A Beatle Brat's choices for alexdg1's 20 Fave Fab Four Songs Write-OffNov 23 '05 (Updated Nov 26 '05) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Dedicated to my father --- while not a Beatles fan, he loved "Yellow Submarine"... First, my current hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, is now the home for "Abbey Road On The River" (snatched from Cleveland in 2005). This Beatles festival takes place here again in May of 2006 and you can read all about it at: http://www.abbeyroadontheriver.com Now, submitted for your approval or disapproval from deep within the Epinion's Music Zone, my very late response to the Fab Four Songs Write-Off of that great Epinions' writer Alex. For a list of others involved in this "gear" event, go here: http://www.epinions.com/content_4507476100 . How I Got Here: A lone star shone brightly in the eastern sky on January 16, 1957, and three Wise Men (not all originals) were still making comedies. But enough about my birth and The Three Stooges (I actually saw them (with Moe Howard and Larry Fine) at Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh in 1968 or 1969, but that's another story). My father, who rushed to enlist in the U. S. Navy when the Korean War broke out in 1950, was stationed officially in Columbus, Ohio, on Navy recruiting duty in 1963. Where Dad was stationed, so was his immediate family, usually. While in Columbus, I was dressed in a specially made Navy recruit's uniform (tie and all) and was chosen to represent the local Navy recruiting office on an episode of the local "Romper Room" ("What, no residuals? Where's my agent!!!"). Though officially stationed in Columbus from 1960-64, Dad was actually in Iceland for a year beginning in late 1963 (prior to the assassination of President Kennedy in November of 1963 and shortly after I started first grade in September of that year) and my Dad had the plush assignment of being stationed in Iceland while the family (my mother and I) remained in Columbus. Mom and I went down at Christmas to the Red Cross in 1963 to record a two-minute reel-to-reel "hello" tape to Dad, which we then mailed to him. Dad couldn't catch a flight home at the time, but he did manage to catch a military flight to London, England, for a break from Iceland. During this "weekend pass" to England, Dad explored Buckingham Palace and other sites, and he first heard of "Beatlemania," which was front page news in England at the time. I don't think he was overly impressed by The Beatles (when Ed Sullivan later hosted "The Beatles Live At Shea Stadium" on CBS-TV, Dad switched the channel with some unprintable comments). Many times I've wondered how many now valuable Beatle items my father failed to collect on that trip (he collected none; not even a newspaper). Meanwhile, back in the states: Back in the USA, Mom and I celebrated my 7th birthday with a call from Dad from Iceland in January of 1964. I remember Mom teaching me to do "The Twist" thanks to one of Chubby Checker's records and then in February of 1964, some long-haired lads in suits, called "The Beatles," appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and things changed. Mom, who plays the cello and piano, was soon teaching me "She Loves You." At 7 years of age, I was doing good to remember "yeah, yeah, yeah," but it stuck in my brain. By the end of the year, Dad was back home, packing us up for a move to the Navy base in Newport, Rhode Island, where he was put on a Navy destroyer, the USS Fiske, as the Vietnam "Conflict" shifted into high gear. As my Dad was always deployed to some trouble spot in the world as a chief petty officer, I was home in Rhode Island (living in Newport, then Middletown and then Portsmouth) with my Mom, with Dad's steady advice before setting to sea of "you're the Man of the house while I'm gone." I'd give a perfect salute, receive one from dad in return, and then proceed on my adult duties as an 8-year-old Navy brat (we really did the saluting bit, by the way). We remained stationed in Rhode Island until 1968, all the while with me growing to love The Beatles and Herman's Hermits (don't like "There's A Kind Of Hush" --- that's worth an argument). I remember seeing the video for The Beatles' "Penny Lane" on the Sullivan show at the age of 10 in 1967 and loving it. I saw girl's skirt lengths get shorter and men's hair lengths get longer in Rhode Island. I wouldn't rebell and grow my hair long for several more years (and although I may have tried on a kilt, I've never worn a skirt). Whenever my Dad was in port (dressed in a khaki uniform, wearing sunglasses and one leg of his 139-pound 5-foot-11 body up on the ship's railing, arriving to a Navy band playing and with an adoring family waving from the pier), I saw how the war was changing him. Dad could be quite mean at times. He didn't understand the music I was listening to (hadn't we watched "The Mitch Miller Show" and "The Lawrence Welk Show" enough to make me like "good music"?). Why was I listening to The Beatles? Dad would watch the Vietnam "war news" on television and say aloud "we need to either go in and do the job or get out of there altogether." Coming from a John Wayne-loving, John Philip Sousa-listening All-American like my Dad, that was quite a thing to hear. The Navy put my Dad in Navy recruiting in Pittsburgh, Pa, in 1968. Within a year, my increasingly anti-war, Democrat-registered father was in full uniform leaving the federal building when he was spat on by anti-war protesters in Pittsburgh. He couldn't understand their actions and he never forgave those who did the act. Since the Democrats had controlled both houses of Congress and the White House in leading the nation into "war" in Vietnam, Dad switched to the Republican Party and stayed there --- another switch for the FDR/JFK Democrat my father had been. Dad retired from active duty in 1970. The Beatles officially broke up soon after. Contrary to nasty rumors, my Dad's retirement had nothing to do with The Beatles break-up. Dad continued on in government service through the year 2000 (with the Internal Revenue Service, and then with the Census Bureau). Dad, a high school dropout (he completed his GED in Korea), got an associate degree in Accounting while attending college classes at night and working full-time during the day within two years of leaving the Navy --- he's an amazing fellow. He had a stroke in 2004 and hasn't been the same since. I talk to him and I miss him at the same time these days. Back to my Beatles fixation. I really discovered my passion for The Beatles around the age of 15 in 1972 (loved the lads before, but didn't have money of my own to burn until I was 15). My days as an only child had ended the year before with the arrival of a brother and sister, so I had time to myself now that my parents were otherwise very occupied, so I made some money via odd jobs and made a few purchases. I picked up a sealed copy of "Introducing The Beatles," their 1962 British recording, in a TG&Y store in 1972 for 99-cents and, though it was half original songs and half covers of other peoples' tunes, I fell in love with it. I soon bought "Meet The Beatles," "Sergeant Pepper," "Magical Mystery Tour" and eventually all the Beatles' albums (in the days when albums were selling for $3 to $5 new). Along the way, my Beatles' fixation, in the Fab Four's absence, led me to such Beatle-inspired bands as Raspberries and Badfinger, whose music in turn led me deeper into The Beatles' music. Years later, as a father (my son turned 23 on November 20 of 2005), I would surround my young son with stereo speakers and play my aging vinyl Beatle recordings (and other acts, as well) for him. The Beatles' albums were a great tool, for I could tell my son to listen for different instruments; I taught him the lyrics. For fun, we did play "The White Album" backwards to hear the hidden lyrics. When he fell in love with The Monkees (thanks to the MTV revival), we listened to their albums as well in the same fashion. My son, by the age of 4, was surprising his mom and I by singing along with the car radio to songs like The Beatles' "Nowhere Man" and The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" and getting all the words right! These days, he loves bands like Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park and Marilyn Manson, and he has turned the game around and taught me to enjoy those bands as well. Kind of neat. But the purpose of all this is to show how much The Beatles were and are a part of my life, and how they will be with me until my death. They are family I've never met (save for seeing Ringo in concert), but family just the same. When my Dad was overseas, they were there to comfort me with "Penny Lane." When I wondered if loneliness was something I suffered alone, they told me of a poor lady named "Eleanor Rigby." When I needed an escape, they gave me a "Ticket To Ride" on a "Magical Mystery Tour." I owe much of who I am to The Beatles' music. They are not gods to be in awe of, just poor working-class guys who found "rags to riches" success. I miss John Lennon and George Harrison very much. The list: So now to the 20 songs (if I haven't bored you by this point), in no particular order and some without commentary (sometimes, I just like a song and there's no deep meaning to why I like it, and my choices may be different a month from now). Most of the songs were published as John Lennon and Paul McCartney compositions, but one or the other was often the sole writer of a tune credited to both. 1.) "In My Life" (Lennon-McCartney): When John Lennon sang this tune, he was 25. It was released in the USA on "Rubber Soul" in 1965, 15 years before his death at the hands of a gun-toting nut. The tune has always been a favorite of mine because of the lyrics: "...though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before, I know I'll often stop and think about them, in my life I love you more..." As the 25th anniversary of Lennon's murder comes up in December of 2005, I can't help but wonder what Lennon could have sung to us in the past quarter-century had he been allowed to live to the age of 65. 2.) "Please Please Me" (Lennon-McCartney): if the "power pop" genre has a true blueprint, this might be it --- a bright, driving melody with delicious harmonies and a glorious chorus. 3.) "Help!" (Lennon-McCartney): There's something cool about a young man thinking years beyond his age in the lyrics --- "...when I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's help in any way, but now these days are gone, won't you please help me..." 4.) "Girl" (Lennon-McCartney): My college roommate thought he was "the 5th Beatle" and he was likely to pull out an acoustic guitar and play "Girl" when girls came by our apartment. The song is also a favorite of mine: "...when you say she's looking good, she acts as if it's understood..." 5.) "You're Going To Lose That Girl" (Lennon-McCartney) 6.) "Ticket To Ride" (Lennon-McCartney) 7.) "I'm Down" (Lennon-McCartney) 8.) "Penny Lane" (Lennon-McCartney): The perfect pop song in my book, right from Paul McCartney's wonderful lead vocal through it's lyrics ("...the fireman rushes in from the pouring rain, very strange...") to the beautiful melody that the lyrics float on, it's a tune that taught me that a brass section can sometimes be a very nice addition to guitars, bass and drums. 9.) "Rain" (Lennon-McCartney) 10.) "Eleanor Rigby" (Lennon-McCartney): Probably the best song about loneliness every written --- "...all the lonely people, where do they all come from?, all the lonely people, where do they all belong?..." 11.) "I Will" (Lennon-McCartney): Paul McCartney's lovely, simple vocal with an acoustic guitar is pure magic here --- "...who knows how long I've loved you, you know I love you still, will I wait a lonely life time, if you want me to I will..." 12.) "Something" (Harrison): Frank Sinatra once called this George Harrison tune "the best love song ever written." He was right. --- "...something in the way she moves, attracts me like no other lover..." 13.) "Here There And Everywhere" (Lennon-McCartney) 14.) "Yellow Submarine" (Lennon-McCartney): You know, Ringo Starr wasn't a bad lead singer. 15.) "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (Harrison): Put George Harrison and Eric Clapton together, and you get brilliance... 16.) "With A Little Help From My Friends" (Lennon-McCartney): Like I said about Ringo, he's under-appreciated as a lead singer... 17.) "Baby's In Black" (Lennon-McCartney): The dual lead vocal of John and Paul was recently magically remembered at several stops on the Raspberries reunion tour (with Eric Carmen and Wally Bryson doing the lead vocals) --- "...oh dear, what can I do, baby's in black and I'm feeling blue..." 18.) "Dear Prudence" (Lennon-McCartney) 19.) "A Day In The Life" (Lennon-McCartney): When two songwriters have different songs they can't complete, put the tunes together and see what comes up. In this case, The Beatles came up with a brilliant song that is a tribute to both John Lennon and Paul McCartney: "...I read the news today, oh boy..." 20.) "Revolution" (Lennon-McCartney): We all would like to change the world, but like John Lennon sang, "but when you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out..."  |
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