Listening to George Harrison now and it got me to thinking. Two of the Beatles are already dead. Who do you think will be the last surviving Beatle, Ringo or Paul?
I kinda think that Ringo will actually live longest. It will be his good karma from the past of being known as the ugliest Beatle. No offense to anyone I still think Ringo is awesome!
hmm..Jag's probably right. I mean he's basically everyones least favorite beatle (sorry ringo but its mostly true) but honestly, theres no way to tell. George was the youngest but he died before Paul and Ringo, so...
LOLOLOLOLOL I laughed. I have a hunch it will be Ringo. Just because. "Hey guys, I wrote a song!" [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go3xs_y8i_U"]YouTube - Family Guy - Poor Ringo Starr[/ame]
Sorry to bust your balls mindrider, but the OP's choices were between Ringo and Paul. Besides I wouldn't consider a producer an actual band member even if he did refer to himself as the "fifth Beatle."
he wasn't the only one who referred to him as that. All of the "experimentation" and "ground breaking" sound techniques the Beatles were known for was actually him. If this was the Beach Boys we were talking about, it'd be ok because Brian Wilson not only wrote all the music but produced it all as well. George Martin was an all but one of the albums and his influence is probably much more than you know. Also, the Love album was done entirely by him.
Well my main point was that the OP's choices were between Ringo and Paul, but if you'd like to debate then that is fine too. Do you know what the job of a record producer is mindrider? All the producer does is give them the money they need to make the record then just sit in the studio and listen to the band play then tells them if it sounds good or if they need to make minor changes. Besides that, was George Martin on stage with the Beatles in the small clubs in the red light district of Hamburg with them long before they became famous? No he wasn't, he did not write any of the songs and he did not perform on stage what makes him part of the band?
I don't particularly care what OP's choices were. I voted Ringo for the sake of him being my favorite of the actual four. But in terms of my actual opinion, I stated thusly. The producer does more than that, he produces the music and performs all the studio trickery The Beatles were known for. His job can be simple, but if you're the longtime head of Parlophone and the creator of Merseybeat, you probably have your hand in a little more than money. He arranged their eccentric choruses. Orchestrated their horns and strings. No, he wasn't on stage, but but he was playing tapes backwards and adding effects to their singing. The Beatles owe an enormous debt to him for how he changed their sound. Brian Epstein too. The Beatles wouldn't ever have left Hamburg if it wasn't for Epstein. He created "Beatlemania" (which had nothing to do with their mediocre musicianship). Hell, after Epstein's death the Beatles released one hodgepodge album and then broke up to release a number of mediocre solo albums. Coincidence? The reason I'm not giving credit to any one of the Beatles themselves is simple this, none of them deserve the credit they've been given. George Harrison was a pathetic guitarist compared to London guitarists of his day (Pete Townshend, Keith Richards, Ray Davies, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, etc.) not to mention Jimi Hendrix in the States. Ray Davies of the Kinks was a far better songwriter than McCartney and Lennon. Cream introduced the use of the wah pedal and sitar to rock music, not The Beatles. They stole their harmonizing chorus styles from The Beach Boys and The Birds. And their "psychedelic" music is laughable compared to Frank Zappa, The Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Doors, etc. Their hippie grassroots peace revolution was several years too late. Bob Dylan and Jefferson Airplane were there and gone already. So while other bands pushed rock and roll with 20 minute guitar experimentation and drum solos, The Beatles continued the 3 minute dittie songwriting style of the 1950s. I'm not trying to diss the Beatles, they're a fun band (I had a blast yesterday playing the Beatles Rock Band game, although I can't believe they didn't include "A Day In The Life"...), but they're not the greatest band ever like everyone seems to think they are. I love their music, but in my opinion they're the most overrated band in history. Much of their talent was in the behind the scenes guys like Martin and Epstein. Now, because a lot of people seem to take offense to my opinion, let me state, this is my opinion. You don't like it? Well, you don't have to. I don't particularly care. You could consider my opinion and make judgement for yourself because I've spent a significant amount of time researching music history and listening to and reviewing hundreds of albums. Or you could not even consider what I have to say because Rolling Stone and MTV told you not to. btw, George Martin will never outlive Paul or Ringo, he's 83 for chrissake. it was joke.
IIRC Ringo was the oldest. Plus he kept doing drugs all the way through the 80's....but then again he has had a smoking hot wife for the last 30 years... Sad isn't it...makes me feel very, very old, though I was only born a year after they broke up.
I do agree with you about everything except that the Ray Davies part? Do you really think he was a better songwriter? Also the sitar was introduced to pop music by the Yardbids in '65 on the single "Heart Full of Soul", not Cream. I don't think you can compare The Beatles to supergroups such as Cream or Led Zeppelin because they were not a supergroup, they were just four guys (well originally three until Ringo was added) that met and wrote a ton of great music. They were a real band not a bunch of celebrities that decided they would be better in a band full of other celebrities. Besides Page, Hendrix,Townshend, Beck and Clapton all played a different style of guitar, it was more raw and power bluesy than the slower more gentle riffs of George Harrison. I don't take any offense to your opinion and I do realize that The Beatles were not the greatest band of all time. I realize they did not introduce anything new to music besides their own sound as a band, which I believe every band and musician has. They were still a great band nonetheless. They were great before they hit it big and even after they were very popular they still held a great stage performance, which is not due to a producer by any means. They wrote very moving lyrics accompanied by wonderful music. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison were all skilled and talented songwriters/musicians that could have made it with any producer. Lennon to top them all I would say, the one thing about him that inspires me the most is that he never changed his ideals to impress the public. He had a vision and he pursued it until he was killed. The point I am trying to get across is maybe they weren't the greatest band and maybe they did not revolutionize the pop music world, but I'll be damned if they weren't one of the greatest. P.S. My personal favorite band is The Doors. The tantalizing Ray Manzarek + Robby Kreiger sound beats any other of their generation or of any music I have ever listened to.
Ok, I can agree with most of that. At least you seem to know something about it. I can't stand people who argue with me and actually know nothing about music history. I will say though, while Cream and The Yardbirds were a supergroup, all the others I mentioned weren't. I do agree they were a great band with great songwriting skill, but I will say all the bands I mentioned and many since were much better. The Doors are a very respectable favorite. My favorite are The Flaming Lips. In the beginning they weren't particularly groundbreaking nor talented musicians, but wrote excellent songs and grew into a groundbreaking talented band and continue to write excellent songs. I would also probably say The Velvet Underground are the most important rock band in history. There is an old saying (attributed to Brian Eno) that "only about 1,000 people ever bought a Velvet Underground album, but every one of them formed a rock and roll band". I love hijacking threads. Anyway, I'm off to a Faust concert...