Yesterday and Today

Episode 24 – Beatles ’68 pt8

Episode 24October 13, 1968 through November 21, 1968It's the fall of 1968 and TWO Beatles solo albums are on the way. George Harrison holds the honor of the first solo record released by a Beatle (if we're not counting the Family Way soundtrack by Paul two years prior) with Wonderwall. Wonderwall is­ a soundtrack album chockfull of jams and electronic sounds that pushed some major boundaries at the time.Next up would be the most controversial release of any one Beatles' career: ­ John and Yoko's Two Virgins LP. While the actual record did little to rouse the ire of the public, ­ a selection of noises and mood along with­ the cover art became the focal point of worldwide attention. The LP depicted a completely naked and fully frontal John Lennon and Yoko Ono. John knew this statement would be met with backlash from the public, but it was the backlash from the other Beatles that surprised him. The others struggled to embrace this new life for John, and yet another wedge was driven into the group's relationship.This wasn't the only rough patch for John and Yoko in the fall of '68 ­ the couple were busted for possession of cannabis resin (in the form of "hash") in October. In November Cynthia's divorce suit was granted within days of Yoko suffering a miscarriage.All on the eve of a new Beatles album... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 23 – Beatles ’68 pt7

September 16, 1968 through October 11, 1968With Ringo back in the group and Hey Jude continuing its domination on the charts, The Beatles made one last push to wrap their ambitious double album project in time for a holiday release. A hallmark of the sessions was the diversity of song style, with the band recording tender ballads like I Will, raucous rockers like Birthday, haunting epics like Happiness Is A Warm Gun and Long Long Long, to borderline novelty tracks like Honey Pie and The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill. While this diversity reigned, the double album did find itself dominated by "stripped­-down" acoustic tracks that would be a shocking departure for fans who had grown accustomed to the lavish studio creations of 1967. The fall of 1968 also saw the publication of The Beatles authorized biography by Hunter Davies ­ perhaps the last vestige of influence by the band's late manager Brian Epstein. If Brian's influence was finally dissipating, the influence of John's new girlfriend Yoko Ono was expanding by the day, and by October the couple would proclaim themselves inseparable... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 22 – Beatles ’68 pt6

August 22nd, 1968 is a landmark day in Beatles history: the day a member of the biggest band on the planet...quit. The Beatles' double album sessions were growing more tense by the day, and in the dog days of the summer of 1968 tensions finally boiled over. Accounts of what specifically happened vary; some claim it was a clash with Paul McCartney over his domineering direction in the studio, some say it was simply insecurity on Ringo's part, but whichever the case Ringo Starr made history as the first Beatle to quit the band. Of course, Ringo's holiday would be short-lived, as his bandmates realized just how unloved their drummer felt and lured him back with flowers and postcards in time for the biggest release of their career. Hey Jude, backed with John's Revolution, was the debut single on Apple Records and would go on to sell over 8 million copies and shatter records around the world. If the group was on the verge of shattering, the music surely wasn't showing any signs of slowing down. National Apple Week, as they called it, also saw the debut of Mary Hopkin's McCartney-produced smash-hit single Those Were The Days, which itself dominated charts and sold gangbusters -- in most cases only seconded by Hey Jude. Jackie Lomax and The Black Dyke Mills band rounded out the releases and once again John, Paul, George and Ringo found themselves at the top of the world. But Apple's rot was about set in... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 21 – Beatles ’68 pt5

Once upon a time...or maybe twice...it was the summer of 1968! The so-called "summer of love" was in full swing as the Beatles continued work on their ambitious new double album project. From Paul's raucous "Helter Skelter", to John's vicious "Sexy Sadie", the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo continued to dominate and the double album was looking to be their most successful release yet. But George's contributions to the new record were no slouch either, with Eric Clapton guesting on what some consider to be his finest Beatles work: "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". George was well on his way to proving his songwriting mettle, but resentment still lingered from the Maharishi experience leading George to also pen the defensive "Not Guilty" - worked on relentlessly though ultimately left off the album. This wasn't the only unrelenting song the group covered - the infamous "Ob La De, Ob La Da" session nearly resulted in a break-up and caused longtime engineer Geoff Emerick to quit the sessions completely. The double album sessions were packed with highs and lows, but outside the studio the Beatles' successes continued to mount - this time in the form of the animated YELLOW SUBMARINE film and its corresponding soundtrack album, which both became instant classics after the movie's premiere in July of '68. As if all that wasn't enough, John's first art exhibit "You Are Here" received it's grand opening, the Apple Boutique closed down, and the band spent a "mad day out" amassing hundreds of new promotional photos for use on the double album and beyond... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 20 – Beatles ’68 pt4

It's June 1968 and The Beatles' double album is finally taking shape. Kicking things off this month was the very first all-original composition by Ringo Starr, a years-in-the-making honky tonk number called Don't Pass Me By. And the Beatles wouldn't pass it by, spending as much time and energy on Ringo's first track as they had for any of those that came before. It was moments like these that drew a sharp distinction from the tension that was beginning to haunt these sessions - a tension never before experienced on a Beatles project. The four boys who had entered the EMI studios 5 years earlier were now four men who were beginning to lead separate (and sometimes intense) personal lives of their own. As John's marriage to Cynthia broke down, his passionate love affair with artist Yoko Ono became public knowledge, and while a divergence into the avant-garde was good for Lennon's soul, it also alienated many longtime friends and fans. George's attempt to bring Indian spiritualism to his bandmates may have been a rocky road with mixed results, but his heart remained in Indian culture even if his brothers-in-arms didn't. With Apple in full swing, Paul's attention was set squarely on talent development, both his own (recording tracks like Blackbird and Mother Nature's Son to name a few) and that of his musical proteges like Mary Hopkin. The band would have to hang on to periodic shows of unity, because the woes of the double album sessions would be far from over... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 19 – Beatles ’68 pt3

It's April 1968 and The Beatles are back from India and open for business with a new company: APPLE. The concept of Apple Corps began as a clever way to reinvest money into creative endeavors, rather than pay it all to the taxman...but it soon blossomed into, as Paul put it, a type of "western communism" that sought to change the world of pop music from the top down and the bottom up. The company would be divided into several sectors including records, manufacturing, retail, publishing and technology, each designed by the Beatles themselves to promote art, music, culture, innovation and talent that they each believed in. At the heart was Apple Records, and John, Paul, George and Ringo each set out to discover, nurture and promote talented fresh faces of music such as Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, The Iveys, Jackie Lomax and others. Apple was a massive undertaking, and could not have come at a more unstable period for the group. Upon returning from Rishikesh with a renewed sense of inner self, John put months of secret correspondence to bed (literally) with Japanese conceptual artist Yoko Ono Cox, sending his marriage into a tailspin. George, meanwhile, became the increasing target of bitterness and resentment from his bandmates for having involved them with the Maharishi in the first place, whom John especially felt personally betrayed by. All this while the boys readied themselves to return to the studio and begin the most challenging sessions of their musical career... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 18 – Beatles ’68 pt2

It was a long road to Rishikesh, but in the spring of 1968 The Beatles had finally arrived. Eager for a much-needed holiday and in search of spiritual regeneration, they found themselves in India on the foothills of the Himalayas with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for an extended seminar in transcendental meditation ("TM"). TM was an effective alternative to the abuse of drugs and alcohol, and enthusiasm for it was shared by fellow members of the pop elite such as singer/songwriter Donovan, Mike Love of the Beach Boys and actress Mia Farrow (along with her sister, Prudence) who joined the boys on their trip. For the musicians in the camp, hundreds of songs were written over their respective stays, all the while sharing stories, verses, inspiration and encouragement with one another. Techniques such as Donovan's finger-picking guitar style were a revelation, and the songs written during this period would seed their way into countless recordings for years to come. It's only natural for a trip like this to bring people closer together, and it would for a time...but the quest for inner peace would also bring about an introspective transformation in each of its disciples. The John, Paul, George and Ringo that went to India were not the John, Paul, George and Ringo that returned, and in learning about themselves by looking inward, the four boys who had been so close for so long had begun to truly grow up, and to grow apart... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 17 – Beatles ’68 pt1

It's 1968! After a year of incredible highs and dizzying lows, The Beatles took on the new year with energy and enthusiasm. The boys entered the studio to record rockers, pop tunes and ballads that would be counted among their very finest, as well as a segment for the upcoming Yellow Submarine film still in development. Macca's ode to Fats Domino, Lady Madonna, and John's rocking Hey Bulldog roared with the kind of sound and energy of the band's pre-psychedelic recordings, while Across the Universe grew from the type of poetic song-craft of the year prior. The early weeks of the year also saw John and Paul produce the band Grapefruit - one of the first groups connected to the as-yet-to-be-fully-up-and-running Apple and whom share their name with a book published by Japanese artist Yoko Ono. They were named by John Lennon, who at this time was focused on finding himself under the tutelage of the Maharishi. John made amends with his father Freddie, who had abandoned him at an early age, and looked inward with meditation as a way to peel back the layers of anger and pain that had driven him to substance abuse. Life was good, and change was coming as the band made its final preparations for an extended holiday in India... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 16 – Beatles ’67 pt6

Roll up! Roll up for the epic finale to 1967! The year that changed so much in the lives of The Beatles would continue its transformative effects in the fall and winter, with new music, a new film, a solo project and a new business venture all happening at once. The boys' latest single, Hello Goodbye, would dominate the charts in November and serve as a bridge between the Sgt. Pepper era and the group's next record, Magical Mystery Tour. Released as an EP in Britain, and as an LP in North America, Magical Mystery Tour was a collection of new songs that provided a soundtrack to the group's made-for-television film of the same name. While the record was a smash success on both sides of the pond, the film...well, not so much. Headlines around the world proclaimed the effort a "FLOP" and for John, Paul, George and Ringo the shine of psychedelia was well on its way to erosion. George, meanwhile, had begun work on the Wonderwall soundtrack which would (not counting The Family Way soundtrack by Paul from 1966) amount to the first Beatle solo album. And to top it all off, a little company called Apple was about to take off in a big, big way... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 15 – Beatles ’67 pt5

Still riding high on the critical and commercial success that Sgt. Pepper brought, the Beatles entered the so-called "summer of love" as the spokespeople for their generation. Beloved by both fan and critic alike, John, Paul, George and Ringo took to the biggest audience of their career, representing Great Britain in the worldwide telecast "Our World" and debuting for it their new smash single "All You Need Is Love". With another chart topper in the bag, the band also made great strides toward ditching the harder drugs that had begun to take a destructive toll earlier in the year under the guidance of a spiritual leader named Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Discovered by George and Patti, the Maharishi and his transcendental meditation seminars brought the boys some much needed peace of mind, especially John, whose chemical-laden escapades were starting to become a serious problem. But just as the Beatles began their retreat, tragedy struck. Manager Brian Epstein, the man most responsible for their fame and success, died suddenly of an apparent drug overdose at the age of 32. It was a terrible blow, and one that many (including the Beatles themselves) point to as the single event most responsible for the truly dark times ahead... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.