1967 Brian Epstein Interview with Murray the K

By |2014-07-27T18:57:57-07:00July 27, 2014|1967, Brian Epstein|

http://youtu.be/_0kHAqfGnfQ Taking a moment on this lazy Sunday to pass along a mildly interesting recording I found last night: the infamous 1967 Brian Epstein interview with WOR-FM's Murray Kaufman ("Murray the K") from March 1967. Brian was in the US announcing the addition of Robert Stigwood (and Stigwood's acts The Cream and The Who) to his company NEMS. The coolest bit comes at the 15:00 mark, where Brian mentions turning "Sgt. Pepper" into a TV show. Is this what became "Magical Mystery Tour"? Could be -- according to this page, MMT began in April, shortly after this interview. Of course we know [...]

Happy birthday, Ringo!

By |2014-07-07T15:50:39-07:00July 7, 2014|1967, 1968, A Day in the Life, birthdays, Levon Helm, Ringo, Ringo Starr, Sgt. Pepper|

DEVIN McKINNEY  •  Hey! Let’s all wish Ringo the best on his 74th birthday. He’s still on tour, still looking great, still showing those peace fingers and giving a plug for love wherever he goes. I wrote a little birthday tribute to Ringo over at HiLobrow, a pop-culture site where I often contribute (edited by the great Josh Glenn, a guest contributor of ours). I hope you’ll pop over and check it out. Here’s something else I’ve wanted to say for a long time about Ringo, and it’s exclusive to Hey Dullblog. Once, not more than a year or two ago, a vision [...]

Cries and Whispers, Crashes and Flutters: 10 Favorite Beatles Musical Micro-Moments

By |2016-12-03T07:44:13-08:00November 27, 2013|1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, John Lennon, Lennon, McCartney, Paul McCartney, Ringo, Ringo Starr|

Recording "Real Love," 1994:Gut genius at work. DEVIN McKINNEY  •  We all know you can take the Beatles to the outer limit and upper extremity of significance—Best thing in universal history—and then narrow that unit to its subordinate but still-impressive absolutes:  Best miracle of the 20th century; best socio-cultural force of the 1960s; Best group of the “rock era.” Having accepted all of that, you can, and we all have, then go superlative in descending levels of specificity: Best album; best song; best vocal performance—John; best vocal performance—Paul; best bass playing; best guitar solo; best everything else. But have we [...]

Three Ways: Beatles write about landscapes

By |2013-09-09T08:15:53-07:00September 7, 2013|1967, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Strawberry Fields|

NANCY CARR  *  In the late 60s the Beatles had three strong songwriters (and really, was that fair to other bands?), and thus three distinctive ways of treating the subjects they wrote about—landscapes, love, drugs, etc. (That's without getting into the significant variations within each songwriter's work). This time, I want to consider what Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison saw when they looked at landscapes. Lennon: "Strawberry Fields Forever" (released February 1967) The physical Strawberry Field, in Woolton Inspired by the grounds of the Strawberry Field children's home in Woolton, this song proved so powerful that Lennon's memorial in New York City's Central [...]

What if Brian Epstein Lived?

By |2019-08-12T23:47:52-07:00August 22, 2013|1967, Brian Epstein|

TOO COOL CATS: George Martin and Brian Epstein, undated. (Before we begin: Any readers not familiar with the details of Beatles manager Brian Epstein's life might wish to watch this 1998 BBC documentary, "The Brian Epstein Story." It's the best potted history of the man.) MIKE GERBER • Commenter Annie said this in a recent comment: Question: George Martin is quite adamant in his ’78 book that the Beatles were definitely going to cut Brian loose. What do we think about that? I haven't read All You Need Is Ears, and it's not at the library down the street, so [...]

Smile vs. Sgt. Pepper

By |2013-08-13T22:15:47-07:00August 13, 2013|1967, Beach Boys, Psychedelia, Sgt. Pepper|

  The Boys away from the beach, 1967 NANCY CARR • I love the Beach Boys (not the way I love the Beatles, but still), so why can’t I wholeheartedly love Smile? I ask this question sincerely. I think Brian Wilson is a songwriter, singer, and bassist worthy of great praise. I understand why Paul McCartney was so blown away by Pet Sounds that he dreamed up the idea for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I'm glad Smile has finally seen the official light of day, and I'm intrigued by the what-if game of wondering about what might have [...]

Plea to Paul: Let it be when it comes to claiming credit

By |2013-08-03T03:02:15-07:00July 29, 2013|1967, John Lennon, Paul McCartney|

Last Thursday Rolling Stone online published an interview with Paul McCartney about his current tour. It sounds like a stellar show—I’m sorry I haven’t been able to see it this year—but I groaned when I got to the part of the interview in which McCartney says, of adding “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” to the setlist, that he was “happy to kind of reclaim it as partially mine.” I just want to say to him: please don’t keep pouring kerosene on those embers. Please step back and let that frustration go, because you’re fueling the dynamic that seems to keep you feeling insecure. Here’s [...]

Psychedelia in the UK: "A Technicolor Dream"

By |2013-08-12T18:01:53-07:00July 23, 2013|1965, 1966, 1967, Documentaries, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Sgt. Pepper|

Inside the "Ally Pally," for The 14-Hour Technicolor Dream, 1967 Any of you that have been interested by my burblings on "psychedelia"—by which I mean the whole gestation, birth and decay of the flower-power movement—will be interested in a video I streamed from Netflix last night: "A Technicolor Dream." It documents the UK scene: the Albert Hall poetry reading in 1965; the Indica bookstore; IT; The London Free School; UFO; and finally the Fourteen Hour Technicolor Dream on April 30, 1967. Lots of Beatles-related stuff in here, from McCartney's right-hand Miles, to footage of a very stoned John Lennon. Here's [...]

POV

By |2013-07-28T00:12:31-07:00July 19, 2013|1967, Sgt. Pepper|

From Dullblogger Hua: "She's Leaving Home" from the perspective of a girl leaving home. (Anyone know anything about Kathy McCord?) http://youtu.be/ETiDNME4tMA

Oh for God’s sake–

By |2014-07-23T11:56:41-07:00July 2, 2013|1967, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper|

No Sgt Pepper? Did they put stupid in the water of Williamsburg? Okay, today I had the kind of experience the internet is made for. I was sitting in my doctor's office reading Entertainment Weekly and—look, I know that if I'm reading EW, I get what I deserve. I suppose I am showing my age, expecting a magazine to be not-idiotic because it's on paper, but still: there I was reading EW's list of the Top 100 LPs of All Time and Revolver is #1, and White is #12, and Abbey Road is #22 and Rubber Soul is #65 or [...]

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