Tag: Rock and Roll

  • Paul McCartney's John Lennon Tribute, Here Today, Most Emotional Performance Ever

    I’m nearly done with Peter Doggett’s excellent biography, You Never Give Me Your Money, a book that chronicles in precise detail the breakup of the Beatles.  The book is one of the best Beatle books I’ve ever read, mainly because it delves into the Beatles’s complex interpersonal relationships and not so much their broader history…

  • Mad Men, The Eleanor Rigby Experiment

    One of the most exciting elements of the latest season of Mad Men was how the series creator, Matthew Weiner, somehow scored the rights to broadcast an actual Beatles song on his show.  The Beatles had never allowed their actual recordings to be directly featured in a television show, and have rarely allowed the privilege…

  • Paul McCartney, Coming Up

    This is my all time favorite solo Paul McCartney music video.  It would have been on the site years ago, but I could never find a version of it on youtube that I was able to embed on my website.  Those days are over, so, at long last, I can proudly paste “Coming Up,” on…

  • Paul McCartney, Take it Away

    “Tug of War” is one of the best solo Paul McCartney albums, and probably the best one from the 80s.  The record was produced by famed Beatle producer George Martin, sometimes referred to as the fifth Beatle, and this music video, which I’ve never seen before all of ten minutes ago, Martin lives out that…

  • The Beatles, If I Needed Someone

    “If I Needed Someone” written by George Harrison in 1965, is one of my all time favorite songs.  George was listening to the Byrds, especially Roger McGuinn’s “The Bells of Rhymeny,” which George based his guitar riff on.  Like all great artists, the Beatles stole from other great artists, but what was special about them…

  • George Harrison, James Ray, Got My Mind Set On You

    Most people know about George Harrison’s beautiful cover of the song “Got My Mind Set On You.”  The original version, written by Rudy Clark and performed by James Ray way back in 1962, is basically never played anymore.  I’m here to rectify that crime against music by bringing you the original version to sit along…

  • 56th Anniversary of Elvis Presley's Immortal Apperance on the Milton Berle Show

    On June 5th 1956, a 21 year old Elvis Presley strutted onto the set of the Milton Berle show.  When Milty introduced Elvis, the future King of Rock and Roll exploded into “Hound Dog.”  Its a performance that changed America.  It helped usher in the sexual revolution, the rock and roll revolution, and launched Elvis…

  • Paul McCartney, Heart of the Country

    Its the conclusion of Ram week, a jolly excursion if there ever was one, and I’m drawing the final curtain with “Heart of the Country.”  This song is one of those perfect folk/blues/country acoustic ballads that Paul McCartney had no trouble pulling out of his pants.  It sounds like an outtake from the “White Album,”…

  • Paul McCartney, Dear Boy

    “Dear Boy,” is one of my favorite cuts off Ram.  Its a delicious piece of angry piano pop that has the added benefit of messing with John Lennon’s head.  When Paul wrote this song, he wrote it as an autobiographical message to himself, commenting on how lucky he was to meet and fall in love…

  • Bob Dylan, Sara

    “Sara,” is Bob Dylan’s most honest song.  Its probably the only personal song he addresses to a real person directly, his wife Sara.  The lyrics are incredibly intimate and, apparently, true to life.  ‘Sara’ a gorgeously pained ballad of desperation, fittingly included as the closer to an album he named Desire.  That record came out…