The Best Beatles Songs for a Workout Playlist
George Harrison: the Underrated Beatle
John Travolta said not long ago that he has a dinner party trick that always initiates a fascinating conversation. He says, “Everyone’s a Beatle. Which one are you?” Did you choose George Harrison? Perhaps not because he is one of the most underrated and lesser understood Beatles. Yet, he is also one of the most fascinating and most talented members of the fab four.
The Rare Beatles Christmas Albums
Why Do The Lennon vs. McCartney Rumors Persist?
Paul McCartney wed his love, Nancy Shevell, in London on October 2, 2011. It was a family affair, with his daughter, Stella, designing Nancy’s wedding dress, and his other kids involved in various ways in the ceremony.
Norwegian Wood
Norwegian Wood
“Norwegian Wood” was released on the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” album in 1965. It marked the first time that a sitar was played in one of their songs. In the lyrics, a guy goes home with a girl who has a flat furnished with Norwegian Wood, a then pretentious name for cheap pine. He has plans but she makes him “sleep in the bath.” So after she leaves, he lights a fire “isn’t it good, Norwegian Wood.” McCartney says that the ending indicates that the guy burned down the girl’s flat.
A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life
“A Day in the Life” is the song that closes the Beatle’s ground-breaking 1967 album, “Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”. The song has different sections composed by Lennon and McCartney. Lennon’s lyrics were taken from stories in a newspaper. McCartney’s parts were song fragments that he never completed. They also threw in a full orchestra crescendo and a 45 second piano chord fadeout.
Tomorrow Never Knows
Tomorrow Never Knows
I loved the Beatles album Revolver the first time I heard it. One of the strangest songs on that album was “Tomorrow Never Knows.” They manipulated the vocal track with a Leslie speaker and double tracking. They also used tape loops and a flanger effect. The lyrics came from a book about the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Lennon used the book as a guide during LSD trips.
Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry Fields forever was first released as a single and then on the album Magical Mystery Tour. The name came from the garden of a Salvation Army house named Strawberry Field in Liverpool where John Lennon played as a child. Lennon was going through a difficult period and using psychedelics. He once said that the song was “psycho-analysis set to music.”
Penny Lane Barbershop
Penny Lane
I always wonder where song writers get the inspiration for a particular song. Many different things inspire them including people, places, pets, experiences, ideas, books, movies, etc. Some are impossible to figure out unless the song writer explains the source, but others are pretty easy. The source of the Beatle song Penny Lane is obvious. This song was first released as a single and then on the album Magical Mystery Tour. Read more about Penny Lane Barbershop
Song of the Day: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
Many of us have a special place in our hearts for the trippy Beatles song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Maybe it’s because it’s so out of this world; while Lennon claims it was inspired by a picture his son Julian drew, many of us still feel like it had to be inspired by an acid trip or something similar! With lyrics like “tangerine trees and marmalade skies” and “rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,” it’s hard to not imagine it being drug-inspired.
Still, kids are incredibly creative, and I could definitely see my own child come up with anthropomorphic-toy people who eat candy-based pies, for sure. In fact, she could do that well before breakfast on a normal day. Read more about Song of the Day: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"