Sample essay topic, essay writing: The Beatles - 1392 words
When people hear the name 'The Beatles' most peoplethink of lead singer, John Lennon. However, the role ofPaul McCartney is often overlooked. It was McCartney, not Lennon who was the driving force behind the Beatles. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were in many bandstogether before the forming of the Beatles. In 1962, alongwith Ringo Starr1 and George Harrison, they formed therock group known as 'The Beatles'. The group featured amodern rock that was new and popular during the periodwith John and Paul composing and doing the leads on mostof the songs.
They were backed by George on rhythm andbass guitar and Ringo on drums. George and Ringo alsoassisted on backing vocals. When they first began playing, the main influence inside the band was John Lennon, whohad an uncanny ability to compose songs at a momentsnotice with an inspiration that others missed. He pushed themembers of the band during their touring years and wasable to achieve the best possible results from the group. The band began playing in a Music Hall style that is veryeffective for the audiences but was lacking on their albums. Together with Paul, John began to evolve the band. As theyears began to pass, the band was obviously beginning togrow musically
They had moved from simple lyrics like'Love me Do' to harshly aware reflections of life in theirhome country in 'Eleanor Rigby'2. There were attempts, some more successful than others, to incorporate the otherBeatles into the idea stage. George Harrison made this leapsuccessfully with such tracks as 'I want to tell you','TAXMAN', and the psychedelic 'Love you to'. Ringowas featured in the humorous 'Yellow Submarine' As thegroup matured, their creativity began to rely more on theeffects and manipulations that they were able to produce inthe studio. The Beatles agreed to end their touring careerafter an American tour of large halls that they failed to fill.
Itwas around this time, that John Lennon began to search forhimself. He began using any means that he thought mighthelp him connect. This era was marked by the Beatles visitsto the Maharashi Mahesh Yogi, and the beginning of heavydrug use 3. As Lennon began to use LSD in greater andgreater quanti-ties4, the other Beatles began to have moreand more influence in the production of the albums. Lennonbegan to become almost reclusive, and often delayedrecording sessions. By the time that they were recordingSgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967, Lennonwould simply propose songs and themes, and McCartneywas left to execute the plans and tie together whims. Theybegan to make demands of the crew:Beatles songs werequite simple in the early days, you couldn't play around withthem too much. But by 1967 we were building soundpictures and my [George Martin] role had changed-it wasto interpret the pictures and determine how best to getthem down on tape. Paul was fine-he could express whathe wanted, the sounds he wa nted to have. ButJohn..would make whooshing sounds and try to describewhat only he could only hear in his head, saying he wanteda song to 'sound like an orange'.5 As soon as the Sgt. Pepper album was underway, Paul McCartney came upwith the idea of actually creating a band and preforming thesongs as that band.
They took the Idea from there and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band came into existence, never to see the outside of studio 2 at Abbey Road. Theyspent nearly a year recording various tracks for the albumand John's state of mind was steadily declining. In 1969when they issued Abbey Road it was no longer difficult todistinguish between the writings of Paul and John. Johnwas producing works like 'I want you (she's so heavy)'which had the lyrics: I want you so bad it's driving me madShe's so heavy6 And the more musical and thoughtful workof McCartney, such as 'Golden Slumbers' which wasalmost a lullaby: Once there was a way to get backhomeward Once there was a way to get back home Sleeppretty darling do not cry And I will sing a lullaby Goldenslumbers fill your eyes Smiles awake you when you riseSleep pretty darling do not cry And I will sing a lullaby7The writing of the material on The Beatles8 seemed morebalanced as Lennon began writing more cogent songs, andcollaborating on a song-by-song basis with McCartney. Their songs varied from a slow ballad in McCartney's'Blackbird' to the bizarre and intriguing 'Revolution #9) byLennon. Yet McCartney was needed to control Lennonwhen he recorded the original version of 'Sexie Sadie' withthe verse: You little twat Who the fuck do you think youare Who the fuck do you think you are Oh, you cunt.9Fortunately McCartney prevented the track fromproceeding any farther than rehearsal.
He ended upsuggesting that the song take a more sympathetic note and, eventually, Lennon agreed. During this time, one almostconstant presence in the recording studio was Yoko Ono, John's wife. This was against an unspoken code amongstthe Beatles not to allow wives and girlfriends into thestudio. Yoko had a large affect on John, almost completelyaltering his style, and inspiring such songs as 'I want her(she's so heavy)' and 'Revelation #9'. Many of the othersongs that Yoko and John created were rejected by thegroup, but her presence changed John's behavior andperformance. The Beatles final album together was Let ItBe released in 1970. The album was not in any wayspectacular and exhibited many of the traits that areassociated with the Beatles writing.
The title track, 'Let ItBe' is one of the most famous tracks recorded by thegroup. The music on the album was a last chance effort tokeep the group together, and although the album was wellreceived, it was not what the group had in mind. TheBeatles did not make another recording after that date, though there were rumors of the group reforming until theshooting of Lennon in 1980. One of the most obviousindicators of the heavy hand that was often kept on Lennonis the progress of his band which he formed after thebreakup of the Beatles. The Plastic Ono Band was an onlymoderately successful group that took the popularpsycedalia a few steps to far and lost most of its popularity. Lennon attempted to enter theater, but it was quicklyobvious that he was no actor.
He lived a bizarre and drugridden life secluded in his apartment with his wife YokoOno and his son. Both he and his wife were reported tohave serious heroin addictions and were often said to behigh in the presence of visitors. After the breakup, McCartney launched a moderately success-ful solo career. He has released many recordings both in the United Statesand abroad. His most recent accomplishment was the'Liverpool Oratorio' which is no small feat considering thatMcCartney never learned to read music. The songwritingstyles, the studio records, and the individual careers allshow that there was a very large influence in the group, andin the music, by Paul McCartney. Equal to Lennon in thebeginning, but surpassing him at the conclusion of therelationship.
Two key factors that probably caused this arehis affection and infatuation with Yoko Ono, and the heavyuse of hallucinogenic drugs. On some occasions, both ofthose factors may have given Lennon inspiration for hismusic, but they greatly reduced his control and influence inthe band. Bibliography Bates, Norman 'The BeatlesRecording Sessions' Harmony Publishers London c. EMIRecords Ltd. 1988 The Beatles Abbey Road EMIRecords Ltd.
1969 The Beatles Let it BeCapitol Records 1970 The Beatles RevolverEMI Records Ltd. 1966 The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band EMI Re cords 1967Cameron, Gail; Cutner, Naomi; Griffin, Nancy Waters, Celia. 'The Beatles' LIFE Feb. 1984 Coleman, Ray'Lennon' McGraw-Hill, NY 1984 'John Lennon: In theHard Day's Light' excerpted from 'The Lives of JohnLennon' Goldman, Albert in People Weekly Aug. 15,1988 Loder, Kurt 'It was twenty years ago today...Thestory behind the making of 'Sgt.
Pepper'' Rolling Stone#502 June 18, 1987. 'The Beatles' Music Review inRolling Stone #507 Aug. 27, 1987 'Sgt. Pepper's LonelyHearts Club Band' Music Review in Rolling Stone #507Aug. 27, 1987 Notes 1.
Ringo Starr was originally namedRichard Starkey. His name was changed to allow for betterpress marketing. 2. All titles composed by either Lennon orMcCartney are credited to Lennon-McCartney. 3.
It wasalso at this time that Lennon divorced his wife Cynthia andassociated himself with Yoko Ono. 4. Lennon is reportedto have done more than 1000 'trips'. 5. George Martin, from The Beatles Recording Sessions 6 . 'I want you (she'sso heavy)', The Beatles, Copyright EMI Records Ltd.1969 7.
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The Beatles
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