Artist:The Beatles
Song:Hey Jude
Album:1967-1970
The big difference between The Beatles' early days and the later days is they retired from touring in 1966. So they became a studio band. It allowed them to make more experimental music that they wouldn't have attempted if they were still touring. The change didn't seem to hurt record sales. Of course there was also the risk that they would tire of each other and I think that's what led to the eventual split. By the time the single Hey Jude was released in 1968, The Beatles announced the formation of their new record company Apple Corps. Did they need to start their own company? Of course not but John Lennon and Paul McCartney had big plans. George Harrison and Ringo Starr didn't think much of it. Hey Jude was one of Apple's "First Four" singles. This is an example of some of Apple's silly nonsense. But Hey Jude was a great song and it topped the charts worldwide. Lennon had left his wife Cynthia for Yoko Ono. So McCartney wrote Hey Jude to comfort Lennon's son Julian. The record was seven minutes long and the final refrain lasted four minutes. That would have been very unusual. It also shows how sappy McCartney's songs had become. And that would get worse post Beatles. They even filmed a promotional clip that aired on the TV show Frost on Sunday starring David Frost. You can get Hey Jude on this 2CD comp. By this time, Lennon and McCartney weren't writing together. It wouldn't be long before The Beatles split up for good. And I believe the decision to retire from touring led to the split. They had too much time on their hands to get upset about nothing. And if you have seen any of The Beatles documentaries of that time period, that's exactly what was happening. Here's the video for Hey Jude by The Beatles.
Growing up in the 60's and 70's as a young boy I loved the Beatles so much. I look back and see many of their songs now as children's songs. I discovered the Blues some years back when I was going through some very bad times and the music feels like music adults would listen to. I no longer feel the Beatles are that great of a band. I still have some of their music and listen to it. But now I listen to other music that feels more like it was made for adults with adult problems and cares that come from growing up and dealing with the world as a whole. Good job Frank of describing the cause of the breakup of the Beatles and of their history. Thank-you David.
ReplyDelete