Beatles Sophomore Marks 50

Cover album of With The Beatles

November 22,2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' second album With The Beatles.The album is known for the band's awesome covers of R&B and motown classics alongside beautifully written Lennon-McCartney originals.The second album is also noted for the Harrison-penned song "Don't Bother Me"-which is considered to be the first George Harrison composition ever to appear on a Beatles album.

With the fore-mentioned worldwide release date of November 22,1963,the album yet again failed to be released in the United States wherein a butchered album adopting its original cover was released instead on January 1964.About three months after the release of With The Beatles,Meet The Beatles was considered to be the first Beatles album to be released in the American market.Though the said claim was still in dispute(Introducing The Beatles was released by Veejay preceding Meet The Beatles at an earlier date) with the legal battles that went through between VeeJay and Capitol with the latter winning the case and ended up being the band's American distributor.++

TRACK LISTING:

 1.It Won't Be Long (Lennon-McCartney)
2.All I've Got To Do (Lennon-McCartney)
3.All My Loving (Lennon-McCartney)
4.Don't Bother Me (Harrison)
5.Little Child (Lennon-McCartney)
6.Till There Was You (Willson)
7.Please Mister Postman (Dobbins-Garrett-Gorman-Holland-Bateman)
8.Roll Over Beethoven (Berry)
9.Hold Me Tight (Lennon-McCartney)
10.You Really Got A Hold On Me (Robinson)
11.I Wanna Be Your Man (Lennon-McCartney)
12.Devil In Her Heart (Drapkin)
13.Not A Second Time (Lennon-McCartney)
14.Money(That's What I Want) (Bradford-Gordy)

Track number 9,Hold Me Tight dates back from the Please Please Me sessions but was put in the can  with a said reason of not being an appropriate song for the debut LP.
 

 WITH THE BEATLES VS. MEET THE BEATLES!

Contrary to what  one blogger on Rolling Stone had said,that both With The Beatles and Meet The Beatles have the same album cover,the latter album's was actually adapted from the original British and worldwide release in the sixties,for Meet The Beatles came out in a later date compared to the former.With the butchered US version featuring songs from the original With The Beatles album alongside singles the band issued for the US market like I Want To Hold Your Hand and its B side This Boy.The butchered album consists of  12 songs.Reasons on why Capitol altered the first seven Beatles albums in the sixties is still unclear with speculations ranging from copyright issues to lack of foresight or simply maximizing the label's profits.

Cover of the butchered US LP Meet The Beatles released January 20,1964

Again,let us compare the track listings of both albums,the original release and the US incarnation.

Track listing for Meet The Beatles-released January 20,1964

1.I Want To hold Your Hand*
2 I Saw Her Standing There+
3.This Boy*
4.It Wont Be Long
5.All I've Got To Do
6.All My Loving
7.Dont Bother Me
8.Little Child
9.Till There Was You
10.Hold Me Tight
11.I Wanna Be Your Man
12.Not A Second Time

*-single with "This Boy" as its B-side
+-originally from Please Please Me,the Beatles' debut album released in March 1963,the song also appeared on the album Introducing The Beatles(Butchered US version of Please Please Me) distributed by Veejay Records with the US release date of January 10,1964.

Other tracks that were removed on the US incarnation of the album were included on another Capitol LP The Beatles Second Album,along with singles the band has issued previously.Nevertheless,the said  albums never got the favor and approval of the fab four themselves.

Track listing for With The Beatles(already featured above,but featured here again for comparison)
worldwide release: November 22,1963 except the US

 1.It Won't Be Long
2.All I've Got To Do
3.All My Loving
4.Don't Bother Me
5.Little Child
6.Till There Was You
7.Please Mister Postman
8.Roll Over Beethoven
9.Hold Me Tight
10.You Really Got A Hold On Me
11.I Wanna Be Your Man
12.Devil In Her Heart
13.Not A Second Time
14.Money(That's What I Want)


CONFUSION AMONG FANS:

 With the same covers but with different logos nonetheless,both With The Beatles and Meet The Beatles has caused a bit of confusion among Beatles fans outside the US particularly in Japan when Japanese distributor Toshiba released the US version Meet The Beatles alongside With The Beatles in 1964.

UNIFICATION BY EMI

On February 26,1987, a unification effort was made by EMI Records and declared the original 13 albums the overall standard for the entire Beatles catalogue, hereby deleting the butchered US versions of the Beatles' LPs pre-Sgt Pepper in the 1960s wherein the latter got only available at the hands of bootleggers and recently on box sets.With The Beatles along with the original six albums were issued domestically in the US after being considered as an import in the past.The effort was made to avoid further confusion particularly with the American fans.

++[To see the complete story of the Beatles albums click here ]


CHART PERFORMANCE

With The Beatles topped the UK charts for 12 weeks trouncing off the Beatles' own debut album Please Please Me on December 1963.The album also fared well in other countries in Europe and Asia in the same year 1963,achieving gold certifications in Germany,Canada and Australia.

The album was also a huge success in Asian countries like the Philippines, Hong Kong and Japan in 1963 with Beatlemania becoming a worldwide phenomenon.

Upon its US issue in 1987,the album was also certified gold by the RIAA and was praised by Rolling Stone magazine along with the original six albums pre-Sgt Pepper as the albums with the most cleverly arranged songs.It was ranked at 420 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time List along with other Beatles albums and with Sgt Pepper,released in 1967 hitting  the top spot.


OTHER HIGHLIGHTS AND ALBUM FEATURES

The Beatles with George Martin,Abbey Road studios 1963

Contrary to what younger Beatles fans might have thought,the song "Till There Was You" was not written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.Though the song was a regular on early Beatles concerts and recently became a regular on McCartney's tours post-Beatles,the song was actually written by Meredith Willson from the Broadway Musical "The Music Man".
A film adaptation of the play was released in 1962,wherein a version by actress Shirley Jones was featured in the movie.

 On the Beatles' own rendition of the song,it was noted that Paul McCartney was the only member of the band that was using electricity on his trademark Hofner bass,with George Harrison and John Lennon using acoustic guitars respectively.

A noted Motown cover song "You Really Got A Hold On Me" originally from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles was also featured on the album with John Lennon on lead vocals.The track,written by Robinson was a top 10 hit in 1962 with Lennon delivering that awesome R&B vocal,accompanied by Paul and George in harmonies.

George Harrison did three lead vocal duties on the album,aside from the self-penned song "Don't Bother Me",he was also the lead vocals on two cover songs "Devil In Her Heart" and the Chuck Berry staple "Roll Over Beethoven" where he delivered an awesome guitar lick.


THE COVER PHOTO

Robert Freeman,photo:SF Art Exchange

The famous album cover was shot by Robert Freeman,who was the Beatles' official photographer from 1962 to 1966.Freeman would later take three more album cover photos of the band,namely Beatles For Sale,Help! and Rubber Soul.


 The cover photo was said to have been shot in a hotel corridor with a natural light coming from an opened window contrary to other claims that it was shot in a studio with a spotlight from the right side of the band.

Ringo was actually sitting on a stool and that  made him look like he was lower than the others.The Beatles' wore their trademark 'drainpipes',a thing they use to describe their dark suits,and the results were way ahead of its time considering that it was nearly withdrawn coz the band,according to their label,wasn't smiling.But with the intervention from their ever-so-cool producer George Martin,the photo finally made it as the album cover.


TRIBUTES AND PARODIES

Like other Beatles albums,With The Beatles has also been parodied by other artists paying their huge respect and admiration to the band.

Land Of Confusion single sleeve

1.LAND OF CONFUSION

"Land Of Confusion" is a 1986 single by rock group Genesis from their album Invisible Touch.The single sleeve features a parody of  With The Beatles.

The single peaked at number 4 on the charts in 1986.

2.MEET THE R. STEVIE MOORE

Songwriter and musician R.Stevie Moore also parodied the album cover on his 2008 compilation album Meet The R.Stevie Moore.
Moore who has been recording since 1968 at the age of seven,cites this as his 401st album.

3.WITH THE MUPPLES

Though not really cited as a real music album,the Muppets, a group of androgenic and lifelike puppets created by Jim Henson,paid tribute to the album with a calendar version entitled With The Mupples.

Henson,who died in 1990,is known to be a huge Beatles fan.The Beatles were also parodied on several episodes of Sesame Street where Jim Henson's creations also appeared particularly The Beetles(muppet parody of the Beatles) with "Letter B" which is a parody of the band's 1970 song "Let It Be".

According to Muppet Wiki,the Muppets and its producers did tried to reunite the four Beatles on the show in the 1970s but  didnt have the alloted time and budget to do so.

4.MEET THE RUTLES


The Rutles were a Beatles parody band.Originally a fictional group,the Rutles became famous from a comedy sketch called All You Need Is Cash produced by ex-Beatle George Harrison.

Actor Zachary Levi in a scene from Alvin And the Chipmunks

5.MEET THE CHIPMUNKS

Though only a fictional album, Meet The Chipmunks was used in the 2009 film Alvin And The Chipmunks:The Squeakquel as a parody of the album With The Beatles.The parody LP can be seen hanging in the wall of David Seville's house where the Chipmunks also lived.

Merely a fictional group,the fabulous rodents who sang on records for children paid tribute to the Beatles by releasing an album called The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits in 1964.

photo upper left: A scene from the film Alvin And The Chipmunks:The Squeakquel featuring actor Zachary Levi,a parody album Meet The Chipmunks can be seen in the background.

copyright 2009 20th Century Fox;Fox DVD


Photo right: The Chipmunks tribute album for the Beatles:The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits released in 1964








Four long haired boys in a dark corridor wearing dark suits,With The Beatles remains a top rock music icon 50 years after its release.The album continues to influence and inspire people, thus gave birth to new generations of Beatles fans.The Beatles,having introduced modern rock in the sixties astonishingly prevails as  the most influential rock group of all time.Hence, the legacy of the band remains the yardstick on how modern rock is measured.

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

On Air-Live At The BBC Volume 2

19 years after the release of their Live At The BBC album in 1994,a second volume highlighting a collection of songs the band recorded for radio broadcast by the BBC between 1963 and 1964 is due for release on November 11.The new compilation album contains more than 40 songs including in-between speeches made by the band.The first volume of the BBC sessions was to be reissued on the same date with digital remastering for record collectors.

TRACK LISTING:

Disc 1:


1. ’And Here We Are Again (Speech)’
2. ’Words of Love’
3. ’How About It, Gorgeous? (Speech)’
4. ’Do You Want to Know a Secret’
5. ‘Lucille’
6. ‘Hey, Paul … (Speech)’
7. ‘Anna (Go to Him)’
8. ’Hello! (Speech)’
9. ’Please Please Me’
10. ‘Misery’
11. ‘I’m Talking About You’
12. ‘A Real Treat (Speech)’
13. ‘Boys’
14. ’Absolutely Fab (Speech)’
15. ‘Chains’
16. ‘Ask Me Why’
17. ‘Till There Was You’
18. ’Lend Me Your Comb’
19. ’Lower 5E (Speech)’
20. ‘The Hippy Hippy Shake’
21. ‘Roll Over Beethoven’
22. ‘There’s a Place’
23. ‘Bumper Bundle (Speech)’
24. ‘P.S. I Love You’
25. ’Please Mister Postman’
26. ‘Beautiful Dreamer’
27. ’Devil in Her Heart’
28. ‘The 49 Weeks (Speech)’
29. ’Sure to Fall (In Love With You)’
30. ‘Never Mind, Eh? (Speech)’
31. ‘Twist and Shout’
32. ‘Bye, Bye (speech)’
33. ‘John – Pop Profile (Speech)’
34. ‘George – Pop Profile (Speech)'

Disc 2:


1. ‘I Saw Her Standing There’
2. ‘Glad All Over’
3. ‘Lift Lid Again (Speech)’
4. ‘I’ll Get You’
5. ‘She Loves You’
6. ‘Memphis, Tennessee’
7. ’Happy Birthday Dear Saturday Club’
8. ’Now Hush, Hush (Speech)’
9. ‘From Me to You’
10. ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’
11. ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’
12. ‘Brian Bathtubes (Speech)’
13. ‘This Boy’
14. ‘If I Wasn’t in America (Speech)’
15. ‘I Got a Woman’
16. ‘Long Tall Sally’
17. ‘If I Fell’
18. ’A Hard Job Writing Them (Speech)’
19. ‘And I Love Her’
20. ‘Oh, Can’t We? Yes We Can (Speech)’
21. ‘You Can’t Do That’
22. ‘Honey Don’t’
23. ‘I’ll Follow the Sun’
24. ‘Green With Black Shutters (Speech)’
25. ’Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!’
26. ‘That’s What We’re Here For (Speech)’
27. ‘I Feel Fine (Studio Outtakes)’
28. ‘Paul – Pop Profile (Speech)’
29. ‘Ringo – Pop Profile (Speech)’

 To order the album and for other Beatles merchandise click here

LIVE AT THE BBC (1994)

The first live compilation album of songs recorded for radio broadcasts for the BBC was released in 1994.

The first volume contains songs recorded for radio broadcasts with no overdubs and played live in the studio between 1963 and 1965.The Beatles was said to have recorded more than 275 songs all in all for the BBC and a double album of such material wasn't even enough to fill in the entire BBC catalogue.

The live double album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard charts in 1994 and went to number one in the UK, a proof of the band's awesome longevity and timeless appeal.The album also caught the attention of new generations of Beatles fans many of who,wasn't even born yet during the band's hey day.

Will there be a third installment? That,we'll just have to wait and see.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

HELP! TOPS ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE'S BEST SOUNDTRACKS OF ALL TIME LIST

Rolling Stone has been a respectable rock music magazine since its inception in 1967.However,the publication itself faced several controversies and criticisms concerning its views in politics and opinions regarding music.

Last September 3,2013,Rolling Stone had put out  its Top 25 Best Soundtracks Of All Time List and the Beatles' 1965 album Help! made it to the top spot.However,several Beatles experts yet again criticized the publication arguing the fact that the Beatles album wasn't really a soundtrack.The 14 track album which was first released in 1965 contains the first seven tracks which were sung in the movie and another seven which were not in the movie.

One can argue the fact that the Beatles' first seven albums were released in a different format in the US back in the sixties wherein its American distributor Capitol Records has been accused of butchering the original British releases to create more albums for the American market.The 14 track Help! was then chopped down to seven songs and included with it instead was the background instrumental used in the film's chase scenes.The Beatles' reaction by then was a mixture of dismay and aghast that they got their revenge with the release of Yesterday And Today with its controversial butcher cover-which many believed as the band's reaction to what Capitol did to the albums the fab four themselves created according to their own artistic vision.Lennon himself even made a few sentiments over the "butchery". However,a unification made by EMI in 1987 had standardized the Beatles catalogue worldwide, thereby deleting the Capitol versions of the Beatles LPs and made the original format of the first seven albums(including the 14 track Help!) available locally in the US and has been the format since.*

Even with a 14 track lineup and a half set of songs that were neither on the movie,Help! is still very much considered as a soundtrack album,after all, it was all the fab four's brainstorm with a little help of course,from producer George Martin.

The following were Rolling Stone magazine's complete list of its Top 25 Best Soundtrack Albums Of All Time.It was after all,a publication's opinion.Take note that they had included a rap album on the list (RS was also criticized for declaring rap as real music and calling Eminem,50 Cent and other rap artists as "rock stars" and "musicians")

1.HELP!--The Beatles
2.PURPLE RAIN--Prince
3.THE HARDER THEY COME--Jimmy Cliff
4.A HARD DAY'S NIGHT--The Beatles
5.SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER--The Bee Gees
6.SUPERFLY--Curtis Mayfield
7.PULP FICTION--Various Artists
8.RUSHMORE--Various Artists
9.THIS IS SPINAL TAP--Spinal Tap
10.O BROTHER,WHERE ART THOU?--Various Artists
11.PRETTY IN PINK--Various Artists
12.WILD STYLE--Various Artists
13.TRAINSPOTTING--Various Artists
14.EASY RIDER--Various Artists
15.GOODFELLAS--Various Artists
16.THE GRADUATE--Simon And Garfunkel/Dave Grusin
17.AMERICAN GRAFITTI--Various Artists
18.BOOGIE NIGHTS--Various Artists
19.MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR--The Beatles
20.SINGLES--Various Artists
21.24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE--Various Artists
22.LOST IN TRANSLATION--Various Artists
23.JUICE--Various Artists
24.ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL--Various Artists
25.HEAD--The Monkees


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio


*RELATED LINKS:

The Beatles Chronology

Rolling Stone Magazine Official Website

Whats Elvis' Real Stand On The Fab Four?

Elvis Presley,photo:elvis.com

Elvis Presley is the ultimate icon of rock music.Without him,rock n' roll and its subsidiaries would not exist.Well,let it be known here and now,without Elvis,the Beatles themselves wouldn't have existed.John Lennon was famous for saying that before Elvis there was nothing-pointing out to the first time he ever heard "Heartbreak Hotel" in which the song  woke up his creative instincts and became the musician we still admire today.

How many bands have been influenced by Elvis,or at least touched by his music? Aside from the Beatles,Herman's Hermits and Led Zeppelin were both famous for meeting the KING.Jimmy Page was quoted on saying how much he loved Elvis' music and on how he was thrilled when he met him,even describing him as a "wonderful person".The Monkees and David Bowie were also noted for meeting the king of rock,with the Thin White Duke(Bowie) relating the story of how he was miffed by Elvis' presence.Other rock stars such as AC/DC guitarist Angus Young has always referred to the old rockabilly genre of the 1950s as the real rock music,citing both Elvis and Little Richard as his major influences.

Both the Beatles and Elvis Presley never co-existed like some other people might have thought.The Beatles were still high school kids by the time Elvis was selling records by millions and whooping it up onstage with the girls dropping dead on his feet in 1956.Though John Lennon himself,at age 16,had already formed a skiffle group at school which was then called The Quarry Men,their name was taken from their alma mater Quarry Bank High School.The group had various personnel and name changes that soon led to the formation of the Beatles though John Lennon met his future songwriting partner Paul McCartney also on this skiffle group about a year after it was formed.

By the time Beatlemania had reached the States,Elvis by then was already way past the music scene and was very busy making movies in Hollywood.Some music experts say that Elvis' career has waned by the time he joined the army and took a break from the music business from 1958 to 1960.So its up to Colonel Tom Parker to come up with the ideas on how he will bring Elvis' career back into the limelight.Though it sure wasn't healthy to transform him from a singer to an all around family entertainer.He was noted for making three movies in a year and that must be very exhausting and this was also the period when Elvis got hooked on drugs.

John Lennon(center) then age 16,fronting the Quarry Men 1956

Its is common knowledge that Elvis faded away from the charts when the Beatles took the US by storm.Though Elvis himself has a record breaking performance on the charts as being the solo artist whose had the most number one songs on Billboard.Come to think of it,its quite silly to compare these giants of rock music to each other,though the Beatles were citing Elvis as their major influence,they never really sounded like Elvis.One would point the fact that when the Beatles first came to America,somebody from the press called them "a bunch of British Elvis Presleys",well even the KING himself wasn't impressed by that name call.How can you compare a solo artist to a group after all?

It was during the Beatles' 1965 US tour when the fab four and the King finally met.They gathered at Elvis' mansion in Los Angeles while the King took a break from filming and the fabs themselves was on the last leg of their tour.The first thirty minutes of this famous meeting didn't actually went so well that Elvis had to break the ice with "If you guys are just gonna stare at me all night,I'm going to bed."

Perhaps John,Paul,George and Ringo were so overwhelmed on meeting their idol that they were actually speechless at first.It was John Lennon who actually had the guts of asking the King on why does he sing those gospel ballads[referring to the songs he was singing in his movies] and what happened to good  'ol rock n' roll.It was noted that Elvis has lost control of the material he was singing in the studio,a thing that he might've regretted,as Tom Parker took full control of his career and estate post-army,holding it in a tight grip.

A jamming session took place between the Beatles and Elvis that was rumored to have been recorded by one of  Presley's bodyguards--though no photos or videos were taken to the insistence of Parker.Presley was seen to be playing the bass and Paul McCartney was even delighted to show him a few riffs.In the end,Parker gave the lads a couple of gifts as they left the mansion,with the four of them just couldn't stop talking about Elvis even when they were already in the limo.

George Harrison,1960

(photo left:George Harrison during the Beatles' early days as a bar band,1960.Presley's influence is evident in the early days:leather boots,jackets and greasy hairstyle.The band changed their attire under the direction of Brian Epstein)


So the King and the fab four both went on their own separate ways.The Beatles changed forever the way rock music is presented and the way the audiences would listen.They opened the doors to other British groups and had set the standard for a modern day rock band.Local heroes such as the Beach Boys,the Doors and Jefferson Airplane answered back to the British Invasion of the 1960s.Unknown to everyone,modern rock has already started in the 60s with the advent of the Beatles and other rock groups that followed.Everyone was experimenting,trying new things and with modern rock,drug use has been common especially with the youth.

Meanwhile,Elvis continued to make films throughout the sixties and seem to have disappeared in the music biz.Record sales were reportedly down with the heavy competition of rock groups on both sides of the Atlantic.It was during this period that Elvis stood back and observed how rock music evolve right before his eyes.In 1968,he returned from retirement and made a successful comeback along with a tv special bearing his own name.The King was obviously overwhelmed on how fast rock music has changed.On one occasion he famously said on his show "Music has changed a lot,I would like to congratulate both the Beatles and the Byrds".

Elvis on Elvis Comeback Special,1968

Elvis covered a couple of Beatles songs himself.One particular track that was awesomely covered by him was "Something".This song,written by George Harrison was performed live in Hawaii in 1973 and was aired via satellite in 40 countries around the world.

With the heavy competition between rock n' roll bands in the late sixties,Elvis still managed to return to the top of the charts with "Suspicious Minds" in 1969.The song definitely put Elvis' career up and going but it was also his last number one song in the US.Several tracks posthumously hit number one overseas particularly in the UK.

Elvis with President Nixon,1970

All seemed went so pretty well until Elvis was presented with a Narcotics badge by President Nixon in 1970 wherein he had put the Beatles on top of his dopers list and accused the band of Anti-Americanism.Presley even went far by writing to the immigration and recommended to ban them from entering the US. The Beatles were reportedly shocked-to no one's surprise,with interviews handled by Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney saying that they felt kinda betrayed and that they really wanted to co-exist with him- sadly,a thing that never happened.No one ever knew what Presley was thinking at that moment,and a fit of jealousy is highly unlikely.

Well the King himself is no stranger to drugs.After trying several hard stuff in the sixties,he turned to pills and he uses them all the time.He use pills to stay awake,to eat,and to sleep.His stepbrother David Stanley is a witness to his drug taking and was even held at gunpoint by the King himself when he tried to advise him to stay away from pills.

It was said that he gave his doctors expensive gifts such as cadillacs just to get the prescription drugs he wanted.In fact,one of his doctors was even sent to prison for doing such malpractice. These drugs eventually led to his death on August 16,1977 of cardiac arrhythmia.About a year before he died,Elvis was obviously bloated and a medical assessment of his liver showed signs of abnormality.

 Rock music seemed to have died in 1977 with the former Beatles expressing their sadness when they heard that Elvis Presley had died.One such reaction came from former Beatle John Lennon who,himself took a break from the music biz and was raising his son Sean in New York."The King is dead.But rock n' roll will never die.Long live the King" said Lennon.His former songwriting partner Paul McCartney expressed his own eulogy as well,"I doubt very much if the Beatles would have happen if it weren't for Elvis".

In the recent years the former Beatles still expressed their admiration for Elvis,with the then three surviving members expressing their thoughts at their 2000 tell-all best seller book The Beatles Anthology.When George Harrison passed away in 2001,his former bandmate Paul McCartney continued to keep the band's flame alive along with former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.The remaining two went on with touring,releasing new solo albums and continued to mesmerize crowds and new generations of Beatles fans.






On one interview with Reader's Digest in 2005,while promoting his album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard,McCartney told the story of how Elvis' song "All Shook Up" has mended his headache.On May 2013,Paul paid a visit to Graceland and had put a guitar pick on Elvis' grave so that "he can play in heaven".This was during the Memphis leg of his 2013 Out There Tour,then the story of the Beatles meeting with the King suddenly was commemorated by such big event that one of the Beatles' entourage even bothered to make picks out of plastic spoons for Elvis.But Paul gave him a new one that he had put on his grave.

Paul McCartney at Elvis' grave,2013

Elvis covered a couple of Beatles songs during his comeback phase in the late sixties and the surviving Beatles could never be thankful enough for him for their own music career.It was,after all, a mutual admiration.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Sir Paul reconnects with the Philippines

Sir Paul McCartney, photo courtesy of his website

Forty seven years had passed since Paul McCartney set foot on Philippine soil as a member of the Beatles during their 1966 World Tour,and no he didn't have any good memories out of that tour and perhaps that is the main cause why the Beatles had stopped playing live.As nothing can be more dangerous with what they had experienced in Manila.

But last July 19, things seem to have change with Paul's bad sentiment about the Philippines that he wrote a letter to Filipino president Benigno Aquino III regarding the welfare of Mali,the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo.The elephant was known to have suffered stress in captivity and was having all sorts of skin diseases that needed medical attention.

Sir Paul McCartney has been supporting PETA and has been speaking for the organization since the early 90s with his late wife Linda.Both Paul and Linda has also been promoting vegetarianism and the banning of  the killing of animals for food consumption,a matter that has caused some problems with some of their road crew who didn't even want to become veggie.

Mali,the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo has been in captivity for the last 33 years.The elephant was a gift from the Sri Lankan government to the Marcoses in 1981 when the elephant was only three years old.Marcos was known to have ruled the Philippines for 20 years from 1965 to 1986.The elephant  recently was noted to have a sore foot and several skin problems that has urged PETA to plea with the Philippine government to transfer Mali to a sanctuary in Thailand to be able to give her the proper care she needs.

Mali at Manila Zoo,photo:PETA

The letter of Sir Paul's to President Aquino was addressed to the Malacanang Palace which is the official residence and office of the Philippine president.

His Excellency Benigno Aquino III
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Office of the President Malacañang Palace

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to add my voice to the many others who are supporting the transfer of Mali, the lonely elephant currently being held at the Manila Zoo, to a sanctuary in Thailand as soon as possible. I respectfully urge you to use your good offices to expedite the transfer as, with every single day that she remains in the zoo, Mali suffers.

I have great regard for governments that intervene on behalf of animals, just as yours did with the May 2012 directive ordering that Mali be evaluated and considered for transfer. That said, time is passing, and it has been more than a year since that directive was issued—yet Mali seems no closer to enjoying her well-deserved retirement at an approved sanctuary.

I have heard from my friends at PETA that various government authorities are continuing to deny that Mali’s welfare should be within their jurisdiction and that the veterinarian who was brought in to perform a health assessment failed to address Mali’s debilitating foot problems and the unimaginable loneliness of a herd animal kept alone. Action must be taken for this ailing elephant, and you hold the key. The video footage of Mali is heartbreaking. You only have to have a heart to see what so many experts have already pointed out: that the way she continuously favours one leg is a sign of constant pain. I was shocked to learn that Mali has never even received proper preventive foot care when foot and joint problems are the leading cause of death among captive elephants kept on hard surfaces and when this type of care is something that every reputable zoo in the world offers. Please know that everyone who cares for elephants is awaiting the day when Mali will leave the zoo for her new retirement home at the sanctuary and—surrounded by other elephants—take her first steps in freedom. With the stroke of a pen, you can bring an end to her suffering, and I urge you, with all my heart, to direct that Mali be given that joy now.

Let me end with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi that I hope you believe in, too: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Sincerely,

Paul McCartney

Filipino President Benigno Aquino III

 Paul's plea and concern however,was greeted with a not-so- kind reply by the mayor of Manila and former Philippine president Joseph Estrada.The latter was remembered to be the 13th president of the island nation whose government was overthrown on a non-violent revolution in 2001 when he was found guilty of plunder and was even convicted for years until then-President Arroyo granted him a pardon and forgave his misdeeds.Estrada got back into power as Manila mayor on a recent 2013 election.A former actor,mayor,senator and president, Estrada has been into much controversy and was known to have regarded himself as the Filipino counterpart of Ronald Reagan's. In a published article from the Philippine Star,Estrada rudely answered back to Sir Paul's plea telling him to stop interfering with issues in the Philippines.Estrada even challenged McCartney to change his citizenship from British to Filipino so he can freely interfere with what he regarded as purely Filipino affairs.[No reply has been yet posted by President Aquino].

Sir Paul probably was thinking that much has changed with the Philippines with Aquino having a good household name when it comes to Philippine politics that he decided to give it a shot.But an ill-mannered reply by Manila's mayor probably had taken him a-back.And yet made it again unclear for a possible comeback tour of the Philippines.The memories by then goes back forty seven years ago during the Beatles' disastrous tour of Manila in 1966.

Promotional poster of the Beatles 1966 Manila concert

(c)Keith Vernon Adagio

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Paul McCartney with his dad Jim

 Lets face it,rock stars are just like any other guy at the showbusiness,you wont really know how they feel inside,they just do what they do and entertain us on their magical concerts everytime there's a new album out and going on tour to promote it along with their greatest hits.

As a matter of fact,the guys at the rock music biz were more notorious than the guys in the cinemas but I think we should not move into that.

We all know that Paul McCartney's exceptional musical talent is in the genes.His dad Jim played in a band before the second world war,he played the trombone but had quit when his teeth fell off.Jim switched to piano but their gig was cancelled  when the war broke out.After Paul's birth,he switched jobs and became a cotton salesman.Paul's mom Mary on the other hand,was a nurse and she died when Paul and his brother Michael were still very young.

Jim McCartney who was born in 1902 had a huge influence on Paul's music though Paul didn't really described him as the dad who taught him everything.One interesting fact however was the humor in the film A Hard Day's Night had included during a scene in the press room wherein the Beatles had managed to deal with tons of reporters asking different questions in which one of them had dared to ask Paul "Do you often see your father?" Paul chuffingly answered back "No,we're just good friends" though the story of the film were regarded as fictionized-it shows the day in the life of being in a rock n' roll band and being in the road during that moment when rock music was rapidly evolving at a fast and dizzy rate.Paul had described his parents as a little bit strict and has set the rules though he admitted that he didn't listen to all of them.

Little Paul McCartney with his dad Jim undated photo

Though not directly involved,Jim had a strong influence on the Beatles particularly in the band's early days.During a  gig in Liverpool,former drummer Pete Best had difficulty getting on the bus the band had been using,Best couldn't get free from the grips of the adoring crowd and Neil Aspinall had to shoo them away so he could get into the tour bus as Paul,George and John waited for him.It was then said that it was Jim who accused Best of trying to get even with the band's popularity at the time.Though there are no substantial evidences that the said incident somehow had led to Best's firing.

Jim McCartney eventually remarried and a woman named Angie became Paul's stepmother.Her daughter from a previous marriage Ruth was adopted by Jim and became a stepsister to both Paul and Mike.Jim married widow Angela Williams in 1964 at the height of Beatlemania,Angie is 28 years younger than Jim who was 62 at the time.Presently,both mother and daughter now lives in Playa Del Ray,California where they are successfully running a Multimedia business.

Paul with dad Jim,stepmom Angie and stepsister Ruth

Showbusiness is showbusiness as they say and no matter how things gets rough the show must go on.Well there are few artists I've known who had lived with that saying.During Cream's reunion tour in 2005,Eric Clapton had to get on with the band despite of having a flu,and on the band's final show in London,Clapton looked awful but decided to get on with it for its too late to cancel the show and the audience was anticipating this once in a lifetime event.Cream sounded good despite of Clapton's health- imagine his head must be going berzerk with all that loud noise they were making.Another artist in that field is James Brown who admitted that he do his shows even if he's sick.

The Beatles made it to the top of the charts and the world over but as it was said on one of George Harrison's songs all things must  pass away.After seven years of worldwide chart domination,the band was over and John,Paul,George and Ringo each went their separate ways.It was widely known that it was Paul McCartney himself who was badly hit with the split amid all the legal problems the band was facing.Eventually he turned to his parents for support and inspiration and Let It Be was conceived with McCartney saying that his mom Mary came to him in a dream giving him a good advice to chill and keep his head up during this very difficult situation.

Paul formed his own band Wings in 1971 and took the time to start over again having the tour of the British Universities as his band's "Hamburg" where they would play unannounced to the delight of the students.During this time his dad Jim's health was slowly deteriorating due to severe arthritis.

As I mentioned before,rock stars are like any other guys in the showbusiness,no matter how bad they feel the show must indeed go on.Wings got past into a major European tour in 1973 where Linda admitted that she cried before they left for France coz she was too nervous to go.This major concert tour unlike their previous,was booked in advance as the music press were sharpening their knives on the arrival of Paul McCartney's new band.Obviously,everyone will compare what they saw and hear to the Beatles.McCartney has stated several times that with Wings,the Beatles were indeed a tough act to follow and even admitted that he is under pressure of changing his own sound.

Paul McCartney on Wings' 1976 World Tour

Wings had a major concert tour in 1976 which highlighted the band as stadium rock juggernauts.It was also during this tour that Paul received one heartbreaking news,his dad Jim has passed away due to complications from arthritis.They were on the European leg of their world tour when Paul had a phone call from his stepmom Angie telling him the sad news.Angie McCartney then described Paul being shocked upon hearing the news,but who wouldn't feel such a thing hearing that your loved one has just passed away?

A 2005 interview with Reader's Digest saw Paul answering a question about if he ever cried when his mom passed away.His mother Mary,succumbed to breast cancer in 1956 when Paul was only 14 years old,coincidentially,Paul's wife Linda also died from the same illness.Paul said that he did cried when his mom died but he therefore stress the fact that he indeed cried in private.One such reason he was pointing out is  that because he was  a guy,and in Liverpool at least during that time,they were too tough to shed tears in public-that was the reason anyway.But then he said that with John Lennon's death he learned not to hold back the tears any longer in reference to his song "Here Today" in which he wrote upon hearing of Lennon's assassination.

When his dad Jim McCartney died on March 18,1976,Wings was on the European leg of their world tour and in a troubled frame of mind,Paul was adviced not to come for his dad's funeral by his stepmom saying that if he'll throw everything away and come up to Liverpool for the funeral it'll all be just a circus and definitely wont bring his dad back. Paul then realized all the media and people that'll ruin his dad's solemn moment that he decided that what his stepmom had said makes sense after all.So he went on with the tour where they held their first performance for that year in Copenhagen,Denmark.Paul never saw his dad again,even for the very last time.That is,the price of fame,and the show must go on.

Paul McCartney did went on and did what he was born to do.Carrying in his heart and mind the memories of his dad who has always been proud of him and his music.


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio