Beatle news briefs: 'Rock Band' add-ons; final 'Let It Roll' track list

May 5, 10:40 PMBeatles ExaminerSteve Marinucci

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  George Harrison in 1974. (Creative Commons.)

A lot to cover today so get in and hang on ...

A representative of the National Trust has confirmed our exclusive report that Bob Dylan toured Mendips, John Lennon's childhood home, last weekend.  However, Alexandra May told us that Dylan was unable to tour Paul McCartney's early home on Forthlin Road because "he had to leave the tour before it went onto Forthlin Road due to timing issues."

The final track list for "Let It Roll: Songs By George Harrison" was released Tuesday. We have the scoop here. We have mixed feelings about this. We wish it was more than a single disc, but when you think about it, this is like George's version of "One." Maybe it'll inaugurate a few people into George's music. 

There were also major developments on "The Beatles: Rock Band" front Tuesday -- two of them. Pictures of two add-on instruments were released and a pre-order club with advance sneak peeks at the game (if you just can't wait) went live. All part of the big build-up to 9/9/09.

Our good friend saki of rec.music.beatles sent us an update on her project to put issues of KRLA Beat online. For those not familiar with the publication, it was a music newspaper put out by the Los Angeles Top 40 station in the '60s and had a lot of material in it that music historians of that era would now find valuable:

Steve---

About three-quarters of the KRLA Beat collection is now online at
http://krlabeat.sakionline.net. The last seven days are available on the home page. Earlier issues are in the Archive at http://krlabeat.sakionline.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi.

During this past week, a treasure trove has dropped into my lap --- copies of the Beat from April to July 1965. This is a particularly rich period,  with numerous columns from Derek Taylor about his first experience seeing the Beatles (in June 1963!), interviews with the Beatles during 
the filming of "Help!" in the Bahamas, and the emergence of groups like The Byrds. These will be uploaded over the next several weeks, one a day.

A couple of very early KRLA Beats from November 1964 will also be uploaded soon. These issues are less journalistic in nature but interesting for the topics they cover, like the arrival of Brian Epstein's protege Tommy Quickly in Los Angeles, or rare photos of Gerry Marsden and the Rolling Stones.

When finished, The KRLA Beat webpage will include the most comprehensive online collection  of emerging pop/rock journalism. It's a delight to share it with other enthusiasts.

Regards,
saki

Yoko Ono has been invited to accept the key to the city in Niagara Falls, reports the Niagara Falls Review. John and Yoko passed through there on their honeymoon.

The current issue of Rolling Stone (with the Kings of Leon on the cover) has a nice pic of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr together at the "Change Begins Within" concert.

The New York Post's Page Six has recounted some of the wording that Dick Clark used in his letter of support for John Lennon's immigration status. Clark wrote "It is possible for one to disagree with their personal and public way of life. Their cultural contributions cannot be ignored." Clark's and other celebrity letters of support are on view in the Rock Hall Annex John Lennon NYC exhibit that opens May 12.

According to the MTV Newsroom blog -- the only way we'd know since we'd never watch "American Idol" --  "Come Together" was performed on the show Tuesday night. There ought to be a law ... 

A tweet from Yoko Ono on Twitter Tuesday: "The shortest distance between two points is our desire and our unwavering belief." Yoko has a great way with words. We like these words, especially.

One of our other interests -- besides the Beatles -- is TV on DVD. Besides being the Beatles Examiner columnist, we're now the TV on DVD Examiner at http://www.examiner.com/x-10254-TV-on-DVD-Examiner. It's another one of our passions. We hope you'll have a look and enjoy it, too.

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