PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: "AND IN THE END": THE BEATLES FIFTY YEARS LATER {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented at The Paley Center for Media in New York. This evening celebrates legendary pop group The Beatles and their work in 1969, their final year together as a band.
Host Ron Simon (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces a brief series of Beatles clips from 1969, including their rooftop concert (January 30); "Get Back"/"Let It Be" sessions (January); "John and Yoko Get Married" (March 20); "Abbey Road" sessions (February 22 – August 20); and footage of the "Here Comes the Sun" 2019 mix. After the clips, Joe Scarborough (co-host, MSNBC's "Morning Joe") moderates the following panelists: Rob Sheffield (music writer and journalist, Rolling Stone; author, "Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World"); Max Weinberg (drummer for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band); Peter Asher (first head of A&R for the Beatles label, Apple Corps Ltd; author, "The Beatles from A to Zed"; host, "From Me to You," Sirius XM Radio); and Peter Brown (manager of the Beatles in 1969).
The panelists touch on such topics as: why the band was "fraying" throughout 1968, particularly after the sudden death of manager and "fifth member" Brian Epstein in August 1967; Brown's memories of his first encounter with the band at Liverpool's Cavern Club, and why he wasn't as impressed as Epstein was at first; the "perfect storm" of the foursome's collaboration, including John Lennon and Paul McCartney's chance first encounter as teenagers; Liverpool's role as Europe's biggest port city and how residents were impacted by optimistic American music and culture in the challenging post-war years; the Beatles' early days of playing cover songs written by American musicians; the irony of the "sunny" and upbeat album "Abbey Road" coming out of their chaotic final months together; the "major effort" of creating "The White Album," released in November 1968; Brown's memories of McCartney's drive to continue the band after Epstein's death; an emotional moment between Lennon and Brown, Epstein's closest friends, as the band struggled to regroup; their "interesting" 1967 album "Magical Mystery Tour"; praise for the remarkable second side of "Abbey Road," the band's "last incredible creative gasp"; fans' surprise at Lennon's solo appearance in "How I Won the War" (1967); the behind-the-scenes "rancor" depicted in the filmed "Get Back"/"Let It Be" sessions; the strong sense of familial love between the bandmates even during tumultuous times; Asher's memories of the "chaos" of Apple Corps Ltd, including the influence of publicity head Derek Taylor; signing notable acts like James Taylor, Mary Hopkin and Badfinger; the biggest misconceptions about the band, including Brown's description of their hard work and unusually long hours in the studio; why pop music wasn't taken seriously by "the suits" at Abbey Road Studios, formerly EMI, until the Beatles "earned the power" to break traditional rules and be experimental with their successful tunes; Weinberg's amazement at the band's speedy production of albums like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967), with comparisons to Springsteen's "Born to Run" (1975); and how technical and scheduling limitations pushed the Beatles to greater achievements, compared with today's much longer processes.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: record producer and arranger George Martin's use of stringed orchestral instruments in certain songs; McCartney's dislike of producer Phil Spector's "over-the-top" additions to "The Long and Winding Road," released as a single just after the band's split; whether the "very complicated" breakup was a unanimous decision; McCartney's idea for the rooftop session and how Brown handled the cops' displeasure with the situation; and why the band was "nervous" about The Beach Boys, whom they considered a significant and talented rival.
A film clip from "The Beatles Anthology" (1995) shows the band recording "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road," after which Scarborough and several other musicians perform a "singalong" session of "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (in which Brown is mentioned by name), "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "All You Need is Love" and a bit of "She Loves You."
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 6:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 137643
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Host
- Joe Scarborough … Moderator
- Peter Brown … Panelist
- Peter Asher … Panelist
- Rob Sheffield … Panelist
- Max Weinberg … Panelist
- Badfinger
- Beach Boys, The
- Beatles, The
- Brian Epstein
- Mary Hopkin
- George Martin
- Paul McCartney
- Phil Spector
- Bruce Springsteen
- Derek Taylor
- James Taylor