The Beatles Best Songbook (Perfect Bound)

The problem, at least in terms of the group's long-term health, was that these were very much individual songs, as opposed to collective ones. Lennon and McCartney had long composed most of their tunes separately you can almost always tell the composer by the lead vocalist. But they had always fed off of each other not only to supply missing bits and pieces that would bring a song to completion, but to provide a competitive edge that would bring out the best in the other.

McCartney's romantic melodicism and Lennon's more acidic, gritty wit were perfect complements for one another. By the White Album, it was clear if only in retrospect that each member was more concerned with his own expression than that of the collective group: In addition, George Harrison was becoming a more prolific and skilled composer as well, imbuing his own melodies which were nearly the equal of those of his more celebrated colleagues with a cosmic lightness.

Harrison was beginning to resent his junior status, and the group began to bicker more openly in the studio. Ringo Starr, whose solid drumming and good nature could usually be counted upon as was evident in his infrequent lead vocals , actually quit for a couple of weeks in the midst of the White Album sessions though the media was unaware of this at the time. Personal interests were coming into play as well: Lennon's devotion to romantic and artistic pursuits with his new girlfriend and soon-to-be wife Yoko Ono was diverting his attentions from the Beatles. Apple Records, started by the group earlier in as a sort of utopian commercial enterprise, was becoming a financial and organizational nightmare.

These weren't the ideal conditions under which to record a new album in January , especially when McCartney was pushing the group to return to live performing, although none of the others seemed especially keen on the idea.

They did agree to try recording a "back-to-basics," live-in-the-studio-type LP, the sessions being filmed for a television special. That plan almost blew up when Harrison, in the midst of tense arguments, left the group for a few days.

The Daily Ukulele Songbook

Although he returned, the idea of playing live concerts was put on the back burner; Harrison enlisted American soul keyboardist Billy Preston as kind of a fifth member on the sessions, both to beef up the arrangements and to alleviate the uncomfortable atmosphere. Exacerbating the problem was that the Beatles didn't have a great deal of first-class new songs to work with, although some were excellent. In order to provide a suitable concert-like experience for the film, the group did climb the roof of their Apple headquarters in London to deliver an impromptu performance on January 30, , before the police stopped it; this was their last live concert of any sort.

Generally dissatisfied with these early sessions, the album and film -- at first titled Get Back, and later to emerge as Let It Be -- remained in the can as the group tried to figure out how the projects should be mixed, packaged, and distributed. By this time, the Beatles' quarrels were intensifying in a dispute over management: McCartney wanted their affairs to be handled by his new father-in-law, Lee Eastman, while the other members of the group favored a tough American businessman, Allen Klein. It was something of a miracle, then, that the final album recorded by the group, Abbey Road, was one of their most unified efforts even if, by this time, the musicians were recording many of their parts separately.

It certainly boasted some of their most intricate melodies, harmonies, and instrumental arrangements; it also heralded the arrival of Harrison as a composer of equal talent to Lennon and McCartney, as George wrote the album's two most popular tunes, "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun. Lennon, who had begun releasing solo singles and performing with friends as the Plastic Ono Band, threatened to resign in late , although he was dissuaded from making a public announcement.

Most of the early tapes remained unreleased, partially because the footage for the planned television broadcast of these sessions was now going to be produced as a documentary movie. The accompanying soundtrack album, Let It Be, was delayed so that its release could coincide with that of the film. Lennon, Harrison, and Allen Klein decided to have celebrated American producer Phil Spector record some additional instrumentation and do some mixing.

Thus the confusion that persists among most rock listeners to this day: Let It Be, although the last Beatles album to be released, was not the last one to be recorded. Abbey Road should actually be considered as the Beatles' last album; most of the material on Let It Be, including the title track which would be the last single released while the group was still together , was recorded several months before the Abbey Road sessions began in earnest, and a good 15 months or so before its May release.

By that time, the Beatles were no more. The outside world for the most part remained almost wholly unaware of the seriousness of the group's friction, making it a devastating shock for much of the world's youth when McCartney announced that he was leaving the Beatles on April 10, The "announcement" was actually contained in a press release for his new album, in which his declaration of his intention to work on his own effectively served as a notice of his departure.

The final blow, apparently, was the conflict between the release dates of Let It Be and McCartney's debut solo album. The rest of the group asked McCartney to delay his release until after Let It Be; McCartney refused and, for good measure, was distressed by Spector's post-production work on Let It Be, particularly the string overdubs on "The Long and Winding Road," which became a posthumous Beatles single that spring.

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Although McCartney received much of the blame for the split, it should be remembered that he had done more than any other member to keep the group going since Epstein's death, and that each of the other Beatles had threatened to leave well before McCartney's departure. With hindsight, the breakup seemed inevitable in view of their serious business disagreements and the growth of their individual interests.

As bitter as the initial headlines were to swallow, the feuding would grow much worse over the next few years. At the end of , McCartney sued the rest of the Beatles in order to dissolve their partnership; the battle dragged through the courts for years, scotching any prospects of a group reunion. In any case, each member of the band quickly established a viable solo career. In fact, at the outset it could have been argued that the artistic effects of the split were in some ways beneficial, freeing Lennon and Harrison to make their most uncompromising artistic statements Plastic Ono Band and All Things Must Pass.

George's individual talents in particular received acclaim that had always eluded him when he was overshadowed by Lennon-McCartney. Paul had a much rougher time with the critics, but continued to issue a stream of hit singles, hitting a commercial and critical jackpot at the end of with the massively successful Band on the Run. Ringo did not have the songwriting acumen to compete on the same level as the others, yet he too had quite a few big hit singles in the early '70s, often benefiting from the assistance of his former bandmates.

Yet within a short time, it became apparent both that the Beatles were not going to settle their differences and reunite, and that their solo work could not compare with what they were capable of creating together. The stereotype has it that the split allowed each of them to indulge in their worst tendencies to their extremes: Lennon in agit-prop, Harrison in holier-than-thou mysticism, McCartney in cutesy pop, Starr in easy listening rock.

There's a good deal of truth in this, but it's also important to bear in mind that what was most missing was a sense of group interaction. The critical party line often champions Lennon as the angry, realist rocker and McCartney as the melodic balladeer, but this is a fallacy: What is not in dispute is that they sparked each other to reach heights that they could not attain on their own. Despite periodic rumors of reunions throughout the s, no group projects came close to materializing.

It should be added that the Beatles themselves continued to feud to some degree, and from all evidence weren't seriously interested in working together as a unit. The Beatles continued their solo careers throughout the '80s, but their releases became less frequent, and their commercial success gradually diminished as listeners without first-hand memories of the combo created their own idols. The popularity of the Beatles-as-unit, however, proved eternal.

In part, this is because the group's split effectively short-circuited the prospects of artistic decline; the body of work that was preserved was uniformly strong. However, it's also because, like any great works of art, the Beatles' records carried an ageless magnificence that continues to captivate new generations of listeners.

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So it is that Beatles records continue to be heard on radio in heavy rotation, continue to sell in massive quantities, and continue to be covered and quoted by rock and pop artists through the present day. Legal wrangles at Apple prevented the official issue of previously unreleased Beatles material for over two decades although much of it was frequently bootlegged.

The situation finally changed in the s, after McCartney, Harrison, Starr, and Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, settled their principal business disagreements. In , this resulted in a double CD of BBC sessions from the early and mid-'60s a second volume followed nearly two decades later.

Beatles Songbooks

The following year, a much more ambitious project was undertaken: Additionally, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr with some assistance from Jeff Lynne embellished a couple of John Lennon demos from the '70s with overdubs to create two new tracks "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" that were billed as actual Beatles recordings. Whether this constituted the actual long-awaited "reunion" is the subject of much debate.

Certainly these cuts were hardly classics on par with the music the group made in the '60s. Some fans, even diehards, were inclined to view the whole Anthology project as a distinctly '90s marketing exercise that maximized the mileage of whatever could be squeezed from the Beatles' vaults. There is no unwanted writing on the sheets inside. The songbook is pages long and contains the eas It is used and has a few tears, wrinkles, and stains on the box and dust jacket.

Book itself is in great condition. It has 88 pages of photos, lyrics and sheetmusic. The Beatles Super Easy Songbook.

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An awesome reference of Beatles hits from A-I, this collection includes complete lyrics, chord symbols and guitar chord diagrams for songs in a 6in x 9in format for ultimate convenience and mobili This great collection features all songs written and sung by The Beatles, specially transcribed here for strumming guitarists, from the actual recordings, in the original keys.

I think this is in chinese, maybe japanese. Published by Centerstream Publications HL. C instrument and voice - Difficulty: Edited by Chuck Sher. Almost pages of world-famous Sher Music transcriptions! Don't go to the gig without it! Bb instrument and voice - Difficulty: Robinson, and Cindy Walker. BUND ; Saddle-stitch; 3rd edition, Melody line with chords. Published by Bund Verlag SD. Violin, Orchestra Music Sales America. Published by Chester Music HS. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Traditional Pop and Vocal Standards.

With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. This site uses cookies to analyze your use of our products, to assist with promotional and marketing efforts, to analyze our traffic and to provide content from third parties. You consent to our cookies and privacy policy if you continue to use this site. Please see our Privacy Policy for details.