Some Unknown Facts about The Beatles

May 6, 2010

16, 15, 14    were the ages of John Lenon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison when they started playing together.

Richard Starkey    was the real name of Ringo Starr. Ringo Starr was the first to actually leave the group, walking out in 1968 during the acrimonious White Album sessions. As a result, the remaining Beatles all took turns on the drums for some of the tracks. When Starr finally returned he found his drum kit covered in flowers.

1963    December 17, a DJ at WWDC in Washington, D.C., became the first person to broadcast a Beatles record on American airwaves. James Carroll played “I want to Hold your Hand“, which he had obtained from his stewardess girlfriend who brought the single back from Britain.

Over 2,200 Different Artists    covered the song “Yesterday“, which holds the record for “Most Recorded Song of all times“. Some of the artists who have covered it include Boyz II Men, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Supremes, The Toys, Andy Williams, and Tammy Wynette.

First    song ever written by Lennon was called “Hello Little Girl“. McCartney’s first was “I Lost My Little Girl“.

10 Hours    is what took the Beatles to record their first album “Please Please Me” entirely.

“Na Na Na”    of Hey Jude fadout takes 4 minutes. The chorus is repeated 19 times.

John Lennon    is the only artist to place multiple songs in the top 10 as the member of The Beatles and as the solo artist. “Imagine” was number 3 among the 500 selections.

23    Beatles’ songs made into the rankings of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” by Rolling Stones Magazine. They are the most represented musical act, followed by Rolling Stones (14), Bob Dylan (12) and Elvis Presley (11).

“Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”    was the first British rock album to have lyrics for every sing printed on the back cover. Two days after Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band released, Jimi Hendrix opened his set at London’s Saville Theatre with the title track, something McCartney considers his “single biggest tribute“.

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”    as a song title – the initials of each noun are LSD – was prompted by 4-year-old Julian Lennon’s description of a painting he brought home from school, not the drug, LSD. According to Beatles, one day in 1966 Lennon’s son, Julian came hom from nursery school with a drawing. He said it was of his classmate, Lucy O’Donnell, whome Julian drew with diamond-shaped eyes.

“Paul is Dead”    was an urban legend which came up in 1969 alleging that Paul McCartney from The Beatles died and was replaced by a look-alike and sound-alike. Life magazine later published an edition with the cover story saying “Paul is still with us“, but still some people believe in the legend.

Drop-T    icon The Beatles’s logo, based on impromptu sketch by designer Ivor Arbiter, made its debut in 1963.

Paul McCartney    wrote “Hey Jude” as “Hey Jules“, a song meant to comfort John Lennon’s 5-year-old son Julian as his parents were getting divorce. The change to “Jude” was inspired by the character “Jud” in musical Oklahoma.

“Penny Lane”    became a Beatles hit and the street sign for actual Penny Lane in Liverpool disappeared with such regularity (as they did on the real Abbey Road), that the town reverted to simply painting “Penny Lane” on the buildings rather than having the street signboards.

Impossible    as it may sound there are still Beatles songs unreleased. The most notable ones being Carnival of Light (an experimental piece recorded on 5 January 1967 for The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave) and a 27-minute jam of Helter Skelter. A John Lennon composition the three surviving Beatles worked on in the early ’90s prior to the Anthology release called Grow Old with Me also remains unreleased.

Number 9    has interesting connection with John Lennon. Lennon was born on 9 October 1940, his son Sean was also born 9 October, 1975. He wrote the songs #9 Dream (part of Lennon’s ninth solo album Walls and Bridges which was released in the ninth month of 1974 and peaked at number 9 in the US charts) and with the Beatles – One After 909 and Revolution 9. He lived in apartment number 72 on 72nd Street in New York and was killed in the evening of December 8 when it was already early morning of December 9 in his birthplace of Liverpool.

“The End”    is the final song in the album “Abbey Road“, is also the last song Beatles has recorded as a group.

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