvis. Dylan, at 22, was a contemporary and a competitor, while Elvis had achieved mythic status for John. Elvis’ music had been the spark that moved him. John said,

‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was the most exciting thing we had ever heard.

John Lennon, 1964

John had to admit while Elvis’s rock and roll had captured his imagination and influenced his music, Dylan’s lyrics moved him to take more interest in his own lyric-writing.

Bob Dylan met the Beatles on August 28, 1964 at the Delmonico Hotel while the Beatles were in New York. Dylan introduced the Beatles to marijuana during that visit. And so began a long friendship between the Fabulous Four and Bob Dylan. Dylan’s lyrics turned John Lennon inward as a songwriter, expressing his feelings through his lyrics. Less and less, he wrote songs about holding hands and sharing secrets. Here is Lennon’s moody 1965 song, “Norwegian Wood” from the Beatles’ 1965 album, “Rubber Soul”:

I once had a girlOr should I say she once had meShe showed me her roomIsn’t it good Norwegian wood?

She asked me to stayAnd she told me to sit anywhereSo I looked aroundAnd I noticed there wasn’t a chair

I sat on a rug biding my timeDrinking her wineWe talked until two and then she said“It’s time for bed”

She told me she workedIn the morning and started to laughI told her I didn’tAnd crawled off to sleep in the bath

And when I awoke I was aloneThis bird had flownSo I lit a fireIsn’t it good Norwegian wood?

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Ladies and Gentleman…The Beatles!

Posted in Beatles, the, PEOPLE, tagged beatles, beatles exhibit on June 27, 2015| 4 Comments »

My husband Tom and I just returned from touring “Ladies and Gentlemen…The Beatles!” (June 13, 2015 – January 10, 2016) at the LBJ Presidential Library here in Austin, Texas. This fantastic traveling exhibit focuses on the years 1964-1966, when the British rock band landed in America and took the world by storm.

While some of the memorabilia in the museum was standard Beatles fare – clips of the Fab Four performing on the Ed Sullivan TV show, photos of George, Paul, Ringo, and John running from the ceiling to the floor,

George Harrison

Paul McCartney

Ringo Starr

John Lennon

videos of fans being interviewed,

Interviewer: Do you have Beatlemania?

Female Fan: Yes, but we don’t know why we act as we do.

“Love Me Do,” the Beatles first single, was released on Oct. 5, 1962

there were still plenty of choice nuggets to be discovered among the trove, including this “Love Me Do” 45 RPM record, signed by all 4 Beatles the day after it was recorded.

Included were John Lennon‘s first pair of granny glasses.

John Lennon 1967

The centerpiece of the show was one of John Lennon’s beloved Gibson guitars.

John Lennon’s Gibson Guitar, 1962. John Lennon bought this electric-acoustic, Gibson J-160E guitar at Rushworth’s Music House in Liverpool, England, soon after the Beatles signed their first recording contract with Parlophone Records. The guitar cost £161 (approximately $450). Lennon used it on several famous Beatles recordings from 1963 to ’64, including “Please Please Me,” “She Loves You, and “A Hard Day’s Night.” The guitar made a limited appearance in Austin (June 13-29).

While we’re talking about John, here is a lock of his hair he bestowed on a British fan, signing his autograph with ‘love from “Bald” John Lennon xxx.’

John Lennon’s autograph with lock of hair

Featured was the original Ludwig drum head Ringo played on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

Ringo’s drums

At an oral history booth, I made an audio recording of my personal recollections of the Beatles. I was nine years old when the Beatles made their first appearance – live – on the Ed Sullivan Show. It was August, a Sunday night, and a hot one. I grew up in South Texas, in the days before air conditioned houses. Our casement windows were cranked open.

When the Beatles debuted with“All My Loving,” the teen-aged girls in the audience went wild, screaming. Then we heard screams in the neighborhood. The next door neighbor children were screaming as they watched the performance.

The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Feb. 9, 1964

Instead of playing house, my sister Loise, my neighbor, Katie, and I played a variation on that theme that we called “Beatles Wives.” We pretended we were each married to a Beatle and were waiting for the men to come home. We would get dressed up and plan the (imaginary) dinner we would serve them. I thought I was Jane Asher (Paul’s girlfriend at the time), as I was “married” to Paul McCartney.

My mother loved the Beatles as much as we children did. She would put one of their records on the stereo and we – my mom, my sisters, my neighbor friends, and I – would hold hands and dance around and around in a big circle in our living room. The album, “Beatles 65,” was a favorite.

Back at the LBJ exhibit: At the entrance, there was also a huge wall map of the United States pinned with ticket stubs for Beatles concerts.

In 1966, $4.50 bought you a ticket to a Beatles concert. The Candlestick Park, San Francisco, would be their last official concert. The 11-song set included hits such as “She’s a Woman,” “Day Tripper,” “I Feel Fine,” “Yesterday,” and “Paperback Writer.”

In 1966, $4.50 bought you a ticket to a Beatles concert – in this case, the Beatles’ last official concert – at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. Their 11-song set included hits such as “She’s a Woman,” “Day Tripper,” “I Feel Fine,” “Yesterday,” and “Paperback Writer.”

(l. to r.) Paul McCartney and George Harrison perform at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, in August of 1966. This was their final official performance. They were burned out and complained that the fans were so loud they couldn’t hear themselves playing their music.

One wall case was devoted to Beatles products sold by Woolworth’s department stores: Beatles bubble bath, bobble-headed dolls, “Build a Beatle” kits, Beatle lunchkits, record holders, and rings.

Bobble headed Beatles

I saved the best for last. Here is a song written in longhand by Paul McCartney.

This is an early draft of the song, “What You’re Doing,” written by Paul McCartney with help from John Lennon, 1964. During their first U.S. tour, the group rested in Atlantic City, where McCartney tossed this draft in the trash. It was retrieved by a maid and given to Atlantic City concert promoter George Hamid.

Our tour ended with a photo op of Tom and me walking across Abbey Road.

Tom

Readers: For more on the Beatles, click here.

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John Lennon: A Saucy Fellow

Posted in Beatles, the, PEOPLE, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mum, ROYALTY/NOBILITY, tagged Beatlemania, British Royal Family/Nobles, John Lennon, John Lennon "rattle your jewelry", John Lennon's sense of humor, Paul McCartney, Queen Elizabeth at Beatles concert, Queen Mum at Beatles concert, Royal Variety Show in 1963, the Beatles on August 21, 2009| 6 Comments »

John Lennon, right, from a scene in the fantastically funny film, "A Hard Day's Night." Lennon is "sniffing a coke" while sitting next to Wilfrid Brambell who plays Paul McCartney's grandfather, constantly referred to as "a clean old man" and the source of great trouble to the Beatles in the show.

John Lennon, right, from a scene in the fantastically funny film, "A Hard Day's Night" (1965). Traveling on a train, Lennon sits next to Wilfrid Brambell, who plays Paul McCartney's grandfather. John is "sniffing coke." Paul's grandfather is constantly referred to as "a clean old man." In fact, he is not, and is the source of great trouble to the Beatles, in particular, Ringo, in this pseudo rock documentary.

Beatle John Lennon (1940-1980) had a witty sense of humor. During live performances of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” Lennon often changed the words to “I want to hold your gland,” because of the difficulty hearing the vocals above the noise of screaming audiences in the grip of Beatlemania.

At the Royal Variety Show in 1963—in the presence of members of the British royalty, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Lord Snowdon —Lennon quipped to the largely upper-crust audience:

“For our next song, I’d like to ask for your help. For the people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands … and the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry.”

A clip from this London performance is shown below, with the Beatles singing, “With Love From Me to You,” “Until There Was You,” and “Twist and Shout.” Paul makes a joke before “Until There Was You,” referring to American singer Sophie Tucker as a group (she was large). John makes his jewelry comment before playing my all-time favorite “Twist and Shout.” Enjoy.

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Peter & Gordon: Gordon Dies at 64

Posted in Beatles, the, Gordon Waller (Peter & Gordon), PEOPLE, tagged "A World Without Love", Beatles songs they gave away, Gordon Waller dies, Jane Asher, Peter and Gordon, Sir Paul McCartney, sixties rock, the Beatles on July 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Gordon Waller (1945-2009)

Gordon Waller, half of the rock duo, Peter and Gordon, that was part of the British Invasion of the Sixties, died Friday, July 17, 2009, in Norwich, Connecticut. He was 64 and lived in Ledyard, Connecticut. His death was announced on the official Peter and Gordon website.

Peter and Gordon were part of a wave of British bands that swept the United States following the success of the Beatles. They toured the United States and appeared on network variety shows, including “The Ed Sullivan Show.” In Gordon Waller’s obituary in The New York Times, writer Douglas Martin describes Peter and Gordon’s vocal harmonies as “reminiscent of the Everly Brothers to their own synthesis of folk, blues and rock ‘n’ roll.”

Jane Asher, sister of Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon. Jane Asher dated Sir Paul McCartney for five years until she tired of Paul's rampant infidelity.

Jane Asher, sister of Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon. Jane Asher dated Sir Paul McCartney for five years until she eventually tired of his rampant infidelity and broke off the relationship.

Although they recorded many successful songs, their most memorable is “A World Without Love” (1964). It was one of several written for them by Sir Paul McCartney. In October, 1963, Peter Asher and Gordon Waller had signed a record contract with EMI. At the time, Peter’s red-haired sister – the lovely Jane Asher – was dating Paul McCartney. Peter (age 19) and Gordon (age 18) asked Paul to give them a song. They knew he was in the middle of writing “A World Without Love” for the Beatles to record. Peter and Gordon asked Paul to finish the tune for them so they could record it. (1)

It was recorded on January 21, 1964, at Abbey Road with an arrangement by Geoff Love and production by Norman Newell. It was completed in 5 takes. The tune became a Top 10 hit in Britain, even displacing the Beatles’ own “Can’t Buy Me Love” on the pop charts. It was then issued in the United States on the Capitol label and became one of the top songs of the year. Two more McCartney songs that year brought Peter and Gordon added success: “Nobody I Know” and “I Don’t Want to See You Again.” Click below to watch the video of Peter and Gordon singing “A World Without Love.” Also visit Peter and Gordon at Peter and Gordon myspace to hear more of their music.

(1) The New York Times, “Gordon Waller, 64, a Partner in the Band Peter and Gordon.” Obituaries, July 21, 2009.

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Imelda Marcos Almost Gets the Beatles Killed Part 2

Posted in Beatles, the, Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, PEOPLE, tagged Beatlemania, biographies of first ladies, biographies of political wives, biographies of women, Imelda Marcos, the Beatles, the Beatles 1966 World Tour, the Beatles return from Manila, The Beatles' Manila concerts on June 21, 2009| 13 Comments »

(Read “Imelda Marcos Almost Gets the Beatles Killed Part 1” first.)

Hear what the Fab Four had to say about their brush with death in Manila:

*For other related posts on this site, see:
“Imelda Marcos: 2000 Shoes”
“Ferdinand Marcos’ Restless Corpse”
“Imelda Being Imeldific*”

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The Queen is Mad!

Posted in Annie Leibovitz, Beatles, the, PEOPLE, Queen Elizabeth II, ROYALTY/NOBILITY, Yoko Ono, tagged Annie Leibovitz, biographies of queens, biographies of royalty, Crowngate, Double Fantasy, John Lennon, John Lennon's murder, Launer's handbags, Mark David Chapman, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth's handbag, Queen Elizabeth's purse, Rolling Stone, the British Royal Family, the queen is not amused, Tiaragate, Yoko Ono on May 31, 2009| 6 Comments »

In this March 2007 photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets American photographer Annie Leibowitz at a reception prior to their photo shoot. Notice that the Queen has her black Launer purse on her arm.

In this March 2007 photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets American photographer Annie Leibovitz at a reception prior to their photo shoot. Notice that the Queen has her black Launer purse on her arm.

Prior to her May 2007 visit to the United States, Queen Elizabeth II sat for a series of official photographs by famous celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. Ms. Leibovitz is well known for her sometimes controversial celebrity photographs including one of a naked John Lennon hugging a fully clothed Yoko Ono.

December 8, 1980 photograph of John Lennon with wife Yoko Ono taken by Annie Leibowitz.

Leibovitz has said the original concept for the now legendary John Lennon and Yoko Ono Rolling Stone cover was for both to appear nude, designed to mark the release of their album “Double Fantasy.” As legend has it, Lennon was game, shedding his clothes quickly, but Ono felt uncomfortable even taking off her top. Leibovitz recalled for Rolling Stone:

“I was kinda disappointed, and I said, ‘Just leave everything on.’ We took one Polaroid, and the three of us knew it was profound right away.”

It was December 8, 1980. Five hours later, Lennon was dead – shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in front of his Manhattan apartment.

Now back to what I was saying about the Queen:

Leibowitz took the official portraits of Queen Elizabeth II in March 2007. One of the photos, shown below, shows a very serene Queen sitting in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace dressed in a pale gold evening dress, fur stole, and diamond tiara. The wide shot captures the Queen gazing towards a large open window and reveals some of the room’s furnishings and a reflection of a chandelier in a mirror. The room is dark except for the soft light flooding through the open window. All is calm.

Queen Elizabeth II, photographed by Annie Leibowitz, March 2007

The session was going smoothly until Leibovitz asked the Queen to take off her tiara (crown) to look “less dressy” for the next photo. The Queen flew into a huff and replied:

“Less dressy? What do you think this is?”

The Queen was definitely not amused and the tiara stayed on the royal head.

The incident was caught on tape and included in a BBC documentary “A Year with the Queen.” The BBC kept the footage and included it in a promotional trailer for the film. The trailer shows the Queen telling an aide, “I’m not changing anything. I’ve had enough dressing like this, thank you very much” and storming out of the room. The BBC later apologized and admitted that the sequence of events shown on the trailer had been misrepresented, as the Queen was in fact walking to the sitting in the second scene, not exiting. This led to a BBC scandal and a shake-up of ethics training. The event is known as “Tiaragate” and “Crowngate.” According to sources, the Queen was still furious about the incident months later.

Here’s the NBC-TV report:

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Imelda Marcos Almost Gets the Beatles Killed Part 1

Posted in Beatles, the, Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, PEOPLE, tagged Beatles Shea Stadium 1966, biographies of first ladies, biographies of political wives, biographies of women, Brian Epstein, Fab Four, George Harrison, Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, John Lennon, Malacanang Palace, Manila, Paul McCartney, Revolver, Ringo Starr, Taxman, the Beatles, the Beatles 1966 World Tour, the Philippines, Tony Barrow, Vic Lewis on April 8, 2009| 43 Comments »

Before they took off on their World Tour in June of 1966, the Beatles had put the finishing touches on their new album, “Revolver.” Click below to hear the song that would prove prescient of the “Fab Four’s” horrible experience in Manila – “Taxman.”

Monday, July 4, 1966
Manila, the Philippines, the second stop for the Beatles on their 1966 World Tour
The Manila Hotel

The Beatles: (l. to r.) George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon. ca. 1966

Manila, The Philippines:

Early in the morning, Tony Barrow, the Beatles’ publicist, and Vic Lewis, their booking agent, were awakened by sharp raps on the door of their suite. Two grim-looking men in military uniforms saluted and introduced themselves as the official reception committee from Malacañang Palace, the residence of President Ferdinand and First Lady Imelda Marcos.* They’d come to make final arrangements for the Beatles’ visit to the Palace for a luncheon hosted by the First Lady. (1)

Dictator Ferdinand Marcos with wife Imelda at his 1965 inauguration in the Philippines.

Neither Barrow nor Lewis knew what they were talking about. No one had told them that the Beatles were expected to make a presidential visit. The Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr – were sleeping, they explained, and couldn’t be disturbed. The band had just flown in from an exhausting concert in Tokyo. The “Fab Four” needed their rest, as they were schedule to give both afternoon and evening concerts in Manila that very day. Barrow and Lewis promised to pass along the request to Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager.

“This is not a request,” insisted the two men, one, a general, and the other, a commander, in the Philippine Army.

First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos was a former beauty queen. Here she models a traditional gown. She regarded herself as a goddess and was used to having her way. 1963

Fashion icon Imelda Marcos descends from a flight with her son Bong Bong. Undated photo

That afternoon, the Beatles performed their hits songs to an audience of 35,000. Afterwards, Tony Barrow and others in the Beatle’s entourage filed into Brian Epstein‘s suite to watch coverage of the concert on the evening news. They were pleased to discover that every channel featured scenes of screaming, swooning fans caught up in Beatlemania. However, Channel 5, one of the country’s major networks, ran additional footage not seen on the other channels. The scene showed the First Lady at the Palace with her disappointed luncheon guests, 200 children. The voice-over said, “The children began to arrive at ten. They waited until two….The place cards for the Beatles at the lunch table were removed.” Imelda Marcos was very mad as she and her guests filed into the grand dining room without their guests of honor. The spin was that the Beatles had deliberately snubbed the President and Mrs. Marcos by not showing up.

Brian Epstein went into full damage control mode. He issued a hastily written apology to the First Couple and called an interview with Channel 5 in his hotel suite, in which he professed complete ignorance of the invitation and praised the Marcoses. An hour later, the interview was broadcast but Brian’s appearance was blacked-out by static interference. That’s when everyone started to get nervous.

ticket stubs to the Beatles July 4, 1966 concerts in Manila

Worry soon turned to panic. After their evening show, the Beatles noticed that their police escort had disappeared. When their car pulled up to the Manila Hotel, the gates were locked against them. While they sat their in the idling car, wondering how they were going to get up to their suite, several dozen “organized troublemakers” attacked their car, banging on the windows, rocking it back and forth, and shouting threats in several languages. Vic Lewis shouted at the driver: “Drive on! Go through the people and smash the gates down!” The driver obeyed. At the entrance, everyone in the Beatles’ entourage ran into the hotel with the angry mob snapping at their heels.

Shortly, an official appeared at Vic Lewis’ suite demanding payment of local taxes. Lewis produced a contract stating that someone else – the promoter – had that responsibility, not the Beatles. This was brushed aside. Until all taxes were paid, said the taxman, no one in the Beatles party was being allowed to leave the country. When the man left, Lewis found Barrow. “We’ve got to get out of here – now.” He called the bell hop for help with the luggage.

The manager told Lewis that no one would be coming to help. “The whole hotel is going on strike. They think you’ve insulted President Marcos.” Bomb and death threats were telephoned to the deluged British Embassy and to the four Beatles’ hotel suite.

The next morning, Paul had seen the newspaper headlines blaring BEATLES SNUB PRESIDENT. The Beatles had known nothing of the invitation. “Oh, dear,” he thought. “We’ll just say we’re sorry.” About then “things started to get really weird,” recalled Ringo. He and John were hanging out in their bathrobes when a roadie popped his head in their room and shouted, “Come on! Get out of bed! Get packed – we’re getting out of here.”

Everyone in the entourage grabbed amplifiers and suitcases and made for the main elevators, but they were turned off. They had to take the service lift down. The halls were dark and lined with staff who shouted at them in Spanish and English. It was very frightening. When they got downstairs to check out, the front desk was deserted. Even their cars were gone. Someone managed to get a Town Car and everyone squeezed in and made for the airport.

But the airport route was sabotaged. Soldiers were stationed at intersections and roads were closed. Finally, they found a back road that led to the airport. The airport was deserted. “The atmosphere was scary,” remembered Tony Barrow, “as if a bomb was due to go off.” Once the Beatles got on the escalator, the power was shut off. As the Beatles moved through the terminal, little bands of demonstrators appeared, grabbing at them and trying to hit them.

Mobs rough up the Beatles at the Manila airport. John Lennon is at upper corner, right. July 6, 1966

They checked in for their flight as quickly as possible then were herded into a lounge “where an abusive crowd and police with guns had also gathered.” The cops began to shove the Beatles back and forth. It was impossible to tell the thugs from the military police. According to Ringo, “they started spitting at us, spitting on us.” The Beatles hid among a group of nuns and monks huddled by an alcove. Other members of their entourage, though, were kicked and beaten.

Finally, everyone was allowed to run across the tarmac to the plane. Vic Lewis felt sure he’d get a bullet in the back. The Beatles were terrified they’d be killed before they entered the safety of the airplane. Paul said, “When we got on the plane, we were all kissing the seats. It was feeling as if we’d found sanctuary. We had definitely been in a foreign country where all the rules had changed and they carried guns. So we weren’t too gung-ho about it at all.” Ringo remembered being afraid of going to jail. Ferdinand Marcos was a dictator (who, in a few years, would declare martial law in the Philippines.)

Everyone was poised for the plane to take off when the authorities came back on board and detained Tony Barrow for thiry minutes. For the plane to be allowed to take off with the Beatles on it, Tony was forced to pay a “leaving Manila tax” that amounted to the full amount of money the Beatles had made in their concerts before 80,000 fans.

Once the plane lifted off and everyone was safely in the air, all the anger of the past 24 hours boiled over. The Beatles blamed Brian for the debacle. He’d obviously received the invitation in Japan, ignoring it or misleading the Philippine authorities.

Beatlemania. October 1965, London, England, UK. Policemen struggle to restrain young Beatles fans outside Buckingham Palace as The Beatles receive their MBEs (Member of the British Empire) in 1965.

By the time the Beatles had landed in India, they had made a command decision. This would be their last tour. They were never going to go on another tour again. Never again, swore John, was he going to risk his life for a stadium filled with screaming 13-year-old girls.

Brian said, “Sorry, lads, we have got something fixed up for Shea Stadium. If we cancel it you are going to lose a million dollars.” So they played New York’s Shea Stadium later that summer. It was the first stop on their U.S. tour, their final tour as the Beatles.

shea-stadium-ticket