Music Before the Money

Thanks toThe Museum of Culture and Debi Brophy

In quite a few articles and books regarding  the  Beatles, Ringo Starr has been considered the least musically talented of The Beatles’ four members. One of the main put-downs is that McCartney played the drums on a couple of songs on one their last albums. It was later reported that Paul had a beat in his head that he couldn’t convey to Ringo and played the track himself. He later apologized to the drummer and nothing more was made of in the band. However, the action was blown up through rumors.

Because Ringo was usually high on a riser at the back, he was sometimes considered to be the funny man and be the least important of the Beatles. He never participated in much of the writing nor was he a main vocalist, although his voice is heard on one song per album. And his songs were always remembered.

But here are the facts: He was lured away from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, the top band in Liverpool at the time. And the addition of Ringo immediately changed things. Not only did his distinctive drumming help shape The Beatles’  sound he added to the chemistry of the group, unlike Pete best who, it is written, clashes with John and Paul over artistic directions and the public relations department. Thinking he was irreplaceable Best refused to change his wept-back hair for the new style adopted by the other three.

As for a drummer, just go to YouTube and watch him in the live shots. He’s a clock. He’s not all over the place in timing like many of his contemporaries. He does his job and puts in the rolls tastefully. In other words, less is more. His work on the cymbals is also great to watch.

So Ringo nay-sayers should study the evolution of drumming and realize that many of the world’s top drummers chose this instrument after watching Ringo. Like Gene Krupa, he revolutionized what people thought of drummers. And although Ringo was no Gene Krupa, he was a great drummer for the Beatles.

‘We never thought we’d end up as androids!”

- Paul McCartney

The new Beatles-themed version of Rock Band has created a stir across the board from pure elation to, in some cases, disgust.  Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr took to the stage at the Microsoft press conference in Los Angeles to introduce the game, made by “Rock Band” creators at MTV-owned Harmonix Music, which was released September 9 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii.

The song list for the game includes I Saw Her Standing There, I Want to Hold Your Hand,  I Feel Fine,  Day Tripper,  Taxman,  I Am the Walrus, Back in the U.S.S.R.,  Octopus’ Garden,  Here Comes the Sun and Get Back. In all, a total of 45 songs will be available.

So what’s the howl? Why do some people think this game is bad?

Well, it’s not. Every song in the game is unique. There are their well-documented recreated performances on The Ed Sullivan Show and in Liverpool’s Cavern Club to the  Abbey Road sessions where the is seen band playing in the studio.

Not only that each song starts with clips of The Beatles warming up or giving off-the-cuff remarks. Then there are the video clips and stills that will charm even the most lukewarm of fans.

The Beatles deserve to be given to a new generation. Years ago a musicologist was once laughed at for saying the Beatles will be, some day, thought of in the same terms as Beethoven and Mozart. Even I didn’t believe him back then. But now I do.

And if The Beatles: Rock Band instills a sense of awe into a new generation, and perks up a few of us old-timers, then the purists will have to stand aside. Because purists seem to think that good music and fame is a planned procedure. In fact, it is good preparation and luck. And the Beatles, as good as they were, were also very lucky to have the circumstances of the times working for them as well as the people that came into their lives: Brian Epstein, George Martin, etc.

And I’m glad Macca is enjoying his new game! And my kids won’t shut up about it!

There has never been a group of musicians like The Beatles either before their tenure as recording musicians. And for almost 50 years countless fledgling bands have been compared to the “early Beatles” and then were watched by fans and promoters alike,  like millions of ornithologists waiting for an egg to hatch. However, you can’t synthesize a phenomenon and that was what happened with the rise of the Beatles.

Here are some reasons for their sudden impact on the world:

1. Upbringing

• With the exception of Ringo the Fab Four came from a dirt-poor existence. (In fact it’s funny that the Rolling Stones should be classed as “bad boys” because they were middle-class, southern kids while Liverpool was a rough place.) However, Ringo was in and out of hospitals until his teens.
• John Lennon was raised by his Aunt Mimi with no father figure and haunted by both the abandonment by his mother and then her death.
• Paul McCartney lost his mother as well. His father was a big band trumpet player and there was always music in the house.
• George Harrison’s first home had an outdoor toilet and no heating.

2. Role Models

Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Jerry Lee Lewis. George idolized Chet Atkins which accounted for his “country edge” while most of the guitar players in England listened to blues. Ringo learned drums during the “skiffle craze.”

2. Economic Situation in England

After World War II Great Britain has an enormous war debt and the population was rationed from the start of the war well into the 1950’s. Few people had real money to buy items like records or televisions so they entertained themselves. In Liverpool in 1960 there were over 100 bands.

3. Technology (electric guitars and basses and studio)

The Beatles rode the wave of studio technology that, although was invented well before them, they used to great advantage. However, the limited capacity of technology on the live stage led to them giving up live concerts because the sound was s o bad.

4. Advances in Media (Television and Radio)

Not only were there technological advances in recording but also in radio and television. In the early 1960’s households in Great Britain were getting televisions and the U.S. television market was booming with signature shows like The Ed Sullivan Show. Shows like Top of the Pops in England made them a household name in that area and Ed Sullivan gave them a world stage. Also, the new portable record players meant that you could take the Beatles to the beach.

5. Brian Epstein Eccentricities and Fanatacism

All the tell-all books say that Epstein was infatuated with John Lennon. His Jewish upbringing in a culture that all but despised Jews, as well as his close relationship with mother – Queenie, made him a very insecure person and “clingy.” However, he still had money and gumption and was fiercely loyal to “my boys” when others would have given up (And his focus also bordered on naivety when it came to business resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in revenue.).

6. The Production Genius of George Martin

One story about Paul was that he and George Martin went to hear the London Philharmonic’s presentation of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto. He was so impressed with the small D trumpet that he asked George Martin to put a a solo in his new song. (Penny Lane features a D trumpet) Martin took a rough quartet and mad them into recording artists. He was patient and had an ear for presenting greatness. His skills grew with each Beatle album.

7. Ringo Starr

One of the most under-recognized talents in a rookie band was Ringo. While John and Paul were learning to play their instruments he was already a seasoned performer with top Liverpool groups like Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. As London jazz drummer Charlie Watts later did for the fledgling Rolling Stones, Ringo  provided a steady meter. And although later Paul did not feel that Ringo was good enough for rhythms that he wanted in his songs Ringo provided the glue that made them famous in the first place.

8. John F. Kennedy’s Death

Three months before The Beatles landed in the U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Being the first president to identify with the post-war “baby boom” generation his death left a huge hole in their lives and a long period of mourning. The Beatles’s music and appearance in the United States ended this dark period and resulted, for many, in an emotional outpouring.

9. Drugs

It is no secret that The Beatles immortalized drugs in many of their songs.  Marijuana got them out of their Beatlemania era into more reflective songwriting and LSD helped them push the envelope into Sergeant Pepper. Unfortunately heroine made John and Yoko twin basket cases for a few years and many critics say it stifled what could have been a great era of songwriting.

10. Mechandising

Although Brian Epstein missed the boat in cashing in on merchandizing (His deals made millions for middle-men and very little for himself or The Beatles) the flood of items like Beatle wigs, bubble gun cards, lunch boxes, jewelry, harmonicas, etc. helped sell records and spread their popularity.

The 4th Annual Maritime Beatle Event will be held at the St. Antonio Hall in fax on Saturday, June 6th. The brainchild of singer Hal Bruce this event features people from near and far singing Beatle songs and enjoying a slice of time when all things were possible.

Returning also will the Summer of Love Band playing favorites from the 1960’s.

The line-up includes:

Jay Goeppner (Chicago, Illinois)
The Repeatles (Sweden)
Hal Bruce (Nova Scotia)
Hal Bruce & Ticket 2 Ride (NS)
John Chiasson and The Lonely Hearts Club Jazz Band (Halifax)
FreeFall (Amherst)
Summer of Love Band
(International All-Star Band)

Additional Personalties:

Mark Rashotte (Ontario)
Ian Sherwood (Nova Scotia)
Scott Ferguson (Nova Scotia)
Mark Beyer (Kentucky)
Donna Scaglione (Nova Scotia)
Arnie Brox (Sweden)

Singles and Duos

Terry Creaser (England)
Donna Scaglione (Nova Scotia)
Ian Sherwood (Nova Scotia)
Brett and Shane Kinrade (Nova Scotia)
Heather Pike (Nova Scotia)
Floyd King (Nova Scotia)

Tickets are still available at: Maritime Beatle Event