The Beatles
It is remarkable to me that they performed 'Twist and Shout' for the Queen Mother, all of the Beatles of course in their suits and ties... hell yes. Rattle yer jewelry, that did.
It's the songs that get me, though. It always was and is.
I have this faint memory circa 1973 of this girl asking me and a cousin what our favorite bands were for a high school class project -for a survey she was taking. I say 'high school' because she was asking 7 year old kids what our favorite bands were. It could have been college, though I question her methodology if so. It could have been a secret gov't project. But I suspect it was high school. In my memory she had long blond hair, and we were standing on the sidewalk. Anyway, she asked us what our favorite bands were.
My cousin said, "Three Dog Night". I said, "The Beatles". He mocked me. She said, approvingly, "Alright, The Beatles...". I don't know why I remember that so vividly. I was mocked, after all. I just think she approved. But what a tender thing to admit! What a piece of my heart to expose. An ancient, defunct band like The Beatles. 2 years broke up, 3, what was it? And amidst mockery. Story of my life, Amidst Mockery. Anyway, yes I said The Beatles. Of course I did.
Now, this is not to say I was Some Enlightened Child, because I have enjoyed my share of Treacle and Drivel, including several disco hits as they arose... after all I was a Child Of The 70's And Early 80's, and I loved the same things my compadres in age loved. And an early appreciation for Quincy Jones' production is not to be discarded...
But somewhere around 1982 something happened. My sister Kat had a cassette tape that someone, I think Morris, gave her, of the Beatles (she will read this and correct me if it was not Morris). It was Revolver, Rubber Soul, some of Yesterday and Today... I still have it BTW. I really do still have it! They could Make Cassette Tapes back in those days. Sturdy things. Anyway I 'borrowed it' and never returned it. It does not have the stuff Ringo sang on those albums, so it's not a complete collection. Anyway, I played this cassette relentlessly, and I memorized it. Memorized it to a point that I got obsessed with it. Memorized it to a point that I can still sing the first line of the next song on the tape, in key, after the last song I hear, though without Ringo's songs it's not accurate to the song order on the vinyl, so I'll get some wrong if you go by the original song order. I remember, even back then, how I could annoy people with talking about The Beatles. Oh yes.
And realize this - I had no Internet. Easy 'footage' of The Beatles wasn't at my fingertips. It wasn't the cute lads that got me. It was the songs. Do you see what I mean? The SONGS, man. The MELODIES! The CHORD CHANGES!!!
And it's still the songs, you know, even at me ripe old age of 41. Though they were very cute lads, lol. And I still love them. Esp. John Lennon, dammit.
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