Blog #3 (Beatles London Walk): Adams

Blog #3(Beatles London Walk): Adams

The Beatles London Walk included a number of sites and locations listed below with comments:

 Swinging London (Music, Fashion, Film, Television and Books)

Swinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London in the 1960s.  It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasized the new and modern.  It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution.  One catalyst was the recovery of the British economy after post-World War II austerity which lasted through much of the 1950s.  In 1965, Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue magazine, said “London is the most swinging city in the world at the moment.”  Later that year, the American singer Roger Miller had a hit record with “England Swings”, which presented a stereotypical picture of England, with lyrics such as “Bobbies on bicycles, two by two.”   Music certainly played a major part in the Swinging London cultural scene and included music by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, and other artists from what was known in America as the “British Invasion”, as well as the growing popularity of psychedelic rock as Jimi Hendrix being represented as a cultural icon, supported by British bands like Cream and early Pink Floyd.  This music was heard in the United Kingdom over pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline, Wonderful Radio London and Swinging Radio England.

During the time of Swinging London, fashion and photography were featured in Queen magazine, which drew attention to fashion designer Mary Quant.  The model Jean Shrimpton was another icon and one of the world’s first supermodels.  She was the world’s highest paid and most photographed model during this time.  Shrimpton was called “The Face of the ‘60s”, in which she has been considered by many as “the symbol of Swinging London” and the “embodiment of the 1960s”.  The model Twiggy has been called “the face of 1966” and “the Queen of Mod,” a label she shared with others such as Cathy McGowan, who hosted the television rock show, Ready Steady Go! from 1964 to 1966.  Mod-related fashions such as the miniskirt stimulated fashionable shopping areas such as Carnaby Street and the Kings Road, Chelsea..  The fashion was a symbol of youth culture.  The phenomenon was featured in films of the time which  included: Alfie (1966), Georgy Girl (1966), Casino Royale (1967), along with others.  One television series that reflected the spirit of Swinging London was The Avengers.  The BBC Television show Take Three Girls (1969) is noted for Liza Goddard’s first starring role with scenes in which the heroines were shown dressing or undressing. Adam Diment’s spy novels featured Philip McAlpine, a foppish, long-haired, pot-smoking British spy straight out of Carnaby Street.

Beatlemania and Hey Jude

The phenomenon known as Beatlemania originated in the United Kingdom, birthplace of The Beatles, when the band first realized enormous popularity there in late 1962.  Returning from a highly formative two-year residency in Germany, The Beatles achieved a commercial breakthrough with their second UK single release, “Please Please Me”.  There followed an almost non-stop series of concerts and tours, attended with fervent enthusiasm across the UK, for the whole of the following year.  With intense media interest in The Beatles during 1963, the year was also taken up with TV shows, press interviews, and a weekly radio show.  Despite these demands the band continued to find time for sessions in the recording studio, releasing a number of albums and singles during the year.  1963 was also the year when Lennon’s son Julian was born.  On October 13, 1963, The Beatles starred on “Val Parnell’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium”, the UK’s top variety show.  The show was televised live, watched by 15 million viewers, and in one national paper’s headlines the following morning, the phenomenal nationwide interest in The Beatles was finally given a name, and one which from that day on would be adopted universally: “Beatlemania”. By the end of 1963, Beatlemania would begin to spread to other places internationally.  The single “I Want to Hold Your Hand” entered the US charts on January 18, 1964, selling one-and-a-half million copies in under three weeks, and the following month The Beatles made their first visit to America.  The great interest in The Beatles brought a major change in US attitudes to popular music and marked the start of the phenomenon known as The British Invasion.

“Hey Jude” is a song by The Beatles. Credited to Lennon/McCartney, the ballad evolved from “Hey Jules”, a song Paul McCartney wrote to comfort John Lennon’s son Julian during his parents’ divorce. “Hey Jude” was released in August 1968 as the first single from The Beatles’ record label Apple Records.  More than seven minutes in length, “Hey Jude” was, at the time, the longest single ever to top the British charts.  It also spent nine weeks as number one in the United States—the longest run at the top of the American charts for a Beatles’ single.  The single has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best songs.

Abbey Road Studios and Abbey Road Crossing

 

Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood, City of Westminster, London, England.  It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner.  It is most notable for being the venue in the 1960s for innovative recording techniques adopted by The Beatles and many other famous popular music performers who have recorded at this studio. In fact, The Beatles named their final 1969 studio LP Abbey Road.
The album’s cover photograph shows the four group members walking across the zebra crossing located just outside the studio entrance.  As a result of its association with The Beatles, since 1970 this section of

Abbey Road has been featured on the London tourism circuit. At the end of 2009, the studios came under threat of sale to property developers, but the studio received historic site status from the British government in 2010 to protect it.  The crossing featured on the Beatles cover, as well as the crossing directly north of it, has become popular photo-opportunity areas, despite the road still being a busy thoroughfare for traffic. The street sign had to be mounted high on the building on the corner, to save the local council the expense of cleaning and replacing the sign, which was frequently defaced and stolen.  The council repaints the wall next to the crossing every three months to cover fans’ graffiti.

Apple Offices

There were two notable events that took place on the rooftop of the Apple Corp building.   In January,1969, confronted with a fast-approaching deadline initiated by their  film director Michael Lindsay-Hogg for a live concert, the Beatles managed to stop their bickering and start focusing their attention on the half-dozen new songs they considered suitable for live performance.  Between the pressure of time and the force of inertia, the Beatles decided that virtually the only feasible way of providing Michael Lindsay-Hogg with the cinematic climax he was seeking was by performing their live concert on the roof of the Apple building itself. On January 30 beneath overcast noonday skies with the wind gusting and the temperature hovering around forty degrees, the Beatles ascended to the roof of Apple, six stories above Savile Row, and took their places on a makeshift stage of wooden planks that had been laid the day before.  Facing the street from right to left stood George Harrison, dressed in a black fur jacket and electric green pants, holding a Fender Telecaster guitar; John Lennon, swathed in a mottled fur coat that matched his mottled brown hair, holding a blond Epiphone guitar; and Paul McCartney, seemingly immune to the January chill, wearing an Epsteinian black suit and playing his old Hofner bass, which still had taped to its body the set list from the Beatles’ last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.  Seated behind them were Ringo Starr, resplendent in a bright red rain slicker that contrasted sharply with the brass of his cymbals and the light wood finish of his drums, and Billy Preston, all but invisible as he hunched over his electric piano.  Seated at stage left was a tiny rooting section consisting of Yoko Ono, Maureen Starkey, and a handful of Apple employees.  Inadvertently, they were reviving a tradition that dated from Tudor times, when town bands would perform on the roofs of guildhalls on summer evenings.

They played quite a number of songs.  The stage area was ringed by lights, cameras and film technicians.  From their vantage point, the Beatles were performing to an audience that consisted mainly of pediments, dormers, and chimney pots.  As the music bounced off nearby buildings and cascaded down to the street, crowds of people formed on the sidewalks, looking skyward, trying to locate the source of the sound, and traffic came to a standstill on Savile Row.  Office workers in neighboring buildings leaned out of open windows; others made their way up to their own rooftops to watch the show.  While the cameras rolled, the bobbies (police) were admitted and directed to the roof, where they politely told the world’s most famous rock group that they would have to hold it down.

A less notable event took place on April 22, 1969, when Lennon changed his name by adding “Ono” as a middle name.  The brief ceremony took place on the roof of the Apple Corps building, made famous three months earlier by The Beatles’ Let It Be rooftop concert.  Although he used the name John Ono Lennon thereafter, official documents referred to him as John Winston Ono Lennon, since he was not permitted to revoke a name given at birth.

Submitted by Nina Adams

07.11.11

RWC British Abroad Adams

Blog#2:  How did the early life of Paul McCartney influence his music?

                “I was very influenced by him.” –Paul McCartney, on this father

Despite their harmless facade, The Beatles symbolized the generational revolt—even an estrangement from parents—that marked the 1960s.  “My mother hates them, my father hates them, my teacher hates them,” said one young fan. 

“Can you think of three better reasons why I love them?”

However, this was not the intent of John, Paul, George and Ringo.  With the exception of John Lennon, The Beatles grew up in loving stable homes. And they generally respected and revered their parents, which came through in their music—especially Paul McCartney’s.

“My parents aspired for us (1)..  That is one of the great things you can find in ordinary people.  My mum wanted me to be a doctor,” McCartney said.  “And my dad, who left school at fourteen, would have loved me to be a great scientist, a great university graduate.  I always feel grateful for that.”

The happiness and security of Paul’s life were brutally shattered when his mother, Mary, died in 1956, leaving his father James with the task of guiding his two teenage sons through the difficult period of adolescence, Paul later preserved his mother’s memory in the beautiful ballad “Let It Be,” based on a dream he had about her a decade after her death (2).  Paul’s younger brother Michael commented on how their father was there for them after their mother died.  “We both owe him a lot.  He stayed home and looked after us.”  But it would be the musical influence of Paul’s father that would last.

James McCartney, born in 1902, had his own band in the late 1920s.  Jim Mac’s Jazz Band, which included his brother and cousin, played the dance halls around Liverpool during the time of vaudeville.

Music had always been a focus of McCartney family life.  They had an old upright piano at home, and one of Paul’s early memories is lying on the floor, listening to his father play.  “My dad was an original, “Paul remembers.  “To us kids he was a pretty good player, he could play a lot of tunes on the piano.  I was very influenced by him.”  Paul still, in fact, has his father’s old upright piano.

James arranged for 11-year old Paul to be auditioned for junior choir at Liverpool Cathedral, but he was not accepted. This did not stop him from encouraging Paul’s clear interest in music.  “My Dad was the big influence because he was playing the piano all the time by ear,” Paul recalls.  “I tried to get him to teach me, but he said no, you’ve got to get lessons.”

James was not only a musician but also an amateur composer.  “He wrote some stuff,” Paul has said of his dad. “I actually did a song of his with Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer called ‘Walking in the Park with Eloise.’  I said to my dad: ‘Do you know you wrote that song?’ He said: I didn’t write it. I made it up.’  I said:  ‘I know what you mean, but we call that writing these days, Dad!”’

It wasn’t surprising when Paul began writing songs. “Something was making me make it up, whether I knew how to do it or not,” Paul said. “I’d already written the tune of ‘When I’m Sixty-four’ when I was sixteen.”  Not surprisingly, there is a strong vaudevillian flavour to this song (3).

The musical influence of his father also pervaded Paul’s work with The Beatles.  “He had a lot of music in him, my dad.  He taught me and my bother harmony. I learned very early how to sing harmony, which was one of my big roles in The Beatles (4).   Whenever John sang, I automatically sang in harmony with him, and that’s due to my dad’s teaching.

Paul even credits his father for his now-legendary status as The Beatles’ bass player.  “My dad would point out the bass on the radio.”(5)

As The Beatles were trying to break through, Paul’s father encouraged them. He allowed the Quarry Men – Paul and John’s pre-Beatles group—to rehearse in the McCartney home on Forthlin Road. And as the budding Beatles, Lennon and McCartney wrote some of their classics there, such as “I’ll Follow the Sun.”  “I remember writing that in our front living room at Forthlin Road," says Paul.`

When James turned 64 in 1966, Paul revived and rewrote “When I’m Sixty-four” as a tribute to his father.(7)  The Beatles recorded the song on December 6, 1966 at Abbey Road Studios in London between sessions for Lennon’s classic, surreal “Strawberry Fields Forever.”  And it was the first cut completed for their masterpiece album, the legendary Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Paul’s father lived to see The Beatles become the most influential entertainment act in history, with Paul half of the greatest pop song writing duo of all time.  James must have been proud when he heard those great piano riffs on such Beatle songs as “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude”—both written and played by Paul.

James McCartney died in 1976.  Just before he passed away, he said, “I’ll be with Mary soon.”  But the bond between father and son has lasted over the years, even as Paul celebrates his 69^th birthday this month.

This affectionate bond is reflected in a song Paul wrote about a phrase his father used to resolve family disputes.  Here are some lyrics from “Put it There” on Paul’s 1989 album, Flowers in the Dirt. “Give me your hand; I’d like to shake it.  Put it there, If it weighs a ton, That’s what a father says to his young son.”

Nina Adams

06.30.2011

Comments on BME Blogs of Dustin Bramkamp and Kimberly Krekeler

Dustin:

I was impressed with your blog on the British Musical Experience.  You expressed yourself very well, and I liked your introduction and summation of the rock music genre in the 1960's.  The pictures were an enhancement to your blog, and I especially liked the paragraph on the Vietnam War during the 1960's.

Kimberly K:

I liked your blog because the words flowed easily from one paragraph to another. I also enjoyed the pictures used to illustrate the changes in male hair styles during the 1960's.  In fact, as I have noticed while watching the young male adolescent and high school students here in England, some still wear that hair style with the bands.

Blog Entry #1 (British Musical Experience)

Blog Entry #1 (British Musical Experience):

I think the Beatles had a strong influence on the music culture first in Britain and then in America in the early 1960’s. In the 1960’s British music went global for the first time with the ‘British Invasion.’  The original look and sound of beat groups like The Beatles, R&B bands like The Rolling Stones and female singers like Petula Clark took America by storm and were met with massive fan hysteria and huge record sales.

As the British economy recovered from post-war conditions, pop, fashion and youth culture moved into a period of change.  The Beatles’ influence on rock music and popular culture was huge.  Their success started an almost immediate wave of changes—including a shift from US global dominance of rock and roll to UK acts, from soloists to groups, from professional songwriters to self-penned songs, and to changes in fashion.

The most popular rock and roll artists were fading out for one reason or another (Elvis was in the Army, Little Richard became a preacher, Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash), or were not able to keep up with the revolution in music that was taking place.  So the timing was perfect for The Beatles.  Listed below are some of the changes that The Beatles affected:

1.       The Beatles changed music forever.  They were classed as ‘respectable’ and although they were as interested in sex and drugs as most other bands, they kept it quiet and were therefore highly regarded by both parents and teenagers.  They had a clean and neat appearance recommended by their manager Brian Epstein. Most of their hits were written by Lennon and McCartney, who became two of the most famous songwriters in history. With the release of the Beatles’ Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club’ album, songs were extended past the three minutes mark.  Thei r songs contained thoughtful messages and were recorded with different instruments such as the Indian sitar and an orchestra.  The Beatles paved the way for many other popular British bands like the Rolling Stones, The Who, the Kinks and the Animals.

2.       The Beatles influenced Album format and covers:  previously record albums were of secondary consideration to singles (“45s”) in the recording industry.  However, The Beatles started producing albums with more enjoyable songs rather than two hits and the rest fillers. The album covers were more interesting and colourful.

3.       Music Videos:  The Beatles began filming promotional music videos like A Hard Day’s Night (1964) and Help! (1965) which they would send to television networks in lieu of appearing in person.  Richard Lester received praise and respect for his revolutionary camera techniques used in his directing of both films, which lead the way to the modern rock video.

4.       Live Concerts:  The Beatles were the first group to stage a large stadium concert.  At Shea Stadium in New York City on Sunday, August 5, 1965 the group opened their 1965 North American tour to a record audience of 55,600. It was the first concert to be held at a major outdoor stadium  demonstrating that outdoor concerts on a large scale could be successful and profitable.

5.       Hair:  The Beatle haircut, known as the mop-top because of its resemblance to a mop, is a mid-length hairstyle named after and popularised by the Beatles. It is a straight cut, collar-length at the back and over the ears at the sides, with straight bangs.  They adopted it from someone they saw in Hamburg while hitchhiking to Paris.

6.       Fashion:  In the early years The Beatles would wear black and later grey, Edwardian collarless suits.  This style of suit was adopted from the Mod youth cult, then at its peak in the UK. These suits (instead of leather trousers, plaid shirts and slacks) became extremely common for new bands to wear after 1964. Later, during the psychedelic era of 1967-1968, The Beatles popularised bright colours and wore paisley suits and shirts and trousers with floral patterns.  By the late 1960s, The Beatles wore more casual fashions, with t-shirts, blue jeans and denim jackets. Then John started wearing white suits. This mixture of casual wear and unconventional formal clothing could be seen in The Beatles’ later years as they grew beards and drifted towards more hippie and Indian clothing.

I was in my late teens when The Beatles invaded American and I can remember the boys started wearing their hair longer and wearing the Beatle boots that were tight-fitting, Cuban-heeled, ankle-length with pointed toes.  The girls including myself started wearing short, simple, geometric dresses of the mod look modelled by Twiggy. They were mini dresses and some wore heavy mascara (called Panda eyes) similar to Petula Clark that became the look of the 1960’s.

Yes, the American people were influenced by The Beatles almost as much as the music industry.  We just thought they had ‘the look.’

Nina Adams

06.18.11

  

Nina on the beatles

I'm learning to appreciate the beatles in ways that I have never before.