The Beatles And Your Life???

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TGNeil
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Fri Apr 17, 2015 2:25 pm

Hi Gang,

Chris' thread about trading progress stories (which I moved to this General Discussions Forum), reminded me of a similar thought that I wanted to open to everybody. Anybody who is interested in music, playing or not, has probably been influenced in some, or many ways by a lot of artists. I would guess that The Beatles have probably influenced or affected a huge percentage of the musical world. I would love to hear some stories or comments on how they affected your life.

I mentioned a little in today's News about one of my memories and hope we can open an interesting door here.

Neil


unclewalt
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Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:50 pm



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neverfoundthetime
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Fri Apr 17, 2015 5:26 pm

With my mum and her mum coming from Liverpool, when the Beatles exploded out of the radio in the early sixties, it felt like a family thing. There was some story of my Nan having lived next to or above or near Brian Epstein's NEMs shop, can't remember the details now. I remember the release of Sgt. Pepper's and hearing Hello Goodbye for the first time in the golf shop of the NAAFI in Kuala Lumpur and Dad bringing home a first transistor radio and hearing Eight Days a Week and thinking, "What does Ain't They Louise mean?"

I remember not getting The White Album at all (too young) but literally getting Magical Mystery Tour sent to me for my birthday (the first record I ever owned) by my ever loving big sis who also made all us boys flower power ties (mine was pink!). The Beatles were a huge part of what the sixties stood for and what I identified with, being British and living in England in that era. Obviously, my first songs played on the guitar were Beatles songs.


davidrfinn99165
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Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:37 pm

Growing up as a child in the North West of England in the 1960s, also with family connections on my father's side to Liverpool, the Beatles were everything to us. Our vicar had taught Ringo Starr in his class at a Liverpool primary school, they were our boys and it all felt very close. Even before they conquered America and brought joy to the world, they were our heroes just for going to London and taking over the BBC and the UK charts.

I can't claim to remember their first single Love Me Do, but from Please Please Me onwards I followed them every step of the way as it happened. Reading other music forums, with the inevitable historic revisionism where people feel forced to chose whether to accept or challenge a perceived critical consensus, i feel very privilieged to have heard at the time those BBC shows on the radio, and seen the TV clips you get on the Anthology series of the Royal Variety performance, the Blackpool Night Out, the Morecambe and Wise show etc. It was all so very exciting, and back then there was no debate - we also had the Stones, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Searchers, the Kinks etc, but the Beatles were the toppermost of the poppermost to us. I remember my dad taking me to see A Hard Day's Night when it was released, maybe the first time i went to the cinema.

And they are almost certainly why i now play the guitar, and why music is such a major part of my life. My first guitar was the pink plastic Beatles toy guitar probably given to me for Xmas 1963, maybe birthday May 1964. I think intact those original toy Beatles guitars are worth quite a lot of money as memorabilia now - unfortunately mine was eventually given away to a school fair -( thanks Mom! ) - but that gift started something which continues to this day.


TGNesh
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Sat Apr 18, 2015 1:40 pm

The Beatles and my life......well in my case, especially my young life. At home we had like the red and blue album, Abbey Road, the White Album and some Rock n Roll album, not sure what the name was. I listened to those like all the time. I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. I was also fascinated by how their looks had changed in less than 10 years (I turned the blue and red album a zillion times). In my mind, it was always, Elvis & The Beatles. (and then CSN&Y, Eagles).

We also had a Beatles-songbook and I just played their songs on every instrument that I played or learned to play. For example the bassriff in I Saw Her Standing There was the first riff that I learned to play on a bass guitar . The first week I got my drumset, on a Saturday I played for six hours straight on through all their albums (the ones that we had at home obviously).

In the little band that I played in (vocals and guitar), almost half of the playlist were Beatles-tunes. That actually didn't change much when I got to high school and our band expanded with more musicians, the Beatles remained a big part of the play list. In later life, whenever getting together with people to sing and play, there was always still a lot of Beatles. :)

Nowadays whenever I hear Beatles, it just makes me happy and it's still always a LOT of fun to play their songs! :)

Ness

Edit: I almost forgot another influence, singing of course, well harmonies that is! I was fascinated by that too and learned a lot from them for that matter. Along with Everly Brothers of course! ;)


wrench
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Sat Apr 18, 2015 3:28 pm

I was about 10 years old when the Beatles phenomenon stormed American shores, and at first I didn't like much of their music. I was, however, much more attracted to other British Invasion acts. Now here is the weird part; I isolated just what it was about the British Invasion that I liked so much, and it was (and still is).........the sound of a Rickenbacker guitar. To this day I can pick one out of a lot of other sound. Shortly after the Beatles popularity took off though, I was hooked. I absolutely love their 1965-1966 stuff. That was about when I made my first efforts to play music, and yes, those efforts were mostly directed at Beatles music. I'm not sure when John Lennon started playing a Rickenbacker, but I know he had one in 1965 and 1966! After The Beatles disbanded in 1970, I really didn't like much of their solo work. A few from George, a few more from Paul, but nothing like Beatles '65 and '66. Since TG though, I have come to respect Beatles compositions for their genius and complexity. So much of their music is creativity and innovation applied to fundamental theory, and they did this so much more than other artists.

The most vivid memory I have of Beatlemania was my 15 year old sister going to see them live at the Baltimore Civic Center. The crowds and hyperbolic emotion of those thousands of girls gone crazy is inexplicable to me to this day. Including my sister.

I often wonder what the last 50 years of music history would look like without the influence of The Beatles.


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neverfoundthetime
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Sun Apr 19, 2015 2:15 pm

I often wonder what the last 50 years of music history would look like without the influence of The Beatles.
Dermot, I guess we are all waiting for your illustration of this unimaginable situation!


willem
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Sat Apr 25, 2015 11:30 am

As long has I try to learn guitar here on this site I learned more Beatle songs then I ever listen to.


sandysue
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Sat Apr 25, 2015 2:16 pm

I remember seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show when I was a little kid. I had no idea who they were but I really liked their long hair. Through the years I learned to love their music, and even learned to play a few of their songs. My favorite song in the early days was " I wanta hold your hand".

I felt really sad when John Lennon died, and I wasn't surprised at the huge outpouring of love and affection that resulted. People from all over the world gathered and played Beatle songs, for a long time after, in memory of John. It was amazing really.

Lately, Kanye West and Paul McCartney recorded a song together. I couldn't believe it when I heard that many of Kanye West's fans had no idea who Paul McCartney was. . I thought the whole world knew him. :)

Sandy


reiver
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Sat Apr 25, 2015 5:37 pm

Those riffs! Those vocal harmonies!
So many of their songs contributed to my wanting to learn guitar: "Paperback Writer;" "Yes It Is" (listening to that on YouTube as I type this); "I Need You" and more.
I think it says something when the Eagles used the intro riff for "Day Tripper" as part of the outro for "In the City" on the Hell Freezes Over tour.
When I go looking for other guitarists to jam with, I prefer to work with "people who not only know that McCartney was in a band before Wings, but were around when that was happening," because they know what's good.

They were and always will be the Fab Four.


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