James McCartney | Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde

I was at a loss when it came to F and Fab Four. The origins of the nickname are pretty dull. It somehow cropped up in the UK in the years 1960-1963 when the Beatles were becoming famous, and yet still playing The Cavern Club in their hometown of Liverpool. No great legendary Beatles’ story, unlike the naming of the band, or more accurately, the story John Lennon made up about the band name due to lack of interesting story, exists. Just read about the man on the flaming pie here. Paul McCartney later turned it into a song and an album, both much underrated in my opinion.

Anyway, due to lack of a good story behind the nickname, I’m going to present you with the Top 10 Reasons Why The Beatles Are Still Fab In 2012. Here it goes:

10 – Both surviving Beatles are still out there active in the music industry. Paul McCartney released Kisses On The Bottom in February 2012. Ringo Starr is releasing his new album, Ringo 2012, later in the year.

9 – The Beatles do not rest on their success. Much of their entire back catalog was remastered just in 2009. Their music just keeps getting repackaged, remastered, remixed in a myriad of ways that effectively gets it in front of an entire new generation of fans. It is enough to make old fans rather dizzy. One of the best examples of this in recent years is the Cirque de Soleil show Love, which is not only inspired by the Beatles back catalog, but also features new incarnations of their songs.

8 – Much imitated, never duplicated. No matter how hard people have tried, no one has come even close to matching the commercial, popular, and cultural success of the Beatles. No one. Not in nearly 50 years. Below is one of the many great imitators, one that happened to be popular when I was in high school.

7 – Post-Beatles Superstardom. While most people would think of John Lennon and Paul McCartney being the most successful post-Beatles, Ringo Starr and George Harrison also found success without the Beatles. Here are some highlights from each.

John Lennon – Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

Paul McCartney – Maybe I’m Amazed

George Harrison – Got My Mind Set On You

Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) – Photograph

6 – Groundbreaking, 50 Years On. The Beatles did it first and did it best. That applies to such things as writing their own songs for the band, creation of the concept album with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and so much more. In recent years that includes the entire Anthology project, creation of the Cirque de Soleil show Love, and the release of a new take on their final album, Let it Be, Let It Be Naked. I don’t foresee it ending any time soon.

5 – The original rock music videos. The Beatles released A Hard Day’s Night and Help! long before MTV made music videos commonplace. There is much more to come on both Help! and A Hard Day’s Night.

4 – There is always more to discover. The Beatles back catalog is staggering. They had so many hits that genuinely great songs, like For No One, get overlooked. As a result, there is always an opportunity to rediscover hidden gems, even in 2012.

3 – Drama. The life of the Beatles hasn’t exactly been perfect since their break-up in 1970. Failed marriages, jealousies, and tragedy are as much of the history of the Beatles as Sgt. Pepper or Abbey Road. Unfortunately, it all continues today. It’s too bad things weren’t resolved before John Lennon was gunned down in 1980.

2 – The Next Generation. This week Paul McCartney’s son, thirty-something musician James McCartney stated that he’d like to form a band with the sons of John Lennon (Sean Lennon), George Harrison (Dhani Harrison), and Ringo Starr (Zak Starkey). It could be great or horrid. You decide. Interesting concept to say the least. All of the sons are accomplished musicians in their own right.

The Beatles 2.0: Paul McCartney’s Son Tries to Kill Music « The Life and Times of Nathan Badley…

Beatles sons consider forming new band

1 – And In The End … The music. The music still holds up. I don’t see the Beatles’ music going anywhere for a very long time.