HEY! There Are Three Living Ex-Beatles, Not Two

2014 is an all year celebration of all things Beatle because it's the 50th anniversary of the group's conquering of America. Some false or misleading stories are bound to get unfortunate repeats in the coverage, however, it's curious that the media continue to claim (without embarrassment) that there are only two living ex-Beatles. I don't want to spoil the party, but there are actually three living ex-Beatles.

Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, of course, are the people always cited as the "two living ex-Beatles"; but the band's original drummer, who was in the band for over two years is still alive, too, and his name is Pete Best. Probably nowhere in rock and roll history does the mere mention of one name, Pete Best, conjure up a synonym for unlucky. But, like most "reasons" given for Best's firing by The Beatles, thinking of Best as having the worst luck is too simplistic. Like it or not, Best was a member of The Beatles and that deserves his rightful place in history.

(1962, The Beatles (with Pete Best) pose for their first publicity photos wearing suits. Fair Use photo.)

The short story is that in 1960 while casting about (yet again) for a drummer, before an imminent gig in West Germany, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison learned their friend had recently purchased a drum kit. They asked Best to join the group and he agreed. After numerous gigs and apparently on the brink of stardom, The Beatles' new manager, Brian Epstein, fired Best in August, 1962. Epstein was reluctant to do the job, but the others insisted because they had decided to replace Best with Ringo Starr. The other Beatles had played with Starr before on several gigs that Best had missed. Whether or not Best was not as good a drummer as Starr is a moot point because for the sound The Beatles were creating (read: Lennon/McCartney) Starr was the drummer they believed suited it best (if you'll pardon the pun).

"We were cowards when we sacked him", Lennon said later. "We made Brian do it. But if we'd told Pete to his face, that would have been much nastier. It would have probably ended in a fight." Fight or no, out of guilt, Epstein put Best into his own band, which, of course, never gained any traction. By 1965, he was so depressed he attempted suicide, only to be saved by his brother. Although it took time, Best lost his bitterness toward his ex-band mates, and after a career in civil service, he got back behind the drums, where he seems pretty happy today.

(A recent photo of Pete Best. Reprinted under Fair Use.)

When The Beatles released their Anthology Vol. 1 album, many of the songs that Pete Best drummed on, rehearsal tapes, demos and even the EMI audition, were included. Were The Beatles who were still alive in 1995 finally owning up to some guilt? Doubtful, as they obvious made the correct decision in 1962, even though they didn't handle it well. More likely, it was a way of (finally) paying Best back some of his due for the over two years he was their drummer. So, cheers to you, one of the three living ex-Beatles!
 

Part 3 - THE BEATLES- "John Is In Fact The Leader Of The Group"

PART 3

1968 -
single:
LADY MADONNA - PAUL
THE INNER LIGHT - GEORGE
Single number seventeen (and you know what I mean) is the first single released without a primarily written song by John. He wanted Across The Universe to be the single. The horns certainly help the A-side, along with some more Beach Boys style backing vocals. The B-side is maybe George's finest hour. Or, at least his best melody.

single:
HEY JUDE - PAUL
REVOLUTION - JOHN
Like the Hello Goodbye single before it, this is another head scratcher in the singles department. The original Revolution (found on "the white album") was deemed too slow by the other Beatles so John rewrote it with a fast tempo. Still, it wasn't accepted, instead the A-side is a slow song from Paul! What the hell? John must have been a tad confused by the whole affair. This single was the band's best selling one ever, in spite of the over seven minute A-side. John's rewrite features some of the dirtiest guitars they ever recorded.




(cover design by Richard Hamilton)

album:
The Beatles
After the colorful, eye-catching album covers of the previous years, this ninth album from the band was their first and only double album and adorned with a white cover (hence the nickname, 'the white album'). No singles were released from this album! 30 original songs! After the somewhat uneven nature of 1967's output, John, Paul and George rose to the fore with a delightful collection of songs that neatly ran the gamut of popular song genres. There were rules, too. Neither Paul or John could have more than two songs in a row on the album and their output restored a parity. The songwriters also should have shared producing credit.

Part 2 - THE BEATLES - "John Is In Fact The Leader Of The Group"

PART 2

1966 -
single:
PAPERBACK WRITER - PAUL w/JOHN
RAIN - JOHN
After taking a well deserved break early in 1966 and another one after their last tour in August, The Beatles released only 16 songs this entire year. Their twelfth single marks the beginning of Paul dominated singles. It would be over a year and a half between John's last A-side and his next in the summer of 1967.
Paperback Writer is notable for being a non-love song and Paul's new Rickenbacker bass guitar was quite an ear-opener for the time. The B-side certainly showed the advanced experimentation in John's work. The first use of backward vocals on a record.

single:
YELLOW SUBMARINE - PAUL w/JOHN + DONAVON
ELEANOR RIGBY - PAUL
The A-side has Ringo singing one of band's more catchable melodies written mostly by Paul with help from John and an uncredited Donavon, whose song Mellow Yellow may or may not have been a direct influence. The B-side features Paul backed by a string octet and a haunting refrain. Another #1 single and the only one starring Ringo.



(cover collage by Klaus Voormann)

THE BEATLES - "John Is In Fact The Leader Of The Group"

PART 1

In October, 1962 The Beatles gave their very first radio interview barely three weeks after the release of their first single, "Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You" on Parlaphone Records. While explaining to the interviewer that the lead guitarist is not the leader of the group, Paul McCartney says, "...John is in fact the leader of the group." In looking over the recorded output by the band it is clear that John Lennon was the leader of the group, writing a vast amount of the group's songs through 1966. Then, in 1967, his songwriting declined drastically as Paul took over the group with his songs until the following year when John began to reassert his dominance. This resulted in an uneasy alliance between Lennon-McCartney which could not be sustained, eventually leading to John leaving the group he had founded and was "in fact" the leader.

When The Beatles started out, the currency of their trade was records, specifically the coveted singles, the seven inch vinyl 45rpm discs that were the mainstay of the record industry. It was unusual at the time for a songwriting duo such as Lennon-McCartney to write a majority of their own output. It is no secret that Lennon and McCartney were very competitive and they actually co-wrote very few of the group's songs. The following is a chronological look at the rise of the leader of the group's songwriting output, it's sudden decline and eventual re-emergence.

1962 -
single:
LOVE ME DO - PAUL
P. S., I LOVE YOU - PAUL w/JOHN
Being neophytes to the big recording studio, John and Paul readily agreed with their new producer, George Martin's song choices for their first single. The A-side was a song Paul wrote back in 1957 and prominently features John's harmonica. The B-side was another Paul original with some help from John. The single peaked at #17 in the United Kingdom and #1 in America after the group made it big there in 1964.