Each member of the Fab Four started developing their musical projects when The Beatles broke up in 1970. Throughout the 1970s, John Lennon took a sabbatical from music but returned at the close of the decade with a bang. His fifth studio album, Double Fantasy, was released in 1980. Yet, Yoko Ono noted that the album didn’t include the last song Lennon ever penned.
Grow Old With Me, Lennon’s final song, was a heartfelt lament that was undoubtedly motivated by his love for Ono.
They both put a lot of effort into making Grow Old With Me come to life for Double Fantasy, but they finally decided it would suit better on his next album, Milk and Honey, since it would have given them more time to work on it.
A month after Double Fantasy reached the market, on December 8, 1970, John Lennon was assassinated in front of his New York City apartment complex, The Dakota. He never had the chance to finish the song as a result.
Yoko remembered, “We were working against a deadline for the Christmas release of the album, [and we] kept holding Grow Old With Me to the end, and finally decided it was better to leave the song for Milk And Honey so we won’t do a rush job.”
The Beatles Anthology and two freshly recorded songs, Real Love and Free as a Bird, which was based on some previously unheard tapes, were released by the Fab Four in 1994, more than ten years later.
Grow Old With Me was the ideal follow-up song to the first two singles, Ono told the three surviving the Beatles.
The final track would have been arduous to get, in Paul McCartney’s opinion, and “John’s original demo required too much work,” as he said during the Anthology.
Harrison resisted working on any more new material, but there were still some traces of a tune named “Now and Then” that were mentioned. McCartney agreed, but he understood why the other members of the band didn’t want to use it.
He told Beatles Monthly, “There was only one of us who didn’t want to do it. It would have meant a lot of hard work, the song would have needed a lot of re-writing and people would have had to be very patient with us.”
McCartney chose to look back on the happy days, recalling how joyful it was to work with Lennon from beyond the grave, and also enjoyed “Free as a Bird.” There are still demos that might have easily been turned into Beatles songs, but McCartney wanted to remember the good times. He commented, “John hadn’t finished it. On the middle eight he was just blocking out lyrics that he didn’t have yet. That meant we had to come up with something and that now I was actually working with John”
Grow Old With Me was never included in The Beatles Anthology, although it did reach the airwaves decades later after being worked on by one passionate Beatle.
2019’s What’s My Name, Ringo Starr’s 20th studio album, has a cover of Grow Old With Me.
Ringo sang the song, and McCartney contributed background vocals and a bassline to it as well. Also, one sequence of notes initially performed by George Harrison was included in the arrangement of the song’s strings by Lennon’s producer, Jack Douglas.
David Bowie is widely recognized as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Bowie’s early work in the 60s and 70s blended elements of rock, glam, and experimental music to create a sound that was entirely his own. He challenged societal norms with his androgynous appearance and sexually charged lyrics. Bowie’s impact went beyond music, as he also explored themes of identity, gender, race, and politics in his work.
Glam would be in decline within a few years, and Bowie would leave for more elitist, refined pastures. Punk rock, which was a response against the decadent rock excesses of the 1970s, including Bowie’s, erupted in 1977 as if to confirm that forecast. Yet, Bowie couldn’t just be grouped in with all the Led Zeppelins and Pink Floyds that the original punk generation detested. Bowie, in contrast to the majority of the other prominent rock musicians of the 1970s, gave punks more than simply a cause for rebellion; he gave them both fuel and fire.
Clash guitarist Mick Jones said, “In the early ’70s David Bowie came out with Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and they were like a proper band, It wasn’t like the David Bowie we all knew about, the ‘Space Oddity’ David Bowie. This was different. We took that seriously.”
Bowie was keen for “Space Oddity” to have an effect when his music career truly took off with it. The song is about the loneliness of the present capitalist society. Producer Tony Visconti remembered, “David said [‘Space Oddity’] was actually a song about isolation and he used the astronaut in space as the metaphor. The song was written in that spirit, being isolated in this little capsule, but seeing the Universe from your window.”
David Bowie was steadfastly working to bring drifters down to earth and revive the youth movement since this was a drift that was not just impacting spacemen like “Major Tom.” His genius move was Ziggy Stardust. Stardust’s self-titled LP opens with a depressing news broadcast. A tidal wave of misdirected urban slop splashes up on your leg as you carelessly tread on the broadcast’s faded signal, and a general sense of sadness spreads like a heavy rain that gets caught beneath paving stones. The resulting damp sock is then the kind that causes you to completely lose faith in the benefits of rock and roll. Yet, a weak sun may be glimpsed through this oppressive deluge. Promising salvation is rumored to exist underneath… Ziggy, a “simply outrageous” rock ‘n’ roll extraterrestrial, is the hero among us coaxing him down.
Ziggy begins gripping the youth’s lapels and jarring them into action like a used Skoda driving over a cattle grid on behalf of the floating everlasting “starmen.” He captures life’s wild side and adopts the persona of a celestial messenger. His errant behavior conveys one unmistakable message: We are here to have fun.
Ziggy may have conveyed that message in a dystopian novel, but Patti Smith and others were perceptive enough to understand what Bowie was trying to say. She revealed to Spin, “I was young, but I felt our cultural voice was in jeopardy and needed an infusion of new people and ideas. I didn’t feel like I was the one. I didn’t consider myself a musician in any way, but I was a poet and performer, and I did feel that I understood where we were at, what we’d been given and where we should go, and if I could voice it, perhaps it could inspire the next generation.”
“The only people that were interesting at all were people like David Bowie.”
He appeared to believe that the restraints that had gradually crept up on society and art were being resisted by a spirit. It’s understandable why he chose a lightning bolt as his theme as he utilized it to impart an electric shock to the landscape that evoked the vitality of the past while illuminating the present.
Aladdin Sane also brought to the forefront the idea of using the rock to save the planet from a stilted drab routine. He incorporates all things the 1950s into the musical mix for a swinging reproduction of the slicked-back period on the third track of the album, “Drive-In Saturday.” He hails the emancipatory power of music in that passage.
Bowie stood out in the music industry as a freak going his own way. He inspired others to follow in his footsteps and use the power of rock ‘n’ roll to bring about dramatic change. His outrageous attire was quickly imitated by groups like the New York Dolls, and all of a sudden, youngsters had a new movement to cling to—a way to escape the dystopia all around them. This passion for upsetting potential doom with an assegai of rebellious creativity is something he stood by throughout his career, and it is, in essence, the same fundamental tenet of punk. Examples include his love of Metropolis and [The Cabinet of Dr.] Caligari and his support of Iggy Pop’s riotous nature.
About the genre, he said, “It was a vital necessity at the time. Everything again was becoming complacent. Everybody was saying such and such. ‘This is how it goes’, and we’ve all got our future’s planned’. It was getting too technical again. Everybody wanted to be great guitarists, or at that time, synthesiser players.”
He added, “Then these ragged arse little street muffins came along, With instruments, they’d either stolen, or got on hire purchase and saying, ‘We want to be superstars, and we want to sing about the conditions we know about. We can’t afford to go to rock concerts to see bands or things. So we’ll just sing about the neighbours, girls, the things we do or we don’t want to do, and the places we don’t want to go.”
Punk’s discovery may have been lost in the mud if Bowie hadn’t originally shown that in his own outsider style amid the bombardment of prog.Was this his original goal with Ziggy Stardust? Bowie, though, had a deep understanding of psychology. He once spent the weekend conducting research for Outside at a distant mental institution in Austria with Brian Eno. It’s difficult to say if his psychological curiosity extended to knowledge of The Learned Helplessness Experiment, but one metaphor is clear: he was unquestionably the brave beagle who persuaded the hopeless to jump over the obstacle and go outside.
The roster for Power Trip, a new hard rock event from the creators of Coachella, includes Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and Tool.
Oct. 6–8 will see the Goldenvoice-produced spectacular. On Friday, Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden will perform; on Saturday, AC/DC and Osbourne; and on Sunday, Metallica and Tool. On April 6, those who register on the Power Trip website will get first access to tickets.
Almost everything that was reported earlier in the week is true: Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, and Ozzy Osbourne will all play on Friday, followed by Metallica and Tool on Sunday. The impressive but modest roster appears to be constructed to allow all of the seasoned musicians to do lengthy sets covering their entire careers.
In essence, everything of the information that leaked earlier in the week is true: Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden will play on Friday, AC/DC and Osbourne will perform on Saturday, and Metallica and Tool will perform on Sunday. An extended, career-spanning set from each senior artist should be possible with the strong yet manageably sized roster.
The successor to 2016’s Desert Trip, which included performances by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters, and the Who, is Power Trip. The Empire Polo Club, well known as the site of Coachella, hosted that celebrity-studded event as well.
With their participation, AC/DC will perform for the first time since 2016, when Axl Rose took over for Brian Johnson after the Rock or Bust World Tour after the latter was told to halt touring due to hearing problems. In 2020, Johnson joined AC/DC once more, and that year, Power Up was released. Also, Power Trip will be the group’s first performance after the passing of Malcolm Young in 2017.
Although it has ties to Coachella, the festival is more like a hard rock version of Goldenvoice’s 2016 Desert Trip festival.
For access to the tickets, which go on sale April 6 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, you may register on the festival’s website. The three-day festival’s general admission tickets start at $599 plus costs. On April 4 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, hotel packages (with two tickets, beginning at around $3,200) and VIP packages (starting at $1,599) will go on sale.
Jimmy Page has recently unveiled an early demo version of his song entitled “The Rain Song” to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the release of his album “Houses of the Holy”. The track, which he named “The Seasons”, was made available on his personal website’s “On This Day” section on March 28th.
Led Zeppelin’s classic album, “Houses of the Holy”, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, marking half a century since its release. In this article, we’ll take a look at how the album was made, from the original ideas to the recording process, and the instruments used to create some of its most iconic tracks.
The Overture: “The Plumpton and Worcester Races”
Jimmy Page, the band’s guitarist, had a clear vision for the opening tracks of the album. He had planned for a short overture with layered electric guitars that would lead into “The Seasons”, later known as “The Rain Song”. The idea was to create a contrasting acoustic guitar instrumental movement with a melotron that could segue into the first vocal of the album and the first verse of the song.
“The Seasons” was a memo to himself, a reminder of the song’s sequence and various ideas he had for it in its early stages. Page worked on it over one evening at his home. During the routing of the overture, the half-time section was born, and the overture took shape as “The Song Remains The Same”. These rehearsals were conducted in Puddle Town on the River Piddle in Dorset, UK.
Recording at Olympic Studios and Stargroves
The first set of recordings for the album was done at Olympic Studios with George Chkiantz. The band later recorded at Stargroves, the country home of Sir Mick Jagger, with the Rolling Stones recording truck. “The Song Remains The Same” was played on a Fender 12-string, the same one used on Becks Bolero, with Page’s Les Paul number 1 on overdubs in a standard tuning.
“The Rain Song” featured an unorthodox tuning on both acoustic and electric guitars, which helped to create the unique sound of the track. During live shows, it became a workout feature for Page’s double neck guitar.
This is the first authorized release of Led Zeppelin music since 2018
Led Zeppelin fans can rejoice as a previously unreleased demo of “The Rain Song” has been made available by the band’s legendary guitarist, Jimmy Page. The demo, titled “The Seasons,” was released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s album, “Houses of the Holy”. The demo was released through Page’s website, making it the first authorized release of Led Zeppelin music since the band released a two-track Record Store Day vinyl single in 2018.
Page has revealed that he had a home demo of “The Rain Song” for many years, but unfortunately, the tapes had been lost. However, he recently discovered a tape that had been missing for a long while, and it contained the full orchestration of “Rain Song”. In a 2020 interview, he said that every part of the song was there, slightly different, and it included things that didn’t get used.
Jimmy Page had an original idea for the opening tracks of “Houses of the Holy”, which included a short overture that would lead to “The Seasons,” later titled “The Rain Song”. He worked on it over one evening at home and used it as a reminder of the sequence of the song and various ideas he had for it in its embryonic stage. During the routining of the overture, the half-time section was born, and it shaped into the song, “The Song Remains The Same”. The recordings were done at Olympic Studios with George Chkiantz and Stargroves, Sir Mick Jagger’s country home, with the Rolling Stones recording truck.
While “The Rain Song” was an unorthodox tuning on acoustic and electric guitars, it became a workout feature for the double neck in live shows. The release of “The Seasons” is a treat for Led Zeppelin fans, and it showcases Page’s creative genius and the band’s iconic sound.
One of the most well-known and influential musicians of the 20th century is Bob Dylan. He was born in Minnesota in 1941, and his music career began in the first decade of the 1960s. Folk and blues traditions had a significant effect on Dylan’s music, but he also integrated elements of rock & roll, country, and gospel.
Dylan’s songwriting was groundbreaking for its time because he used his songs to address social and political concerns in a way that had never been done before. He sang about the Vietnam War, civil rights, and other contentious issues, and his lyrics frequently had a lyrical or allegorical character that made them both understandable and thought-provoking.
By experimenting with many new sounds and genres, Dylan continues to push the limits of lyrics and music throughout his career. He played a significant role in the 1960s folk revival and later contributed to the 1970s singer-songwriter revolution.
Sam Shephard, who accompanied Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour, made this observation. “Myth is a powerful medium because it talks to the emotions and not to the head. It moves us into an area of mystery. Some myths are poisonous to believe in, but others have the capacity for changing something inside us, even if it’s only for a minute or two. Dylan creates a mythic atmosphere out of the land around us. The land we walk on every day and never see until someone shows it to us”
“Dylan has invented himself, He’s made himself up from scratch. That is, from the things he had around him and inside him. Dylan is an invention of his own mind. The point isn’t to figure him out but to take him in. He gets into you anyway, so why not just take him in? He’s not the first one to have invented himself, but he’s the first one to have invented Dylan.”
Praise was a component of the hand Dylan was ready to exhibit while holding his cards close to his chest as part of the invention of Dylan. So even if you read all the original wanderer has to say, there won’t be anything that will help you tell his other artists apart. He has been motivated to bestow the utmost praise on a select few individuals, nevertheless. Here, we’ve collected the ecstatic reviews of a distinguished trio that we think are deserving.
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney reportedly remembered his first encounter with Bob Dylan, “I could feel myself climbing a spiral walkway as I was talking to Dylan. I felt like I was figuring it all out, the meaning of life.”
Dylan also talked about Paul and showed his love. While talking with Rolling Stone in 2007, he said, “I’m in awe of Paul McCartney. He’s about the only one that I am in awe of. But I’m in awe of him, He can do it all and he’s never let up. He’s got the gift for melody; he’s got the rhythm. He can play any instrument. He can scream and shout as good as anybody and he can sing the ballad as good as anybody, you know so… And his melodies are, you know, effortless.”
He added, “That’s what you have to be in awe… I’m in awe of him maybe just because he’s just so damn effortless. I mean I just wish he’d quit, you know? [Laughs] Just everything and anything that comes out of his mouth is just framed in a melody.”
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder was a rising child star in 1962 when Dylan made his debut with his self-titled album. Soon after, at age 13, he would record his smash song. Some rejected Dylan’s youth as a Motown ploy, but Dylan, who was always open-minded, listened with a keen ear.
When Rolling Stone asked him about Stevie in 1989, he said, “If anybody can be called a genius, he can be. I think it has something to do with his ear, not being able to see or whatever.”
Dylan also explained, “I go back with him to about the early ’60s when he was playing at the Apollo with all that Motown stuff. If nothing else, he played the harmonica incredible, I mean truly incredible.”
The folk star gained attention in 1966 when Wonder deviated from the customary pro-poppies Motown attitude imposed by boss Berry Gordy and embraced the civil rights movement head-on with a cover of a Dylan standard. As he clarifies:
“I never knew what to think of him really until he cut ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’. That really blew my mind, and I figured I’d better pay attention. I love everything he does. It’s hard not to, He can do gut-bucket funky stuff really country, and then turn around and do modern-progressive whatever you call it. In fact, he might have invented that.” At last, he concluded, “He is a great mimic, can imitate everybody, doesn’t take himself seriously, and is a true roadhouse musician all the way, with classical overtones, and he does it all with drama and style. I’d like to hear him play with an orchestra. He should probably have his own orchestra.”
Howlin’ Wolf
Bob Dylan explained to Rolling Stone, “Howlin’ Wolf, to me, was the greatest live act. Because he did not have to move a finger when he performed — if that’s what you’d call it, ‘performing.’”
Dylan continued by saying that he was amazed by Howlin’ Wolf’s ability to raise the roof naturally without ever resorting to any gimmicks or offensiveness. He said, “I don’t like people that jump around, When people think about Elvis moving around — he didn’t jump around. He moved with grace. I love Mick Jagger. I mean, I go back a long ways with him, and I always wish him the best. But to see him jumping around like he does — I don’t give a shit in what age, from Altamont to RFK Stadium — you don’t have to do that, man.”
He added, “It’s still hipper and cooler to be Ray Charles, sittin’ at the piano, not movin’ shit. And still getting across, you know? Pushing rhythm and soul across. It’s got nothin’ to do with jumping around. I mean, what could it possibly have to do with jumping around?”
Led Zeppelin’s lead guitarist, producer, and founder was Jimmy Page. He made a big difference in the band’s sound and success. Blues, folk, and eastern styles were all blended into Page’s inventive guitar style. Also, he was well-known for his distinctive fingerpicking technique and usage of a guitar bow.
He was a diligent recorder and producer who gave the band’s records a rich and potent tone. Many of Led Zeppelin’s most well-known songs, such as “Stairway to Heaven,” “Whole Lotta Love,” and “Kashmir,” were written by Jimmy Page as well. He played a part in Led Zeppelin becoming one of the best rock bands of all time. Two Led Zeppelin songs, nevertheless, were not written by Page; rather, they were Plant and bassist John Paul Jones’ ideas.
Both tracks may be heard on the band’s final album, 1979’s In Through the Out Door, and are titled “All My Love” and “South Bound Suarez,” respectively. Notably, the first song is the more well-known of the two and is a moving tribute to Plant’s late son Karac, who died at the age of five from a stomach disease in 1977. The latter, on the other hand, is a lively composition that owes a lot to 1950s rock ‘n’ roll, replete with a frenetic piano line that evokes that era.
Due to personal concerns, Page and drummer John Bonham had less significant roles during the recording of In Through the Out Door. Bonham was battling alcoholism at the same time that Page was battling his heroin addiction, which would finally take Bonham’s life in 1980. As a result, Plant and Jones bore the bulk of the album’s creative burden.
All My Love and South Bound Suarez are two of Led Zeppelin’s best later works, despite not having been written by Page. The songs demonstrate that the band was comprised of more than just Page and that each individual contributed something special. These songs were timeless masterpieces that fans still adore today because of Robert Plant’s honesty and Jones’ skill as a musician.
The Led Zeppelin Songs Not Written By Jimmy Page
‘All my Love’ – In Through the Out Door (1979)
‘South Bound Suarez’ – In Through the Out Door (1979)
For women in rock music, the 1980s were a decade of major transformation. Women were taking center stage and leaving their imprint; they were no longer merely supporting singers or pretty faces. Female-led bands like The Go-Go’s, The Bangles, and Heart helped open the door for women to work in a largely male-dominated field.
They wrote on issues that appealed to women, and their music was a fusion of punk, new wave, and pop. In the 1980s, female rockers also questioned conventional ideas of femininity and served as role models for young girls. They paved the way for the next generations of female performers by demonstrating that women could succeed in the rock music industry.
Female rockers gained popularity and were well-liked by their contemporaries and peers. The 1980s were perhaps the most active decades for female rock musicians.
Here are some of the greatest Women-Fronted Rock Songs of the 80s.
Edge of Seventeen – Stevie Nicks
The title of the Stevie Nicks song “Edge of Seventeen” comes from Tom Petty’s spouse. Because of her accent, when Nicks asked her when they first met, she misheard his wife say “the edge of seventeen.” Stevie Nicks was inspired by the discussion and gave this song, which is about the deaths of her uncle and John Lennon, the phrase she adored.
His uncle’s passing and John Lennon’s murder served as the inspiration for the song’s message, turning it into a rollicking tune with a spiritual undertone.
Heaven Is A Place On Earth – Belinda Carlisle
The pop-rock anthem “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” by Belinda Carlisle is among the most well-known songs from the 1980s. Many “rebellious” listeners who are attached to romantic notions were won over by the joyous message of love woven into an exciting arrangement.
The song has an instantly familiar, lively tune that is simple to sing along to. Carlisle’s strong vocals, which communicate both passion and strength, are highlighted by the song. Together, these factors have helped “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” become a timeless classic that fans still adore today.
Alone – Heart
This lament for the brokenhearted was released in 1987 by the dynamic duet Ann and Nancy Wilson, whose version took it to new heights. The music has strong vocals that are prominently layered with a thundering but melodic orchestration for an impactful formula that connected with its audience.
I Love Rock’ n’ Roll – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
With its grittier arrangement and Jett’s strong and loud vocals, Joan Jett’s cover of this original by the Arrows was the most popular, becoming a rock anthem for years to come.
While on tour with her first band, The Runaways, Jett heard it and immediately knew she wanted to record it. Since the song wasn’t well received by her bandmates, she teamed up with the Sex Pistols to record it with her new group, The Blackhearts and created one of the greatest rock songs ever.
Walk Like an Egyptian – The Bangles
While sailing a tiny boat over stormy waters and witnessing people struggling to get their sea legs, Liam Sternberg came up with the idea for this global success. The pressure was on once The Bangles released it and the track went viral. The Bangles called it quits in the late 1980s, during the height of The Bangles frenzy, while continuing to release singles.
Love Is A Battlefield – Pat Benatar
The backing band continued to play with drum machines, and “Love Is A Battlefield” evolved into a fast-paced track from what was originally supposed to be a more peaceful arrangement with an appealing melody. The song’s ability to be danceable while preserving instruments like drums and guitars makes it one of the forerunners of modernized pop rock.
The song is a timeless classic that still has an audience today because of its strong and catchy tune and Benatar’s passionate voice. The words of the song also touch on universal topics like love, heartbreak, and the quest for identity that a lot of people can identify with.
Total Eclipse of The Heart – Bonnie Tyler
The song is a timeless classic that still has an audience today because of its strong and catchy tune and Benatar’s passionate voice. The words of the song also touch on universal topics like love, heartbreak, and the quest for identity that a lot of people can identify with.
Additionally, the song’s memorable music video, which features Tyler performing in a Gothic mansion, has become a classic of the MTV era. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is a timeless ballad that continues to captivate listeners more than three decades after its release.
Kiss Me Deadly – Lita Ford
Ex-Runaway With “Kiss Me Deadly” as her hallmark song, Lita Ford enjoyed great success in her solo career. This timeless classic is created by the musical characteristics added by synthesizers that subtly complement the guitars and her velvety vocals.
Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) – Kate Bush
In the 1980s, musician Kate Bush was a trailblazing figure in the music business. She produced all of her music in addition to writing all of it herself, which was something that almost any other musician at the time, male or female, did. She turns the traditional story of striking a pact with the devil on its head in “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)”. The song re-topped the charts in 2022 as a result of several appearances in the smash Netflix series Stranger Things.
How Do I Make You – Linda Ronstadt
The Knack’s “My Sharona,” which became one of Linda Ronstadt’s speedier songs compared to other songs in her career, served as an inspiration, according to composer Billy Steinberg. The song is readily driven by her enthusiastic vocals, while the arrangement aims for a larger sound by placing a strong focus on rhythm and shredding in the electric guitar passages.
One of the most well-known guitarists and rock performers in the world is Eric Clapton.
In addition to being a part of the legendary bands The Yardbirds, Cream, and Derek and the Dominos, he also had a hugely successful solo career, selling more than 130 million albums globally.
He played with Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney, and Bonnie and Friends, and the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” before the 1960s ended. He also contributed a scorching solo to George Harrison’s song. He began the 1970s by founding Derek and the Dominos before officially establishing a solo career that has been his primary outlet for the past 40 years.
Here are 5 of his best songs.
Cocaine
Although Eric Clapton has referred to his 1977 JJ Cale cover of “Cocaine” as an “anti-drug” song, he was undoubtedly using drugs at the time it initially entered the charts (or over the next decade). In 1977, the song peaked at number 30 and helped Cale pay some debts, but in following years, Clapton removed it from his set list out of concern that its meaning would be misinterpreted. As it was read back, he added the phrase “dirty cocaine” to further emphasize his argument.
Eric has things to say about the song. He said, “It’s no good to write a deliberate anti-drug song and hope that it will catch. Because the general thing is that people will be upset by that. It would disturb them to have someone else shoving something down their throat.”
Crossroads
Over his entire five-decade career, blues icon Robert Johnson has been idolized by Eric Clapton, who even recorded an entire album of his songs in 2004. A
few people were aware of his tunes until Cream released their rendition of “Cross Road Blues” as a single in 1968, Clapton is also responsible for popularizing his music.
This song, in the opinion of many Clapton fans, showcases Clapton’s performance at its absolute best. Since then, classic rock radio has consistently played it. For the next four decades, he also performed it at the majority of his solo concerts, but it has never sounded as sublime as it did with Cream.
Wonderful Tonight
This song was composed by Eric Clapton for his then-girlfriend Pattie Boyd and included on his 1977 album Slowhand (who divorced his friend George Harrison in the same year).
Pattie, later on, said, “For years it tore at me. To have inspired Eric, and George before him, to write such music was so flattering. ‘Wonderful Tonight’ was the most poignant reminder of all that was good in our relationship, and when things went wrong it was torture to hear it.”
It was quite a ride for her and Eric.
Tears in Heaven
The soundtrack was written by Eric Clapton, who also added a brand-new song he wrote on the untimely passing of his son Conor, who was four years old. For months on end, the VH1 video aired continuously. Shortly after, Clapton re-recorded the song for Unplugged, giving it a further boost on the charts. It became one of Clapton’s biggest hits, but by 2004, he could no longer bear to perform the song, so he removed it from his setlist.
In 2004, he said, “I really have to connect with the feelings that were there when I wrote them. They’re kind of gone and I really don’t want them to come back, particularly. My life is different now. They probably just need a rest and maybe I’ll introduce them for a much more detached point of view.”
Layla
After Cream split up and his follow-up project Blind Faith failed after just one record, Clapton was in a fairly bad spot. He was using drugs and drinking excessively, and his close buddy George Harrison was married to the lady he secretly adored. Thus, Clapton entered the recording studio and poured his heart and soul into the greatest songs of his career. The album’s standout track, “Layla,” is an epic love ballad that ends with one of the most romantic musical compositions ever made. The sobbing slide is provided by Duane Allman, and Clapton, whose voice and guitar playing have never been greater, completes the song.
In his memoir he wrote, “I was driven by my obsession, Layla’ was the key song, a conscious attempt to speak to Pattie about the fact that she was holding me off and wouldn’t come move in with me.”
One of today’s most well-known and contentious hard rock bands is Greta Van Fleet. By bringing back the sounds of vintage rock, some fans enjoy them. They have received accolades for their energetic concerts and potent voices and have been compared to legendary rock bands like Led Zeppelin.
Some fans appreciate them for bringing back the traditional rock sounds. Some believe they are overly similar to previous bands, most notably Led Zeppelin. Why is it frequently asserted that the Detroit rockers plagiarized Page, Plant, and company?
It’s hard to find a Greta Van Fleet song or album review that doesn’t draw comparisons to Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant once shared his thoughts about the band. In response, Greta Van Fleet’s members shared part of their creative process with the audience.
Critics believe Greta Van Fleet is dumb for attempting to imitate a band from decades ago because the sounds of classic rock were out of date by the time they first started.
The Detroit Free Press reports that Greta Van Fleet is not a problem for Robert Plant. He believes they perfectly capture the sound of Led Zeppelin I, the band’s debut album. He also lauded Josh Kiszka, the lead vocalist of Greta Van Fleet, for his vocal prowess. The musical similarities between Greta Van Fleet and Led Zeppelin were not a problem for Paige.
He commented, “There’s a band in Detroit called Greta Van Fleet: they are Led Zeppelin I. Beautiful little singer, I hate him!”
Sam Kiszka, a member of Greta Van Fleet, reportedly claimed that Led Zeppelin didn’t have a significant effect on his band. It was reported by Alternative nation. He appeared to suggest that part of Zeppelin’s effect on his band was unintentional.
Jake Kiszka, the guitarist of the band also commented, “I think that we’ve become more conscious of it, because I don’t think before we ever really realized, in a lot of senses, the similarities or the commonalities that we share with that group.”
“It’s being said over and over, and I think it’s one of the greatest compliments that could ever be given to a young band like ourselves. They’re arguably one of the greatest rock bands of all time, so that is humbling and inspiring and honorable, in that sense.”
“But I think that we’ve become more conscious of the similarities, because it’s been said, and I think we’ve taken some time to go back and almost identify with it. ‘Oh, it’s interesting, because there is a lot of those commonalities.’ Even if it exactly wasn’t an overwhelming influence of ours, it still was influential and we can certainly see it. But overall, it doesn’t really affect the writing of our music.”
A significant factor in The Beatles’ success was John Lennon. In addition to singing lead, he also served as the main songwriter for several of their best-known tunes. The Beatles’ distinctive sound was shaped by Lennon’s avant-garde and experimental approach to music, which was essential to their commercial success. He was renowned for his engaging demeanor and talent for relating to followers. In addition, Lennon played a significant role in the 1960s counterculture movement. His political and social activities contributed to the rise of The Beatles as a cultural phenomenon rather than just a band.
Although John Lennon was already an accomplished author, it wasn’t until The Beatles’ chance meeting with Bob Dylan that Lennon began to properly appreciate the glories of songwriting with sincere intentions. The band has changed from its earlier days of commercial music to become one of history’s most productive bands.
Lennon was more like a poet or writer of fiction. As his songs are written first and foremost around the words, many of them are quite personal. That makes it difficult to choose from his greatest work. Even though John Lennon has transcended the realm of music, he was always a rocker first. These are a few of his finest songs in the Beatles.
10. ‘Come Together’ – Abbey Road (1969)
Written originally as a campaign song for Timothy Leary as the pro-drugs activist ran for office in California, Lennon saw the song’s potential and made sure to incorporate it into their repertoire as soon as Leary’s run was ended. By the time Abbey Road arrived, this song had already started to serve as a significant premonition of what was to come.
The song, which was the final one the four Beatles recorded together, also has one of the group’s most slinky rhythms—a snaky hiss that is both amusing and frightening. In an out-of-court settlement, Lennon paid the rock star for the song, which had a Chuck Berry-like quality.
9. ‘Happiness Is a Warm Gun’ – The Beatles (1968)
John recognized a hook when he heard one, and when he saw the NRA advertisement with the slogan “Happiness is a warm gun” in a magazine, he felt he had something.
This song from the “White Album” is actually three Lennon skits combined into one. It is one of the Beatles’ most complicated songs and a forerunner to John Lennon’s occasionally difficult solo releases due to its hard time signatures. Lennon juggles electric blues, freak-out psych-rock, and a doo-wop conclusion with one of his most exciting voices in less than three minutes. It is, according to McCartney, his favorite track from “The White Album.”
8. ‘Please Please Me’ – Please Please Me (1963)
The follow-up to The Beatles’ debut record, “Love Me Do,” earned their first number-one single with “Please Please Me.” It was originally intended to be a blues-infused parody of a Roy Orbison song, but with George Martin’s assistance, it developed to represent The Beatles’ early style.
The Beatles’ debut hit reached number one, yet they never would have gotten that far without the compositional prowess of John Lennon.
Lennon previously outlined how “Please Please Me” impacted the band. He said, “We’d had a top 30 entry with ‘Love Me Do’ and we really thought we were on top of the world, Then came ‘Please Please Me’ – and wham! We tried to make it as simple as possible. Some of the stuff we’ve written in the past has been a bit way-out, but we aimed this one straight at the hit parade.”
7. ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’, unquestionably one of Lennon’s most well-known and instantly recognizable songs, was largely seen as a not-so-subtle allusion to LSD. Lennon revealed that the song was in fact inspired by a sketch that his son Julian brought home from elementary school.
He clarified, “I had no idea it spelt LSD. This is the truth: my son came home with a drawing and showed me this strange-looking woman flying around. I said, ‘What is it?’ and he said, ‘It’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds,’ and I thought, ‘That’s beautiful.’ I immediately wrote a song about it.”
6. ‘Norewgian Wood’ – Rubber Soul (1965)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), which was performed by Harrison, is renowned for being the first rock song to include the sitar and for including introspective lyrics by John Lennon. It represents a significant development for the Beatles.
The song’s sole murky aspect was that Lennon had composed it as a result of all the affairs he had been having secretly from Cynthia Lennon.
Although the song from Rubber Soul is frequently regarded as Lennon’s first authentic acid-rock song, this is not entirely accurate. Instead, he introduces that sound into his own musical language for the first time on this song. Naturally, he required assistance with the song’s sitar section; fortunately, he had Harrison on hand.
5. ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ – Revolver (1966)
It seems inevitable that the song that John Lennon referred to as “my first psychedelic song” will be towards the top of this experimental album. Although Lennon may not have included the tens of thousands of chanting monks he had initially planned for the song, “Tomorrow Never Knows” has a tendency to trip people out.
The Beatles took their time with “Revolver,” arguably the most significant milestone in a career full of them, after churning out six albums in only three short years. The first song created during the sessions’ fertile creative production was “Tomorrow Never Knows.” And there is a lot of astonishment in this place. In less than three minutes, there are loops, reverse cassettes, Indian instruments, double-tracked voices, distortion, and delay used. A voyage to a sonic playground on psychedelics.
4. ‘I Am The Walrus’ – Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Lennon created this surrealist masterpiece for Magical Mystery Tour, possibly The Beatles’ most eccentric album. The Beatles’ next single following “All You Need Is Love” was supposed to be “I Am The Walrus,” but Paul McCartney and George Martin insisted on selecting the much more popular “Hello, Goodbye.” The choice started the bitterness that finally resulted in the band’s breakup.
In “I Am the Walrus,” several different things are going on, including a communal chant, an orchestral arrangement, and an unexpected musical ending. In this list of the Top 10 John Lennon Beatles songs, maybe the most daring song.
3. ‘Across The Universe’ – No One’s Gonna Change Our World (1969)
Lennon’s song sprang out of nowhere following a disagreement with his first wife Cynthia. He told, “I kept hearing these words over and over, flowing like an endless stream. I went downstairs, and it turned into sort of a cosmic song rather than an irritated song… it drove me out of bed. I didn’t want to write it, but I was slightly irritable, and I went downstairs, and I couldn’t get to sleep until I’d put it on paper.”
Despite its first looking brittle origins, the song has evolved and is now regarded as a dazzling moment on the album, a moment where it’s simple to let the music flow through you.
2. ‘Help!’ – Help! (1965)
John was worn out from living as a member of the biggest band in the world. Hence, when he typed “Help!” he was sincere in his request. He was developing into a terrific poet in his own right at this stage.
Fans have interpreted John Lennon’s No. 1 song from the height of Beatlemania in a variety of ways. Is it a request for some normality following two years of mayhem? Is Lennon, who is prone to emotional fragility, dealing with something more personal right now? Lennon said that it was a combination of the two, but nonetheless, the song’s bouncy pace belies the song’s heavy lyrics, which sound like a depressing plea for assistance.
It was a time when Lennon’s previous character and manner of living were starting to be eclipsed by the pop sensation the band had made.
He thus made every effort to drive those monsters from his life and to capture them through music. It marked the birth of John Lennon, an icon.
1. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ – Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Lennon used his experiences growing up in Liverpool to give this otherwise surreal song a touch of nostalgia for the band’s 1967 album Magical Mystery Tour. The song’s success was aided by the fact that it had a significant impact on the emerging psychedelic sound of the time. The song was written by Lennon to depict his safe refuge.
The childhood-themed portion of Lennon’s double A-side was the ideal complement to McCartney’s “Penny Lane.” Strawberry Fields Forever was recorded during the beginning of the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” sessions, just like “Penny Lane.” That in some ways sums up and depicts all of John Lennon’s facets as a Beatle.
