A To Z Challenge, Music Blog

That’s Entertainment – Letter A

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

It’s April and this is The A To Z Challenge!

© NAR
Artwork by Ernest Federspiel

Welcome to my first A To Z Challenge! My theme is That’s Entertainment …. a subject near and dear to my heart. Growing up, our family home was filled with music; my dad played the mandolin, my sister and I both played piano and we all sang in our church choir. Additionally, I fooled around with the guitar. My father loved opera and classical music, mom was a fan of the Big Band sound and standards by singers such as Perry Como, Jo Stafford and Dean Martin while my sister and I both were into R&R, however, she was also a Broadway musical lover (as were my parents). And, of course, there was a lot of Italian music! When my husband and I first started dating, we went to concerts almost every weekend, mostly at the Fillmore East in NYC but other venues as well. The beautiful thing about the Fillmore was every weekend we were guaranteed to see at least three acts in one night …. everyone from the Byrds to Joe Cocker to Vanilla Fudge. Many of the groups were just making a name for themselves in the business and we were lucky to be there. Tickets back then were dirt cheap, even at venues like Madison Square Garden and the Academy of Music, and the shows were easy to get to. We saw more groups than I can remember …. really big names like the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Cream, Aerosmith, Bowie, etc., etc. Odds are if a group was around during the late 60s and early 70s, we went to see it. That’s not bragging, my friends; that’s just the way it was back then. After our kids were born, music remained with us. I can remember our first son bopping up and down in his walker whenever I played the Beatles. Our sons have always been huge music fans; in fact, one son plays the bass trombone and is lead tenor for our local semi-professional opera group. His wife is also a singer and cellist. Now our four grandchildren are music lovers and the teenaged ones play in their various school bands. We’re getting a lot of joy in passing down some of our treasured vinyls to them; they think Grammy & Grampy are pretty cool for having seen the likes of Ozzy and Hendrix! There has never been a time in my life when music wasn’t present. I love it and choosing a theme such as this was as easy a humming a tune.

My posts are all about singers, songs, songwriters, composers, and/or groups. There’s a variety of genres as I believe all types of music are worth listening to at least once. No one should say they dislike a certain song or genre if they’ve never taken the time to listen. That’s just being inflexible. Listen first, then decide; you may be surprised! Some of my selections will be old favorites while others will be new and possibly not to your liking but that’s ok. Each one was chosen because of it’s unique significance and impact on the world of music and the world in general. I hope you’re ready to be entertained but most of all, I hope you have fun! Let’s see what’s up first with Letter A!

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ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE – This celebrated Beatles song was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon-McCartney; it was released to the public in July 1967, as a non-album single, with “Baby, You’re A Richy Man” on the B-side. The song, commissioned by the BBC, was first performed by the Beatles on Our World …. the very first live global television link broadcast via satellite on June 25, 1967 and watched by 400 million in 26 countries. John Lennon’s lyrics were deliberately straightforward to allow for broad appeal to the show’s international audience, and captured the utopian ideals associated with the Summer of Love. “All You Need Is Love” topped sales charts in Britain, the United States and many other countries, and became an anthem for the counterculture’s embrace of the flower power philosophy. Our World coincided with the height of the Beatles’ popularity and influence. Rather than perform the song entirely live, the group played to a pre-recorded backing track, with an orchestral arrangement written by producer George Martin. The song begins with a portion of the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise”, and ends with strains of the Beatles’ 1963 hit, “She Loves You”.  Adding to the broadcast’s festive atmosphere, the studio was adorned with signs and streamers and filled with guests dressed in psychedelic  attire, including members of the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Small Faces. Beatles manager, Bran Epstein,  described the performance as the band’s “finest moment“. “All You Need Is Love” is a song with the strongest message there is; it should be played on massive speakers every day everywhere around the world.

This is “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles

Join me again tomorrow for more of “That’s Entertainment” and the A To Z Challenge!

I’m Nancy and I’ll see you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

55 thoughts on “That’s Entertainment – Letter A”

    1. Thank you for such a kind and generous comment, Kathy. I have always believed in the healing power of music. It touches our hearts and souls in ways very few things can and brings peace, love and joy into our lives. Thank you for sharing your tribute to your very special friend; I’m terribly sorry for your loss but take heart in the joy she brought to so many people. I’m excited about my first A To Z Challenge; thank you for stopping by!

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  3. Great start. Terrific song with a message that remains relevant more than ever. It sounds like you and your husband were in the right place at the right time to enjoy lots of incredible music. One of these years when I hopefully have more time for music blogging, I might join the A to Z challenge!😀

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    1. Thanks, Christian. I believe my generation of Baby Boomers is the best with the greatest music. And you were correct about being in the right place at the right time; there’s nowhere else, IMO, like NYC. This is my first challenge. It took up a good portion of my time and I’m glad I got a jumpstart on it during March. I hope you enjoy the music I have lined up. It’s definitely a mixed bag!

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    1. Thank you so much, Brenda! Our grandkids enjoy the whole procedure of playing records on their phonographs. There’s something very satisfying about lifting the arm of the stereo, placing it on the record and waiting for the music to start. It’s a process, so much more rewarding than simply clicking a link.

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  5. enjoyed this song…always do. Glad you came from a musical family. My mom loved classical and my dad grew to like the light classics but he loved musicals and the big band sound since he was in his 20s in the 30s and into the 40s. There are very few genres I don’t like( rap being one and hip hop another)

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  14. Squeal!!! That’s me if I ever had the chance to see the Beatles live!!! I have some serious FOMO going on. “Yep you are not bragging, just how it was!” That’s wonderful. Similar to B & I with some groups we lucked into seeing because they happened to roll into town & play Randy’s Rodeo or some other hole in the wall. Music makes the world better, it just does! Not sure how you will ever top A Nancy! Looking forward to tomorrow!

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    1. Now that’s what I call a comment! IMO, there was no other way to kick off this shindig than with my Beatles (who I did see in NY in 1965). I’m not sure how I’ll top today; we’re just going to let the music play and see how it turns out. They can’t all be Beatles songs …. or can they?

      Thanks very much, Jill!

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  16. A great start to your month!

    A quick question for you: will you be including ‘rap’ under R, or C for its silent first letter?

    So I’m inflexible – but there are limits 🤣

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