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Musical Inspiration
We all have our own musical inspirations. I have many, but unfortunately I don’t have the talent to translate this inspiration into music of my own.
Do you have your own particular musical inspirations, besides the MLT, the Beatles etcetera of course!
Following, Paul McCartney explains his inspiration for his song “Here, There and Everywhere”.
“When discussing his song “Here, There and Everywhere”, Paul McCartney has often cited Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows” as his main source of inspiration. The latter track appeared on the Beach Boys’ 1966 album Pet Sounds and was itself inspired by Wilson repeatedly listening to the Beatles’ Rubber Soul’ album. On 17 May 1966, the day after the new Beach Boys album had been released in America, McCartney and John Lennon attended a private listening party for Pet Sounds held at London’s Waldorf Hotel.
In 1990, McCartney told Beach Boys biographer David Leaf that it was “just the introduction that’s influenced [by the Beach Boys]”, referring to the harmonies he and Lennon devised for the opening lines of “Here, There and Everywhere”. McCartney added that, with this style of introduction, they wanted to capture the “old-fashioned” idea of a preamble to the song.
McCartney began writing “Here, There and Everywhere” at Lennon’s house in Weybridge, in early June, while waiting for Lennon to wake up. McCartney recalled: “I sat out by the pool on one of the sun chairs with my guitar and started strumming in E. And soon had a few chords, and I think by the time he’d woken up, I had pretty much written the song, so we took it indoors and finished it up.”
“McCartney includes “Here, There and Everywhere” among his personal favourites of all the songs he has written. In 2000, Mojo ranked it 4th in the magazine’s list of the greatest songs of all time.”
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10 Replies
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Hi Howard;
Yes, I do have musical inspirations in my music. The Beatles, as expected, is at the top of the list. But, after the Beatles comes James Taylor, Stephen Stills, Poco, and Pure Prairie League. I have composed several guitar pieces (usually only chordal arrangements and melodies…….I just can’t write lyrics for whatever reason) and much of what I compose combines JT, the Beatles, and Poco, which means a basic pop-rock sound with a country flavor to it. There are a bunch of “hammer-ons” and “pull-offs” in the chords and pieces I put together which I steal greatly from JT.
Mike
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Fascinating insights about “Here, There and Everywhere”, Howard! Especially the part about the “preamble”. It made me suddenly realize that Paul begins “Live and Let Die” in exactly the same way.
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Hi Howard. For myself it would be classical music and Beethoven in particular that inspired me to take up piano lessons a long time ago. Then another time I remember was around the time I turned 50. I’ve seen what age can do to people close to me, and turning half a century old had a kind of symbolic impact on my psyche of the last nail in my coffin of passing youth. I started to feel old. Then one day I saw YouTube video of a Beach Boys 50 year anniversary tour concert in Tokyo they did the year before. To see these men, my idols, a band older than I putting on a 2 hour show with that kind of energy and passion made me lose my mortality mood instantly. I realized with music and passion , there is no such thing as old. There is just life. To see bands like the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, or Paul McCartney, Joh Sebastian, Steve Harley etc continue to do what they do and move people for so many decades is inspiring.
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And Mick Jagger is 76 and rockin like a teenager!
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Mick Jagger looks after himself and has a strict exercise regime, especially when touring, unlike Keith. I don’t know how Keith Richards does it with his lifestyle.
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Besides MLT, I enjoy Glass Tiger, Patsy Cline, Reba, Vince Gill, Le Meow, April Verch, Beatles, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Mamas and Papas, Cass Elliot(solo work and with Dave Mason) , Denny Doherty(solo stuff) , Amy Winehouse, Elvis, The Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, And many more… I grew up in household of bluegrass, country, gospel, rock n roll, big and, jazz southern rock music tastes from my family…. Lol… So I like a variety, I’m not quite keen on classical, hiphop/rap, heavy metal, punk, etc though….
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Amy Winehouse, awesome talent and departed way too soon. Taken by that notorious Club 27!
Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
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Amy Winehouse – Rehab
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Yes… Amy was good… Loved her duet with Tony Bennett
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