Getting into the Beatles...

Agreed. I'll throw in "The Circus Left Town," too.

 

What amazes me is John and Paul were two of the greatest songwriters of their generation and possibly all time, and their paths crossed when they were teens.

This is almost like Bird and Magic being on the same AAU basketball team when they were in eighth grade.

 

I'm pretty sure you would have heard the songs, but not realized it was George singing.

 

I think Mick and Keith met even earlier than that. Remarkable.

 

People always forget that on the financial issue that directly precipitated the breakup -- the other three signing on with Allen Klein -- Paul was absolutely right.

Klein WAS a thieving swindler who was out to fuck them all out of every penny he could get his hands on. Within three years the other three were all suing Klein (as the Stones did too in time), suits that weren't completely wrapped up by the time Lennon was killed.

There's plenty of blame to dump on everyone but Paul was proven absolutely right in hindsight that the other three were nuts to cast their lot with Klein.

That doesn't mean of course he wasn't a dick a lot of the time (watch "Let It Be" for proof) but on that count he was right.

 

I'm pretty sure Simon and Garfunkel met on a playdate as toddlers.

 

I don't talk with an accent.

 

That Los Lobos interview has made me rethink Simon, but even so, did Garfunkel or Richards or Jagger do much as a solo act?

 

In Jagger's case, Jann Wenner thinks so. No one else does.

Keith Richards had one terrific song - "Take It So Hard."

Garfunkel had some minor hits in the mid-70s.

I think I mentioned this on another thread, but not long ago I heard someone going on about how wonderful Paul Simon is. I grew up hearing him all the time because my parents were fans. I thought I'd download his greatest hits album, and I looked at the track listing and realized... I fucking HATE those songs.

 

Kinda late on this, but I saw Led Zeppelin live in the spring of 1977, and it was a pretty forgettable show ... except for a 20-minute acoustic set about 2/3 of the way through that was way better than anything else they did all night. Played some real gems: Going to California, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Gallows Pole, Black Mountain Side, etc.

As for the Beatles, I can't believe I'm the only one who got their introduction to them on the Saturday morning Beatles cartoon show.

 

I would ask the person who wrote that piece how "Beatles" is a stupid name. They played beat music to begin with, plus the name was a tribute to the Crickets, whom they idolized. It was a very clever name, actually.