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Sneak Peek: Can You Guess These Musicians’ Favorite Beatles Songs?
Written by: Frank Mastropolo
June 2017
It took the Beatles less than 10 years to record their iconic catalog of more than 200 songs. The music of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr has been recorded by hundreds of artists and enjoyed by millions of fans.
Rock Cellar recently asked artists of different eras and musical genres, “What is your favorite Beatles song – and why?” We won’t reveal their answers here but will give you a sneak peek at what they told us. See if you can guess their choices – and check back soon for the complete story.
Rick Wakeman of Yes featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman selected from Magical Mystery Tour “a brilliantly constructed piece of music, wacky lyrics, a spaced-out tune.”
Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad chose a song from Revolver because “it’s good, it’s what rock and roll is supposed to be doing. And it’s in the face of the Man, it really is.”
Revolver was also an early source of inspiration for Vanilla Fudge and includes Carmine Appice‘s favorite Beatles track. “I just love the fact that they took that Middle Eastern stuff, they took all that backwards stuff and associated it with rock music – it was awesome, it was really awesome stuff.”
Martin Barre of Jethro Tull chose an entire album as a favorite. The guitarist, who also discusses recording with McCartney, said, “To me the album in its entirety is a piece of music and it all fits together and flows from one song to the other. When you play that album and the song finishes, you know the next one to come up even before it started. The sequence is just so perfect.”
“The melody’s great, it’s just a cool song,” said “Dream Weaver” Gary Wright of a classic Beatles hit. Producer George Martin’s arrangement helped persuade Wright that this tune was his favorite: “The combination of the cello tracks and the idea for the lyrics of the song was great.”
More than a dozen musicians reveal and explain their choices in our upcoming story. Please share your guesses and your own favorite Beatles songs in the Comments section below.
Wakeman: Blue Jay Way
Farner: Taxman
Appice: Tomorrow Never Knows
Barre: Abbey Road
Wright: She’s Leaving Home
Farner: Taxman
Appice: Tomorrow Never Knows
Barre: Abbey Road
Wright: She’s Leaving Home
Just guessing on these…
My favorites, in no particular order: She Loves You; Here, There and Everywhere; For No One; I’m Happy Just to Dance with You; Ticket to Ride; Fool on the Hill; I Will; This Boy; Yes It Is.
