Beatles song question

[MorningGlow]

Just read this morning in my latest Entertainment Weekly that the producers over at American Idol are hopeful that they might be able to snag Paul McCartney for the upcoming season, and, they say, that could mean a night of Beatles covers. (Not sure why they didn't say a night of McCartney/Wings covers, but let's go with what they said.)

Now, I can't think of ANYthing more heinous in the world than AI contestants butchering my beloved Beatles' tunes, but it did get me wondering, out of the entire catalog, if I had an opportunity to sing just ONE Beatles song, which one it would be.

I'm still stumped, so I toss it to the Lounge gallery (Oasis fanatics need not apply--and that means you! :P ) If you could sing just ONE Beatles tune and wow the judges...which one?

This might require two answers--which Beatles song would you sing just because you love it, and which one would you sing to get a decent rating on the show--I presume the latter would mean choosing a tune easy to sing but hard enough to impress the judges and the audience, popular enough to amuse and not alienate the unwashed masses, blah blah blah. (I would rather say "the great unwashed masses can stuff it" but it is a factor, so let's not ignore it.)

Okay, Loungers, which one(s)? Which one(s)? I eagerly await your replies! :hi:

[Maine-ah]

1. eew.

they will end up doing arrangements and not the originals....well, something to appease the masses would have to be up-beat and relatively simple. Perhaps 'Birthday' ?

[meegbear]

2. Revolution 9

[MorningGlow]

5. Great choice!

:thumbsup:

If ya can't wow 'em, hypnotize 'em...

[Danger Mouse]

52. Ever hear Reverand Michael Mills 'Satanic Messages'..

...in rock songs?
If you play revolution 9 backwards, you hear a voice say 'Turn me on, dead man. Turn me on, dead man.'
Clearly the work of Satan himself.

[MorningGlow]

61. My personal backward favorite is

"Paul is dead/miss him miss him"--when I was a teen I would SWEAR it was there, clear as day!

[El Fuego]

3. Doesn't Michael Jackson own most of the Beatles catalog?

[MorningGlow]

6. He did

But Paul (and the remaining Beatles? I forget) bought them back when Michael was having (ahem) money troubles.

[leftofthedial]

15. he owned *publishing* rights

not the *songwriter's* rights

[Nevernose]

41. And it was only the pre-Apple stuff, about 1/2 the catalog (n/t)

n/t

[Squeech]

4. Depends

If I have a couple other singers I can trust to sing harmony, I'd love to do "Nowhere Man."

If it's just a solo vocal, I'm leaning toward "Martha My Dear."

But then there's a part of me that would love to pull out a real obscurity, something like "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite."

A couple years back some local rockers put together a Beatles jam. I brought a guitar and sang "Girl" and "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party," but I was constrained by having to provide my own accompaniment, and I didn't know the chords to "Martha My Dear." (Also I really wanted to do John, not Paul, on this occasion. But Paul is suitable for cable television.)

And in conclusion I would like to mention that meegbear is a very silly person, and that's why we love him :hi:

[WCGreen]

7. In My Life......

[KitchenWitch]

63. That would be my choice as well!

:hi:

[begin_within]

8. Two Beatles songs have already been sung live on "American Idol"

In season 2, Clay Aiken sang "Here, There and Everywhere"
In season 5, Taylor Hicks sang, "Something."
There may have been snippets of other Beatles songs mangled by contestants in the early auditions phase, where they only sing a few seconds of a song, but the above 2 are the only ones that have been sung onstage.

[mcscajun]

9. Norwegian Wood.

It's beautiful. :)

Of course, I'd never appear on American Idol; hell, I won't even watch it. But that's another discussion entirely.

[SteppingRazor]

10. All You Need Is Love

I loathe that show, but if I had to wow people anywhere, that'd probably be the song I'd sing, for the simple reason that almost everyone who hears it would be concentrating more on thelyrics and less on how well they were sung.

[Whoa_Nelly]

11. So many to choose from!

Maybe Blackbird or Hey Jude

Here's a short list link:
http://www.geocities.com/dsmurashev.geo/songs/

[MorningGlow]

13. That's what I'm talking about!

More than 300 songs! How the hell do you choose?

Nice sig, BTW! Those guys were so quick-witted with the media.

[Whoa_Nelly]

16. Also, might choose "With Love, From Me To You"

I remember when the Beatles first started. I was IN LOVE with Paul, and our local radio station would have an hour of Beatles every evening. I would take my transistor radio outside and dance! :woohoo:

[MorningGlow]

19. I always felt I was born too late

1966 to be exact. I was crazy about the Beatles, the '60s (mid-'60s "mod" and then late '60s hippie), everything British, just...everything from that decade. I always felt cheated. :(

[Glorfindel]

44. Hell, I'm STILL in love with Paul

He just keeps improving with age. :loveya:

[Whoa_Nelly]

57. He's single again (well...soon!)

Back off! He's mine! :P

[Glorfindel]

58. Sadly, he's straight...

so I'll just have to concede the field and continue to worship from afar.

[Whoa_Nelly]

62. Thanks, babycakes!

Am on it! Sir Paul will be mine! :woohoo:

[Richardo]

12. "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)"

One of my alltime faves. :bounce:

[slj0101]

28. Featuring Dennis O'Dell!

[Richardo]

29. You...you know.....you know my name, baby....

You....you know....you KNOW you know my name.... :D:thumbsup:

[Danger Mouse]

43. That song weirds me out.

nt

[Mad_Dem_X]

32. Ha, ha, ha! YES!

You...you know...you know my name...!

[PVnRT]

14. Why Don't We Do It In The Road?

n/t

[MorningGlow]

17. Ding ding ding ding!

We have a winner! (Actually I thought this one would turn up far sooner! But alas it's Monday and even the Lounge's wicked minds move just a tad slower as we recover from the weekend...)

[PVnRT]

21. Who are the Beatles? I was asking a question.

:evilgrin:

[MorningGlow]

23. Oooooh!

You baaaad! :spank:

[tigereye]

24. love the song

but alas, it sounds right up Idol Alley.


I cringe to think of the over-emoted or tacky version that would emerge.

[XNASA]

18. Hey Bulldog

I've had the past pleasure of performing a few Beatles songs onstage. I always enjoyed singing Hey Bulldog. Playing the lead is fun too.

[MorningGlow]

20. "Whaddya say?"

"I say...ruff!"

Good one! :thumbsup:

[Burma Jones]

22. Strawberry Fields

But that probably wouldn't fly with Idol types.....

[ForrestGump]

25. "Lady Madonna"

I love the song (coincidental that Paul wrote it as an 'Elvis song') and can sound all right on it. It's got a good feeling for the way I sing, I guess.

I love the Beatles, and Paul, and I can mimic a few different singers' voices to various extents (maybe more if I actually worked at it), but neither John nor Paul have voices that really sit well within my natural range (I don't know anything much about technical music doodads, but I'd hazard a guess that I'm a baritone and they'd be more in the tenor range), not so much the notes so much as the broader pitch, or something. Regardless, as I again realized when I tried to sing along with the most excellent "Band On The Run" in the car a couple of days ago, Paul's voice on most songs is just not something that comes naturally to me. Pity, 'cos the Beatles are second only to Elvis in my affections and my music collection. "Lady Madonna" is an excellent exception, probably because he pitches his voice lower than on most songs. It's such a cool song, too.

"Rocky Raccoon," too, I'd have ready for my repertoire. :D

[wildhorses]

26. something in the way

[MorningGlow]

27. Is there a way

to ensure any tune by my beloved George is automatically exempt? I couldn't stand the torture of hearing his lovely tunes shredded by those hacks...

[wildhorses]

37. i hesitated to mention this one--i love it so--learn to play it on the

piano years back--they would ruin it wouldn't they:cry:

[av8rdave]

30. Golden Slumbers

[war on errorism]

31. Happiness is a Warm Gun

definitely some impressive vocal work right there...

[pdx_prog]

33. If I fell or Till there was you...

They would be good contestant songs if they had the range...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

53. Till There Was You is from The Music Man by Meredith Wilson

Does it have to be written by them or just performed by them?

They did a lot of Chuck Berry covers and various other stuff like "Besame Mucho".

The one I really can't stand is "Mr. Moonlight".

[u4ic]

34. Please Please Me

or Hello Goodbye.

I'd probably decide between the two at the last minute. :-)

[Dukkha]

35. Lennon and Harrison are spinning again

allowing Beatles music to be part of one of the most brainless untalented crapfest ever. Prince should be ashamed of himself for participating in it last year.

[MrSlayer]

36. I am the Walrus.

Great song and I can do a pretty decent Lennon.

[wildhorses]

38. happiness is a warm gun--

bang bang shoooot shoooot:evilgrin:

[Generic Brad]

39. Blackbird

No doubt the young singers would push the hell out of it and ruin it.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

40. Long and Winding Road is mushy enough

Other possibilities: In My Life, Here There and Everywhere. Those have long melodic lines that have been called "Schubertian".

One problem with Beatles songs is that oftentimes, the fabulous 2 & 3 part harmony they had is very important. The most stunning example that I can think of is "Because" on Anthology. They isolated the vocal parts acapella. Just stunning. Pretty weird, but gorgeous.

The version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the new Beatles album called "LOVE" is MUCH better than the electric one that Clapton played on.

Hell, I'm mad at American Idol because 1) I'm too old for their age requirements; 2)They wouldn't let me sing Kurt Weill songs in the original French or German; 3) They wouldn't let me sing my favorite mezzo number from The Marriage of Figaro in the original Italian, by Lorenzo da Ponte (Non so piu -- not so much), or anything from Carmen or Samson and Delilah. 4) They wouldn't let me sing any good rockers from the sixties or folkie songs; 5) etc. etc....

Narrow-minded judges!!!

But then the same thing happens on Showtime at the Apollo. One style only is acceptable. ARRRGGHHH!!!

[Danger Mouse]

42. That's incredibly difficult...

to pick just one is nearly impossible...but my #1 pick would be 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'...
others choices would include 'Eleanor Rigby' 'Here Comes the Sun' and 'Rocky Racoon'

[ghostsofgiants]

45. Probably "Wonderwall" or "Don't Look Back In Anger."

[Danger Mouse]

47. You're evil.

:evilgrin:

[ghostsofgiants]

49. I try.

:P

[MorningGlow]

55. I warned you!

Take that. :P

[Glorfindel]

46. "Bungalow Bill" - it's simple, tuneful, and wonderfully vicious

"He went out tiger-hunting with his elephants and guns; in case of accident he always took his mum. Hey, Bungalow Bill, what did you kill?"

[Manifestor_of_Light]

48. The All-American Bullet-Headed Saxon Mother's Son!!!!

That would be too subtle for them.

[Danger Mouse]

50. But do you really want to sing Yoko's part?

'If looks could kill it'd would've been us instead of hiiim...'

[Danger Mouse]

51. On another note...

I'd be very disappointed if Paul participated in this American Idol garbage. How could he stand to listen to his songs being butchered by no-talent hacks that aren't fit to lick his boots clean?
Not that I like Paul, in fact everything he did after the Beatles except 'Live and Let Die' has sucked hard...but he deserves better than that.
And so do John and George, even Ringo.
Let's see one of them get couragous and do 'Octapus' Garden' or 'With a Little Help from My Friends'...ah...

[Bullwinkle925]

54. "Taxman "- since we're now entering ' the season' ...

"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" for my encore!

[hickman]

56. Michael Jackson owns all the old ones.

Probably would have to be Wings stuff or John's stuff. George's songs are way to complex for pop.

[jberryhill]

59. easy

For the show - Let It Be

For myself - Across the Universe

[opiate69]

60. "Oh! Darling"

Great vocal piece.. would probably be absilutely butchered by the lame-asses on the show though.

[MorningGlow]

64. You know, seriously

You've hit it! I think that is the one I would sing--powerful, tricky because it's easily slaughtered (can you hear Taylor Hicks trampling it now, like a poor man's Michael Bolton, sounding like he's pinching out a loaf while warbling?), passionate--AND in my range. Excellent choice!

:toast:

On edit: Tee hee it's post 64! "Will you still need me, will you still feed me/I'm post 64..."

[opiate69]

65. Hehe.. nice visual

I can totally see Hicks doing that!
:toast:

[jpgray]

66. Yep. Great vocal workout by McCartney.