The Late '70s Beatles Nostalgia Industry

[ixnay]

Nostalgia for the Fab Four and their era took root in the second half of the '70s (compilation albums, books like Nicholas Schaffner's The Beatles Forever, and worse, the musical Beatlemania, the movie I Want to Hold Your Hand (about the weekend the Beatles debuted on Sullivan), Dick Clark's teleflick Birth of the Beatles, the theatrical rerelease of AHDNetc.

I really didn't get into this trend until I started college in 1979 (though of course much of the music was familiar to me). But once I did, I eventually bought every one of the Fabs' Capitol vinyl albums PLUS the Hamburg sessions with Tony Sheridan and at the Star Club PLUS many of their vinyl singles, and years later gave them to my church's indoor yard sale. I also consumed (for lack of a better word) all of the titles mentioned in the first paragraph.

I gotta board the Yellow Submarine to work so the ball's in your court on this. Looking forward to the responses.

ixnay

 

[hornet61]

Well it certainly helps when you are dealing with the Billboards all-time number one group...same thing with elvis#4 and michael#8 . It don't take much of a jump start with those three..Beatles LP's as still the most sought after at record shows and week-end hunters (estate and yard sales)..the Beatle catologue is the most valuable..elvis has had a few #1 after he died..they are releasing Michael Jackson final tour(which never happened) in theatres ..put together from rehearsal tapes. The death of two Beatles, Elvis and Michael fuels the fires. having said that,currently, Michael's music not selling as high as I would have thought, the magnitude of Thriller sales may have sturated the market..his sales may pick up in time...right now I believe Tupac is outselling Michael.

 

[oldies76]

Nostalgia for the Fab Four and their era took root in the second half of the '70s

Heck, I can remember a kid in 3rd grade?? (1975-76) always bringing a 45 of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" to class for fun and play it on a portable record player that elementary classrooms had back then.

Interesting, since the music out that time was mainly disco and funk.

In 1976, two Beatles song were revived: "Got to Get You Into My Life" & "Ob-La-Di, Ob La Da".

 

[billyg]

I think Beatles Nostalgia was a byproduct of the first wave of nostalgia Baby Boomers had with the 50's with the movie "American Graffiti" and "Happy Days". It was natural that the 60's would get attention and hype too.

Capitol already had two huge selling compilations with the Beach Boys (Endless Summer & Spirit of USA), so they released the Beatles "Rock & Roll Music" compilation in 1976. "Got to Get You Into My Life" was a good choice for a single. It still sounded great on AM radio and fit right in with the horn-based hits Paul was recording with Wings at the time (Silly Love Songs).

There were plenty of rumors flying around that they had secretly patched things up and were talking about touring and recording again. Several well-known promoters offered millions for them to reunite and tour, and that was parodied by Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night Live. http://vimeo.com/19569910

 

[firepoint525]

Well it certainly helps when you are dealing with the Billboards all-time number one group...same thing with elvis#4 and michael#8 . It don't take much of a jump start with those three..Beatles LP's as still the most sought after at record shows and week-end hunters (estate and yard sales)..the Beatle catologue is the most valuable..elvis has had a few #1 after he died..they are releasing Michael Jackson final tour(which never happened) in theatres ..put together from rehearsal tapes. The death of two Beatles, Elvis and Michael fuels the fires. having said that,currently, Michael's music not selling as high as I would have thought, the magnitude of Thriller sales may have sturated the market..his sales may pick up in time...right now I believe Tupac is outselling Michael.

I'm a little disappointed that ABC is doing a BAD25 special on Thanksgiving night to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of BAD. It was not nearly as groundbreaking as anyone would have had us to believe. I would much rather have seen a special on the 30th anniversary of Thriller. There was your groundbreaking album. It rescued the record industry from the early '80s sales slump.

 

[firepoint525]

In 1976, two Beatles song were revived: "Got to Get You Into My Life" & "Ob-La-Di, Ob La Da".

Peaking at #7 and #49 respectively. I believe the latter was the only single ever released from the "white" album. The relatively poor showing of the latter may have been a sign that "Beatles reunion fever" had abated somewhat.

 

[firepoint525]

Nostalgia for the Fab Four and their era took root in the second half of the '70s (compilation albums, books like Nicholas Schaffner's The Beatles Forever, and worse, the musical Beatlemania, the movie I Want to Hold Your Hand (about the weekend the Beatles debuted on Sullivan), Dick Clark's teleflick Birth of the Beatles, the theatrical rerelease of AHDNetc.

Capitol already had two huge selling compilations with the Beach Boys (Endless Summer & Spirit of USA), so they released the Beatles "Rock & Roll Music" compilation in 1976. "Got to Get You Into My Life" was a good choice for a single. It still sounded great on AM radio and fit right in with the horn-based hits Paul was recording with Wings at the time (Silly Love Songs).

Y'all forgot the Love Songs album and the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with Peter Frampton and the BeeGees. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, with the Gibbs coming off of Saturday Night Fever and Frampton post-Frampton Comes Alive, but it tanked. There was also the Klaatu album. And it all continued on into the '80s with the Rarities album, the "Stars on 45" medleys, and then "The Beatles Movie Medley."

 

[billyg]

Y'all forgot the Love Songs album and the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with Peter Frampton and the BeeGees. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, with the Gibbs coming off of Saturday Night Fever and Frampton post-Frampton Comes Alive, but it tanked. There was also the Klaatu album. And it all continued on into the '80s with the Rarities album, the "Stars on 45" medleys, and then "The Beatles Movie Medley."

I liked "Love Songs" but "Rarities" was a real waste of vinyl with slightly different alternate takes and songs that didn't make the USA albums.

Another Beatles-related disaster was "All This and World War II" which had a bunch of artists (including the Bee Gees) covering Beatles songs set to.. WWII newsreel footage??? It didn't make a lot of sense and was a huge bomb at the box office. The soundtrack album became an instant cutout.

I saw "Sgt Peppers" in the theater with freinds and we thought it was a fun movie...not a great movie. When I saw it a few years ago on cable I thought it was incredibly stupid. I also hated the "Stars on 45" medleys because I had to play that junk on the air.

I can understand why McCartney tried to buy his music back (and was outbid by Micheal Jackson) and why Paul, Ringo, George's widow and Yoko have sued EMI to keep tight control over their catalog now. They just didn't want to be exploited again with a bunch of reissues.

 

[rnigma1]

There were plenty of rumors flying around that they had secretly patched things up and were talking about touring and recording again. Several well-known promoters offered millions for them to reunite and tour, and that was parodied by Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night Live. http://vimeo.com/19569910

Perhaps this was what led to the SNL-Monty Python collaboration "All You Need is Cash" aka "The Rutles."

I also hated the "Stars on 45" medleys because I had to play that junk on the air.

Me too... the early '80s medleymania: Stars on 45, More Stars on 45, Hooked on Classics, Hooked on Classics 2, Hooked on Swing, The Beatles Movie Medley (kids called up asking for the "Beatles Movie Melody"), Strung Out on Motown... and years later, that Jive Bunny thing...

 

[OldNumber7]

I don't think there was anything special about the late 70s.
Beatles nostalgia has been coming in waves every few years since the red and blue albums were released just three years after they broke up. Part of this is good timing on the parts of Paul, Ringo and the widows. They seem to come up with a new project about every three years that generates new interest, warmed-over old interest and lotsa CASH. The latest are this year's new vinyl re-release and the concert video project now at the Beatles website. Somehow, the Beatles never seem to get overexposed and burn out.
This careful re-exposure has introduced their music to the grandkids of the baby boomers who rocked to them in the 60s. Only Elvis, Sinatra and maybe Michael have crossed that well through three generations.
I don't know what it is exactly; I'm 52 and popped my Magical Mystery Tour LP on the turntable the other day -- it's amazing how fresh it still sounds, even though I've heard the songs a million times. Can't say the same for Adele tunes.

 

[ixnay]

Thanks for the responses.

I turned 15 in the summer of '76 when GtGYIML was on the charts and it was the first time I'd ever heard it. Its flipside was "Helter Skelter", which was going to be an A side, to cash in the big ratings of the TV movie (ABC?) about Charles Manson and his cult, who were allegedly moved to murder by that song. Then someone at EMI thought better of it and put HS underneath "Got to...".

OldNumber7 mentioned new authorized Beatle projects coming out every three years. My stepmother saw Cirque du Soleil's Love in Las Vegas last year and loved it.

As for Beatle tribute bands, my father gave me a surprise gift one Ukrainian Orthodox Christmas (Orthodox Christmas is Jan. 7): a trip to see Beatlemania at Philadelphia's Shubert Theatre. An exciting evening for this then 19-yo home from college, that was. Another time, I stumbled across a performance of Sgt. Pepper-MMT songs by the Mahoney Brothers (who'd been in Beatlemania on B'way) at a mall in Delaware. See http://www.mahoneybros.com/ .

ixnay

 

[landtuna]

I think Beatles Nostalgia was a byproduct of the first wave of nostalgia Baby Boomers had with the 50's with the movie "American Graffiti" and "Happy Days". It was natural that the 60's would get attention and hype too.

"Happy Days" was set in the 50's but "American Graffiti" was set specifically in summer of 1962.

 

[ixnay]

As for Beatle tribute bands, my father gave me a surprise gift one Ukrainian Orthodox Christmas (Orthodox Christmas is Jan. 7): a trip to see Beatlemania at Philadelphia's Shubert Theatre. An exciting evening for this then 19-yo home from college, that was. Another time, I stumbled across a performance of Sgt. Pepper-MMT songs by the Mahoney Brothers (who'd been in Beatlemania on B'way) at a mall in Delaware. See http://www.mahoneybros.com/ .

ixnay

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned Beatle tribute bands (comparisons, etc.). Remember, I was 19 when I saw the acts quoted above and naively enjoyed both. How about comparing latter day fake Fabs, huh?

ixnay

 

[OldNumber7]

Thanks for the responses.

I turned 15 in the summer of '76 when GtGYIML was on the charts and it was the first time I'd ever heard it.
ixnay

Interesting. You're only a year younger than I am but the Beatles have been part of my life since the beginning. I was the youngest of four kids in my family, and my teenage brother and sisters were blasting Beatles music on the radio when I was 4! The ABC-TV cartoon show started when I was 6! My brother turned me on to Revolver (and GtGYIML) when I was seven. So I guess I had a younger start than you did.

 

[firepoint525]

Y'all forgot the Love Songs album and the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with Peter Frampton and the BeeGees. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, with the Gibbs coming off of Saturday Night Fever and Frampton post-Frampton Comes Alive, but it tanked. There was also the Klaatu album. And it all continued on into the '80s with the Rarities album, the "Stars on 45" medleys, and then "The Beatles Movie Medley."

I liked "Love Songs" but "Rarities" was a real waste of vinyl with slightly different alternate takes and songs that didn't make the USA albums.

Strongly disagree. I consider the Rarities version of "Penny Lane" (with the seven extra trumpet notes at the end) to be the definitive version. And since I am a second-generation Beatles fan, some of those other songs were out of print and thus not (otherwise) available to me at the time.

However, other later projects were of questionable worth. The BBC Tapes (1994), the Anthology series, especially the first one (1995-1996), and the LOVE project (2006), which was nothing more than taking the already existing Beatles songs and throwing them into a blender. The show might have been great, but I didn't see any need for that soundtrack album.

 

[firepoint525]

I turned 15 in the summer of '76 when GtGYIML was on the charts and it was the first time I'd ever heard it. Its flipside was "Helter Skelter", which was going to be an A side, to cash in the big ratings of the TV movie (ABC?) about Charles Manson and his cult, who were allegedly moved to murder by that song. Then someone at EMI thought better of it and put HS underneath "Got to...".

Had "Helter Skelter" been the A-side, I seriously doubt that radio would have played it in its entirety. They would have cut it at the fade point near the end. The "blisters on my fingers" part would never have seen the light of day on radio.

 

[TheFonz]

However, other later projects were of questionable worth. The BBC Tapes (1994), the Anthology series, especially the first one (1995-1996), and the LOVE project (2006), which was nothing more than taking the already existing Beatles songs and throwing them into a blender.

I strongly disagree with you about "existing" songs. Anthology 1 gave us:

Shout
Leave my kitten alone
That'll be the day
Searchin'
Lend Me Your Comb

BBC Sessions gave us:

Too Much Monkey Business
Young Blood
That's Alright Mama
Carol
Clarabella
Crying, Waiting, Hoping
To Know Her Is To Love Her
I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Johnny B Goode
Ooh! My Soul
Lucille

Now these are crude versions, to be sure. But to my knowledge they had never been released before, except maybe on some "bootleg' albums. It's priceless stuff for those of us who love '50s music.

 

[ixnay]

However, other later projects were of questionable worth. The BBC Tapes (1994), the Anthology series, especially the first one (1995-1996), and the LOVE project (2006), which was nothing more than taking the already existing Beatles songs and throwing them into a blender.

I strongly disagree with you about "existing" songs. Anthology 1 gave us:

Shout
Leave my kitten alone
That'll be the day
Searchin'
Lend Me Your Comb

BBC Sessions gave us:

Too Much Monkey Business
Young Blood
That's Alright Mama
Carol
Clarabella
Crying, Waiting, Hoping
To Know Her Is To Love Her
I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Johnny B Goode
Ooh! My Soul
Lucille

Now these are crude versions, to be sure. But to my knowledge they had never been released before, except maybe on some "bootleg' albums. It's priceless stuff for those of us who love '50s music.

I bought Live at the BBCand Anthology I on cassette on the same day in 1995. Maybe some day I'll dust off my old boom box and pop 'em in.

I guess nobody else on RD has ever seen any Beatles tribute groups. :

ixnay

 

[firepoint525]

However, other later projects were of questionable worth. The BBC Tapes (1994), the Anthology series, especially the first one (1995-1996), and the LOVE project (2006), which was nothing more than taking the already existing Beatles songs and throwing them into a blender.

I strongly disagree with you about "existing" songs. Anthology 1 gave us:
Shout
Leave my kitten alone
That'll be the day
Searchin'
Lend Me Your Comb
BBC Sessions gave us:
Too Much Monkey Business
Young Blood
That's Alright Mama
Carol
Clarabella
Crying, Waiting, Hoping
To Know Her Is To Love Her
I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Johnny B Goode
Ooh! My Soul
Lucille
Now these are crude versions, to be sure. But to my knowledge they had never been released before, except maybe on some "bootleg' albums. It's priceless stuff for those of us who love '50s music.

My comment about "existing" songs was in reference to the LOVE project, which you didn't mention. But even though I am a big Beatles fan, I also appreciate (and prefer) the original artists' renditions of most of the songs that you mentioned here. I am also a big fan of '50s rock and roll, even though I wasn't born yet.

 

[firepoint525]

I guess nobody else on RD has ever seen any Beatles tribute groups. :

I have seen:

1964 The Tribute (formerly known as 1964 as the Beatles)
RAIN! (twice)
The WannaBeatles (local Nashville Beatle cover band, NOT a "tribute" band)

I have the Beatlemania album, although I never saw that show.

Wanted to see The Fab Four when they played here in Nashville a couple of weeks ago, but didn't get to see them. :'(