The LuLac Edition #1147, Apr. 10th, 2010
PHOTO INDEX: THE NEXT DAY'S NEWS ON THE BREAKUP OF THE BEATLES AND THE GUYS CIRCA 1970.40 YEARS LATER
I remember where I was when I heard the rumor then the news that the Beatles were breaking up. It was a classroom at St. John’s High in Pittston and I like many of my classmates were pretty much stunned. The group that formed our basic musical tastes since 1964, the band that took us from childhood into full blown teens and all that went with it was busting up. The 40th anniversary if their break up is worth noting because unlike the meteoric rise, the Beatles kind of went out with a thud. A whimper. We knew each had individual talent and would make music but the collective nature of the band was now gone. There would be no more “Abbey Roads” or Sergeant Peppers”, no more collaborative creations to look forward to. As I stood outside the building on William Street, I ran into an upperclassmen, Dave Emershaw who was friends with my friends, the Dellarte brothers of Wyoming. When I asked Emershaw, who was the premier Beatles fan at St. John’s what he thought, he stopped, casually lit a cigarette and said “Remember what I told he back in 1967”, and went on his way. When I first met Dave Emershaw at the Dellarte’s home, the subject came to baseball and music. I remember him saying back then the following, “Tom Seaver (then barely a rookie for the lowly Mets) will be a Hall of Fame pitcher and that well into the next century people would still be listening to and buying the music of the Beatles”.
So on this 40th anniversary of the break up of the Beatles, it is evident that April 10th, 1970 was the day the music didn’t die. And even though there was legal paperwork, neither did the band.
And the very last number one hit by the group:
posted by David Yonki @ 10:41 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Was the concert on the rooftop their last performance together?
Buncha fly-by-nights with no staying power, if ya ask me.
I'm always amazed at bands - GOOD bands, mind you - who have been around for fifteen or twenty or more years are still haven't had a fraction of the Beatles' creative output. And that includes the crap as well as the brilliant stuff, because I think all but the most diehard fans will admit that not evrything the Beatles ever recorded was absolutely brilliant.
But their legacy is a two-edged sword: on the one hand they were essentially inventing a genre from disparate elements that influenced them, on the other they are so seminal that their most popular and fundamental works have become cliches.
David:
Thanks for providing a historical perspective on pop culture as well as politics. The story in the TL served you guys very well. And thanks for reporting to us every day. Politics and Pop Culture! Indeed!
Great memories of the Beatles. Your friend was right, the music lives on.
If anyone had told me two years ago I'd be listening to "Taxman" on a car radio in 2010, I'd have asked for a snort of whatever they were drinking. Maybe someone else would be listening, but not me. Yet that's exactly what happened tonight. The music may sound a little different now in my bionic ear, but it's still The Beatles and still they endure. And I feel blessed I am able to rediscover their music again.
Every Beatles album was better than the previous one (Magical Mystery Tour doesn't count--it was more of a compilation of a british EP and singles not on US albums). And although Let It Be enjoyed the monumental position of being the band's only budget album (back when LP's still existed) it is still considered by many to be a superior album compared to the output of other bands. The group was very eclectic in its sound and many other bands have tried to "ape" that success by doing the same but sacrificing their fans. There will never be another group as great or revolutionary as the Fab FOur!
The concert on the roof was indeed the final public performance of the band. Years later, while Lennon was still alive, Paul George and Ringo performed together at Eric Clapton's wedding. This gave fire to a rumor that Lennon was angry that he was not invited and that a reunion was in the works. Reuters news reported shortly thereafter in 12/79 that all four Beatles were in London for a benefit concert for the people of Kampuchea; but it was not to be.
Post a Comment
<< Home