CHEER DOWN

The Sicilian Storyteller

STARTING TODAY AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, I WILL TAKE A BREAK FROM WRITING NEW POSTS. I WILL, INSTEAD, REPOST SOME OF MY EARLY STORIES, MANY OF WHICH MY NEWER READERS HAVE NEVER SEEN. IN THE MEANTIME I WILL BE DOING SOME WORK ON A COUPLE OF NEW PROJECTS AND WILL BE BACK TELLING STORIES IN 2023. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE MONTH AHEAD READING MY HOLIDAY-THEMED POSTS!

BUT BEFORE THAT GETS UNDERWAY, I’D LIKE TO START WITH SOMETHING NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART. AS YOU ALL KNOW BY NOW, I AM A GREAT LOVER OF THE BEATLES, IN PARTICULAR GEORGE HARRISON. TODAY I’M SHARING A STORY I WROTE ONLY TWO YEARS AGO. IT’S MY TRIBUTE TO GEORGE WHO PASSED AWAY ON THIS DATE IN 2001. UNLIKE JOHN, GEORGE SLIPPED PEACEFULLY INTO THE NIGHT, DYING THE WAY HE LIVED – WITH HUMILITY, FAITH, PEACE AND ACCEPTANCE. HIS PASSING WAS A GREAT LOSS AND A SOMBER DAY FOR HIS FANS.

I WAS 13 YEARS OLD WHEN THE BEATLES CAME INTO MY LIFE AND I’VE TRIED TO LISTEN TO THEIR SONGS EVERY DAY SINCE THEN. THANK GOODNESS FOR THEM AND THEIR MAGICAL MUSIC! A WORLD WITHOUT THEIR SONGS WOULD BE A MISERABLE PLACE. HERE IS “FOUR-HEADED MONSTER”.

“Famous? Fame was not the goal. Money was not the goal. To be able to know how to get peace of mind, how to be happy, is something you don’t just stumble across. You’ve got to search for it.”

So said George Harrison when the Beatles split up after only eight years – an incredibly short time when you think what a phenomenon they were. As John Lennon once sang: “So Captain Marvel zapped us right between the eyes!”, their music zapped us between the eyes and amazed us. It was like no other.

The Fab Four, The Lads, The Mop Tops, The Four-Headed Monster; those were just a few of the names given to the group. They skyrocketed to fame in the U.S. after appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and the following year performed before 56,000 screaming Beatlemaniacs in Shea Stadium. I was there and that awesome day remains one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. In 1970 John Lennon recalled the show as a career highlight: “At Shea Stadium, I saw the top of the mountain.”

Sadly, George and John are no longer with us. Today marks the 19th anniversary of George’s death – stricken by a cancer that ravaged his once healthy and supple body. And in 1980, John, the peace-loving, anti-war, anti-violence activist, was senselessly gunned down by a madman whose name will never cross my lips.

There are no words that can express how deeply the Beatles touched our hearts and souls. We embraced them and their music changed us forever. In all the world there is only one group with the word ‘mania’ attached to its name: the greatest band ever – the Beatles! 

ZAP!!

NAR © 2020

NB: A note to my friends and readers – There seems to be a little bit of confusion. Just because I won’t be posting new stories during December doesn’t mean I won’t be here on WordPress. I’ll be around, reading your posts, commenting, participating in writing challenges, etc. I’m not benched permanently; I’ll just be on the sidelines.  🐘


“I tell you, Larry, there is no other band, there will never be any band like them ever, for eternity. They are the best. I say to you Larry, here in 1965, that the children of 2000 will be listening to the Beatles. And I sincerely mean that.” – Manager of the Beatles, Brian Epstein, talking to Larry Kane, a journalist starting his career at the Top 40 music station WFUN Miami.

31 thoughts on “CHEER DOWN”

  2. Hi Nancy,
    Great post!
    This band became a thing when I was in grammar school. Remember Beatles Cards? Our teachers were amassing a collection of them seized from students who were trading and playing with them during class time – an act which had it’s own law forbidding us from doing.
    I couldn’t understand the appeal. Liked their music enough but why would I want those cards?
    There were plenty of their songs that I enjoyed and even bought the vinyl of but I was more of a Neil Diamond kind of guy.
    You are correct though – There’s not been a band like them ever since.
    CCR came close in a way but I never thought the fab-4 would be dethrowned by them.
    I’ve since concluded that I’m just a failure as a music fan anyway. Other things stole my attention and energies.
    Enjoy your break. If you want some light reading during it, I’d love to get some of your time spent on goodies from my collection.
    There’s almost always something fun to read on my Newest Stuff page.

    Quick Links to Newest Stuff

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for all your input, Gary. Sure, I remember the trading cards and collected them, too. In fact, I collected just about every Beatle item I could get my hands on! I think it was more of a ‘girl thing’ anyway.
      Neil Diamond and CCR are OK in my book but I’m a musician and an audiophile so there are very few genres of music I don’t like. I do have to take exception to one thing you said regarding CCR: I can probably think of 10 groups off the top of my head who came even remotely close to the popularity the Beatles had. CCR is not in that group. But to each his own.
      I’ll be working on a couple of new projects during my break so I won’t have a lot of free time but it’s always nice to have a good source of reading on hand.
      Yay, Beatles!!

      Like

      Reply

  3. I saw The Beatles twice – that’s all I did because I couldn’t hear them for the screaming. George’s guitar will forever weep.

    As one of your ‘newer readers’, I’m very much looking forward to what I’m about to come across!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. It is always a gift to read your posts about the Beatles, with every word soaked in your admiration and love of their music.

    So, dearest Nancy…
    I’ve Got A Feeling / (that down that) Long & Winding Road /(you won’t) Let me Down/
    (and we will) Come Together/ Here, There and Everywhere/(because) All We Need Is Love!
    ❣🌹

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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