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Battle of the Bands, Part 5, Stones Surrender to the Beatles in Cleveland, perform "I Saw Her Standing There," as Pennance
As the battle raged for decades, with both bands suffering unspeakable tragedy (Brian Jones, John Lennon), the bloodshed just HAD to end. And end it did with Mick Jagger’s historic concession in Cleveland, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mick, clearly disgusted at being forced to admit bitter defeat, inducted the Beatles, minus…
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Battle of the Bands, Part 1, The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones, I Wanna Be Your Man
I was sitting around my new apartment, feeling kind of directionless and antsy, when a genius idea struck my temple. Get this, you take bands, and you pit them in some sort of competition, almost like a battle. Then, after all the notes are sung, and the riffs are all licked, you determine a winner,…
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WillieSimpson.com One Year Anniversary! The Beatles, Birthday
One year ago, as a birthday present to myself, I launched williesimpson.com to a total of 12 viewers, 99% of those viewers being myself, and even I wasn’t impressed. Yes, the start was slow, but over the course of the year, after presenting a top 100 list of my favorite youtube videos, being nominated for…
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The Beatles, Here Comes the Sun, Lost Guitar Solo
Well, this is miraculous. Here we have a simple video of famed Beatle producer George Martin, his son Giles, and George Harrison’s son Dhani, all playing around with the master track for “Here Comes the Sun.” Off Abbey Road, “Here Comes the Sun” is probably George’s second greatest song behind “Something,” also from the same…
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The Who, I Can See For Miles, and the Origins of Helter Skelter
So apparently, if it weren’t for this song, Charles Manson never would have heard the Beatles “Helter Skelter” and have murdered all those people. Legend goes that Paul McCartney read that this song was the “heaviest” ever made, and without even hearing it, took it upon himself to write a metal song, a genre that…
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The Who, Who Are You?
Rock and roll. It’s life, it’s blood, it’s the Who. This studio performance of “Who Are You” from “The Kids Are Alright” film is one of the best and clearest examples of rock and roll perfection. The Who were a dynamite live act and an incredible studio machine. This video captures both looks of the…
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John Lennon's "She Said, She Said" Home Demos
I’ve discussed the subject of “She Said, She Said” before when discussing the Black Keys’ excellent cover version of the classic psychedelic Beatle rocker. Right now, I have something a little tastier, John Lennon’s acoustic home demos of the song. Through a magical few minutes, the clip below cuts together all of John’s early takes…
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The Beatles, Live at Shea Stadium
On August 15th, 1965, the Beatles arrived in New York City, to play a massive sold out show at Shea Stadium, the former home of the New York Mets. The concert was a big deal for many reasons. First off, it was the largest rock concert to date, setting the stage for Woodstock, Altamont, and…