Just wanted to start a thread on the best rock band ever lived!!! Thanks to John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
If you like the Beatles music, post your favorite songs by them, as I'm curious to know what they are. Thanks.

Well I get to work with one of the best Beatle tribute bands in the country, 'The British Invasion'. I have liked the Beatles music of course but I can honestly say I have a much deeper appreciation for their music after spending three years with these guys.

My favorites are 'Blackbird', 'You've got to hide your love away'. I could go on but I won't.

Most of their songs are my favorites but the ones that stand out are:

Blackbird
A Day In The Life
For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
Across The Universe
Glass Onion
Octopus's Garden
She's Leaving Home

Heck, just put them all down for my vote!
I had a chance to go to their Hollywood Bowl concert and the San Diego concert (for free) and I did not choose to go. I regret those decisions to this day.
Iven

Yes, just too many to list. But if I was pushed:

Come Together
Helter Skelter
Ticket To Ride
We Can Work It Out
A Day In The Life
Hey Jude

... and the rest!

Let me add a few...

Help
Revolution
Something

There are so many, wish I had more of their CD's.

GlenD

The best tribute Band is The Bootleg Beatles. I have now seen them 4 times . There aren't many who can recreate the "Pepper" Album and make it sound just like it was real.Plus, the "scouse" accent and on stage jokes would be difficult for none Liverpuddlians to pull off successfully. I have every Album they made plus other bootlegs and TV/Radio recordings.
Sadly I am old enough to remember their first live appearance on UK TV !! I also have a friend from my University days who is a Scouser and watched them in the Cavern when they were known The Quarrymen.
Howard

My vote is for Glass Onion and
Octopus's Garden.

Peter Goode

Rain did an excellent job during the "Beatlemania" tour of the 80's. I went to the opening show at the Filmore West in San Francisco and caught their act a few years later at Harrah's in Reno. When Rain did the later Beatle years ie: Sgt. Pepper and the Abby Road era, they were very much like the Beatles both in the music and the visuals.
Iven

My favorite Beatles song is definately "Rocky Raccoon"!!!!

I was raised on the Beatles and love them. I go to Beatlefest about every other year. Favorite songs?

-A Day in the Life
-Lovely Rita
-Fool on a Hill
-Let it Be
-Good Day Sunshine
-Good Morning
-So many more...

I think Come Together is the wierdest song ever written. That's why I love to listen to it so much.

I mean think about those lyrics!

"He wear no shoeshine! He got toejam football! He got monkey finger! He say I know you, and you know me. One thing I can tell you is you got to be free!!

Man are those lyrics cool or what? What is the mysterious meaning of them? I have no idea! But I wonder what the Beatles were smoking when they wrote them!

Yup. That's my favorite. Whoever said it had to make sense?

I also like "I'll follow the sun", "I'll cry instead",
"Things we said today", "She's a woman", and several others.

I recently was able to purchase on CD a reissue of the 65 album "Chet Atkins Picks On the Beatles" and have to say Chet has a way of making the Beatle's tunes come alive in a way you could never imagine. The Beatle's shared my enthusiasm.

Who is the Eggman? Why was he called that?

I know who it is, just want to see if anyone else does.

Cheers,
Jason

Not mentioned yet:

'In my life'

'Here comes the sun'

'Here, there, and everywhere'.

Regards,

Caleb Strange.

The song is based on Lewis Carrolls "The Walrus and the Carpenter"
A lot of references are to Johns childhood and things they did/sang as kids. The Eggman refers to Eric Burdon, singer with The Animals (who are remembered mostly for their rendering of House of the Rising Sun)and the Eggmen are the Animals.
Its basically nonsensical poking fun at all those who sought to find hidden meanings in their lyrics.

Howard

Ah, hidden meanings...got to love all the so-called clues hidden in the album covers (Sgt.Peppers, Abbey Road, Hey Jude)...Paul is dead, right?

Songs I love off the top of my head include:

While My Guitar Gently Weeps
RAIN
HEY JUDE
I SAW HER STANDING THERE
TAXMAN
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
TWIST & SHOUT (A cover - but probably the best version)

Pretty much all their albums were good, too bad the recording technology was so poor in those days.
I think as a whole they did a lot for ROCK & ROLL, from various mixing techniques in the studio to the various songs they wrote and the meaning written within the poetry that John and Paul penned. Great stuff.

P.S. I agree about the Beatles cover band RAIN, I've seen them several times (the first in 1978 I believe) and they never disappoint.

Well, I have 26 Beatles cds (not counting solo works), and as I'm typing this I happen to be wearing a Beatles t shirt (a picture from the cartoon show). I guess you could call me a fan...

If you're not going to let me say all of them, I'd have to say my favorite Beatles song is "I Am the Walrus."

I had read somewhere once (many years ago) that "Come Together" was largely a self-referential description of Lennon. Some of the references are obvious: "Ono sideboard," "Bag Production" (the "art performance" events Lennon and Ono staged were under the auspices of "Bag Productions"). Others were "explained" (hypothesized?) in the article I had read: "toejam football" = sneakers, "spinal cracker" = slave driver, "early warning" = bad breath, "rollercoaster" = subject to wide mood swings.

People who wish to pursue all things Beatles should check out the newsgroup rec.music.beatles. If you dig back far enough into the archives, you'll even find posts from me...
:pepper:

First, because of my age, I grew up with The Beatles and actually saw that first appearance on The Ed Sullivan show... and it wasn't rerun.
Second, I have one of those stories that collectors will cringe at: Up until the mid-80s I have the first five Beatles albums in mint condition. They were always stored at my parents house. I was visiting one year and started looking for them... they weren't there. I asked my mom and she said my Dad's friend came over and liked them so he gave them to him.
Aaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!
Greg

When the Hey Jude album was originally released, it had the title The Beatles Again. My sister traded a copy with that title for Sonny and Cher's Greatest Hits!!!
:cucumber:

Nice to see a lot of Beatle fans on the board!
I'm a hardcore Beatles fan and I would like to list my favorites, so here it is:

Hey Jude
Penny Lane
Hello Goodbye
Get Back
Let It Be
Yesterday
From Me To You
Til There was you
She loves you
A Hard Days Night
Here Comes The Sun
Fool On the Hill
Rocky Raccoon
A Day in the Life

Also, I forgot to ask your favorite Beatle! Mine would definatley be Paul McCartney!!
George was too quiet, John was to weird, and Ringo was too goofy. I always thought Paul was the better songwriter, IMO.

I'm glad The Beatles brought and still bring you all such pleasure. I live about 30 miles from Liverpool and remember the early 60s very well.

My own view, as an ex musician (keyboards), is that many groups of the 60s projected a terrific IMAGE that kids just fell over backwards for, - but the musical skill and content of many was regressive when you consider the amazing talents of the big band era etc. that preceded. The early musical ability of The Beatles was, I have to say, probably better than average though.

I personally know a few jazz musicians who worked The Cavern before, and at the same time as The Beatles. The message I've received is that The Beatles were very dismissive of Jazz and seemed keen to brush out the old format at such clubs and venues. However, they all speak very highly of Ringo, not as a musician, - but as a person. I think it goes without saying though that kids of the 60s (of which I was one) were keen to distance themselves from everything mum and dad liked, and IMAGE obviously is always number one priority for the young.

The most melodically enduring tunes to me were:

Yesterday, Here There and Everywhere etc.

The use of these melodies by other entertainment greats as jazz pianist Errol Garner, and whatever you think of him as a man, the highly talented late Liberace, - endorses the true composing ability of Lennon/McCartney.

The greatest band from the era for me still remains The Stones.