The Beatles were one of the most popular and successful bands of all times. Their songs changed the musical landscape and influenced many other bands that would follow them across many generations. It was not just their music but also the Beatles themselves that became a cultural sensation that hasn’t been matched since. When the Beatles broke up as a band in 1970, it was easy to believe that was the day the music died. They could have easily drifted into obscurity like so many other bands before and after them.
Fortunately, unlike many bands that have gone their separate ways after splitting up, each individual member of the Beatles was able to move from under the band’s shadow and create an impressive body of solo work displaying each of their own unique talents and distinctive voices that may not have been as obvious to the casual listener when they were a foursome. Here is a list of some of the best of each former band member’s post Beatle solo work. Click on the highlighted titles to hear John, Paul, George, and Ringo’s fab four solo songs.
John Lennon
Jealous Guy – This song was originally written as a Beatles demo called Child of Nature, but was never released as a Beatles song. Lennon reworked the lyrics to describe his relationship with Yoko Ono during the breakup of the Beatles and released the song on the Imagine album. I always thought this was a somber song with a heart breaking melody, mainly because I heard it for the first time after John Lennon’s death, which unless you are familiar with the history of this song, and I wasn’t at the time, can be interpreted as a posthumous plea for forgiveness for the sadness his tragic, untimely death brought to his fans.
Imagine – Lennon wrote this philosophical masterpiece in which he had the profound insight to contemplate a world without a religion, heaven and hell or countries that asked their citizens to kill and die for unjust causes. It’s this kind of radical thinking that caused the FBI to consider him a threat and conduct an investigation on him. You may say he was a dreamer, but he’s not the only one.
Instant Karma – Regardless of whether or not you buy into the speculation that this was a musical swipe by Lennon at Paul McCartney, doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things. More importantly, this song still rocks to this day and provides a valuable reminder that what goes around comes around, so do onto others with this in mind.
Watching the Wheels – This song was Lennon’s response to fans and critics who questioned his disappearance from the music scene for several years to be with his family. This easy going tune convincingly portrayed Lennon as being legitimately content and at peace with the simple family life he had found away from the limelight and trappings of fame.
Paul McCartney
With a Little Luck – This McCartney and Wings tune oozes late ’70s optimism – in a good way. McCartney doesn’t burden us with any heavy themes or social and political issues to remind us of real life in this song. Instead, he offers the lofty idea that simple luck can get us through it all. We could use a shot of this kind of optimism today.
Maybe I’m Amazed – McCartney showed he could still write and sing a great love song after the Beatles broke up. I’m not really a love song kind of person because I’m a guy, but McCartney makes this love song rock with his amazing vocals and heavy duty pounding on the piano with the end result being a love song even a guy can admit liking.
Silly Love Songs – McCartney wrote this disco style love song to answer criticism that he wrote mainly simple pop love songs. In the words of Paul, “What’s wrong with that? I’d like to know.” Me too, even if I’m not a love song kind of person, a good song is good despite how it’s labeled.
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five – Another love song by McCartney? Who would have thought that was possible? Cut him some slack though, it was the ’70s. This energetic tune closes out the Band on the Run album with a bang and shows once again that Paul can jam even when singing love songs.
George Harrison
Isn’t It a Pity – This emotional tune by Harrison explores the negative side of relationships and love. It steps away from the hopeful view of love the Beatles displayed in the song The End from the previous year’s Abbey Road album – “And, in the end, the love you take Is equal to the love you make” to a more pessimistic, yet realistic view of how we may cause each other pain by not always loving equally in relationships.
Art of Dying – This song, originally written by Harrison in 1966, celebrates the topics of dying and reincarnation; themes which may have been too heavy for the Beatles at the time and may explain why it did not appear on any of the Beatles albums. Regardless of the subject matter, the song was filled with raw musical energy thanks to the contributions of Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and Phil Collins.
Blow Away – At the opposite end of the spectrum from Isn’t It a Pity, this lighthearted, optimistic tune by Harrison echoes the sentiment of the Beatles that “all you need is love” and suggests that love can blow away those figurative storm clouds and bring sunshine and happiness into our lives.
Give Me Love – This spiritual tune by Harrison is his plea for hope and guidance in the material world. This is something everyone needs at one time or another, whether we believe in the same deity or none at all. We all want to experience peace, love, and freedom from the burdens of life, even if only through songs like this.
Ringo Starr
Oh My My – This song, one of Ringo’s most grooving, upbeat solo tunes, will make you want to dance from the starting “1.2.3.4” count off to the final note – that is, if you can boogie, and you can slide. Fortunately, according to Ringo, you can, “if you try.” And he sang this song to prove it.
Devil Woman – This rocking tune by Ringo is a little edgier than his other solo work and it gives him an opportunity to exorcise his musical demons and showcase some of his previously overshadowed drumming talent in a wicked drum solo.
You’re Sixteen – The peppy nature of this tune becomes clear when you know this song was written by the Sherman brothers, who were also responsible for writing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and It’s a Small World. However, Ringo is able to deliver this song from its syrupy Disney roots to a jazzy rock number celebrating young love, or cradle robbing (depending on your interpretation) with the help of former Beatle Paul McCartney playing a mean kazoo.
Photograph – This melancholy tune of lost love is expressed through the eyes of the protagonist who only has a photograph to remind him of his former love and the life they shared. This song was co-written with former Beatle George Harrison who also played guitar and sang harmony vocals on the track.
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Sources:
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4427
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3409
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly_love_songs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_(The_Beatles_song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Things_Must_Pass
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1637
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=14615
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=8042