I was a diehard Beatlemaniac as a young girl in the early and middle 1960s.
I guess if I had to choose one favorite it would be Mr. Moonlight on the album called Beatles for Sale (in the U.S). John Lennon screaming his heart out about Mistuhuhuhuh Moonlight in the beginning was a revelation to me as a tween. I remember thinking "What the heck was THAT?" I played the beginning over and over, just to feel what it made me feel. In my youthful innocence I didn't know. I just knew it moved me on a deep and joyful level. Only later did I realize it was passion. Of course the passionate cry was also perfectly executed, providing one of my earliest experiences of pop excellence.
I'm probably driving my husband nuts right now, because as I've been writing this I've been restarting the song over and over again. Apparently, it never gets old.
Do you have a favorite Beatles song?
It has been sweet to see that each generation following ours has many who love The Beatles. Just yesterday in the grocery store, as I became aware of a Beatle song playing as I paid for my groceries, I said to the young cashier, "Beatles." Her eyes lit up, and she smiled broadly and appreciatively! I told her that I had seen the final Beatles concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. She looked startled momentarily and then her eyes lit up even more.
ReplyDeleteFavorite Beatle upon seeing him for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show -- John Lennon.
Favorite song? Hmmm .... what first came to mind was the sound of John Lennon's voice singing "Twist and Shout" (for similar reasons to those you mentioned -- the passion that I was too young to understand but could feel) then "Blackbird," then "Here Comes The Sun." And there are more. I can't choose (-:
Thanks for "Mr. Moonlight"!
My pleasure. Agree about "Twist and Shout"
DeleteAll of the White Album.
ReplyDeleteBut when asked the defining question Beatles or Stones, my answer is Stones.
I like the Stones, too. Always did. I didn't see them as having a contest when I was a kid - they were too different. The group that had a "contest" with the Beatles early on was the Dave Clark Five. Ha. As if.
DeleteMy favorite Beatles song is Maxwell's Silver Hammer. It ppeals to my macabre sense of humor. Ob La Di is a happy feel-good song.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they wrote a bad song.
DeleteIsn't it funny what seems powerful to us as teenagers? I've always liked late Beatles as opposed to early Beatles -- favorites include "A Day in the Life" and "I Am the Walrus."
ReplyDeleteI also have a soft spot for "Good Day Sunshine," because I was swimming at a spring in North Florida once with some friends when a man almost drowned in the spring -- one of my friends helped pull him out and revive him, and the song on the radio at that moment was "Good Day Sunshine." We remarked how appropriate it was!
Music is a powerful stimulant, especially when one is young.
DeleteI hope I'm not going to rain on your parade. As the Beatles reached their peak with Sergeant Pepper I was already too old for them. You see I had left London (which Time magazine called "swinging London") for the US in 1965 just when I should, according to Time, have been travelling in the opposite direction. Bemused I tried to make these extreme revelations fit the city I'd just vacated and I couldn't. London was great but it was something else, always had been. For me Hey Jude had the repetitive charm of a jackhammer.
ReplyDeleteTiny anecdote. VR and I were guests at what in Pittsburgh was known as "the Jewish Y" to hear some old-fashioned music. And VR wore the mini-skirt she had brought with her from the UK. "Where did you buy that?" asked complete strangers by the dozen. VR had to admit: London.
That was in 1966. By 1967 even I had begun to realise the Beatles were big-time. My brother came to stay with us in Pittsburgh and I mentioned his coming to the neighbourhood kids who'd taught me the rudiments of baseball. My brother worked for a national company with branches in Liverpool. Could my brother, the kids beseeched, ask someone in the Liverpool office to collect a few stones from the streets of Liverpool which my brother could then distribute in Dormont, the sleepy Pgh suburb where I now lived. He did and was a hero.
And here's the irony. Years later, back in the UK, I became a magazine editor and found myself interviewing graduates for jobs in journalism. Some were so young they had missed the Beatles completely, post-born them. Verily I was getting older.
OK. The best bit of the Beatles is a single line from She's Leaving Home:
Meeting a man in the motor trade
Those last two words are exact argot, written by someone who understands the implications of buying and selling cars in The North.
And now I must kneel before you asking forgiveness for my ultimate act of treachery. My favourite Beatles song is Ticket To Ride. Ah, you say. But not, alas, sung by those lovable mopheads but by Karen Carpenter who, no doubt, would be held in contempt by the Lads from Liverpool. She sings it half-speed and loads it with feeling I didn't know it could bear.
He said that living with me was getting him dow-ow-own
Oh, poor dead Karen.
And to you, Colette, my apologies for being too old.
Good comment, I love the stories. I have to admit that I'm a little skeeved out by the thought of Karen Carpenter singing a Beatles song, though. Oh well, if you say it was good, I'm inclined to take your word for it.
DeleteOh how I love being reminded of The Beatles. I loved all of their music, and it's hard to pick one song that's my favorite, the first one that came to mind was "Norwegian Wood."
ReplyDeleteThat's a big favorite of mine, too.
DeleteWhen last counted it had 3.5m views. Find it on:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgj4xcxXyA
It's not hard rock, soft rock, or any kind of rock. But then I wouldn't have known then, nor would I know now. I don't suppose it appeals to "yoof" either. The Carpenters were the middle of MoR and I guess that puts me with the pipe-smoking, home-knitted cardigan brigade. Naturally, if push comes to shove, I favour notes over words but I appreciate it when someone does their best with worthwhile words (and these words seem to be worthwhile). I like the way young Karen drags out "care". And, incidentally, I like "skeeved", a first time for me.
The line I quoted is misquoted. Tant pis, as the French say.
I realise this admission has lost me all credibility with your readers below the age of 75. Let me retrieve a scintilla of my reputation with this. It does well with notes, words and sentiments. It's also quite short.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzVZjnn7CS8
Lovely, both of them. Thanks.
DeleteThanks for this posting. It was fun. My son was born in 1967 and someone gave us a copy of Sargent Pepper. But my real intro to them came earlier while visiting friends in Germany. I think it was their first movie. We saw it at an army base in Wiesbaden. I liked their early stuff best, but still listen to the later albums from time to time. My grandsons are big fans now.
ReplyDeleteI love all their work, but also prefer their early records.
DeleteThe lesbian in me has always been partial to "Something in the Way She Moves"
ReplyDeleteThe trailer for the new movie "Yesterday" looks like fun for Beatle's fans.
The song "Something in the Way She Moves" is a masterpiece of desire.
DeleteHello Colette from a first-time, but not last drop-in to your blog and an admittedly long-time Beatles fan whose favorites are too many. Favorite albums, Rubber Soul and Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and right now I am humming lyrics in my head while commenting. Thanks for reminding me how much I enjoyed their music.
ReplyDeleteWelcome!
Delete