Iconic artist and philanthropist Paul McCartney will be joined by Tony Bennett, the Cast from The Beatles “Love” by Cirque Du Soleil, Coldplay, Duane Eddy, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys and Diana Krall as the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year during the 2012 Grammy Awards celebrating his exceptional artistic achievements as well as his philanthropic work. The Grammy Awards airs this Sunday, February 12th.
For so many parents, naming their children John or Paul may not be directly because of The Beatles, but I’ve been told by some that names such as Lennon, Harrison, Abbey, Lucy and even VeeJay (their first record label) were in honour of the group. Along with my music-loving husband Eric, here are our favourite songs by The Beatles that are names to consider if you’re a fan of music’s fab four.
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Ok, it was mostly written by John. And in no way were drugs involved in writing this song.
Eleanor Rigby
McCartney said he came up with the name Eleanor from actress Eleanor Bron, who had starred with The Beatles in the film Help! Rigby came from the name of a store in Bristol, Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers, that he noticed while seeing his then-girlfriend Jane Asher act in The Happiest Days Of Your Life. In the 80s, it was discovered that a graveyard of St. Peters Church in Liverpool, where John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met, contains the gravestone of an individual called Eleanor Rigby. Paul McCartney has admitted he may have been subconsciously influenced by the name on the gravestone.
Hey Jude
When McCartney introduced Lennon to his new composition, he came to "the movement you need is on your shoulder" and told Lennon "I'll fix that bit." Lennon asked why, and McCartney answered "...it's a stupid expression; it sounds like a parrot." Lennon parried with "You won't, you know. That's the best line in the song." McCartney thus left the line in, and later said "...when I play that song, that's the line when I think of John, and sometimes I get a little emotional during that moment.
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Get Back (Jo-Jo and Loretta)
Fun trivia: It’s the the closing track of Let It Be (1970), which was the Beatles' last album released just after the group split.
Penny Lane
The song's title is derived from the name of a street near Lennon's house in the band's hometown of Liverpool. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the centre of the city. It’s also the name of the Kate Hudson’s character in one of our favourite movies, Almost Famous.
Eric and I scoured our collection of books, magazines and music and came up with this list of names that may be inspired by The Beatles. To be sure, the list ranges from the obvious to the obscure:
Abbey Alan Allen Anna Apple Asher Barbara Beatrice Belle Billy Blue Bonnie Boyd Brian Britain Carol Charles Chuck Cynthia Dakota Daniel Dave Derek Desmond Dhani Doris Ebony Eleanor George Georgia Harrison Heather Henry Holly India Ivory Jackson James Jane Jason Jet Joan John Johnny Jo-Jo Jude Julia Julian Kate Klein Lane Lee Lennon Lizzie London Louis Lucille Lucy Mae Maggie Martha Martin Mary Mary Jane Matt Maxwell McCartney McKenzie Michael Michelle Millie Molly Mona Nancy Neil Nina Pam Patty Paul Penny Pete Rain Ringo Rita Robert Rose Sadie Sally Sean Shea Sky Stella Stuart Sullivan Taylor Teddy Tony Valerie VeeJay Vera Walter Wilson Zak
(For all things music, you can follow Eric on Twitter @ThatEricAlper or find him at his blog, www.ThatEricAlper.com)
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