Month: January 2014

Beatles Saluted During “The Night That Changed America.”

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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr perform together during last night’s taping of “The Night That Changed America.”


 
By Danny Abriano
 
Last night in Los Angeles, CBS taped what will become the Beatles special titled “The Night That Changed America.”  The special will air on February 9th to mark the 50th anniversary of the appearance of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show.
 
A night after they united to perform on stage at the Grammy Awards, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr again took to the stage together – this time to perform Beatles hits.
 
The two legends had more than a little help from their friends during last night’s star-studded concert.  If you want to be surprised when the special airs, read no further.
 
Some of the stars who performed at the show were Maroon 5 (“All My Loving”), Alicia Keys and John Legend (“Let It Be”), Imagine Dragons (“Revolution”), Dave Grohl with Jeff Lynne (“Hey Bulldog”), the reunited Eurythmics (“Fool on the Hill”), and Stevie Wonder (“We Can Work It Out”).
 
As was the case last night, the highlights of the evening were provided by those central to the world of The Beatles.
 
Dhani Harrison, the son of George, took to the stage to play “Something” with George’s one-time bandmate (Traveling Wilburys) Jeff Lynne.
 
Ringo Starr performed “Matchbox,” “Boys,” and “Yellow Submarine,” and Paul McCartney performed “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Birthday,” “Get Back,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
 
Paul and Ringo again performed together, this time belting out “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “Hey Jude” (with Ringo on drums).
 
“The Night That Changed America” will air on CBS on February 9th.

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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr Rock The Grammy Awards

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By Danny Abriano
 
To recognize the 50th anniversary of the arrival of The Beatles in America, the Grammys made last night’s ceremony a Beatles-centric one, and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were the rightful centers of attention.
 
The two legends were on hand to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, were seated next to one another in the front row, and both took the stage.
 
Aside from Paul and Ringo, Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, and Olivia Harrison were also in attendance. Yoko and Olivia presented an award with Alicia Keys near the end of the ceremony.
 

The FEST took out a half page ad in last night’s Grammy program book saluting The Beatles.

It was Paul (the winner of five awards last night) and Ringo, though, who were the highlights of the evening.
 
First, Ringo took to the stage to sing his 1973 hit “Photograph.” Starr and George Harrison co-wrote “Photograph” in 1971, and the pictures of the Fab Four flashing behind Ringo as he performed made for a poignant, moving moment.  The crowd rose in unison as Ringo performed, and it was a truly special scene.
 
A bit later on, Paul McCartney took to the stage to play “Queenie Eye” from his new album. With Paul playing a piano from the Magical Mystery Tour era, Ringo joined in on drums, creating the surreal and amazing site of the two living Beatles performing together.
 
The last time the two performed together was in 2010, when Paul surprised Ringo on the occasion of his 70th birthday at Radio City Hall and the two performed “Birthday” together.
 
Incredibly, last night’s scene may simply serve as an appetizer for Beatles fans who are hungry for more. Tonight, CBS is recording a special titled “The Night That Changed America,” a two hour salute to The Beatles that will air on February 9th at 8PM.
 
A few days ago, Ringo confirmed that he and Paul would be performing together for the special being filmed tonight. Not to take anything away from the incredible performances we were fortunate to witness last night, but one would imagine Paul and Ringo will be performing Beatles hits together for “The Night That Changed America.”
 
It was amazing to see Paul and Ringo together last night, and the February 9th special airing on CBS should provide us with more memories that will be long lasting.
 
Check out a clip of Paul and Ringo performing together last night:
 

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Ringo Confirms Upcoming Performance with Paul

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Ringo and Paul perform at Radio City in 2010. Photo by Rob Shanahan.

By Danny Abriano
 
Ever since it was reported that both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will be in attendance at this year’s Grammy awards – and that there would be a special Beatles tribute the night after the Grammy’s, rumors have been swirling that the two would perform together.
 
Last night, Ringo confirmed to Access Hollywood that the two would be performing together.  According to Ringo, the performance will take place the night after the Grammy’s,  during filming for the CBS special “The Night That Changed America: A Grammys Salute to The Beatles.”
 
The special, including the performance by Paul and Ringo, will be taped on January 27th, and will air on February 9th – the 50 year anniversary of The Beatles’ earth shattering performance on the Ed Sullivan show.  Said Ringo:

To celebrate the 50 years since we landed in New York in February [1964], they are putting on a big show on Monday and we will be doing it there.

 
It’s unknown at this point exactly what Paul and Ringo’s performance will entail, but let’s hope it involves Paul at the microphone and Ringo behind his kit – at least for part of the performance.
 
Paul and Ringo have played together a handful of times since The Beatles broke up in 1970.  The most rollicking one occurred in in July of 2010, when Paul surprised Ringo for his 70th birthday at Radio City.  The crowd went insane, Ringo got on the drums, and Paul belted out “Birthday” with Ringo playing behind him.
 
Ringo’s photographer Rob Shanahan, who captured the above image of Ringo and Paul at Radio City, will have that photo and other memorable Paul and Ringo photographs, gallery prints and lithographs available for sale in his gallery at this year’s NYC Fest. Check out Rob’s site here.

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The “January Effect.” A look at the “boys” before the Capture of America.

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By Larry Kane, author Ticket to Ride, Lennon Revealed, When They Were Boys –

January 1964. Paris, France. The boys had a triumphant run in Paris, which John Lennon described to me as “one long celebration.” It was, after all, in Paris where they found out that “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was number one in America. That had, according to John, “lessened a bit our concerns” about “making it in the states,” or he added, with that sometimes crooked grin, “the colonies. Do we still call them that.”?

When I asked John in 1968 what was the best moment, the highlight moment of the Beatles career, he added, “Oh, Paris, hearing about…it being number one…remember it well, Larry…milk” Milk? Still trying to figure that one out, to this day.

January also followed the pattern of the so-called “Snowball” memo which I revealed in the “When They Were Boys” book.” It was a memo designed to create a snowball effect, prior to the Beatles landing in America. The elements? Just a little bit of film footage, the release of ‘hold your hand’ the day after Christmas, and news and p.r. masters Tony Barrow and Derek Taylor leaking just enough great tidbits to American reporters, including a slice of film to America’s leading anchorman, Walter Cronkite.

It was in January, that a confident Brian Epstein had finalized his deal to get the boys on three consecutive nights of the Ed Sullivan show, starting on February 9th.

January was also the time that Epstein and Capitol “capitalized” on all that music that John and Paul wrote. Oh yes! The songs that American broadcasters and labels had basically ignored in 1963. As John’s sister Julia Baird would say, “Imagine This.” That’s her book title, but IMAGINE THIS!

On January 3, “Please Please Me”, and flipside “From Me To You” was released. The “snowball effect” continues: On January 10 “Introducing the Beatles” is on sale. On January say hello to album “Meet The Beatles.”

And let us not slight early February. 2/3/64 and its “Twist and Shout.” On 2/7/64, “All My Loving” is unleashed, on the day the boys arrived in America, exactly 50 years before the opening of the 40th annual FEST, which I will help open with my one man show on Friday night, with all those details of heated days and stormy nights traveling with the Beatles.

By the way, for those of you obsessed with detail: The Beatles arrived at JFK Airport, which was renamed on December 23, 1963, in memory of the President. The original name was Idlewild, the name of the golf course where the airport was originally constructed. The airport was modernized to get ready for the 1965 World’s Fair, not far from Shea Stadium, where the Beatles changed music history by appearing before 60,000 fans in August 1965. During that concert, I watched from the steps of the Mets’ dugout with Ed Sullivan. We didn’t hear much, but watching the crowd itself was amazing.

For those of you coming to New York for the first time, some places to see are Strawberry Fields, Central Park West, just off 72nd Street and the Dakota. Also: The Plaza Hotel, where the Beatles stayed on their first quick trip in 1964. The Delmonico Hotel where they stayed in the Summer of 1964, and where Bob Dylan introduced them to a banned substance.

That’s it for now. I’ll be here, there and everywhere during those three days in the Fab Four Feb.

Larry Kane.

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Mark hears I Want To Hold Your Hand – 1st Time 1/6/64

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It was fifty years ago today, January 6, 1964 that I first heard I Want To Hold Your Hand. It was a moment that forever changed my life and I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the first day back from the two week Christmas/New Year’s vacation where i had no access to radio. I was listening to WABC on the Scott Muni Show. I was doing my homework and the song came on the radio. I got so excited. I never heard ANYTHING that sounded like that before. I wanted to know who it was. I was hooked before the song was over. Scottso came on and said that it was by a group from England called The Beatles. My first thought was ‘What a strange name!’ The very next day, Tuesday, was new survey day and I came home from school and it was #1. It was still #1 when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show almost five weeks later.

Mark Lapidos, January 6, 2014

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