I love Sirius/XM radio. We have it in both cars, and I can get it on my laptop and on my phone. I love the narrow-focused stations that give you the kind of music you want when you want it.
There are four stations that I primarily listen to. They are, in order of how often I listen, Classic Vinyl, The Beatles Channel, Radio Margaritaville and 70's on Seven. Those four channels probably take up 98 percent of my listening. Now M and I have some musical tastes that are the same, she really likes the Beatles and Margaritaville, but there are other stations she likes, that I just don't care for. But that's normal isn't it, don't all couples have differing opinions on what to listen to at times?
But that will not be a problem this weekend. Beginning less that 24 hours from now, at 11a EDT/10a CDT, the Beatles Channel will present "All Together Now," their annual countdown of the top 100 Beatles songs as voted by the listeners. It takes about six hours or so to listen to the whole thing, but if you miss part, great news, they replay all Memorial Day weekend! Is this a great radio station or what!
As a serious fan of the Beatles Channel, I did my part and submitted my list of favorite Beatle songs. It was easy, went to the Sirius Beatle website, clicked "All Together Now' and voila, there were all the songs the Fab Four have recorded. Each selection had a box next to it, so just point and click. I think you could select up to 10 songs. It might have been a few more, I honestly don't remember. But for the purposes of this blog, I'll say there was 10.
So when the countdown begins tomorrow morning, they will start at number 100, and six hours or so later, play the Beatles tune the fans voted to be their favorite. It's always tense when we get to the last 10. I am a huge George Harrison fan, so I am always hoping he has two or three in the top 10.
What follows is a list of the 10 songs I selected. They are in no particular order, just typing them in as I remember them. There will be some commentary with each. Not quite as informative as what Peter Asher would do, but hopefully entertaining nonetheless.
Dalton's Beatle Top 10 includes......
1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Written by George for the White Album, his bandmates (i.e. John and Paul) did not give this song the enthusiasm George thought it deserved. So one day before heading to the EMI Studio on Abbey Road, George kidnapped his good friend Eric Clapton and told him he was going to play lead guitar on the song. Eric was not excited about the idea but agreed to do it. When George walked into the studio with Eric, suddenly the mood changed, it's Eric Clapton. Harrison's hunch paid off and what I consider his best song was completed, with Clapton on guitar. This song is always in the top 10, it finished at number eight last year.
2. Eleanor Rigby - There are a couple of reasons why I like this cut from the Revolver album. Obviously, one reason is my granddaughter's name is Eleanor. That alone is reason enough. But there is another reason. If you listen to the song, in the middle you hear a lot of strings playing, giving the song an almost classical sound. That was a double-string arrangement composed by famed Beatle engineer George Martin. Try listening to this song with the singing muted and only the strings playing. It is breathtaking. Besides being a groundbreaking engineer, Martin had a talent for writing classical music. One fun fact, none of the Beatles played instruments on this song. This masterpiece was number 13 in 2024 as voted by Beatles fans.
3. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da - For whatever reason, I have always loved this song. It is silly, it is whimsical, it is pop, but every time it comes on the radio, I find myself singing at the top of my lungs. This selection finished at number 36 on the 2024 countdown
4. I Saw Her Standing There - An "A" side single on the Beatles Please Please Me album, this song was released in the spring of 1963. A spirited number that makes it hard to keep your feet still, or the rest of your body for that matter. A cool fact about this song, which was written by Paul McCartney, is that when he played it for John Lennon, Lennon wanted to change the first line, which reads, "Well, she was just seventeen, a real beauty queen." Lennon hated the last part, and the two geniuses put their heads together and came up with, "Well, she was just seventeen, you know what I mean." It was perfect, and a classic was completed. In 2024, it came in at number 23.
5. Hello, Goodbye - Another non-serious song that Paul composed. It is basically word association set to music. Originally released as a non-album single, incredibly, it went to number one in the United States, the U. K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a host of other countries. In 2024, it came in at number 70.
6. Help! - From the movie of the same name, Help! was released in the summer of 1965. My favorite thing about this song is the James Bond-like intro. It just reaches out and grabs you, shakes you a bit, slaps your face and says, "pay attention." The song starts in fifth gear and never slows down. Lennon, who was the primary composer of this tune, said in later years he wrote it because he was having trouble coping with the Beatles sudden success, which is certainly understandable. Number one in the States and the U.K., it came in at number 26 on last year's Top 100.
7. Here Comes the Sun - Ah, another George Harrison composition, this time on Abbey Road, it is clearly one of George's finer works. The familiar refrain, "here comes the sun," never ceases to put a smile on your face. For lovers of summer, like me, I can relate big time to one of the lines midway through the song. "Little darling, it's been a long cold, lonely winter. Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear. Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say, it's alright." Yes, it is George, this song is alright. Last year, Beatles fans voted it in at number five.
8. She's Leaving Home - If you are the least bit emotional or a softie, have some Kleenex handy as you listen to this ballad written by Paul. It tells the story of a young, single woman who has been living with her parents. She leaves in the middle of the night, leaving only a note for her mum and dad. As Paul sings the story, we can hear the distress her mother's voice as she says "daddy, our baby's gone." Recorded for the Sgt. Pepper album, it reminds me in a way of a song that came out eight years later, the Eagles' Lyin' Eyes, a similar composition written by Glenn Frey, where the song is one long story. Not long after the song was completed, McCartney was in California and went by to see the Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson. Wilson and his wife listened carefully to the song Paul had brought. Their reaction? They both cried. She's Leaving Home was the 67th most popular Beatles tune according to Sirius listeners in 2024.
9. Now and Then - Way back in 1977, a few years before he was killed, Lennon sat down at the piano in his New York City apartment and recorded four songs onto cassette tape. They never made it onto any album before he was killed. Many years later, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, gave McCartney a pair of cassette tapes, each with two songs. The three surviving Beatles had previously been told by Ono of the tape's existence, but now they had them in possession. Paul, George and Ringo went back to the studio, and with some modern marvel help, cleaned the recordings. On the Beatles Anthology, two of the recordings, Free as a Bird, and Real Love were released and did very well. The recording quality on a third, Now and Then, was so bad that after a couple days of recording, the project was stopped. For 20 years the song remained unfinished. But early in 2023, Paul and Ringo went back to the studio, and with the help Giles Martin, son of the late George Martin, and with the help of new technology, the song was cleaned up and released. John's voice was preserved for the song, as was George's previous guitar work from 30 years earlier. It will be the last song by the Beatles. In it's first year before Beatles fans, it came in at number 20.
10. Get Back - Well, here we are, the end of my list, and this song, coincidentally, it is the last song the four Beatles ever played together. It was January 30, 1969. It was cloudy in London, cloudy, cool and windy. Some might call it a "raw" day. Later that afternoon, it was business as usual in central London, and those who drove by Apple Corp. headquarters on Savile Row, or happened to be walking by had no idea what was about to transpire. It was about 12.30p when the four Beatles and keyboardist Billy Preston appeared on the roof of the Apple building and started playing. They played nine takes of five songs before the police shut them down, the last song being, Get Back, which last year was number 40 in the fan voting.
Honorable Mention - I would be remiss if I did not mention a few others that are among my faves done by the Fab Four. They include, Fool on the Hill, Things We Said Today, Let It Be, Something, Twist and Shout, Piggies, Savoy Truffles, All My Loving, and In My Life.
Thanks for sticking with me. I hope you get an opportunity to listen to the Beatles Channel sometime this weekend. I guarantee you'll love it.
Have a great weekend. Be nice to each other.
P.S. Send me your top 10
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