Saturday, December 23, 2006

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ** FAB 4 RADIO**



Thank You For A Wonderful Year 2006

The Macca Report
Dr. Ebbetts
Cashinovah
Sonic Plus
The Fab 4 Radio House band (The Coyotees)
Brian Ray
Rusty Anderson

All the listeners around the world

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Click Here To Listen ** FAB 4 RADIO**



Playing this month on FAB 4 RADIO

The Beatles LOVE

Love Interview Disc. - Here Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Martin and Giles Martin discuss the creation of the Love music CD.

All Access Radio Interview with Paul McCartney

**iTune users can 'add' Fab 4 Radio to their playlists **

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

FAB 4 RADIO (The Global Beatle Network)


Fab 4 Radio is working very hard to get all the incoming song request on the playlist.

Thank you for all of your Listening support.

Now broadcasting in MP3pro Digital Stereo

Tell a friend about Fab 4 Radio

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Fab 4 Radio - The Global Beatle Network


Join The Global Beatle Network - It's Free!
Look at how many new listeners have joined in the last 30 days

Thank you for supporting The Global Beatle Network

Minneapolis - Saint Paul MN, WI 168
Shreveport AR, LA, OK, TX 54
New York CT, NJ, NY, PA 184
Charleston-Huntington KY, WV 22
San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose CA 62
Washington DC (Hagerstown) DC, MD, PA, VA, WV 64
Chicago IL, IN 47
Los Angeles CA 158
AOL or N/A AOL or N/A 102
Miami - Fort Lauderdale FL 39
Phoenix AZ, CA 25
Denver CO, MT, NE, NV, SD, WY 34
Indianapolis IN 24
Honolulu HI 43
Houston TX 21
Providence - New Bedford MA, RI 15
Detroit MI 34
Boston (Manchester) MA, NH, VT 32
Nashville KY, TN 20
Greenville - Spartansburg - Asheville - Anderson GA, NC, SC 11
Seattle - Tacoma WA 30
Orlando - Daytona Beach - Melbourne FL 22
Dallas - Fort Worth TX 38
Salt Lake City CO, ID, NV, UT 11
Bakersfield CA 24
Albuquerque - Santa Fe AZ, CO, NM 20
Buffalo NY, PA 24
Wilkes Barre - Scranton PA 40
Oklahoma City OK 22
Philadelphia DE, NJ, PA 53
Baltimore MD 18
Portland, OR OR, WA 21
Lexington KY 13
Des Moines - Ames IA, MO 24
Portland - Auburn ME, NH, VT 11
Charlottesville VA 10
Fort Wayne IN, OH 4
Atlanta AL, GA, NC 35
Hartford & New Haven CT 19
Austin, TX TX 29
Madison WI 34
Birmingham (Anniston and Tuscaloosa) AL 13
Tampa - Saint Petersburg (Sarasota) FL 18
Kansas City KS, MO 23
Las Vegas NV 17
Milwaukee WI 15
Mobile - Pensacola (Fort Walton Beach) AL, FL, MS 4
Charlotte NC, SC 10
Columbia, SC SC 8
Cincinnati IN, KY, OH 44
Columbus, OH OH 11
Rochester, NY NY 10
Pittsburgh MD, PA, WV 67
Baton Rouge LA, MS 3
San Antonio TX 11
Sioux Falls (Mitchell) IA, MN, NE, SD 3
Cleveland OH 20
Champaign & Springfield - Decatur IL 2
Albany - Schenectady - Troy MA, NY, VT 11
Bend, OR OR 6
Fort Myers - Naples FL 6
Panama City FL 2
Jacksonville, Brunswick FL, GA 11
Tucson (Sierra Vista) AZ 8
Green Bay - Appleton MI, WI 9
Sacramento - Stockton - Modesto CA 2
Tallahassee - Thomasville FL, GA 11
Toledo MI, OH 7
Paducah - Cape Girardeau - Harrisburg - Mt Vernon IL, KY, MO, TN 2
West Palm Beach - Fort Pierce FL 4
Harrisburg - Lancaster - Lebanon - York PA 3
El Paso NM, TX 5
Cedar Rapids - Waterloo & Dubuque IA 8
Louisville IN, KY 18
Tri-Cities, TN-VA KY, TN, VA 3
Saint Louis IL, MO 6
Wichita - Hutchinson KS, NE, OK 8
San Diego CA 12
Odessa - Midland NM, TX 1
Boise ID, OR 12
Memphis AR, MS, MO, TN 8
Burlington - Plattsburgh NH, NY, VT 2
Roanoke - Lynchburg VA, WV 3
Chattanooga AL, GA, NC, TN 1
Knoxville KY, TN 4
Greenville - New Bern - Washington NC 33
Springfield - Holyoke MA 3
Erie PA 1
Little Rock - Pine Bluff AR 5
Raleigh - Durham (Fayetteville) NC, VA 9
New Orleans LA, MS 8
Reno CA, NV 1
Omaha IA, MO, NE 5
Lafayette, LA LA 3
Bowling Green KY 1
Johnstown - Altoona PA 1
Rochester - Mason City - Austin IA, MN 2
Grand Rapids - Kalamazoo - Battle Creek MI 7
Montgomery (Selma) AL 5
Dayton IN, OH 3
Fort Smith - Fayetteville - Springdale - Rogers AR, OK 4
Savannah GA, SC 1
Binghamton NY 7
Lubbock TX 2
Jackson, TN TN 1
Traverse City - Cadillac MI 3
Richmond - Petersburg VA 3
Fresno - Visalia CA 3
Beaumont - Port Arthur TX 1
Lansing MI 3
Santa Barbara - Santa Maria - San Luis Obispo CA 3
Tulsa KS, OK 3
Monterey - Salinas CA 2
Greensboro - High Point - Winston-Salem NC, VA 2
Lincoln & Hastings - Kearney KS, NE 1
Cheyenne - Scottsbluff NE, WY 1
Zanesville OH 1
Spokane ID, MT, OR, WA 2
Syracuse NY 3
Norfolk - Portsmouth - Newport News NC, VA 2
Tyler - Longview (Lufkin & Nacogdoches) TX 2
Palm Springs CA 1
South Bend - Elkhart IN, MI 2
Flint - Saginaw - Bay City MI 2
Duluth - Superior MI, MN, WI 1
Charleston, SC SC 1

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Listen To What The Fan Says Pt. 2


We Love the station - why not go satellite radio ?- I would sign up
in a heartbeat. Thank you Fab 4 Radio!!! Texas, USA

"THE BEST INTERNET BEATLES STATION ON THE NET" The Macca Report

I keep listening to Fab4Radio and it's pretty cool!

Hi Fab 4 Radio,
I've just been lazy today...been "doing nothing but aging" and been listening to fab4radio...love all those George songs.

Hello Fab 4 Radio,
GREAT STATION!!

Hi Fab 4 Radio,

I was just thinking about some songs I'd love to hear. Of course, they don't need to be put in a regular rotation, you certainly don't have to play them, but they're nice to hear once in awhile...I don't ask much, do I? Thanks for your sense of humor...


George Harrison -
"What Is Life"
"Crackerbox Palace"
"Blow Away"

John Lennon -
"Watching The Wheels"
"Woman"
"Starting Over"

Paul McCartney/Wings -
"Silly Love Songs"
"Hi Hi Hi"
"Junior's Farm"
"Let Me Roll It"
"Coming Up"
"Ebony & Ivory"
"Say Say Say"

Ringo Starr -
"Octopus' Garden" - live one is solo
"No No Song"

Beatles -
"Paperback Writer"
"Hello, Goodbye"


Dearest DJ,

I LOVE your radio station!! I listen to it at work - with headphones - and this serves to make my co-workers go away :)

I love the Macca report. We in the US don't hear near as much about him as they do in the UK, obviously, but I look forward to the news every day.

If there's any such thing as a request, I'd love to hear more solo George Harrison. I'd offer to upload some for you, but I don't have any!

Thanks for putting so much Beatles stuff out there - I'm sure the time and money you spend on the station is quite the investment, but be assured that someone out there appreciates it.

Cheers


HELLO FAB4 RADIO - I JUST STUMBLED ONTO YOUR FABSTASTIC STATION
I LOVE THE WONDERFUL MIX OF SONGS - THE BEATLE COVERS ARE GREAT!
PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE KEEP IT UP MATE
FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER

Hi!!Beatles' lovers and overcoat George lovers!!!!!

check this page,it's great radio!! The Beatles! - John, Paul, George and Ringo - The music The Beatles loved and the bands that love The Beatles music!!!

now they are playing "I'm Down" a Aerosmith version...............

Hi...
great station!

some requests...in honor of Ringo's concert in L.A.
which i will be seeing on Saturday.

You're sixteen, Ringo
It don't come Easy, Ringo
Don't pass me by, Beatles
Octopus' Garden, Beatles
Act Naturally, Beatles
Paul McCartney is 64, Bruce Baert & Tony Barron
A Little Help From My Friends
Dark Horse, George Harrison
I'm Soldier, John Lennon
Maybe I'm Amazed, Paul McCartney

Hello, I'm new to Live 365, and even newer to Fab 4 Radio. Is there a way to access your playlist? More specifically can you give me some background on a Ronni Specter record you played (at least I think it's she)? I'm assuming it was written by one of the Beatles:

"Why Don't You Try Some, Baby Why Don't You Buy Some. . ."

Thank you in advance


WELL, I'VE JUST HEARD ON FAB 4 RADIO, SOMETHING
WONDERFUL!!!..........GEORGE HARRISON SINGING,LET IT BE
ME,SOMETHING,EVERY GRAND OF SAND...........WHAT ABOUT IT??????I LOVE IT!!!
TELL ME PLEASE!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

A Note From Your Doctor

Greetings.
Allow me a moment to address a specific issue (or two) that has been brought to my attention regarding the Dr. Ebbetts Collection. The first issue is regarding the presence of noise at the end of certain tracks on various titles throughout the Ebbetts collection. I must be honest and say that this is the first time anyone has actually made specific reference (that I am aware of) to any "noise" or "turntable rumble" on Ebbetts titles since the project's inception. However, it is a fair observation, and although it is has never been "an issue" until now, I am compelled to respond to the best of my ability.

Here is the original post:

"Lately I have enjoyed very much the Ebbetts Blue Box series. They are 99% perfect, but not 100%. The sound is generally fantastic, like making my old vinyl records come alive again in a new and perfect condition. But there is one small problem (at least with my discs, which are original Ebbetts discs
and not copies). At track endings, there is often some background noise appearing, very clearly during fadings like in Ticket to ride and Kansas City. Like turntable motor noise or whatever, I do not know what it is. It is not found on most other Ebbetts releases. I wonder what it is, why it has not been avoided, and whether other members of this forum have noted it? What does the good Doc have to say about it? I may be asking too much, but had it not been for this noise the EMI would never be able to beat the Ebbetts Blue box."


First, I am very pleased to hear that this individual finds the Ebbetts material to be 99% perfect. I would have happily settled for 80% in a heart-beat. Thank you tremendously. (By the way, I do NOT use a Linn turntable. I'm not sure how that got started).

First, as always, a short background before getting to the meat of it all -
The Doctor Ebbetts project is imperfect, like the music of the artists it tries to encapsulate for posterity. While the Beatles catalogue, for me, represents sheer brilliance and virtual perfection in an artistic sense, the recordings themselves are imperfect - we all know that. Thank goodness for that. It makes them more accessible, believable, genuine, etc (whatever earthy adjective you'd like to pop in here). That four young men, warts and all, could create such magic in a very very small window of time still astounds me beyond comprehension. (Stating the obvious here, right?)

I must say that I am NOT a fan of trying to change, update or sanitize the original material. For instance, I despised the "fix" of Day Tripper on the CD "1" from a few years ago. What exactly was the point? To create a more perfect onion??? Why??

Obviously, the original medium used to express these artistic expressions was vinyl. For many many people, this original medium still represents the best way to experience the Beatles music. For many, it doesn't. I thoroughly understand that. I am probably in the minority that way. The digital domain does NOTHING for me in terms of the original Beatles catalogue. This project is ONLY about preserving the original vinyl catalogue in the best possible way, not necessarily trying to create the perfect sounding representation of the Beatles material in total. That is a VERY IMPORTANT distinction. Believe me, I DO believe that the Ebbetts releases sound fantastic. I admit that and I stand by them. I am proud of them and I am fortunate that many agree with me.

To further my thought here, allow me to quote from the latest issue of the excellent magazine, Beatlology. I am very very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to write a little bit about the project for their always informative and interesting pages. In effect, I will quote myself here:

"I am very happy that EMI, in its categorically finite wisdom, decided that the American canon of Beatles material was finally worthy enough to tackle. I also believe that the new Capitol Versions boxed set (complete with the wrong mono mixes of two out of four titles), as well as the first Capitol collection released in 2004, sound excellent. In fact, I would encourage anyone and everyone within reading distance of this scribble (if they haven't already) to go out and pick up both sets. Additionally, I would further encourage anyone who has purchased Volume 2 to follow the prescribed procedures and obtain the corrected disc being offered by EMI. It's worth it. After all, these discs were created from the Capitol master tapes. Ted Jensen did a wonderful job. I applaude him.
The problem is (here it comes). they sound too digital to me. (What does that mean, Ebbetts? Come on, get a grip, you wordy dungeon-dwelling vinyl-jockey). Please understand, I don't mean that to come across as an inherently negative thing. There are many more people across the great blue ball who come down on the side of digital in the analogue-versus-digital debate. That's fine. I appreciate that. However, to my humble ears, despite the access Mr. Jensen had to the master tapes, and despite whatever EQing was done to enhance the listening experience, it still sounds like a digital recording to me. Yes, both Capitol sets are damn good, to be sure . but remember, I'm a vinyl-loving, tube amp, smooth-sounding audio kind of guy.
Okay, so what does all this mean in real, everyday language? Well, as good as the two Capitol collections sound, the simple way for me to describe their overall presentation is to say that they come across as somewhat harsh
- particularly in the ever-important mid-to-high range. Perhaps a more accurate description would be to call them abrasively bright - i.e., too much treble. Many will immediately snap at me, as they often do, "That means it's crisp, Ebbetts!" "That's a good thing, Doctor Moron!"
Okay, I know. Groovy. I'm hip to that.
On the other end, the songs are often bottom-heavy - i.e., a bit too
bassy for my taste. "Come on, Mr. Fossil, that means it's pumpin!"
Yeah, okay. I get it.
I also think, to a much lesser extent, that the mid range sounds somewhat tweaked. "What the hell does that mean, Doc Ego?" I don't really know. I just know it when I hear it.
Does any of this make sense at all?
Perhaps not.
Allow me to sum it up this way: Metaphorically speaking, the Capitol CDs seem to "cut through" rather than "glide across." They slap the skin rather than message it.
(I know. Forgive me. I'm writing this at the eleventh hour).
And as far as the LP artwork is concerned, I have two words:
It sucks.
Find a better Xerox machine, guys. It's an embarrassment, much like the first set was. This is the best EMI can do?

Enter the Doctor Ebbetts Project."

Okay, okay ... What the HELL does all of this have to do with the noise issue thing?? (Can't you just get to the damn point, Doc?) I understand that the original poster made no reference to the sound quality of the discs, just the slight noise he is hearing (perhaps on headphones). Why go through all of this rambling about the project itself when he is simply addressing a spot of noise that is only audible upon a song's fade out? Feeling defensive, Doc?

Well, yes ... Kind of .. Sort of ... I gotta defend the project, no?

Again, why post a novel here when this guy (or gal) only wanted to know about some occasional noise that is only discernible at the very fade out of some songs??

Because it has EVERYTHING to do with this project.

Vinyl is imperfect. I am imperfect. The Beatles music is imperfect (in a perfect sort of way).

I listened to the two examples cited by his post. Yes, there is noise. Of course there is noise. There had BETTER be noise, or else I'm packing it in. These Ebbetts titles are being sourced from vinyl. This is analogue. I EXPECT there to be noise!

Indeed, some tracks are noisier than others. Some pressing are noisier than others. It is the way it is. It's the way it has ALWAYS been with this project. There is nothing new here and whatever noise one hears is inherent in the process. I attempted to use the best possible source material here. I was fortunate enough to have two unplayed BLUE BOX sets and one beat up set (used as reference only). I chose what I believed were the best transfers from the two sets I had to work with and created the titles. There is nothing definite or uniform about needle drops. Some LPs are as close to perfect as they can be all the way through, while others are near perfect for certain tracks only.

SPECIFICS:

Regarding the HELP Blue Box RE-master, here are the statistics:

Two transfers of each of the two copies of the HELP LP I had to work with were performed on 11 January 2006. They were labeled as follows: T1S1D1 (transfer 1, side 1, disc 1), T2S1D1 (transfer 2, side 1, disc 1), T1S2D1 (transfer 1, side 2, disc 1), T2S2D2 (transfer 2, side 2, disc 2), etc. etc.... Each LP was up to that point unplayed when used for transfer. As it turned out, all of these transfers sounded fine and there were no egregious anomalies. I used T2S1D1 and T2S2D1 as the master for this title. There was no mixing and matching from different transfers because it wasn't necessary. Whatever pops and crackles were present were removed. This title was then sent out to FIVE Beatle aficionados (as is the normal procedure) to check for anomalies and blatant imperfections before offering it to the general public.

Noise was NOT cited as a problem. It never has been.

Understand this ... The Ebbetts project is NOT like some of the other masterful projects going on out there like Mirror Spock's, for instance. (I have never addressed the project of Mirror Spock before, so allow me a moment to do so).

Mirror Spock succeeds, quite brilliantly, at creating - not RECREATING. He meticulously creates the PERFECT SOUNDING representations of the Beatle material. He employs specialized procedures to produce what could be called the absolute examples of the Beatles material. He IMPROVES them - not to the determent of the material, but to its advantage. He tweaks, fixes, engineers and produces magnificent examples of how he believes (and many many others
believe) the Beatles material should sound and look. That is a marvelous way to approach this band's material, and no one - NO ONE - does that better than him. However, that is NOT the goal of the Doctor Ebbetts project.

The goal of the Dr. Ebbetts project is to offer the very best sounding representations of their original releases, as clean as pristine as they can possibly be, sourced from original vinyl with impeccable representations of the original artwork. There are many many who love the Ebbetts project, and I am thankful. There are many who prefer Mirror Spock's work, and I think that's wonderful as well. I ENCOURAGE you to go out and get ALL of his material. It is brilliant. As for me, I strive continually to recreate the original releases in the most accurate and faithful way I can. I honestly believe that the Ebbetts material is the best representation of their original releases in the world - better sounding and looking than anything that EMI/Capitol has put out, or ever will. That is MY humble opinion. I understand that I am probably in the minority here, but that's okay.

However, to address the original point ... I do NOT employ noise reduction and NEVER WILL. Tape hiss - and yes, some turntable noise - is inherent in ALL Dr. Ebbetts material. I will NOT remove it artificially. And while all precautions are taken to ensure that as little as possible extra noise is inserted in the transfer process, there invariably is some. The overwhelming vast majority of people don't even notice these things. It is, if I may say so, as close to negligible as it can be.

To quote myself again: "The purpose of this project, as is now well-known, is to represent the Beatles vinyl output in the best possible way. The audio is meticulously transferred into the digital domain using the original LP releases on state of the art equipment. The result is a sound that satisfies my small-minded, narrow perception of how the greatest band in music history should sound. I am most fortunate that many wonderful people feel as I do about this. Completing the Ebbetts package is the replication of the original LP artwork. The album jackets, inserts and labels are painstakingly reproduced in CD format to not only offer the best looking representations available, but the most accurate.
Every few months, I expand the Ebbetts catalogue with new titles and improve it with upgrades. This upgrade system, a now well-known element of this project, is something akin to a subscription service. Once someone acquires a title from Dr. Ebbetts directly, he or she is entitled to a lifetime of free upgrades. Simply put, if ever I decide to employ new and better vinyl transfers of a given title in the catalogue or improve upon the artwork, those who originally acquired those titles directly from me are entitled to upgrades, free of charge. (Yes, insanity runs in the family)."

I mean no disrespect to the original poster. (If I may address him personally here): I appreciate your investment in the Ebbetts catalogue. I sincerely do. I am here to please please you. Thank you tremendously for your continued support. I also appreciate the adamancy and attention-to-detail that is itself almost inherent in the souls of Beatle collectors everywhere. I assure you, no one is more adamant about these things as me. However, the noise you reference is not a determent to the sound. It does not detract, does not stand out and has never been referenced by any of the over seven thousand people who subscribe to the Ebbetts material. I am MORE than happy to refund your money, if you so choose. That is NOT a problem. If you are unhappy with the material, then I am unhappy. Ask for a refund through me directly and then keep the CDs, because I don't want them back. The purpose is to be faithful to the music. I mean that with every fiber of my being. (Next time, e-mail me directly. I answer every e-mail personally. You know that).

I can hear the retorts now. "So, you're saying ADDING noise to the recordings is good?" "Adding more imperfection to imperfect sound is better?"

Of course not.

In my most humble opinion, being the propietor and overseer of this project for over six years, ever trying to improve it, with a humbling world-wide frienship with thousands that include the greatest Beatle people in the world, whatever slight noise may be evident at the VERY END of these recordings during the fade-outs, discernible only after the music is either completely gone or almost gone, is NOT a problem. Some of the noise is original tape hiss, while some if it is the inherent sound of a vinyl record. This need to eliminate tape hiss and noise from original recordings ELUDES me. This desire to sanitize forty year old recordings to better fit into the modern mold of how many feel things should sound, ESCAPES me.

I like tape hiss. I LOVE tape hiss. (There I said it).

Thanks.
Be well.

Note: This is for informational purposes only. I am not affiliated with Dr. Ebbett's. I cannot put you in touch with him. Thanks.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Fab 4 Radio - The Global Beatle Network


*Fab 4 Radio - Will be taking a break this week. 8/7 - 8/12
*We have loaded the one hitter up with a new playlist - so enjoy
*Check Out What The Internet Is Buzzing About Hamburg Jukebox
*Those of you going to The Fest For Beatle Fans Spread The Word (Love)

Saturday, July 08, 2006

McCartney & MacManus


When two Englishmen of Irish descent meet, it is a humbling experience.

It was a match that fans of popular music could only imagine. The pairing of one of music's most talented wordsmiths with a composer often criticized, yet respected for his instantly infectious melodies.

Back On My Feet
Veronica
You Want Her Too
That Day Is Done
Playboy To A Man
The Lovers That Never Were
Tommy's Coming Home
Pads, Paws And Claws
My Brave Face
Don't Be Careless Love
So Like Candy
Mistress And Maid
Shallow Grave
Twenty-Five Fingers

Rumored Songs:
Indigo Moon
I Don't Want To Confess

Saturday, June 10, 2006

FAB 4 RADIO (Click Here To Listen) IT'S FREE




Join The Global Beatle Network - It's Free!
Look at how many have joined in the last 30 days

United States 2744
Canada 215
Argentina 99
Japan 212
Mexico 65
United Kingdom 75
Spain 50
Germany 49
Chile 31
Italy 22
Brazil 48
France 34
Malaysia 4
Georgia 18
Portugal 4
Hungary 5
Turkey 18
Sweden 13
Singapore 12
Bulgaria 4
Netherlands 20
Taiwan 4
Philippines 33
Peru 13
Belgium 8
Australia 15
Croatia/Hrvatska 1
Slovenia 2
Norway 4
Israel 4
Azerbaijan 3
Russia 13
Colombia 4
Poland 19
Puerto Rico 3
Denmark 2
Dominican Republic 2
China, People's Republic of 2
Austria 2
Uruguay 2
Romania 5
India 5
Korea, Republic of 1
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
Greece 3
United Arab Emirates 2
Czech Republic 1
Finland 1
Algeria 2
Ireland 4
Slovak Republic 1
Switzerland 1
Bermuda 1
Costa Rica 1

Monday, May 08, 2006

FAB 4 RADIO PODCAST (click here to watch)



A FEW QUICK NOTES ABOUT THE 1964 HOLLYWOOD BOWL SHOWS!

For each of the Beatles' Hollywood Bowl concerts all 18,700 seats were sold. Overly zealous fans(100,000)climbed into the trees surrounding the open air venue to get a glimpse of their heroes. At one point John Lennon ackowledges them by saying "... and welcome to you in the trees". One fan was intent on seeing the show that she was waiting a very long time in the parking lot ... until she eventually gave birth to a son (allegedley midway through the show). Film star Lauren Bacall visited the boys back stage to wish them luck for the evening's performance. The groups set began at approximately 9:30 PM and ended promptly at 10:05 PM. Immediately after the show, the group were whisked away by limousine to a rented mansion nearby. They spent the remainder of the eveing hosting a party which was attened by crew and friends; among them were singer Joan Baez and up-and-coming actress Peggy Lipton.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Hamburg Jukebox - Podcasts (click here to listen)



Grab your favorite Hefeweizen and give a listen !

The city of Hamburg was brillant; a big lake, and then the dirty part. The Reeperbahn and Grosse Freiheit were the best thing we'd ever seen, clubs and neon lights everywhere and lots of restaurants and entertainment. It looked really good and the sounds coming from every club's Jukebox playing Rock 'N' Roll and the new English bands being told to Mach Show, Mach Show!

Monday, February 20, 2006

The Beatles Reunion





THE BEATLES were planning their reunion ... according to the record producer working with John Lennon during Double Fantasy recordings.

JACK DOUGLAS, who produced Lennon's final album DOUBLE FANTASY, has revealed that Lennon and PAUL McCARTNEY were talking about working together on a RINGO STARR solo album.

Douglas says, "He and Paul planned to play on a Ringo album and that's how they were planning to do it, and GEORGE (HARRISON) had not come aboard yet.

"George was already in a lot of hot water with John because of George releasing his autobiography and not really mentioning much of John in it. But I think they assumed that George would come along as soon as the thing got going."

And Douglas also claims Lennon's wife YOKO ONO actively blocked a Beatles reunion.

He adds, "Let's just put it this way - Yoko discouraged Paul coming around.

"There was a writing session somewhere in the Dakota (building where Lennon and Ono lived) and there was one cancelled which John did not know about. He was told that Paul did not show. Paul was told that John was too busy to be working with him that day."

Jack Douglas, interviewed in "Guitar Legends Presents the Beatles," on newsstands now, says Lennon had already committed to touring using the musicians from the "Double Fantasy" sessions and had started doing drawings of stage sets.




"He was even planning to do new versions of 'She Loves You' and 'I Want To Hold Your Hand,'" Douglas says. "He'd already played them for us."


Paul McCartney set the wheels in motion for a Beatles reunion . . .

Sir Macca insisted on a highly lucrative clause in a record label contract signed in 1979, that would allow him to work with Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr again.

The £6 million contract with CBS has just been made public for the first time, seemingly to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Lennon's murder on December 8, 1980.

Speaking about the deal, a record industry insider said: "This is the earliest evidence of any Beatle making formal overtures toward a reunion."

The terms of the contract stipulate that McCartney must be allowed to record under the name 'The Beatles'.

Lennon submitted a sworn deposition against the producers of Beatlemania on Nov. 28, 1980, saying he wanted to stage a Beatles reunion concert.



LENNON WANTED A BEATLES REUNION, SAYS LOVER

JOHN LENNON's former lover has blasted historical records for declaring the BEATLES' split was permanent, insisting they'd always planned to play together again.

Lennon's personal assistant MAY PANG - who had an 18-month affair with the IMAGINE singer in 1973 after he split from YOKO ONO - claims the pop icon often fantasised about reuniting with his ex-bandmate SIR PAUL McCARTNEY.

And Lennon often asked for advice on whether he should write to McCartney suggesting the Fab Four reform, to which Pang assured him they're far better as a unit than as solo artists.

She says, "Though John and Paul did not write many songs together, they had always been sounding boards for each other's ideas and he missed that. He was always saying, 'I wonder what Paul is up to.'

"I remember him saying, 'Do you think I should write with Paul again?' and I said, 'Absolutely, you should do it because it seems you want to. As solo performers you are good but together you can't be beaten."

September 24, 2009 -- Paul McCartney : Beatles were planning reunion before Lennon's death
Sir Paul McCartney has said that the Beatles were planning to reunite before John Lennon was shot dead in 1980.


Art Garfunkel, flanked by David Bowie, his former and future partner, Paul; and the newly-unestranged Lennon's; backstage at the 1975 Grammys.

John had made a point of pulling Art aside to ask his opinion of working again with Paul. Having just recorded "My Little Town" with Simon, Art advised him that as long as the focus was on musical rather than personal matters, it was a blast - go for it. 
He later reported his disappointment that John and Paul didn't end up working together, although John very much had it on his mind, having publicly and privately stated his intent to visit the McCartney's in New Orleans in early 1975, where Wings was working on Venus and Mars. 

What might have....didn't happen.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Six Degrees of Separation ~ The Beatles




Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries


Elton John In 1974 a collaboration with John Lennon took place, resulting in Elton John covering The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Lennon's "One Day at a Time", and in return Elton John and band being featured on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You thru the Night". In what would be Lennon's last live performance, the pair performed these two number 1 hits along with the Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There" at Madison Square Garden. Lennon made the rare stage appearance to keep the promise he made that he would appear on stage with Elton if "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" became a number 1 single.

Little River Band -“A lot of musicians love ‘Reminiscing’ because of the chords, the way they seem to work, they say it’s a brilliantly written song,” Goble says. “People like Frank Sinatra and John Lennon have gone on record as saying it was among their favourite songs at the time. In [Lennon’s lover] May Pang’s book there’s a whole passage about where he and May made love to ‘Reminiscing’.”
 
Cheech and Chong - Basketball Jones Tommy Chong mentioned on the Howard Stern show (8/14/06) that George Harrison of the Beatles played the guitar for this song - Most people don't know this, but that is George Harrison playing the lead guitar on this song.



Ricky Nelson - Garden Party" was pounced on by the pundits and dissected unmercifully. Some clues were obvious. For instance, "Yoko brought her walrus"--John Lennon and Yoko Ono were at the concert. Lennon, of course, was responsible for the Beatles song "I Am The Walrus."
The lyric you ask about, "Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguise," is more difficult to interpret, but I finally found it for you. ""Mr Hughes" isn't Howard Hughes, as most people think, but refers to George Harrison, the ex-Beatle. Rick Nelson was good friends and next-door neighbor to Harrison, and was also a good friend of Bob Dylan. "Mr. Hughes" was the alias Harrison used while traveling, and "hid in Dylan's shoes" apparently refers to an album of Bob Dylan covers Harrison was planning that never came to fruition. "Wearing his disguise" is more obscure, but presumably had something to do with Harrison's habit of traveling incognito.





Rod Stewart - Mine for Me" is the name of a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney. It was recorded by Rod Stewart as a track for his 1974 album Smiler. When released as a single that year, the track became a minor hit in the United States.
Donovan - Donovan was one of the most popular British recording artists of his day, producing a series of hit albums and singles between 1965-1970. He became a close friend of many leading pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones, Bob Dylan and The Beatles, and was one of the few artists to collaborate on songs with the Beatles. He influenced both John Lennon and George Harrison when he taught them his finger picking guitar style in 1968. Donovan's commercial fortunes waned after he parted ways with Most in 1969, and he left the music scene for a time. He returned to London, collaborating with The Beatles and contributing lyrics (and uncredited backing vocals) to the song "Yellow Submarine", recorded at Abbey Road Studios on 26 May 1966. On 24 October 1966 Epic released the rollicking, brass-laden single "Mellow Yellow", arranged by John Paul Jones and purportedly featuring Paul McCartney on uncredited backing vocals. On 9 February 1967 Donovan was one of the guests invited by The Beatles to join them at Abbey Road Studios for the final orchestral overdub session for the Lennon-McCartney collaboration "A Day In A Life", the grand finale to their new opus Sgt. Pepper LonelyHearts Club Band. In late 1967 Donovan contributed a several songs to the soundtrack of the Ken Loach film Poor Cow. The title track (Originally called "Poor Love") was released as the B-side of his next single, "Jennifer Juniper", a song inspired by Jenny Boyd sister of George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd. It was another Top 40 hit in the USA. Like The Beatles, Donovan developed a strong interest in eastern mysticism, and in early 1968 he traveled to India where he spent several weeks at the ashram of the Maharishi in Rishikesh. The visit gained worldwide media attention thanks to the presence of (for a time) all four Beatles as well as Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love, actress Mia Farrow and her sister Prudence (who inspired John Lennon to write "Dear Prudence"). According to a 1968 Paul McCartney interview with Radio Luxembourg it was during this time that Donovan taught John Lennon and Paul McCartney various finger picking styles like the claw hammer (note that in the UK Travis Picking by merle Travisis often referred to as claw hammer) which he had learned from his St Albans buddy Mac Macleod. Lennon went on to use the technique on songs including "Julia" and McCartney with "Blackbird". After another US tour in the autumn he again collaborated with Paul McCartney, who was producing Post Card, the debut LP by recently discovered Welsh singing sensation Mary Hopkin. Hopkin covered three Donovan songs: "Lord Of The Reedy River", "Happiness Runs" and "Voyage of the Moon". McCartney returned the favour by playing tambourine and singing backing vocals on Donovan's next single, the anthemic "Atlantis", which was released in Britain (with "I Love My Shirt" as the B-side) in late November and reached #23.


The Everly Brothers - The duo broke up in 1973, but reformed in 1983 with a new album produced by Dave Edmunds. "On The Wings Of A Nightingale", written by Paul McCartney for the brothers, became a hit single in both the US and UK,

David Bowie - For Ziggy Stardust fans who had not discerned the soul and funk strains already apparent in Bowie's recent work, the "new" sound was considered a sudden and jolting step. 1975's Young Americans was Bowie's definitive exploration of Philly soul - though he himself referred to the sound ironically as 'plastic soul'. It contained his first #1 hit in the US, "Fame," co-written with John Lennon (who also contributed backing vocals) and one of Bowie's new band members, guitarist Carlos Alomar.

Cilla Black (born Priscilla Maria Veronica White on 27 May 1943) is a British singer, actor, and television personality, and was the second-biggest star to emerge from the early 1960s Liverpool scene after The Beatles.

A naturally gifted singer, as a child Cilla was encouraged to sing by her family. In the early 1960s, determined to break into show business, she got a part-time job as a cloakroom attendant at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool, where The Beatles regularly played. Ideally placed to promote herself to local musicians, she impressed the Beatles and others with her talent and began her stage career with impromptu performances at the Cavern. During this period she also worked as waitress at the Zodiac coffee lounge, where she met her future husband and manager Bobby Willis.

She became close friends with the Beatles and after their breakthrough to international success in 1963, their manager Brian Epstein took over the management of a number of other musicians from Liverpool. Although her first name was often shortened to "Cilla", her stage name came about by accident when local music paper Mersey Beat misprinted her name as Cilla Black, but she liked the sound and decided to use it professionally.

Cilla was introduced to Epstein by John Lennon who persuaded him to audition her. The first audition was not successful, partly because of nerves, and partly because the Beatles (who backed her) played the songs in their vocal key rather than re-pitching them for Cilla's voice. But after seeing her again at the Blue Angel jazz club, Epstein signed Cilla up as his only female client on 6 September 1963.

Epstein signed Cilla to Parlophone records and introduced her to George Martin, who produced her debut single, "Love of the Loved" (written for her by Lennon and McCartney), which was released only three weeks after she signed with Epstein. The single peaked at a modest #35, making it a failure, relatively speaking, compared to most of Epstein's other artists.


Jackie Lomax
After Brian Epstein's death, the Beatles' new record label Apple took over responsibility for Jackie's recording career, with George Harrison becoming heavily involved on the production side. In spite of having a backing band that consisted of 75% of the Beatles as well as Eric Clapton and Nicky Hopkins, success remained elusive. The shambles which was Apple, after the break-up of the Beatles, made matters even worse. During that period Apple released three singles and the Is this what you want? LP. By 1970, the break-up of the Beatles had badly affected Apple Records and Allen Klein was called in. Apple artists found themselves under contract to a label who had no interest in them.

Mary Hopkin - Born in Pontardawe, Wales, she grew up Welsh-speaking and began her musical career as a folk singer. She was "discovered" by Twiggy, and became one of the first artists to record on The Beatles' Apple record label.

Her single "Those Were the Days", produced by Paul McCartney, was released in the UK on August 30, 1968 (catalogue number APPLE 2). Despite competition from a well-established star, Sandie Shaw, who released her version of the same song as a single, Hopkin's version became a #1 hit in the UK singles chart, and reached #2 in the US.

On February 21, 1969 her debut album Postcard, also produced by McCartney, was released. It includes covers of three songs from Donovan, who also played on the album, and one song each from George Martin and Harry Nillson.

The next single was "Goodbye", written by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon-McCartney), released on March 28, 1969 (APPLE 10); it reached #2 in the UK singles chart. It was kept off the top of the charts by the Beatles' single "Get Back". "Goodbye" has never been officially released by the Beatles, although a demo version can be found on some of the Beatles' bootlegs.


Harry Nilsson - ... Some of the albums from Derek Taylor's box eventually ended up with the Beatles themselves, who quickly became Nilsson fans. This may have been helped by the track "You Can't Do That", in which Nilsson covered one Beatles song but added 22 others in the multi-tracked background vocals. When John Lennon and Paul McCartney held a press conference in 1968 to announce the formation of Apple Corps, John was asked to name his favorite American artist. He replied, "Nilsson". Paul was then asked to name his favorite American group. He replied, "Nilsson". 1974 found Nilsson back in California, and when John Lennon moved there during his separation from Yoko Ono, the two musicians rekindled their earlier friendship. Lennon was intent upon producing Nilsson's next album, much to Nilsson's delight. However, their time together in California became known much more for heavy drinking and drug use than it did for musical collaboration. In a widely publicized incident, they were ejected from the Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood for drunken heckling of the Smothers Brothers. To make matters worse, Nilsson ruptured a vocal cord during the sessions for this album, but he hid the injury due to fear that Lennon would call a halt to the production. The resulting album, Pussy Cats, which may charitably be described as 'uneven', was a shock for listeners who knew Nilsson as one of the best singers of his generation.

After the relative failure of his latest two albums, RCA Records considered dropping Nilsson's contract. In a show of friendship, Lennon accompanied Nilsson to negotiations, and both intimated to RCA that Lennon and fellow former Beatle Ringo Starr might want to sign with them, once their Apple Records contracts with EMI expired in 1975, but wouldn't be interested if Nilsson were no longer with the label. RCA took the hint and re-signed Nilsson (adding a completion bonus clause, to apply to each new album), but neither Lennon nor Starr switched to RCA.


Splinter - The Place I Love
While some of the songs recall Badfinger (especially "Gravy Train" and "Haven't Got Time"), most of The Place I Love very much resembles a Harrison solo album, but it is more consistent than most of them. Even the vocals sometimes resemble Harrison's; Purvis and Elliott harmonize in a beautifully Beatlesque way. Any Beatles aficionado who hasn't discovered The Place I Love ought to search it out. Lost classics such as "China Light", "Costafine Town", and "Situation Vacant" are among the best Beatles songs that the Beatles never made and Harrison's guitar playing on this album is some of the best on his career (notably "Somebody's City", "Drink All Day" and "The Place I Love").

Mike Mcgear - Born Peter Michael McCartney (January 7, 1944), Mike McGear is a British performing artist from the 1960s and 1970s, and the brother of Paul McCartney. He changed his name so as not to appear to be riding on Paul's coattails. In 1974, McGear released McGear in which he collaborated with his brother Paul. He is also a photographer, and has published pictures he took of The Beatles backstage and on tour.

Jeff Lynne - (born December 30, 1947) in Birmingham, UK, is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. He was the co-founder (with Roy Wood and Bev Bevan), guitarist, and lead singer of The Electric Light Orchestra in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as a co-founder of the Traveling Wilburys (with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison in the late 1980s. Prior to The Electric Light Orchestra
In 1987 Lynne produced George Harrison's Cloud Nine, being a Beatles obsessive the two worked together well, the album would turn out to be something of a come-back for Harrison.In 1989 he co-produced the acclaimed album Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty, which included the hit singles "Free Fallin'", "I Won't Back Down" and "Runnin' Down A Dream", all co-written by Lynne. This album and Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (also co-produced by Lynne) both got nominations for the Grammy as Best Album Of The Year in 1989.In February of 1994, Lynne fulfilled a lifelong dream by working with the three surviving Beatles on their Anthology album series, and reunion tracks "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" (overdubbing John Lennon's demos for the songs). He has also produced records individually for George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and worked extensively on the Roy Orbison album Mystery Girl.

Badfinger - This line-up signed with The Beatles label Apple Records in 1969 and Paul McCartney soon became enamored with the group's vocal sound, if not their unassuming name. He proposed a change of the band's name to his proteges, still known as "The Iveys".John Lennon wanted to call the band "Glass Onion", but no one liked the name. (Lennon later used the name for one of his comical songs on the White Album). Instead, The Iveys chose another Beatles-inspired moniker: "Badfinger." This was a reference to "Bad Finger Boogie", an early working title of "With a Little Help from My Friends," from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".Paul McCartney wrote and played piano on the band's breakthrough song, "Come And Get It", intended for part of the soundtrack to The Magic Christian. It was a hit throughout Europe and the United States, where it reached the Top Ten. During the recording session for "Come and Get It", a jam session produced another song, "Rock of All Ages", also featuring McCartney on the piano, and that song ended up on the group's debut album "Magic Christian Music".The band's career began increasing exponentially. The band recorded many sessions for fellow Apple Records labelmates, notably George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" and Ringo Starr's single "It Don't Come Easy", while Evans and Molland performed on John Lennon's Imagine. Pete Ham also performed alongside George Harrison during the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, raising Badfinger's critical stock even further among the rock intelligentsia. Harrison's friendship toward Pete Ham, however, sowed internal dissension between the two Badfinger guitarists, Ham and Molland.Badfinger's second album, Straight Up came out in 1972, including "Day After Day", "Baby Blue" and "Name Of The Game", all popular singles on both sides of the pond. 'Straight Up' was hailed as the most requested CD release in Goldmine magazine during the early 1990s. George Harrison and Todd Rundgren took production credits on this, Badfinger's most commercially successful record, with Harrison playing the slide guitar solo on "Day After Day", their last British hit.

Doris Troy - Troy worked with Solomon Burke, The Drifters, Cissy Houston, and Dionne Warwick before she co-wrote and recorded "Just One Look," which hit #10 in 1963. The song has been covered by The Hollies, Linda Ronstadt, Bryan Ferry, and Harry Nilsson. As her solo career peaked, she did back-up for the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd (famously singing on their seminal album Dark Side of the Moon), George Harrison, Dusty Springfield, and Carly Simon.

Billy Preston - He is probably best known for his work with The Beatles (he is the only artist to receive label credit on a Beatles single: Get Back). He played on many of the tracks on their 1970 Let It Be album, on I Want You (She's So Heavy) on 1969 Abbey Road album and on some of the solo records of John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Ronnie Spector - In early 1971, during Phil Spector's tenure as head of A&R at Apple Records, Ronnie recorded the single Try Some Buy Some/Tandoori Chicken, release as Apple 33 in the UK, Apple 1832 in the US. The A side of the single was written by George Harrison, and produced by Harrison and Spector. Although the single was not a big hit, it had one lasting influence: when John Lennon recorded Happy Xmas (War Is Over) later the same year, he asked Spector to reproduce the same mandolin-laden Wall of Sound that he had created for Try Some Buy Some. (Lennon liked the rockabilly B-side too, and is reported to have sung it at his birthday party in New York in October 1971.)

The Fool - They designed the clothes The Beatles wore for the 1967 TV broadcast of "All You Need Is Love", and also the decoration of John Lennon's Gibson J160E acoustic guitar, which appeared in the broadcast
A huge 3-storey mural painted in psychedelic colours on the facade of the Beatles' Apple Boutique in London's Baker Street, which also stocked their creations. Months later, the mural was painted over by civic order, due to protests from other local businesses, before the shop failed
The bodywork on John Lennon's Rolls-Royce. This outraged one old woman in central London who attacked it with her umbrella, shouting: "You swine, you swine! How dare you do this to a Rolls-Royce!" (He answered by obtaining another Rolls, and painting it flat-black)
Decoration to John Lennon's piano
Decoration to George Harrison's Mini car and bungalow Kinfauns (including a custom fireplace), as well as several of Harrison's guitars
Decoration to Eric Clapton's legendary Gibson SG guitar and Jack Bruce's Fender VI (six-string) bass for the 1967 Cream tour of the US
Set design for Joe Massot's 1968 movie Wonderwall. They also appeared in the film's party scene
Paul McCartney's upright piano

RUBYHORSE - "Punchdrunk," Rubyhorse’s anthem, comes with a resonant, humbling endorsement. The Floydian ballad, a tapestry of acoustic guitar, elegant strings and piano, features a gorgeous, simply stated slide part courtesy of the late George Harrison. Joe speaks of this with reverence: "When we had finished recording the song, we listened to it and it just felt there was something missing… some part. We tried various instruments and it just wasn’t right. We sent him (Harrison) a copy of the song through a mutual friend and we got a call back to say that he loved the song and that he’d love to play on it, so we sent the reels over to a studio in England and he put his part down. We were mixing in Miami when we received the tapes and it just blew us all away. He finished off the song. It was just a beautiful, beautiful part. It was the biggest honor that we’ve ever received and probably will ever receive."