The Beatles Grammy Tribute Skimmed the Surface of The Beatles’ Influence; But Nothing Beats the Originals; Watch The Ed Sullivan Performances Here (Video)

Last night, Paul McCartney and Ringo Star reunited yet again for The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles that aired on CBS. But McCartney and fellow Beatle Starr really haven't gone that long without playing together. Ringo has guest drummed on many Paul solo records. Last night the two were joined by Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl, Pharrell, Alicia Keys, Gary Clark Jr. and Joe Walsh who all performed inspired versions of Beatles classics.

The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles was hosted by L.L Cool J. Katy Perry pissed off a lot of Beatle fans when she changed the gender of the Paul McCartney standard "Yesterday." Didn't Katy Perry sing "I kissed a girl?" Didn't she used to like it? Maybe she should have sung "You've Got to Hide your Love Away,"

The Beatles revolutionized music, not just because they broke from rock and roll's three-chord roots, but because John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr dared to take their instruments, their arrangements and their lyrics to unexplored areas.

The Beatles transformed rock and roll and pop music, giving it a heavier sound and created rock music. The Beatles didn't write three chord songs, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" has twelve chords. The Beatles didn't stick to the standard 4/4 time signature, the opening of "All You Need Is Love" alternates between 3/4 and 4/4 time, Ringo plays a stready four over guitar triplets in "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," creating a false seven. "Revolution 1" has one measure of five, sure, it's a Geoff Emerick splice that did it, but the Beatles as solo musicians (And George during the Travelling Wilburys) all gave occastional grinning reference to that beat. And just try and count "Revolution 9." "Here Comes the Sun," doesn't sound prog, because it is so accessible, but count it out. Ringo didn't bother to try to count it out. He played by feel. The Beatles didn't only sing songs about romantic love. The Beatles sang about love in the larger universal sense. They wrote about love as a larger concept. John's "The Word" from the Beatles' "Rubber Soul" is about love as a healing force. Though George Harrison is well known for writing and producing music about transcendence, Lennon was the first Beatle to express in song the idea that love is a spiritual belief.

The Beatles got an MBE, a member of the British Empire, in 1965. Dozens of Brits who had received the honor returned their medals in protest. George Harrison, at the time, said The Beatles deserved their medals more, because they didn't win it by killing anyone. They got theirs for making music. John Lennon famously said the Beatles smoked a joint in the royal bathroom before accepting the honor. Lennon returned his for Britain's involvement in Vietnam, Biafra and "Cold Turkey" falling in the charts. Lennon had a wicked sense of humor.

The Beatles introduced the world to eastern philosophies, religion and even food.Their Carnaby Street look revolutionized fashion. And that hair. When the Beatles first came to America, all anyone wanted to talk about was that hair. 

And it all started in America on a Sunday night when everyone stayed home to watch TV. The Beatles changed America fifty years ago with their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Everybody watched. Criminals took off. The Beatles Ed Sullivan performance energized a country mourning the death of its most charismatic president, John F. Kennedy. Watch their first appearance here.

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world news
The Beatles
Grammy
John Lennon
Paul Mccartney
Ringo Starr
george harrison
ed sullivan
Stevie Wonder
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