How I Would Have Kept The Beatles Together

LOOKING BACK

ON THE BEATLES

This fantastic foursome were not “living the dream,” but they “were” the dream that everyone has when they are shooting for a successful career in Everything was great. You could even say hunky-dory, “on top of the world,” and “having the world by the tail,” if you had been one of the Fab Four in early 1964 after they had “made it,” in Liverpool and really they “had it made,” on the major record charts with their early hits, “Love Me Do,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

whatever field they have chosen. Life could not have been better for John Lennon; Paul McCartney; Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Loads of cash were flowing in, their managers could not book them to every arena and theater for their excessive and swift popularity, and fans by the millions were either buying-up their concert tickets, buying-up their LP’s or sending them tons of fan mail begging for autographs and signed 8x10’s of them signed by the super-stars themselves.

THE BEATLES:

WHAT A BEGINNING

The Beatles. What a meteoric-ride they had. What a world-wide appeal they had. No matter what they did or said, it was instantly on the news in newspapers, tabloids, radio and television. In a few short years, The Beatles easily eclipsed Elvis Presley as “the number one” draw in Europe as well as the United States. “The King,” sadly to admit, was dethroned by this British quartet with “mop” haircuts.

I was 11 when they hit Shea Stadium in New York City and I was in awe of how quickly the American girls and (some boys) took to The Beatles simply sight unseen until their now-unforgettable Concert from Shea Stadium. But then as their “fame train” began to pick-up steam and momentum, the Beatles took the Ed Sullivan by storm. And like the total-acceptance shown them by their “quick fans,” at Shea Stadium, the same reaction was earth-shaking for fans who sat in the audience of The Ed Sullivan Show.

Imagine that wherever you show your face, pretty girls are clawing at your body –tearing your clothing into shreds and some fans resorted to wielding scissors to cut-off a lock of John, Paul, Ringo and George’s hair to keep for a souvenir. This was way before eBay, so the fans were of genuine intentions of wanting their hair for a keepsake.

WITH FAME AND FORTUNE

CAME MISERY AND DEPRESSION

Time’s wings grew stronger as The Beatles’ fame, fortunes, and popularity grew by blinding-speeds. Now The foursome were quickly drawn into film-making, a genus marketing strategy designed by their manager, Brian Epstein. Seemingly to the untrained eye, every decision that Epstein made for The Beatles and every song or album chosen by record producer, George Martin, worked. And worked well.

But now The Beatles were getting bored with being in the spotlight most of the time and actually doing virtually the same thing day after day, that they began to question the meaning of life and other deep issues. So the door opened for Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who began the journey with The Beatles to learn and master the evolving-fad: Transcendental Meditation, that the Maharishi believed would help the young musical talents how to focus clearly on what they really wanted out life and become more embedded into this mystical area of studies.

When Transcendental Meditation was not enough to satisfy the “Lads from Liverpool,” dissention among the group started to surface. Paul argued with John who argued with George who tried to find Ringo when songs needed to be recorded and after the heated-arguments were over, work continued on the record project.

John was the first Beatle to change. He went from a tower of confidence and mischief, to a sulled-up, insecure songwriter who was being eaten-up with depression over divorcing his wife, Cynthia. With The Beatles under contractual-obligation to produce a certain number of records, the pressure from within the group was almost insurmountable. The bright side of being The Beatles that they did not desire to go touring anymore, but stay in the studio and work on perfecting their “new” more-sophisticated sound.

LOVE-STRUCK LENNON

Lennon suddenly became infatuated with Yoko Ono, a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, and peace activist. And known for her work in avant-garde art, music, and filmmaking. Ono met Lennon in 1966 at an art exhibition in London, and after their first meeting, Lennon’s life would never be the same. Nor would the lives of Paul, George, and Ringo, the other Beatles.

Lennon and Ono both protested for peace with stopping the war in Vietnam even using their honeymoon for “Bed-in’s,” a new way to rebel against the system as opposed to the normal “Sit in’s.” All of their efforts to create a world of peace were only viewed as media events covered by every available. Paul, George, and Ringo and even their closest management began to whisper and grumble about John’s music and songs for “just” expressing their disdain for Vietnam and how it was taking the innocent from the world.

Sooner, not later, it finally reached a crescendo of misery and The Beatles (all) agreed to call it quits. Then and for good. No future reunions. No one-time concerts. The magic ride was over. And all that remained was their deep and noticeable affects the band had made, and still making in 2014. No other single entertainer or group, Elvis Presley included, ever sold as many LP’s, 45’s, or sold-out concerts and memorabilia as The Beatles. Facts are facts.

The Beatles, at a glance

• The Beatles were an English rock band that formed in Liverpool, in 1960. With John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania", but as their songwriting grew in sophistication they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era's sociocultural revolutions.
• From 1960, the Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act and producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. They acquired the nickname "the Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market. From 1965 onwards, the Beatles produced what many critics consider their finest material, including the innovative and widely influential albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (commonly known as the White Album, 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). After their break-up in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr, the surviving members, remain musically active.
• According to the RIAA, the Beatles are the best-selling music artists in the United States, with 177 million certified units. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act. In 2008, the group topped Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful "Hot 100" artists; as of 2014, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with twenty. They have received ten Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. Collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the twentieth century's 100 most influential people, they are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide.

Source: WikiPedia

But . . . to me personally. The old saying, “Where’s there’s a will, there’s a way,” comes into view. I believe with all of my mortal heart that “I” could have done something to keep The Beatles together. With or without Yoko. It would not have taken magic or sorcery, just common sense. And that’s why I title this . . .

Easy Ways That I Could Have Kept The Beatles Together

(and I do not do this for personal gain or glory, but for the musical contributions The Beatles gave us)

• I would have hypnotized Yoko into not speaking out-of-turn to influence John against Paul, George, and Ringo, but would have gave her the hypnotic-suggestion to always smile and agree with whatever the group wanted.
• I know that Yoko delved many times into mysticism, so I would have made that work for me and tell her that I was a powerful force from the Dark Side and was not pleased at the misery she was giving Paul, Ringo and George.
• Flirting with Yoko Ono would not be out of the question for me to do when the future of the “World’s Best Band,” was at stake. And frankly when she was younger she was not bad to look at.
• I would constantly confuse Yoko by subliminally-planting in her mind that John was not in love with her, but a younger woman, a Wendy’s waitress somewhere near Buffalo, New York.
• I would study-up on the subject of “How to Read Minds,” and then after each recording session by The Beatles, I would secretly meet with Yoko and tell her of how I read John Lennon’s mind and the things I found out about her was not to be discussed in mixed-company.
• I would align myself with other faithful Beatle lovers, one being a wealthy investment banker, and present her with an all-expenses paid vacation to Peru or some other exotic location and throw in that John wanted to spend some time apart from her.
• I would sneak into Apple Studios, where The Beatles did their recording and insert awful lyrics to take the place of what John and Paul had written and put Yoko’s name in the margin as the author.
• I would cause Yoko to throw wild and childish tantrums in the midst of productions between The Beatles and their management to cause John some unwanted embarrassment.
• The same wealthy investment banker would allow me to spend a million bucks to hire a John Lennon look-alike and let me film him and another woman, preferably a hot blond kissing and making-out in public places and forge John’s voice saying, “I think of Yoko and me mum.”
• I would set-up fake news conferences and send Yoko the news about the press wanting to talk with her about how she was helping John write better songs, but when she showed up with her entourage, there wouldn’t be any reporters or photographers. Soon, John and her friends might start thinking that Yoko was not “playng with a full-deck.”
• Somehow, Yoko would get ahold of a fake piece of sheet music with a fake song entitled: “Yoko Ono is A Big Bore Don’t Ya’ Know?” with complete lyrics by the author? John Lennon.
• I would leak stories to the tabloids about Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones having a severe-crush on Yoko Ono along with pictures of a love-sick Jagger kissing a photo of Ono. Then what a riff between John, Mick, Yoko, The Beatles and The Stones!
• Remember the John Lennon look-alike that I paid to make a fake film with another woman? I would make another fake film of him talking candidly to the press about how unfulfilled he was with Ono and really just depressed at having to look at her each day.
• And to really “cap off” my sabotage of Yoko Ono,
• I would hire a John Lennon impressionist to sing and then release the fake song, “Yoko Ono Is a Big Bore Don’t You Know?” to all major radio markets in England and the United States.

And when my complex plans succeeded in keeping The Beatles together, do you know what the “main” benefit would be?

Don McClean would have never written “American Pie.”

Who is Yoko Ono?

• Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, and peace activist. She is the widow and second wife of The Beatles' John Lennon and is also known for her work in avant-garde art, music, and filmmaking.
• Ono grew up in Tokyo, and studied at Peers School while her family moved to the US. They reunited in 1953, and after some time at Sarah Lawrence College, she became involved in New York City's downtown artists scene, including the Fluxus group. She first met Lennon in 1966 when hosting an art exhibition in London, and they became a couple in 1968. She was repeatedly criticized for her influence over Lennon and his music, and blamed for the breakup of the Beatles as their relationship coincided with the band's final years. She and Lennon famously used their honeymoon as a stage for public protests against the Vietnam War in their Bed-Ins for Peace in Amsterdam and Montreal in spring of 1969. In addition to co-writing "Give Peace a Chance," she also co-wrote with Lennon the experimental piece, "Revolution 9" on The White Album. Her experimental art was not popular, and, after Lennon's death, her disagreements with Paul McCartney received as much attention as her billboards and music releases, which were perceived as self-promotion. Nevertheless, she achieved commercial success as part of the Plastic Ono Band — Live Peace in Toronto 1969 and 1972's Some Time in New York City — reached No. 10 and No. 48 on the album charts respectively. Double Fantasy from 1980, released three weeks before Lennon's death, reached No. 1. Since 2003, eleven of her songs, mostly remixes of her older work, have hit No. 1 on the US dance chart.
• As Lennon's widow, Ono works to preserve his legacy, funding and maintaining Strawberry Fields in New York City, the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, and the John Lennon Museum in Saitama, Japan. Individually and under her and Lennon's name, she has made significant philanthropic contributions to the arts, peace, Philippine and Japan disaster relief, and other causes.

Source: WiKiPedia