The Beatles produced a catalog of 230 songs and 12 albums in eight years. None of them were 30 when they broke up. 60 years later they are considered the greatest band of all time. Mozarts of the modern era.
You need to put your headphones on and listen to the whole White Album. The most diverse album in history and the number one seller out of all their albums.
Listening to the White Album from beginning to end is a real experience, since it is 1:53 of thought-provoking songs and no two are alike. It starts with the rousing Back in the USSR and ends with the beautiful lullabye Good Night with Ringo singing like we have never heard him before. There are beautiful ballads and then there's Helter Skelter. Hearing it for the first time in 1968 was truly overwhelming.
Hey Ned here to say that here are some great bands from then and now who put out tons of re-listenable great songs. The problem is who controls your access to it and what the corporations want to smash into your eyes and ears. Don't give in, keep diggin turn people on to the good stuff and support artists as much as you can.
I totally agree with you! Great point. I also still keep hearing new things in their songs all the time, and the appreciation for their amazing musicianship and innovation is really coming strongly from younger people these days which is so cool to see. The Beatles are that good. Timeless. Looking forward to more great videos like this one as you continue your journey with the Beatles.
@@ednieto05 Yeah, their melodies and lyrics are so strong that it takes repeated listening and patience to catch the "stuff" in the background. I see my young students and the 20 year olds flip out when they see and hear people play music like this for the first time. It's like they were starving for something and didn't know it. Another reason to say thanks to people like Lee.
Makes me happy to hear you giving George Martin his props. A lot of people have never even heard of him, but he made such an enormous contribution to their sound and their efforts to push the boundaries of what could be done in the recording studio, it would be justified to think of him as a fifth member of the band.
These guys were shitty. The genius was George Martin and he was sitting BEHIND the studio console. Proof? The Beatles never could give a live performance good enough to be released on an album.
@@SimonRHoule Did George Martin produce only one band, only The Beatles???? You , me, the whole world knows the answer is NO! George Martin produced several bands! Well, if the genius was him, and just him, how came there were no several Beatles - as many as he produced??? G. Martin was a hell of a producer! A real genius in his "business". And he did a really good job with other bands/artists. But, if he never crossed path with the boys, the Fab Four, the greatest band ever (by far!!! No comparison to any other band or artist), NOONE, nobody (outside his closest circle) would have heard about him! A complete Unknown, a perfect Anonymous! As he was before The Beatles!!! He did NOT "make" several Beatles because there were/was/is just one Beatles!!! The boys gave him, provided him with THE BEST material a producer could ever get to work with! And he did "polished the gems". Polished, ONLY! Because it was jems what the boys provided him, as no other band/artist ever could/did! GEMS! Just in need of a little polishing. But gems!!! If G. Martin was just my producer, or Milli Vanilli´s producer - never the boys... George who???
I'm a 68 year old grandmother and I love hearing much younger people react to music from the sixties and seventies. You do a great job!! Keep doing what you do❣
Paul's endless beautiful melodies. Decades later, I find Martha My Dear to be one of the best. As far as the first song.....I love that too.. always have....forever.
It’s a pretty well known fact that Sir George Martin’s taught the Beatles as much as they taught him. When he came on the scene, he was producing comedy records.
Yeah it's scary how fucking good these guys were. And they were MAINSTREAM. I don't know how. But the biggest band of all time not only doesn't suck, they fucking ROCK 😅😅🤣
Winter of 1968. When this album was released, it was such an eclectic mix of styles and genres, from folk to psychedelic, it was revelatory. Could never get into Revolution #9, but other than that, every song is a gem in its own way. The Beatles were well into their experimental phase, leading into Abbey Road. Surprised that no one has reacted to Birthday, a great rocker anthem with absolutely meaningless lyrics other than celebrating a birthday, but so rousing! Also Julia, Lennon's gorgeous tribute to his mother whom he hardly knew. It is spellbinding.
Whenever someone asks me, what is my favorite Beatles song, I always say “happiness is a warm gun”, and I was still a child when I decided that, when I had addiction problems years later the song really hit home. I still love the beginning part the best, very poetic.❤
As someone who followed along from the beginning, The White Album always felt like a grand hodge podge of their entire careers to that point. There is absolutely a little bit of everything on this masterpiece! From the beautiful ballads of “I Will”, “Julia”, and “Martha”, to ripping rockers like “Glass Onion”, and “Helter Skelter”, to quirky tidbits like “Piggies” and “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” to great lyrical stories that defy being pigeonholed into categories, like “Rocky Raccoon”. The White Album and Abbey Road are always in my car with me! I may not listen for months but they’re always there!
The success of most Beatles songs is that they were never quite long enough fur total satisfaction, you just had to play them again hoping to get the full fix. No time for boredom, craving for more. ✅
@@L33Reacts Another awesome song that takes some inspiration from Happiness Is A Warm Gun is Paranoid Android by Radiohead the lead singer also said Bohemian Rhapsody was also inspirational. I don't know if you know Radiohead at all but they are kind of like my generations Beatles and they remain one of the most critically acclaimed bands of all time.
This is really where they went into the studio unsupervised and did whatever the hell they wanted. Its glorious, fun, funny, and eye opening. "Lying with his eyes while his hands are busy working overtime" is one of my favorite song lines ever. The white album is full of gems that few non Beatles fans know. Im So Tired While My Guitar Gently Weeps Dear Prudence Yer Blues Helter Skelter Long, Long, Long Mother Nature's Son Thats just a small sampling of some of my favorites.
a funny thing - in Martha My Dear there's a bar where the piano plays a suspended chord 1-2-3-4 and goes on - after the line "be good to me" it goes on "Martha my love" and those four repeats of that suspended chord - and to me it's always like time stops and I'm gazing down the sky through the slanting afternoon light, realizing something profound - and the the song goes on again. Presumably the song was written to give that effect, but it always works :)
Jim Morrison was in England and it is said he was at the session the Beatles recorded Happiness is a Warm Gun. There is a rumor Morrison might have contributed to the background vocals. They were still recording on 4-track in 1968 so it would have been hard to mix them down if he took part at all other than attending the session.
I’ll say it again…imagine yourself at 11 yo coming back from summer camp (1968) discovering your elder brother bought this album… The Beatles’ White Album’ is a stamp of my teenage years and still is!!still have the double vinyl version! ❤
I think they were an interesting team, John pulled Paul into artistic creativity and Paul has the mainstream pop talent that sells records. Great alone, better together. I am team John.
I do believe these 2 songs fit the definition of "concertos," by having 3 or 4 distinct musical parts that are completely different melodies. There are no choruses that are repeated. They had no idea they were doing this, they were just geniuses.
Hey Lee from ol Spanish Ned. Happiness is a Warm Puppy was a collection Peanuts cartoons by Charles Schultz featuring Snoopy on the book jacket. The title was used and abused by a lot of different people. Now talking to your drumming self, the part which is the " Mother Superior Jumped the Gun.." is a 1 triplet 2 triplet then six hits followed by 1 triplet 2 triplet seven hits. Just like in Here Comes the Sun, Ringo plays it straight n simple to keep it all on track. Yeah, I'll say it... he is a genius drummer.
Lee... glad that you touched on these two songs from one of my favorite albums... A man named John Voss turned me onto these songs in the late 70s/very early 80s. He worked for my husbands family's company and he could purse his lips and blow some of the best tunes. He was a fun guy and he was taken from us due to violent crime that has never been solved. I miss him and think about him every time I hear a tune from the White Album. RIP my friend!!! Keep up the hard work, glad that it is paying off for you. Take care all!
I am sorry to hear that... terrible world we live in sometimes. Thank you for your support it truly means the world to me 😁 ❤️ I'm glad yall turned me on to these legends. I would have continued to remain ignorant if not for yall.
My two favorite White Album Disc 1 Songs. Im glad I memorized this double album at age 9. The trombone solo in Martha My Dear is so smooth. I love the medley that Happiness actually is.
They were in a studio in NY and Paul found in the lobby a guns and ammo magazine with Happiness is a warm gun on the cover. He thought it was amusing so he brought it to John and he thought it was hilarious. And that was the genesis of that song
Martha was Paul McCartney's famous sheepdog. John wrote most of Happiness in a waiting room when he picked up one of the magazines (sporting mag) and it had the title Happiness is a warm gun on the cover.
Having the London Philharmonic orchestra available for great strings and horns, really helped fill out a lot of the Beatles sounds on a lot of their later work.
Once you've reacted to all The Beatles songs, then you need to have a listen to each album all the way through. Their music is a gift that keeps giving.
I'm definitely down for that. I've done a few albums all the way through in one sitting on patreon but I had To pause that because my schedule completely changed once my girlfriend's mom passed last month 😢
I like that Martha My Dear doesn't even reference anything that suggests that the song's addressing Paul's sheepdog. Yet listening to it you can almost see visuals of a big playful fluffy dog, tongue hanging out, ears flopping around...
It's funny because it is not sexual or a drug reference the song is very literal. John saw an article in a gun magazine entitled happiness is a warm gun. He decided to write a song about it. The Magazine was sitting on a table in the Abbey Road studios when John came in one day.
One of the unheralded gems from this album is George Harrison''s lovely, haunting Long, Long, Long. It's a prelude to the genius that show itself on Abbey Road and fully flower in his solo work. Also, Ringo's drumming is positively lyrical - perfect support for the song. Give it a listen. Love your station!
Any Beatles fan should check out the movie "Across the Universe". It is about the sixties and somewhat of a musical with all Beatles covers. The artists perform brilliantly. It is a great snap shot of the turmoil of the sixties. A must watch!
If you have never heard the Beatles and just picked 3 songs at random there is a pretty fair chance you could think that all three were by different bands, especially post Rubber Soul. Some diminish their pre Rubber Soul work but I have great admiration and appreciation for it. Why? Because the power of their influence and popularity among their target teen audience gave them the artistic freedom to do everything since. As I am sure you have heard before Beatlemania was not a myth or an exaggeration. You had to be there in those times. I was and they inspired me to become the musician that has supported me and my family for over 50 years. They saved me from life in a factory.
To me, the perfect album cover and title for The Beatles only double studio album. As genius as George Martin's many talented contributions to this album. Everyone is in top form.
I heard the whole story about what "Happiness is a warm gun" is all about, in an interview with John about the song. Before I get into that, John said that "Mother Superior" in the song was Yoko (his wife) and how at times he felt she was "nagging and lecturing him" and one time they were in a car and she "was nagging him" and he got upset and said "Okay Mother Superior" sarcastically and that name kind of stuck when Yoko "nagged him". Now the story about how this song came to be, John said I read a story in the newspaper about a man that went on a shooting spree (did not happen on a regular basis back then the way we do now sadly) killing innocent people. After reading about this man that went on a shooting spree and about this mans' "psyche" he wrote the song about what he thought seemed to have been what this man was thinking as he held his gun and shot innocent people, the "feeling of how messed up some people can be holding that gun and how it makes them feel, giving them that since of power they felt they didn't have "without it" and how it makes them almost "gleeful" really sick I know. They could play this song now and all of us would relate to so many messed up people, using the "sense of power" to go and shoot so many innocent people. Harry Chapin also wrote and sang a song "The Sniper" and the whole song from beginning to end is this man telling his story and how all these emotional hurt feelings through his life, the way his mother treated him when he was a kid, all the built of resentments and pain, then "how he felt" going up to a high building and using that gun "to release the pain", it is a very scary tale, but I feel people should listen to it. Chapin was very wise to express the feelings of what it might feel like to be a mass shooter. Maybe we could learn something from it now.
I´m sure that ´s the official version. To me it has always been obvious that he is singing about his temporary mistress at the time "mrs H". The line "I need a fix, cause I´m going down" kind of gives it away.
@@stefanandersson2402 Well, I'm just pretty much quoting from John Lennon's "own voice" in an interview, when they asked him what this song was about and what I wrote is what "John Lennon said" in the interview.
Controversial view perhaps, but The White Album is The Beatles best for pure song greatness. While Sgt Peppers may have been more "groundbreaking" due to the different sound, as an overall bunch of classic songs it is The White Album for me.
Taxman! Wow, and that was George Harrison rocking out early on. Lots of innovative stuff in that song for that early time. Boy I'm so glad you tackled these cuts, and both of them are amazing. So much to be said. I would also point out about the John Lennon track at front that it's definitely prog rock until it hits that almost parody of 1950s do up music and yet it carries the same sarcastic scathing suggestive playful influence.
The Beatles produced a catalog of 230 songs and 12 albums in eight years. None of them were 30 when they broke up. 60 years later they are considered the greatest band of all time. Mozarts of the modern era.
Bro,couldn’t have said it any better and how many of those 230 are mysteries to so many people.
There are no two Beatles songs that sound the same; that's the versatility of this legendary group.
Dear prudence and Helter skelter and the rest of this double white album is an absolute masterpiece
You need to put your headphones on and listen to the whole White Album. The most diverse album in history and the number one seller out of all their albums.
Martha My Dear is one of those pithy little tunes that gets stuck in my head every so often!
'Oh Darling' should be a must on your Beatles/McCartney list. Will blow you away.
Yes!
You're not a bad beatles fan, just a new one. Love watching you learn, appreciate, and offer your insights.
Thank you for that I appreciate it lol
I grew up early 70s the Beatles snow balled me, I mean it me and changed my whole life.
Getting hit by their influence now must be incredible.
Martha my dear, way ahead of its time. 70s stuff in the sixties.
And Paul on drums again.
Happiness is a warm gun is songwriting on a next level. Astonishing composition.
John at his most brilliant.
Listening to the White Album from beginning to end is a real experience, since it is 1:53 of thought-provoking songs and no two are alike. It starts with the rousing Back in the USSR and ends with the beautiful lullabye Good Night with Ringo singing like we have never heard him before. There are beautiful ballads and then there's Helter Skelter. Hearing it for the first time in 1968 was truly overwhelming.
another example of music from nearly 60 years ago that as aged better than music from more recent decades
You are so right it's kinda scary 😨 where did we go wrong. Well, I know. But still. Where?
@@L33Reacts I think money is at the root of our current music situation. Money spoils everything.
Hey Ned here to say that here are some great bands from then and now who put out tons of re-listenable great songs. The problem is who controls your access to it and what the corporations want to smash into your eyes and ears. Don't give in, keep diggin turn people on to the good stuff and support artists as much as you can.
I totally agree with you! Great point. I also still keep hearing new things in their songs all the time, and the appreciation for their amazing musicianship and innovation is really coming strongly from younger people these days which is so cool to see. The Beatles are that good. Timeless. Looking forward to more great videos like this one as you continue your journey with the Beatles.
@@ednieto05 Yeah, their melodies and lyrics are so strong that it takes repeated listening and patience to catch the "stuff" in the background. I see my young students and the 20 year olds flip out when they see and hear people play music like this for the first time. It's like they were starving for something and didn't know it. Another reason to say thanks to people like Lee.
Makes me happy to hear you giving George Martin his props. A lot of people have never even heard of him, but he made such an enormous contribution to their sound and their efforts to push the boundaries of what could be done in the recording studio, it would be justified to think of him as a fifth member of the band.
You will love " Dear Prudence" for the bass and minimalist production.
Dear Prudence, the Escher Demo recording in particular.
minimalist production? it has strings!😂
@@alanoliver5762No, it doesn’t. It has multiple guitars, bass, drums, piano, flugelhorn.
another Lennon masterpiece
AND the drums
In a time of 8 years the Beatles gave us so much music and so many genre's to explore. These guys were just fantastic!!
The greatest of the great!!!
These guys were shitty. The genius was George Martin and he was sitting BEHIND the studio console. Proof? The Beatles never could give a live performance good enough to be released on an album.
@@SimonRHoule Did George Martin produce only one band, only The Beatles????
You , me, the whole world knows the answer is NO! George Martin produced several bands!
Well, if the genius was him, and just him, how came there were no several Beatles - as many as he produced???
G. Martin was a hell of a producer! A real genius in his "business". And he did a really good job with other bands/artists. But, if he never crossed path with the boys, the Fab Four, the greatest band ever (by far!!! No comparison to any other band or artist), NOONE, nobody (outside his closest circle) would have heard about him! A complete Unknown, a perfect Anonymous! As he was before The Beatles!!!
He did NOT "make" several Beatles because there were/was/is just one Beatles!!! The boys gave him, provided him with THE BEST material a producer could ever get to work with! And he did "polished the gems". Polished, ONLY! Because it was jems what the boys provided him, as no other band/artist ever could/did! GEMS! Just in need of a little polishing. But gems!!!
If G. Martin was just my producer, or Milli Vanilli´s producer - never the boys... George who???
George Martin had other groups under his charge. If he was the genius, how come those bands didn't make it.
I'm a 68 year old grandmother and I love hearing much younger people react to music from the sixties and seventies. You do a great job!! Keep doing what you do❣
Happiness is a Warm Gun is one of my favorites on the White Album, and is actually among my favorites in the entire Beatle's catalog.
People rarely mention The Beatles sense of humour. 'Bang bang, shoot shoot', and also 'Oompah oompah, stick it up your jumper'....love it.
Unfortunately more of a shooting H meaning. Listen closely to the lyrics. 💉 (H 🚫=🏀)😒
Paul's endless beautiful melodies. Decades later, I find Martha My Dear to be one of the best. As far as the first song.....I love that too.. always have....forever.
It almost sounds like music for a tap dance recital, but I unapologetically adore this song.
@@stephenriggs8177..Martha was Paul's dog at the time
It’s a pretty well known fact that Sir George Martin’s taught the Beatles as much as they taught him. When he came on the scene, he was producing comedy records.
The entire White Album is fantastic 👍
That run of albums they had between 1965-69 is just nuts. So damn good
Yeah it's scary how fucking good these guys were. And they were MAINSTREAM. I don't know how. But the biggest band of all time not only doesn't suck, they fucking ROCK 😅😅🤣
Add A hard day’s Night from 1964. A Perfect pop Record.
Beatles For Sale from 64 has some great tunes on it as well, minus the covers
Two absolutely beautiful ballads from the early days are from the "Hard Day's Night" album, "If I Fell" & "And I Love Her".
@alrivers2297 actually one of my favorites because of the harmonizing
Winter of 1968. When this album was released, it was such an eclectic mix of styles and genres, from folk to psychedelic, it was revelatory. Could never get into Revolution #9, but other than that, every song is a gem in its own way. The Beatles were well into their experimental phase, leading into Abbey Road. Surprised that no one has reacted to Birthday, a great rocker anthem with absolutely meaningless lyrics other than celebrating a birthday, but so rousing! Also Julia, Lennon's gorgeous tribute to his mother whom he hardly knew. It is spellbinding.
I would like you to dance(birthday) take a cha cha cha chance(birthday) you couldn't find any meaning in there? : )
@@garyhamalainen1651Yes took a cha cha cha chance on their fantastic fusion song Sound Chaser.
Whenever someone asks me, what is my favorite Beatles song, I always say “happiness is a warm gun”, and I was still a child when I decided that, when I had addiction problems years later the song really hit home. I still love the beginning part the best, very poetic.❤
As someone who followed along from the beginning, The White Album always felt like a grand hodge podge of their entire careers to that point. There is absolutely a little bit of everything on this masterpiece! From the beautiful ballads of “I Will”, “Julia”, and “Martha”, to ripping rockers like “Glass Onion”, and “Helter Skelter”, to quirky tidbits like “Piggies” and “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” to great lyrical stories that defy being pigeonholed into categories, like “Rocky Raccoon”. The White Album and Abbey Road are always in my car with me! I may not listen for months but they’re always there!
Dear prudence is a masterpiece, brilliant bass line.
Dear Prudence is a perfect song imo
Warm gun is yet another Beatles song I wish was about 2 minutes longer. Too many are just starting to cook then it ends.
I feel the same way, bro. More then a few, I wish just went on for another 4 minutes lol. These guys are so damn good.
The Abbey Road medley addressed that issue.
The success of most Beatles songs is that they were never quite long enough fur total satisfaction, you just had to play them again hoping to get the full fix. No time for boredom, craving for more. ✅
@@L33Reacts Another awesome song that takes some inspiration from Happiness Is A Warm Gun is Paranoid Android by Radiohead the lead singer also said Bohemian Rhapsody was also inspirational. I don't know if you know Radiohead at all but they are kind of like my generations Beatles and they remain one of the most critically acclaimed bands of all time.
The White Album was the first 33rpm album I ever bought....1968 when I was 14. What a classic....such diverse talent on display.
Oh...cost was expensive.....5 bucks!
All roads lead to Beatles.
They sure fucking do. It's kinda wild 😳
Yes, they are the keystone to all of it.
This is really where they went into the studio unsupervised and did whatever the hell they wanted. Its glorious, fun, funny, and eye opening.
"Lying with his eyes while his hands are busy working overtime" is one of my favorite song lines ever.
The white album is full of gems that few non Beatles fans know.
Im So Tired
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Dear Prudence
Yer Blues
Helter Skelter
Long, Long, Long
Mother Nature's Son
Thats just a small sampling of some of my favorites.
The White Album is my favorite from them! Great reaction!
Hard to pick absolute favs with these blokes. But this whole album is 🔥🔥🔥🎶🎶🎵🎶🔥🔥🔥
it’s interesting to hear the reflections of people two generations younger about music that is the fabric of my life.
I LOVE THE BEATLES!❤
I love Martha My Dear--and was so happy when I taught myself to play that intro on piano.
Yes, it is a magnificent song. Amazing piano melody.
Me too 😂
I like the "Martha my Dear" that you hear on the Get Back documentary, which is kind of a master class in creativity.
Good show! After Martha my dear ended, in my head I heard the opening of I'm so tired. 😮
a funny thing - in Martha My Dear there's a bar where the piano plays a suspended chord 1-2-3-4 and goes on - after the line "be good to me" it goes on "Martha my love" and those four repeats of that suspended chord - and to me it's always like time stops and I'm gazing down the sky through the slanting afternoon light, realizing something profound - and the the song goes on again. Presumably the song was written to give that effect, but it always works :)
George Martin was rightfully called the 5th Beatle
Where do Pete Best, Stu Sutcliffe & Billy Preston rank?
Jim Morrison was in England and it is said he was at the session the Beatles recorded Happiness is a Warm Gun. There is a rumor Morrison might have contributed to the background vocals. They were still recording on 4-track in 1968 so it would have been hard to mix them down if he took part at all other than attending the session.
Revolver and Rubber soul are their best albums to my tastes. So F'n Tasty!!!🎶🎶🎧🏆🤷♀️✌️
Both of my favorites!
I’ll say it again…imagine yourself at 11 yo coming back from summer camp (1968) discovering your elder brother bought this album…
The Beatles’ White Album’ is a stamp of my teenage years and still is!!still have the double vinyl version! ❤
I think they were an interesting team, John pulled Paul into artistic creativity and Paul has the mainstream pop talent that sells records. Great alone, better together. I am team John.
I do believe these 2 songs fit the definition of "concertos," by having 3 or 4 distinct musical parts that are completely different melodies. There are no choruses that are repeated. They had no idea they were doing this, they were just geniuses.
Loveme some Martha my Dear. So eclectic, so Beatles.
I agree. Very different but very beatles. I love those kinda tracks. They really were the best.
Are you kidding? The last one you reacted to is a fan favorite!
Hey Lee from ol Spanish Ned. Happiness is a Warm Puppy was a collection Peanuts cartoons by Charles Schultz featuring Snoopy on the book jacket. The title was used and abused by a lot of different people. Now talking to your drumming self, the part which is the " Mother Superior Jumped the Gun.." is a 1 triplet 2 triplet then six hits followed by 1 triplet 2 triplet seven hits. Just like in Here Comes the Sun, Ringo plays it straight n simple to keep it all on track. Yeah, I'll say it... he is a genius drummer.
Lee... glad that you touched on these two songs from one of my favorite albums... A man named John Voss turned me onto these songs in the late 70s/very early 80s. He worked for my husbands family's company and he could purse his lips and blow some of the best tunes. He was a fun guy and he was taken from us due to violent crime that has never been solved. I miss him and think about him every time I hear a tune from the White Album. RIP my friend!!! Keep up the hard work, glad that it is paying off for you. Take care all!
I am sorry to hear that... terrible world we live in sometimes. Thank you for your support it truly means the world to me 😁 ❤️ I'm glad yall turned me on to these legends. I would have continued to remain ignorant if not for yall.
My two favorite White Album Disc 1 Songs. Im glad I memorized this double album at age 9. The trombone solo in Martha My Dear is so smooth. I love the medley that Happiness actually is.
happiness is fantastic !!!
I love Martha my Dear
I consider it my third favourite Beatles song after Dear Prudence and Strawberry Fields Forever.
GREAT songs. So different.
They were in a studio in NY and Paul found in the lobby a guns and ammo magazine with Happiness is a warm gun on the cover. He thought it was amusing so he brought it to John and he thought it was hilarious. And that was the genesis of that song
Martha was Paul McCartney's famous sheepdog. John wrote most of Happiness in a waiting room when he picked up one of the magazines (sporting mag) and it had the title Happiness is a warm gun on the cover.
He was mocking people who are in love with guns and gun culture.
Having the London Philharmonic orchestra available for great strings and horns, really helped fill out a lot of the Beatles sounds on a lot of their later work.
Oh Darling is a must. Vocals are incredible
I love Lennon's esoteric lyrics here. "...like a lizard on a windowpane. "
Happiness is a Warm Gun is one of my favorites. Music and lyrics are 🔥. First heard it in 1968. Perfect then and now.
Dear Prudence & Helter Skelter next please off the White album. Love your work ❤
I've actually done helter skelter! It was my second beatles song EVER. BUT... it got blocked 🚫 so its on patreon only sadly
HeARD THIS FIRST WHEN IT CAME OUT , I WAS 13 -14,,..SO many great songs and it was the other albums,,, Ground breaking , and many instruments.
Two great songs!
Once you've reacted to all The Beatles songs, then you need to have a listen to each album all the way through. Their music is a gift that keeps giving.
I'm definitely down for that. I've done a few albums all the way through in one sitting on patreon but I had To pause that because my schedule completely changed once my girlfriend's mom passed last month 😢
@@L33Reacts I'm so sorry for your and your girlfriend's loss.
I like that Martha My Dear doesn't even reference anything that suggests that the song's addressing Paul's sheepdog. Yet listening to it you can almost see visuals of a big playful fluffy dog, tongue hanging out, ears flopping around...
It's funny because it is not sexual or a drug reference the song is very literal. John saw an article in a gun magazine entitled happiness is a warm gun. He decided to write a song about it. The Magazine was sitting on a table in the Abbey Road studios when John came in one day.
One of the unheralded gems from this album is George Harrison''s lovely, haunting Long, Long, Long. It's a prelude to the genius that show itself on Abbey Road and fully flower in his solo work. Also, Ringo's drumming is positively lyrical - perfect support for the song. Give it a listen. Love your station!
Any Beatles fan should check out the movie "Across the Universe". It is about the sixties and somewhat of a musical with all Beatles covers. The artists perform brilliantly. It is a great snap shot of the turmoil of the sixties. A must watch!
Love that movie!
There was a point in my life where I was having a lot of court appearances. Was not a happy time, but it's almost 25 years ago.
White Album was in 1968. Bought it then when l was 12 years old. Played it to death. Huge #1 Album of course. ❤
My friend's dad took the album away from her when he heard that song HIAWG back in the 70s 🤣 we were listening to it and he was passing by her room...
Happiness changed my life forever the very first time. Every thing different after this song
If you have never heard the Beatles and just picked 3 songs at random there is a pretty fair chance you could think that all three were by different bands, especially post Rubber Soul. Some diminish their pre Rubber Soul work but I have great admiration and appreciation for it. Why? Because the power of their influence and popularity among their target teen audience gave them the artistic freedom to do everything since. As I am sure you have heard before Beatlemania was not a myth or an exaggeration. You had to be there in those times. I was and they inspired me to become the musician that has supported me and my family for over 50 years. They saved me from life in a factory.
I love Martha! One of my faves, for sure 🫶🏽
You have come a long way
Got to love the blank album cover.
To me, the perfect album cover and title for The Beatles only double studio album. As genius as George Martin's many talented contributions to this album. Everyone is in top form.
Martha My Dear, to me is a preview, of Paul McCartney and Wings, years before Paul would have ever thought the Fab Four would separate.
"Back in the USSR" with its beach boy harmonies. First track on the White Album. Not sure if you've covered it, but if not, it's a rocking tune. 😊
'Happiness' was based on a magazine cover that John saw....never heard it was about sex or Yoko.
I heard the whole story about what "Happiness is a warm gun" is all about, in an interview with John about the song. Before I get into that, John said that "Mother Superior" in the song was Yoko (his wife) and how at times he felt she was "nagging and lecturing him" and one time they were in a car and she "was nagging him" and he got upset and said "Okay Mother Superior" sarcastically and that name kind of stuck when Yoko "nagged him". Now the story about how this song came to be, John said I read a story in the newspaper about a man that went on a shooting spree (did not happen on a regular basis back then the way we do now sadly) killing innocent people. After reading about this man that went on a shooting spree and about this mans' "psyche" he wrote the song about what he thought seemed to have been what this man was thinking as he held his gun and shot innocent people, the "feeling of how messed up some people can be holding that gun and how it makes them feel, giving them that since of power they felt they didn't have "without it" and how it makes them almost "gleeful" really sick I know. They could play this song now and all of us would relate to so many messed up people, using the "sense of power" to go and shoot so many innocent people.
Harry Chapin also wrote and sang a song "The Sniper" and the whole song from beginning to end is this man telling his story and how all these emotional hurt feelings through his life, the way his mother treated him when he was a kid, all the built of resentments and pain, then "how he felt" going up to a high building and using that gun "to release the pain", it is a very scary tale, but I feel people should listen to it. Chapin was very wise to express the feelings of what it might feel like to be a mass shooter. Maybe we could learn something from it now.
I´m sure that ´s the official version. To me it has always been obvious that he is singing about his temporary mistress at the time "mrs H". The line "I need a fix, cause I´m going down" kind of gives it away.
@@stefanandersson2402 Well, I'm just pretty much quoting from John Lennon's "own voice" in an interview, when they asked him what this song was about and what I wrote is what "John Lennon said" in the interview.
Martha My Dear: for it sounding so "nice", it has some really early progressive rock elements to it.
Love the dittys.
Check out The Breeders' cover of Warm Gun from 1991.
Great reaction, Lee, as always
I'm glad I grew up with this fantastic music. Again another masterpiece by the Fab Four.
🎶🎶🎶🎶😍👍
I always forget what a cracking song Martha My Dear is. The beginning always puts me off a bit.
These are two of the best tracks on the album. Many more to come..
Happiness is a warm gun is a top 3 beatles song easy love that song that and dear prudence are goated af
Great how they could build a song!
😂Thanks Lee! I never thought I'd see a Happiness is a Warm Gun reaction. Well played.
Stunning compositions
Thanks, L33, Great reaction, and review.
Controversial view perhaps, but The White Album is The Beatles best for pure song greatness. While Sgt Peppers may have been more "groundbreaking" due to the different sound, as an overall bunch of classic songs it is The White Album for me.
LENNON IS VERY clever 😮😊
Taxman! Wow, and that was George Harrison rocking out early on. Lots of innovative stuff in that song for that early time. Boy I'm so glad you tackled these cuts, and both of them are amazing. So much to be said. I would also point out about the John Lennon track at front that it's definitely prog rock until it hits that almost parody of 1950s do up music and yet it carries the same sarcastic scathing suggestive playful influence.
GREAT SONGS!
What can i say! Liked and shared
I did the same! His Beatles videos are so good❤
Thank you both! Y’all rock 🪨
My favorite Beatles album which I still have. Great reaction. ✌️♥️🎶
So glad you enjoyed Diane! I definitely did as well. The lads don't miss. 😁
1st one is my favourite beatles song of all time
The Beatles are the best. Gonna see Ringo and his all star band in September!
This album was great, especially John and George's tracks.