It may be an overly lofty thing to say, but Paul McCartney was born to compose popular music. There is no better living document to his gift for concocting pop confections than Ram, his 1971 album with wife Linda. Coming on the heels of his eponymous debut LP with the classic “Maybe I’m Amazed” as […]
Everything Fab Four: Reassessing John and Yoko’s “Double Fantasy”
Released on November 17, 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy had scarcely been in stores for three weeks before the former Beatle’s senseless murder on December 8. In spite of the incredible buzz surrounding their first new album release in more than five years, the early reviews were lukewarm, if not outright caustic. Writing in the […]
Everything Fab Four: “Maybe I’m Amazed,” Paul McCartney’s Post-Beatles Classic
In the autumn months of 1969, Paul McCartney died. It had been a series of deaths, really. First up were the rumors, invented and spread by DJs and college students, that he had perished in a 1966 automobile accident and that the other Beatles were accomplices in the coverup. The Paul Is Dead hoax would […]
Everything Fab Four: The Beatles at Tittenhurst Park
On Friday, August 22nd, 1969, scarcely more than 30 hours since they’d departed EMI Studios after having finally put the Abbey Road album to bed, the Beatles reconvened at Tittenhurst Park, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s estate in rural Sunningdale near Ascot in Berkshire County. They had gathered together that day for a photo session. And while […]
Everything Fab Four: Wings Over Europe
On July 9, 1972, Wings embarked upon their first formal concert tour as a working rock ‘n’ roll band. The 25-show tour was an auspicious venture for Paul McCartney’s new group in comparison with Wings’ February barnstorming jaunt across a smattering of British colleges and universities. By the time that they alighted on their “Wings […]