Beatles ’74 pt3

It's June of 1974 and Paul McCartney's Band on the Run is back at the #1 spot yet again - rocketed to the top of the Billboard Top 200 in America with each new single. While Paul credits much of the album's success to the instincts of Capitol executive Al Coury, it seemed Al's advice was equally valuable to another former Beatle at this time. Coury's next big win? Finally securing the missing tapes from John Lennon's Oldies But Moldies record from Phil Spector - recorded during John's so-called "lost weekend" in Los Angeles. With the Oldies tapes in hand and a renewed creative zeal, Lennon decided to return to the studio to write and record a collection of all-new material as his next big album project. Capitol's input was working out well for Lennon and McCartney, but George Harrison's disagreements with CEO Bhaskar Menon in recent years would finally drive the ex-Beatle to form his very own label: Dark Horse Records. Dark Horse, distributed by A&M, was George's chance to flex creative muscle with distance from the now-embattled Allen Klein and the increasingly defunct Apple Records. The former Beatles were on a hot streak of hits, and making big creative moves with an eye toward the end of their EMI commitments in the months to come...