Paul McCartney wrote many hit songs for The Beatles but also penned tunes that he intended to give out to other artists. These occasionally made their way onto Beatles records, even if McCartney and John Lennon wrote them with other musicians in mind. One such song was “Misery,” a ballad intended for musician Helen Shapiro. McCartney shared why writing the song was hacky of them.
Paul McCartney said a song he wrote with John Lennon was a hack job
Early in their years as a band, McCartney and Lennon wrote together and wanted to do whatever they could to get their songs play time. This included writing songs for other artists. The Beatles were touring with Shapiro, and they felt she could boost their career by singing a song they wrote. So, they penned “Misery” with her in mind.
“We wrote it for Helen Shapiro because we were going on tour with her and,...
Paul McCartney said a song he wrote with John Lennon was a hack job
Early in their years as a band, McCartney and Lennon wrote together and wanted to do whatever they could to get their songs play time. This included writing songs for other artists. The Beatles were touring with Shapiro, and they felt she could boost their career by singing a song they wrote. So, they penned “Misery” with her in mind.
“We wrote it for Helen Shapiro because we were going on tour with her and,...
- 8/27/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Beatles merchandise was everywhere in the 1960s. Fans could buy pins, record racks, mop-top wigs, magnetic hair decorating games, and even locks of the Fab Four’s hair. The band’s first recording is one of the most valuable albums around, but one rare Beatles record (or at least one associated with the Fab Four) trumps it, and we might never see the one-of-a-kind item ever again.
Frank Sinatra’s song for Ringo Starr’s wife might be the rarest Beatles record ever
The Beatles climbed to the top in England before their popularity exploded in the United States in 1964. Older entertainers weren’t ready to get off the stage, though.
Multi-talented singer and actor Kenny Lynch called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots. What was the offense? They just couldn’t figure out how to finish a song. He must have realized they were the wave of the future...
Frank Sinatra’s song for Ringo Starr’s wife might be the rarest Beatles record ever
The Beatles climbed to the top in England before their popularity exploded in the United States in 1964. Older entertainers weren’t ready to get off the stage, though.
Multi-talented singer and actor Kenny Lynch called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots. What was the offense? They just couldn’t figure out how to finish a song. He must have realized they were the wave of the future...
- 6/19/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
If it seemed like The Beatles could do no wrong during their career, that’s because it was pretty much the case. After some struggles with their earliest singles, their debut album, Please Please Me, rocketed to the top of the charts in England. (So did every studio album through Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band). Even their lousy A-side songs became hits. Still, The Beatles dealt with a few BBC bans, including their video for “Hello, Goodbye.”
Paul Mccartney’s talent couldn’t stop the BBC from banning The Beatles music video for ‘Hello, Goodbye’
Kenny Lynch, a musician who toured with the Fab Four in the early 1960s, called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots when they struggled to write a song. Soon after, he set a record by becoming the first person to cover one of their songs. He must have sensed what the future would hold.
Paul Mccartney’s talent couldn’t stop the BBC from banning The Beatles music video for ‘Hello, Goodbye’
Kenny Lynch, a musician who toured with the Fab Four in the early 1960s, called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots when they struggled to write a song. Soon after, he set a record by becoming the first person to cover one of their songs. He must have sensed what the future would hold.
- 6/18/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Can you imagine The Beatles without Paul McCartney? It could have happened. John Lennon almost kicked Paul out of The Beatles after giving him an ultimatum about staying in the band. That would have meant no songwriting sessions with John. No tunes changing the course of popular music. And probably no Beatles as we know them.
(l-r) Paul McCartney and John Lennon | Val Wilmer/Redferns John Lennon considered kicking Paul McCartney out of The Beatles: ‘F****** turn up today or you’re not in the band’
The Beatles weren’t even close to being The Beatles when they returned from their first Hamburg, West Germany, residency in December 1960. The underage George Harrison got deported. Paul and drummer Pete Best got arrested on arson charges and then deported. John had his work permit revoked. The group returned to Liverpool without much to show for weeks of hard work.
With his father...
(l-r) Paul McCartney and John Lennon | Val Wilmer/Redferns John Lennon considered kicking Paul McCartney out of The Beatles: ‘F****** turn up today or you’re not in the band’
The Beatles weren’t even close to being The Beatles when they returned from their first Hamburg, West Germany, residency in December 1960. The underage George Harrison got deported. Paul and drummer Pete Best got arrested on arson charges and then deported. John had his work permit revoked. The group returned to Liverpool without much to show for weeks of hard work.
With his father...
- 6/9/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The John Lennon and Paul McCartney songwriting partnership churned out hits for The Beatles. How good were they? One of their unreleased songs hit No. 1 when another band recorded it. So it’s no surprise two Lennon-McCartney songs spent 29 weeks on the chart for another group.
(l-r) Paul McCartney and John Lennon | Val Wilmer/Redferns The Fourmost spent 29 weeks on the chart with a pair of John Lennon and Paul McCartney songs
Even before they became synonymous with chart-topping hit songs, Paul and John weren’t shy about giving away songs they wrote to other artists. They let The Rolling Stones take on “I Wanna Be Your Man” before The Beatles recorded it. John and Paul gave up on the song “That Means a Lot,” handed it to American singer P.J. Proby, and he turned it into a modest success.
The Fourmost did much more than achieve middling success...
(l-r) Paul McCartney and John Lennon | Val Wilmer/Redferns The Fourmost spent 29 weeks on the chart with a pair of John Lennon and Paul McCartney songs
Even before they became synonymous with chart-topping hit songs, Paul and John weren’t shy about giving away songs they wrote to other artists. They let The Rolling Stones take on “I Wanna Be Your Man” before The Beatles recorded it. John and Paul gave up on the song “That Means a Lot,” handed it to American singer P.J. Proby, and he turned it into a modest success.
The Fourmost did much more than achieve middling success...
- 5/7/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In addition to being expert songwriters, The Beatles also had a strong b.s. detector. They wrote nearly two dozen No. 1 hits in the United States but also walked away from music they knew wouldn’t perform well. John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave up on a song that turned into a modest success for an American singer.
(l-r) Paul McCartney and John Lennon; P.J. Proby | Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images; Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave away ‘That Means a Lot,’ and it became a minor hit for P.J. Proby
Once they developed their songwriting skills, Paul and John opened floodgates that proved hard to close. They gifted a hit song to The Rolling Stones, but they didn’t stop there.
John and Paul wrote “That Means a Lot” while working on the Help! soundtrack in 1965. The version that eventually...
(l-r) Paul McCartney and John Lennon; P.J. Proby | Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images; Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave away ‘That Means a Lot,’ and it became a minor hit for P.J. Proby
Once they developed their songwriting skills, Paul and John opened floodgates that proved hard to close. They gifted a hit song to The Rolling Stones, but they didn’t stop there.
John and Paul wrote “That Means a Lot” while working on the Help! soundtrack in 1965. The version that eventually...
- 4/27/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Many music fans consider The Beatles as one of the most influential bands ever. They greatly impacted popular music and won over fans worldwide. Still, some fellow musicians hated the Fab Four. One outspoken critic once called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots as songwriters. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t above recording one of their songs himself.
(l-r) John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles; British entertainer Kenny Lynch | Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images; McMonagle/Express/Getty Images Kenny Lynch called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots after a frustrating songwriting session
It seems hard to believe now, but John and Paul were still novice songwriters even as The Beatles’ popularity grew. The band’s first single, “Love Me Do,” was a top-20 hit in England in 1962. “Please Please Me” nearly reached the top in early 1963. “From Me to You” gave The Beatles their first No.
(l-r) John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles; British entertainer Kenny Lynch | Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images; McMonagle/Express/Getty Images Kenny Lynch called Paul McCartney and John Lennon idiots after a frustrating songwriting session
It seems hard to believe now, but John and Paul were still novice songwriters even as The Beatles’ popularity grew. The band’s first single, “Love Me Do,” was a top-20 hit in England in 1962. “Please Please Me” nearly reached the top in early 1963. “From Me to You” gave The Beatles their first No.
- 3/1/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Paul McCartney won over music fans around the world with his genius-level songwriting skills. Kenny Lynch was not one of them. At least not immediately. The British entertainer once called Paul and John Lennon idiots, but that didn’t prevent him from working with Macca a decade later for the Wings album Band on the Run.
Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, and several British celebrities on the cover of the Wings album ‘Band on the Run’ | Pa Images via Getty Images Paul McCartney and John Lennon were ‘bloody idiots’ according to Kenny Lynch
The Beatles wrote enduringly popular tunes. Albums such as Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Clubs Band are stuffed with all-time classics. Many of those hits came from Paul and John since they were the dominant songwriters in the band.
Yet, in 1963, they needed time to grow as songwriters.
They asked for Lynch...
Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, and several British celebrities on the cover of the Wings album ‘Band on the Run’ | Pa Images via Getty Images Paul McCartney and John Lennon were ‘bloody idiots’ according to Kenny Lynch
The Beatles wrote enduringly popular tunes. Albums such as Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Clubs Band are stuffed with all-time classics. Many of those hits came from Paul and John since they were the dominant songwriters in the band.
Yet, in 1963, they needed time to grow as songwriters.
They asked for Lynch...
- 2/20/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Feature Alex Westthorp 9 Apr 2014 - 07:00
In the next part of his series, Alex talks us through the film careers of the second and fourth Doctors, Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker...
Read Alex's retrospective on the film careers of William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee, here.
Like their fellow Time Lord actors, William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker also shared certain genres of film. Both appeared, before and after their time as the Doctor, in horror movies and both worked on Ray Harryhausen Sinbad films.
Patrick George Troughton was born in Mill Hill, London on March 25th 1920. He made his film debut aged 28 in the 1948 B-Movie The Escape. Troughton's was a very minor role. Among the better known cast was William Hartnell, though even Hartnell's role was small and the two didn't share any scenes together. From the late Forties, Troughton found more success on the small screen,...
In the next part of his series, Alex talks us through the film careers of the second and fourth Doctors, Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker...
Read Alex's retrospective on the film careers of William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee, here.
Like their fellow Time Lord actors, William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker also shared certain genres of film. Both appeared, before and after their time as the Doctor, in horror movies and both worked on Ray Harryhausen Sinbad films.
Patrick George Troughton was born in Mill Hill, London on March 25th 1920. He made his film debut aged 28 in the 1948 B-Movie The Escape. Troughton's was a very minor role. Among the better known cast was William Hartnell, though even Hartnell's role was small and the two didn't share any scenes together. From the late Forties, Troughton found more success on the small screen,...
- 4/8/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
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