Pulse Music

It was 54 years ago today (January 2nd, 1969), that the Beatles' began their second-to-last project together, the movie and album, which was eventually released as Let It Be. The film and resulting music, which was shot and recorded throughout January 1969, was originally intended to be a TV special featuring the group rehearsing for their first live show in over two years. The early rehearsals captured the group, along with John Lennon's soon-to-be wife Yoko Ono, clearly bored, with only Paul McCartney showing any real enthusiasm for the new material. The first part of the film shows the strain of the early morning sessions held in a cavernous soundstage at London's Twickenham film studios.

Among the songs featured in the film are "Let It Be," "Get Back," "Don't Let Me Down," "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," "For You Blue," "Octopus' Garden," "I Me Mine," "Across The Universe," and "The Long And Winding Road," and covers of "Besame Mucho," "Shake, Rattle And Roll," and "Kansas City," among many others.

The Beatles' late-producer George Martin recalled that the Let It Be project held great promise in the beginning: ["They were going through a very, very revolutionary period at that time. And they were trying to think of something new. They did actually come up with a very good idea, which I thought was well worth working on; The wanted to write an album completely and rehearse it and then perform it in front of a large audience -- and for that to be a live album of new material. And we started rehearsing down at Twickenham film studios, and I went along with them."] SOUNDCUE (:26 OC: . . . along with them)

George Harrison, who was the least invested member of the band in regards to returning to the stage, recalled the band's initial plan: ["I think the original idea was to rehearse some new songs, and then we were going to pick a location and record the album of the songs in a concert. I suppose kinda like they do these days on Unplugged, except, y'know, it wasn't to be unplugged. It was to do a live album."] SOUNDCUE (:20 OC: . . . a live album)

The tracklisting to the Let It Be album is: "Two Of Us," "Dig A Pony," "Across The Universe," "I Me Mine," "Dig It," "Let It Be," "Maggie Mae," "I've Got A Feeling," "One After 909," "The Long And Winding Road," "For You Blue," and "Get Back."

The tension between the group is palpable, especially during the sequence where George Harrison and McCartney argue over Harrison's playing on the song "Two Of Us."

The movie lightens up considerably during the second half, when the filming moved to the group's new Apple Studios, with the addition of keyboardist Billy Preston. A major highlight of the film is the final sequence, when the Beatles play in impromptu set on the Apple headquarters rooftop, featuring "Get Back," "Dig A Pony," "I've Got A Feeling," "Don't Let Me Down," and "One After 909." Filmed on January 30th, 1969, it would be the band's final public performance.

Reviews for the film, which was released in May 1970 -- a month after the group's breakup -- were mixed, citing the sluggish and depressing nature of the film, as well as director Michael Lindsay-Hogg's sloppy editorial choices. But across the board, both critics and fans agreed on the power of the group's triumphant rooftop set.

In 1970, John Lennon recalled the early part of the Let It Be project, in which the band was filmed rehearsing in the cavernous Twickenham studio, which was the size of a small airplane hanger: ["It was just a dreadful, dreadful feeling being filmed all the time. I just wanted them to go away. And we'd be there at eight in the morning and you couldn't make music at eight in the morning, or 10, or whatever it was . . . in a strange place with people filming you and colored lights."] SOUNDCUE (:14 OC: . . . and colored lights)

Paul McCartney explained that unconsciously, the Beatles were actually telling the world that they were breaking up: ["In fact what happened was when we got in there we showed how the breakup of a group works because we didn't realize that we were actually breaking up, y'know as it was happening."] SOUNDCUE (:10 OC: . . . it was happening)

Author Ritchie Unterberger chronicled the prolonged Get Back/Let It Be sessions in his book, titled The Unreleased Beatles: ["They had bitten off more than they could chew. Y'know, even before they assembled in January, the idea was, 'Let's get back to playing as a live band' -- pretty good idea. But then it was, 'Let's make it an album and a film, and we're going to make the album a film of us doing a concert of songs we've never recorded before.' It's kind of like trying to do too much at once. And then you're recording it -- the comparison I made in the book is kind of Nixon's 'The Watergate Tapes,' you have no idea that this stuff is going to comeback to haunt you forever."] SOUNDCUE (:27 OC: . . . haunt you forever)

Beatlefan magazine's executive editor Al Sussman saw the film within days of its premiere and was left speechless by the group's live swan song: ["It was really depressing. But, what made it worthwhile was the rooftop, y'know? Because when I left that theater, I was this far off the ground. Despite the fact that we knew everything that happened afterward. Yeah, that saves the film."] SOUNDCUE (:14 OC: . . . saves the film)

George Martin said that he felt betrayed by Lennon and Harrison when they enlisted Phil Spector to rework the Let It Be tapes prior to their eventual release: ["When the record came to be issued, EMI rang me up and said, 'They don't want your name on the record. It'll be 'Produced by Phil Spector.' I said, 'But I produced all the original stuff that they worked on.' I said, 'I'm not having that. Why don't you put on it, 'Produced by George Martin, over-produced by Phil Spector?' But they didn't seem to go for that."] SOUNDCUE (:18 OC: . . . go for that)

The Let It Be album marks the only Beatles album to house three Number One songs -- albeit in different mixes to their single counterparts: "Get Back," "Let It Be," and the group's last chart-topper, "The Long And Winding Road."

Let It Be earned the Beatles their only Academy Award, when they won the 1970 Oscar for Best Original Song Score. The film was briefly available on VHS in 1981 -- but is still not yet available on DVD.

FAST FORWARD

Beatles fans were besides themselves with the long-awaited release of Peter Jackson's The Beatles - Get Back documentary. The three-part series rolled out over three days, November 25th, 26th, and 27th, 2021, exclusively on Disney+. All told, the complete running time for all three parts came out to a staggering near-eight hours of never-before-seen coverage of "The Fab Four" at work, which is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

The new doc forever changes history in that the band's Let It Be sessions -- seen in a much wider scope than the 90-minute original film from 1970, showcasing the "Fab Four" not at loggerheads -- but joyfully collaborating while producing new, solid music.

We caught up with Ringo Starr and he explained why the Get Back film bests the long out-of-print Let It Be movie: ["On the roof was seven minutes, eight minutes-long. On the roof with Peter is 43 minutes long (laughs). . .  that’s. . . Y’know, it’s about the music -- and a lot of joy.  Y’know, I didn’t feel any joy in the original documentary. The fact that we found 56 hours of unused video tells you everything, really. And I said -- ‘There’s lots of laughter (in that footage) -- I was there! We were laughin’, we were having fun. We were playin’, y’know, we were doin’ what we do. It’s full of fun.' I mean, there was a lot of joy in makin’ those records.”] SOUNDCUE (:32 OC: . . . makin’ those records)

At the doc's L.A. premiere, George Harrison's son Dhani Harrison admitted that the quality of the Get Back footage, mixed with the intimacy of the subject matter was nothing less than mind-blowing for him: ["When you see Peter (Jackson's) footage all res'd up. . . Me and my mom first saw John singing and I was, like, 'John had gold teeth?' (Laughter) Something you don't think of. Y'know, you see him singing and you can see he's got a gold crown."] SOUNDCUE (:11 OC: . . . a gold crown)

At the London premiere of Get Back, Ringo Starr's son and Who drummer for the past 25 years, Zak Starkey, spoke about his dad and the original 1970 Let It Be movie: ["He's the greatest living rock n' roll drummer-- and that's it with my dad. And he's better now than he was then. Let It Be was withdrawn wasn't it? That was a great movie. It's very dark and heavy, but it's a great movie. Y'know, there are four guys that know the truth and one of them's not me."] SOUNDCUE (:13 OC: . . . them's not me)

Last September, the Beatles won big at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for The Beatles: Get Back documentary. The critically acclaimed doc snagged the awards for Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program for Jackson, Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series, Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera).

Interestingly, with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr sharing in the win as co-producers of Get Back -- both surviving members of the "Fab Four" are just one Tony Award away from achieving EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status.

• Brian May, the co-founding guitarist of Queen, is officially a Knight. "Sir Brian" was singled out for King Charles' first New Year's Honors List for, "services to music and to charity, after more than 50 years in one of Britain's most popular rock bands."
  • May posted a message online to his fans saying, "Thank you so much for all your messages of congratulations following the announcement of my knighthood. I'm very thrilled and very touched by the love that's come from you, and the support. I will do my very best to be worthy." (EW)
    
     
• Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters died on December 31st, 2022 of undisclosed causes at age 74. Her sister Ruth, bothers Aaron and Fritz and granddaughter Roxie McKain Pointer issued a statement, which reads, "While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted in knowing she is now with her daughter Jada and her sisters June & Bonnie and at peace. She was the one that kept all of us close and together for so long." (NPR)
  • The Pointer Sisters are best known for their Top 10 hits "He's So Shy," "Slow Hand," "Jump (For My Love)," and "I'm So Excited." The group originally included sister Bonnie, who went solo in 1978 and died in 2020 at age 69. Sister June Pointer died of cancer in 2006 at age 52.
    
     
• The Rolling Stones posted a new message on Facebook leading fans to believe that the band will be returning to the road over the next 12 months. The Stones -- who are still prepping their first new original album in 18 years -- wrote, "Wishing you all a very happy New Year! See you in 2023!!"
  
   
• Fresh off his farewell European gigs, Peter Frampton posted online he'll be playing a free show in Nashville on January 22nd, with details to follow. So far, the unannounced date is Frampton's only 2023 gig on the books.
  
   
• Sting fans have a new incentive for signing up for the exclusive fan membership at Sting.com. A new, exclusive five-track digital EP, including songs recorded live at soundchecks along the "My Songs 2022" tour, is now available as the official fan club membership gift. The digital EP will be delivered to members on a USB flash drive designed especially for subscibers.
  • The songs are: "Sister Moon," "You Still Touch Me," "She’s Too Good For Me," "Consider Me Gone," and "I Burn For You."
    
     
• The final Billboard Hot 100 chart of 2023 (dated December 31st) saw John Lennon, Paul McCartney, the Beach Boys, and the Jackson 5 all returning to the Top 40. McCartney's 1979 holiday classic "Wonderful Christmastime" re-entered at Number 32, Lennon and wife Yoko Ono's 1971 standard "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has finally earned Top 40 status by re-entering the chart at Number 38.
  • The Jackson 5's 1970 perennial, "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" re-entered the Top 40 at Number 33, with the Beach Boys' 1963 yuletide favorite "Little Saint Nick" came back at Number 30, marking not only the band's first Top 40 hit since 1988's chart-topping "Kokomo" -- but the group's 35th career Top 40 hit. (Billboard)
    
     
• In a year-end post on social media, Lindsey Buckingham confirmed a new solo album is in the works and took time out to salute his late-Fleetwood Mac bandmate, Christine McVie, posting: "Although 2022 was certainly a positive year in many respects, it was also a year of loss and disappointment. The sad passing of several of my longtime soulmates has been profoundly heartbreaking. And a largely successful year of touring was unexpectedly cut short at the end due to challenges with my health. The year’s polarity of positives and negatives has only strengthened my resolve to remain in the moment and to continue to move forward."
  • Buckingham went on to write: "Happily, my health has returned, and I’ve begun work on a new album. Thanks so much to everyone for your support. I’m looking forward to 2023 and beyond!"

Foo Fighters have issued a statement on what the future holds for them without Taylor Hawkins. They posted via social media, "As we say goodbye to the most difficult and tragic year that our band has ever known, we are reminded of how thankful we are for the people that we love and cherish most, and for the loved ones who are no longer with us."

The band continued, "Foo Fighters were formed 27 years ago to represent the healing power of music and a continuation of life. And for the past 27 years our fans have built a worldwide community, a devoted support system that has helped us all get through the darkest of times together. A place to share our joy and our pain, our hopes and fears, and to join in a chorus of life together through music. Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were—and without Taylor, we know that we're going to be a different band going forward.

The band added, "We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you. And we know that when we see you again—and we will soon—he'll be there in spirit with all of us every night."

Harry Styles mom, Ann Twist is happy to have him home for the holidays.

On her Instagram page, she posted photos and as you flip through them, you'll see the family all together. A selfie shows her with Harry, his sister Gemma Styles and Gemma's longtime boyfriend Michal Mlynowski grinning ear to ear with their arms around one another.

"Christmas 2022," she captioned the series of four photos along with a smiley face, Christmas tree and red heart emoji. The slideshow shows off her holiday decorations and cozy fireplace, and the Christmas Day feast.

Styles is wrapping up a big year with wins including: album of the year at the 2022 MTV VMAs and six nominations for the upcoming 2023 Grammy Awards.

TL;DR:

The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity is grateful to Ariana Grande this holiday season, for her continued support.

She donated lots of Christmas gifts that were distributed to babies, children and teenagers at four area hospitals in England.

Her kindness may have gone unnoticed if not for the facility posting on Instagram to thank her.

In 2017, a suicide bomber, blew himself up as fans were leaving Grande's concert in the northwest England city. The attack left 22 people dead, including an 8-year-old girl. 59 were wounded in the attack, 12 were children under the age of 16.

Following the tragedy, Manchester authorities named Grande an honorary citizen of the city for her work in the wake of the attack.

TL;DR:

Former Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss underwent surgery for a torn meniscus and is recovering from the procedure. Her Twitter page shows her smiling, sitting in a wheelchair with her leg elevated.

She's also the in-house guitarist for the Los Angeles Rams. About that she posted: "Surgery went as well as it could have! Super grateful for the steady hands of the Rams doctor Dr. Banffey and the great staff at the surgery center."

Strauss suffered the injury earlier this year while on tour with Alice Cooper.

TL;DR:

• Former Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss underwent surgery for a torn meniscus and is recovering from the procedure.

Machine Gun Kelly spent Christmas Eve at the home of friends Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian and he definitely dressed like he was at a Kardashian party.

In a group photo shared on (social media star) Mikey Tua's Instagram, he's seen rocking a leopard-print jacket. The pants had a similar print and were tight and shiny. He even had his long blonde hair styled back in a way that looked like the mane of a lion.

Barker's son, Landon is also in the photo.

Machine Gun Kelly seemingly attended the star-studded event without his fiancée Megan Fox.

TL;DR:

• Machine Gun Kelly spent Christmas Eve at the home of friends Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian
• He wore a leopard-print outfit..
• His fiancée Megan Fox was not there.

In a recent interview posted by Blabbermouth, Sammy Hagar, who has become a successful entrepreneur, says he would never go into non-music business with bandmate, Michael Anthony.

The 75-year-old rocker said, "it could possibly ruin our relationship, (as well as) what we do as entertainers, as artists and recording artists." The two are bandmates in Van Halen and The Circle.

Hagar, who founded the Cabo Wabo Tequila brand and restaurant chain, as well as Sammy's Beach Bar Rum, explained: "As much as I love family members, and I say the only people I can trust in the world a hundred percent is family, the business world can get ugly. There's a power game to business that some people thrive on. And I hate it."

When it comes down to it, Hagar says they have such a great relationship on stage he wouldn't want to risk it. Referring to their music, he said, "We're in business already."

TL;DR:

• Hagar said "it could possibly ruin our relationship, and what we do as entertainers, as artists and recording artists."

Another week, another milestone for Mariah Carey. She has now officially reached the #1 spot on Billboard Hot 100­­­, 90 times throughout her career. She posted on Instagram, "I can't even handle this news.. I'm jumping up and down in the snow..! Meanwhile Cha Cha is swimming around and Mutley is howling like a kid running around in circles feeling our energy."

The news of 90 #1's came as "All I want For Christmas Is You" topped the U.S. charts for its 11^th total week.

As if that's not enough records to break, the song also just had its biggest streaming day in global Spotify history with a 21.26 million streams on the platform.

TL;DR:

• She has now officially reached the #1 spot on Billboard Hot 100­­­, 90 times.

Finneas is not letting anyone talk down about his sister's relationship online. He defended Billie Eilish from an attack on her relationship with Jesse Rutherford, who's 10 years old than her.

A TikTok user commented to him, "Oh yeah? Well, your sister's dating a 31 year old man and your music is s***ty." Finneas whipped back, "I want my sister to be happy and safe and she is a 21-year-old adult perfectly entitled to make her own life decisions."

The Grammy-winning producer expressed a similar sentiment regarding Eilish's relationship and said, "Listen, as long as she's happy, I'm happy."

TL;DR:

The Eagles have released a remastered HD video of the 1979 Joe Walsh classic, "In The City." Originally recorded by Walsh and featured on the soundtrack to the film, The Warriors, it was also used in the final scene.

Six months later, he re-recorded the song with the band and issued it as part of The Long Run album. The newly released clip shows the band's performance in the studio.

The Eagles will be back on the road for their Hotel California tour starting with a show on February 17 in Lincoln, California. This tour highlights the full album accompanied by an orchestra and choir. They also play an additional set of their greatest hits.

TL;DR:

• The Eagles have released a remastered HD video of the 1979 Joe Walsh classic, "In The City."
• Originally recorded by Walsh, it was featured on the soundtrack to the film, The Warriors.

BTS member, RM has scored his first top 10-charting album. Indigo re-entered the list at # 3 following its CD release on Dec. 16. RM now becomes the first member of BTS to earn a solo Top 10 album on the Billboard 200.

Spice Girls singer Melanie Chisholm withdrew from a New Year's Eve concert in Poland to support the LGBTQ+ community. She posted: "In light of some issues that have been brought to my attention that do not align with the communities that support, I'm afraid I will no longer be able to perform in Poland as planned." Her decision was widely praised by her fans, however Poland's ruling Law and Justice party has been criticized around the world for being anti-LGBTQ+.

Now that Weezer has released the final EP in their SZNZ (pronounced Seasons) series, frontman Rivers Cuomo says it's left him with some depression.

He said, "This always happens after we finish working on an album. It really occupied most of my time for the last couple of years."

He described working on the band's music as "an incredible joy" but then afterwards he goes through a phase where, as he put it, "I don't know who I am or what I'm supposed to be doing."

As for the next project, Cuomo announced recently that Weezer is part of an upcoming television special that will honor The Beach Boys. Plus they'll be announcing a big tour soon.

TL;DR:

• Rivers Cuomo says now that Weezer's EP is out, it has left him depressed.
• "This always happens after we finish working on an album. It really occupied most of my time for the last couple of years."

Rob Halford of Judas Priest has recorded a message sharing his well-wishes with Ukrainian "heavy metal maniacs." In the clip, he's wearing a Santa hat, with the letters MG, for Metal God, embroidered across it.

While sharing positive vibes to people being attacked by Russia, he said: "I'm sending you all of my love, all of my strength, all of my power, to each and every one of you. I love you so much."

Then, while speaking in their language, he said "Slava Ukraini," meaning "Glory to Ukraine."

He ended the video with: "Stay strong, stay heavy, stay metal!"

Halford previously voiced his support for Ukraine on stage at Mystic Festival in Poland. While performing "Blood Red Skies." he kept repeating the phrase "Free Ukraine!"

TL;DR:

• Rob Halford of Judas Priest has recorded a message sharing his well-wishes with Ukrainian "heavy metal maniacs
• "I'm sending you all of my love, all of my strength, all of my power, to each and every one of you. I love you so much."

Miley Cyrus has asked to be taken off of Morrissey's upcoming album called Bonfire Of Teenagers. She recorded backing vocals for one of the unreleased songs almost two years ago. This happened as Morrissey announced on social media that he would be leaving Capitol Records.

There were several big artists that lent their talents for the record, including Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith and Flea, as well as Iggy Pop.

Morrissey's new album was originally due for release in February. Now the date is unknown.

TL;DR:

• Miley Cyrus has asked to be taken off of Morrissey's upcoming album.
• She recorded backing vocals almost two years ago.
• This happened as Morrissey announced that he would be leaving Capitol Records.

Pink Floyd leaned on social media to post gratitude to their fans. So far, they've helped raise "half a million pounds for charity. In U.S. dollars that's around $650,000. It's all from sales of their single, "Hey, Hey, Rise Up" of which they donated all the proceeds to Ukraine Humanitarian Relief. He posted that the funds would "help alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people."

This is the first original music they've recorded together as a band since 1994's The Division Bell. The song was initially released digitally in April and became #1 in 27 countries.

TL;DR:

• So far, Pink Floyd fans have helped raise "half a million pounds for charity. In U.S. dollars that's around $650,000. It's all from sales of their single, "Hey, Hey, Rise Up."
• Proceeds go to Ukraine Humanitarian Relief.

David Lee Roth has shared a new solo version of the Van Halen classic, "Everybody Wants Some!!". This comes four months after he released an unheard, 2007 solo version.

The new recording, like the previously released "You Really Got Me," "Dance The Night Away," "Panama," and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," was recorded in May during a session in Hollywood. A total of 14 songs were recorded in just two hours and the music and the vocals were tracked live with "no samples" and without the pitch-correction technology.

TL;DR:

• David Lee Roth has shared a new solo version of the Van Halen classic, "Everybody Wants Some!!".
• This comes four months after he released an unheard, 2007 solo version.

Billie Eilish turned 21this week (Dec. 18) and some of music's biggest stars showed up to celebrate with her. She posted several photos on Instagram with her boyfriend, Jesse Rutherford. And one was of the couple, squeezed tightly in a photo booth along with Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey.

Dressed for the holiday, she wore a red and white, off-the-shoulder Santa-inspired short dress. Trimmed in white fur just like St. Nick, she also sported long gloves and candy cane earrings.

TL;DR:

• She posted photos on Instagram with her boyfriend, Jesse Rutherford in a photo booth with Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey.