Paul McCartney at the White House

As promised, here are some more videos of the tribute to Paul McCartney at the White House that aired last night on PBS.

Dave Grohl with "Band on the Run"



Jack White with "Mother Nature's Son" and "That Would Be Something"



Here is Paul serenading Michelle Obama with "Michelle"



End of "Hey Jude":

Yoko Wants Mark David Chapman to Stay In Jail

Countless news outlets are reporting that Yoko Ono has asked once again that John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman, be denied parole. December 8th marks the thirty year anniversary of Lennon's murder, and Chapman is serving a sentence of twenty years to life. Since Chapman became eligible for parole, Yoko has been submitting a letter to the parole board every two years asking that he not be released. In the letter, she says, "I am afraid it will bring back the nightmare, the chaos and confusion once again. Myself and John's two sons would not feel safe for the rest of our lives." Chapman becomes eligible for parole during the week of August 8th. I don't think he'll ever get out, if for no other reason than the hysteria it would cause. 

Read more: New York Daily News

[Image via huliq.com]

Paul McCartney Honored at White House

The ceremony honoring Paul McCartney with the Gershwin award for song at the White House airs tonight on public television (for those in the USA). Here is a video showing the Jonas Brothers' prep for their performance of "Drive My Car." Not sure why Paul requested them, maybe to appeal to the younger crowd...but I don't really get it. That said, here it is:

*I will try to find videos of the other performances. 

Beatles on the Cover of Mersey Beat!

On July 20, 1961, The Beatles appeared on the cover of the second issue of the Mersey Beat magazine. The group gave an interview about their recording work with Tony Sheridan. Brian Epstein ordered 12 dozen copies of their record with Sheridan for his record shop.

[Image via history.absoluteelsewhere.net]

Happy Belated Birthday Ringo!

July 7th was Ringo's 70th birthday! Since I didn't have the blog then, I thought I'd celebrate it anyway (no matter how late).

Ringo has been touring the last few months with his All Star Band. ( I saw them last month and they were great) Paul McCartney surprised Ringo on his birthday by coming out at the end of the show to play "Birthday" with/for Ringo. It's touching to see how flustered and surprised Ringo is at the beginning, and how clearly touched his is at the end of the song. There were several special guests at Ringo's birthday performance including his son Zac Starkey, who can be seen playing drums with his father.

Here is a pretty good video of the performance from Youtube:



[Image via Boston.com]

Welcome!

Welcome to my Beatles blog!

In my years as a Beatles fan I've learned that the only thing more cliche than saying you're a Beatles fan is to claim that your devotion has been lifelong. I can make no such claims, but I have been a fan since the age of 10. A boy in school made me a mixtape with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on it, and I haven't been the same since. My crush on the boy may have faded, but I continued to grow up with the Beatles.

That said, the purpose of this blog is part news reporting/ part almanac. I will post current news, audio and video about the Beatles while also marking the history of the Beatles starting in 1961.

I'd love to hear anyone's Beatles related stories, or get links to any related sites.

Enjoy!