Episode 17 – Beatles ’68 pt1

It's 1968! After a year of incredible highs and dizzying lows, The Beatles took on the new year with energy and enthusiasm. The boys entered the studio to record rockers, pop tunes and ballads that would be counted among their very finest, as well as a segment for the upcoming Yellow Submarine film still in development. Macca's ode to Fats Domino, Lady Madonna, and John's rocking Hey Bulldog roared with the kind of sound and energy of the band's pre-psychedelic recordings, while Across the Universe grew from the type of poetic song-craft of the year prior. The early weeks of the year also saw John and Paul produce the band Grapefruit - one of the first groups connected to the as-yet-to-be-fully-up-and-running Apple and whom share their name with a book published by Japanese artist Yoko Ono. They were named by John Lennon, who at this time was focused on finding himself under the tutelage of the Maharishi. John made amends with his father Freddie, who had abandoned him at an early age, and looked inward with meditation as a way to peel back the layers of anger and pain that had driven him to substance abuse. Life was good, and change was coming as the band made its final preparations for an extended holiday in India...