FORUM MUSICAL DE MR Q END OF 2014

SINGER JOE COCKER DIES AGED 70 AFTER CANCER BATTLE

Singer Joe Cocker, best known for his cover of the Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends, has died aged 70, his agent has confirmed. The Sheffield born singer-songwriter had a career lasting more than 40 years with hits including You Are So Beautiful and Up Where We Belong. His agent Barrie Marshall said Cocker, who died after battling lung cancer, was "simply unique". Sir Paul McCartney said he was a lovely guy who "brought so much to the world". Cocker's friend Rick Wakeman, keyboard player for the rock band Yes, called his rendering of With a Little Help From My Friends "sensational" and said: "He had a voice that was just unique." "The great thing is with someone like Joe is what they leave behind, and that will be with us for years and years," Wakeman told BBC Radio 2. Known for his gritty voice, Cocker - a former gas fitter - began his singing career in the pubs and clubs of Sheffield in the 1960s before hitting the big time. He was propelled to pop stardom when his version of The Beatles' With A Little Help from My Friends reached number one in 1968. He performed the song at the famous Woodstock Festival in New York state a year later. He was also well-known for his "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" Tour of 1970, which featured over 40 musicians touring 48 cities across the US, resulting in a third gold album of the same name and a concert film. His duet with Jennifer Warnes, Up Where We Belong - from An Officer And A Gentleman - hit number one and went on to win both a Grammy and an Academy Award in 1983. He was made an OBE in 2011. Last year his arena tour across Europe saw him achieve a number one album in Germany and give what was to be his final concert in Hammersmith, London, in June. Mr Marshall said it was with "the heaviest hearts we heard that our beloved Joe Cocker passed away last night". "He was without the doubt the greatest rock/soul voice ever to come out of Britain and remained the same man throughout his life." He described Cocker as a "true star" who was also "a kind and humble man who loved to perform". "Anyone who ever saw him live will never forget him," he added. 'Etched in our memories' Sir Paul said he would be "forever grateful" to Cocker for turning With A Little Help From My Friends into a "soul anthem". "I knew him through the years as a good mate and I was so sad to hear that he had been ill and really sad to hear today that he had passed away. "He was a great guy, a lovely guy who brought so much to the world and we'll all miss him," he added. Among other musicians who have paid tribute to Cocker, was Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr, who tweeted: "Goodbye and God bless to Joe Cocker." RIP JOE - you are with all the rest making great music in HEAVEN. MR Q

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FORUM MUSICAL DE MR Q 2014 XMAS SHOW

Santana on Music’s Healing Powers + Reuniting With His Band – Exclusive Interview in ultimate classicrock

He credits figures like Marley, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and others as “inspirers and igniters, finders of blessings and miracles.” Some might say the same thing about Santana, who talked about his remarkable journey during a stop on his book tour.

Starting in his tiny birthplace of Autlan, Mexico, Santana worked his way through the strip joints of Tijuana and later (very reluctantly at first) to the streets of San Francisco — a trip that at times was as spiritual as it was salacious, and often anything but smooth:

How’s life?

Better than ever, with so many blessings, miracles and light.

You dedicate your book to your mother Josefina, and on the back of the book you note that you “want to play from the center of my heart” the way your musician father Jose did. How have your mom’s conviction and your dad’s charisma fueled you as a man and musician?

They both bring certainty. My father was a very, very charismatic person and he was really assured that he was the cat’s pajamas. He’d just walk into the room and women and men and children — everybody adored him. You thought he was Michael Jackson or something. And when I was a kid I was like, I want that. The word is called adored. People adored my father because of his charisma. And my mother’s supreme conviction — just supreme conviction. ‘God’s gonna give me this, and God’s gonna do it and God’s gonna give me this,’ you know. Next thing you know, she gets it! So, I learned from both of them certainty and assurance. When you’re playing music and you’re standing next to John McLaughlin, B.B. King or Buddy Guy, you’re not there to compete or compare. You’re there to compliment, so you know you can hold your own, and people will wait for either Buddy or me to finish. There’s always room for Carlos (laughs).

Define ‘The Universal Tone’ and how you carry it and others receive it?

You carry it with grace, elegance, dignity and integrity, and people receive it as an invitation to their own light, to their own luminosity. The Universal Tone means a frequency of ‘A Love Supreme.’ Of course John Coltrane, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, musicians like that; Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix. I’m one of them, you know and I don’t flinch saying it. I’m one of them because I aspire to constantly be a conduit to the same frequency of luminosity.

You’re wearing the mighty Bob Marley on your chest right now. You wear it proudly. Why still to this day?

Because he’s still here. One love. You need to play ‘One Love’ with all these riots happening, all these protests. I invite all peaceful protesters to wear all white only, and play music to shock the world’s foundation, conquering fear. Create banners that say what is the collective lesson we can all learn from this about love. If you dressed in white, police know that you’re there not to burn, loot or destroy. You’re only there with integrity to make a point. Hopefully, next time people protest, if you wear all white, police got to know that your intensions are noble and they shouldn’t hurt you. Otherwise, we do have some issues with police, and they will be really in trouble. Otherwise we will retaliate. We will retaliate, because I belong to people who on one hand — I am spiritual, which is I want compassion. On the other hand, I do believe that it’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees. So don’t push us, because you don’t have enough bullets for all of us. We will take over.

How do you explain why music is such a healing force?

Music is a healing force because it reminds people on a molecular structure of your own divinity — your own luminosity. We are holy, sacred and divine. Divineness is your DNA, it’s not in your DNA, it is your DNA. When you’re born in this planet, they indoctrinate you. Indoctrinate you is another word for putting shackles on your brain with guilt, shame, judgment, condemnation and fear in the distorted, twisted, crooked concept of sin. God does not recognize sin. He did not create it.

Your dad was a musician, your brother, your son. Does ‘The Universal Tone’ exist in our DNA? Is it in our genes?

Of course. It’s encoded in your soul. It’s your fingerprints, your individuality, your uniqueness. There’s only one of you. God created multiplicity, but the best thing is uniqueness and individuality.

What is your secret to maintaining balance between your stage and studio life as a musician, and your home life as a man?

Just staying in a place of humility. Humility is constantly saying, “I am not the body, I am free. I still am as God created me.” My mother taught me this: You have what you have because of people and you are who you are because of God. Always be grateful to both.

I wanted to ask about just one of the hundreds of songs that you mention in the book and that is ‘Song of the Wind,’ of which you write, “To this day I listen to ‘Song of the Wind’ and break down inside hearing [original Santana band member] Gregg [Rolie]’s playing on that one. No solo, just a simple, supportive organ part that is not flashy or anything but supremely important to the song.” And you go on to mention that the original Santana band was coming to an end during the session. Share your thoughts on that song, and then update us on the return of the original Santana band.

I brought that song to the band. I kept playing it as a jam and I played it over and over again and I said, “We gotta record this song.” [Former Santana member] Neal [Schon] plays so beautiful, Gregg played magnificent — and to me I think I just spilled over what I was feeling because I knew it was the end of that era. It was like the Beatles breaking up. We couldn’t put it back together because Gregg and Neal [who left to form Journey] were pregnant with their own vision. So that song quotes [jazz and blues guitarists] Grant Green, Gabor Szabo, Otis Rush, and Neal quotes everybody from Eric Clapton — but it sounds like us, and there are beautiful stories within that song. I’m happy to say that Neal is the one that brought the band back together. He stayed on me like a laser beam for about a year, chasing me everywhere, man — restaurants and shopping malls — and he would be there and say, “Man, Carlos, man, we gotta do a thing together, you and I, man.” And then he says, “You know, I wanna do something with so and so and so and so,” and I said no, I don’t wanna play with so and so and so and so. And he goes, “Oh.” And I said there’s nothing wrong with so and so but I don’t wanna do anything with so and so. I said, I tell you what, why don’t we call Gregg Rolie and [former Santana band members] Michael Shrieve and Mike Carabello and go that way. He goes, “Oh, okay.” And so we went this way and we’re gonna do ‘Santana IV.’

Interview by Jim Villanueva

FORUM MUSICAL DE MR Q 13 DIC 2014 XMAS US Sixties Garage & MORE

Tribute to Ian McLagan & Bobby Keys

Doug Clifford and Stu Cook Offer Their Side of the Latest Creedence Clearwater Revival Lawsuit

John Fogerty has characterized the lawsuit recently filed against him by his surviving former Creedence Clearwater Revival bandmates as an effort to “stop me … from singing my songs,” but plaintiffs Stu Cook and Doug “Cosmo” Clifford see things differently, and they’re going public with their side of the story.

Cook and Clifford, who filed suit along with the widow of Fogerty’s brother Tom, have issued a rebuttal to Fogerty’s press release by putting out one of their own, which vows to “set the record straight” and clear up their former partner’s “inaccurate statements in the media regarding pending litigation” — chiefly by rejecting the notion that they’d ever try and stop him from performing Creedence songs.

“We have never objected to John Fogerty performing any song he ever wrote, or performing any song recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. That idea is ridiculous,” reads the press release in part. “Even when he refused to play those songs, and publicly called for a boycott of CCR music, we encouraged him to perform them whenever and wherever he wanted. The facts are that Mr. Fogerty, while proclaiming joyful rebirth in the press, repeatedly has his lawyers threaten us with lawsuits and demand unreasonable concessions of our rights. Last week, the threats and demands left us with little doubt that a lawsuit would be filed by him against us for the second time. This unfortunate situation required us to take unpleasant preemptive legal action. This action is about the need to defend ourselves and rights, Mr. Fogerty’s failure to perform contractual promises and unlicensed uses of the trademark ‘Creedence Clearwater Revival.’ The trademark is not owned by him, but by the Creedence Clearwater Revival Partnership. We have a business relationship with him and, under prevailing circumstances, chose not to be bullied.”

The longstanding antipathy between Fogerty and the other members of Creedence is a matter of public record, dating back to disagreements over artistic control during the group’s heyday and continuing for decades. Fogerty famously refused to perform with Clifford and Cook when CCR were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and their later decision to form a group called Creedence Clearwater Revisited added to the rancor. No matter how this latest round shakes out, we see plenty of billable hours in the future for both sides’ legal teams.

John Fogerty Prepping Autobiography, Career-Spanning Box Set For 2015

The rock legend discusses the 45th anniversary of his amazing 1969 run.

After celebrating some of the most glorious of his glory days in Canada this fall,John Fogerty is looking forward to bringing the party south of the border, and maybe even beyond, in the new year.

Fogerty's critically lauded 17-show Canadian tour, which wrapped up Nov. 29 in Victoria, B.C., was designed to commemorate the 45th anniversary of his triumphant 1969 with Creedence Clearwater Revival -- three Top 10 albums ("Bayou County," "Green River" and "Willy and the Poor Boys," which all went multi-platinum), four Top 5 singles and the distinction of out-selling the Beatlesduring that 12-month span. The shows included the bit hits, of course -- including "Proud Mary, "Bad Moon Rising, "Green River" and "Down on the Corner" -- but also let Fogerty and his band dip into rarities such as "Ramble Tamble," "Keep On Chooglin' " and covers of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu."

"It's been a lot of fun, a really enjoyable presentation," Fogerty, who credits his wife and manager Julie with the idea. "It's one thing to talk about something or envision it, but when you get it into real life, well...You know how it is when you talk to your wife — you'll hear something and then life gets busy and you'll go on to something else. But Julie was always intrigued with the idea of presenting it in its time and talking about the era and all of that, because that year was certainly a momentous year in my career and development, and of course with the band, Creedence."

Nevertheless, Fogerty says he always took 1969's achievements in stride. "I always just looked at it as, 'Yeah, that's what happened,' " he explains with a laugh. "At the time I wasn't surprised — I set out to do something  and then did it. It's only now I realize how remarkably rare and almost impossible that is, but that's the magic of being naive and innocent and just sort of going, 'OK, here's what I'm gonna do...' "

Ed Sheeran Hits Million Mark Again in U.K.

Fogerty is now looking forward to bringing the show, which also included some of his more recent solo material, to the U.S. in the new year. "One thing I noticed is that even though you usually say, 'this is the production' and keep it that way, with this it almost immediately started to evolve because of the subject matter, and I can really see it as being even more developed than it is now,” he explains. “You don't really want to be overloading your audience with too much input, and especially not too much talking; it's supposed to be a concern, not a science project. But it's fun, and I'm one of those people who actually experienced that era, so I'm at least qualified to tell about my own experiences, anyway."

Fogerty will be doing that in the new year as well with an autobiography he started working on in 2013 and hopes to complete and publish before the end of 2015. "I'm in the middle of digesting it," Fogerty reports. "It's finished, but it's not done. I'm going through it and figuring out what should have more emphasis and what should have less. So right know I'm knee-deep in that process.” And, he promises, it will be a revealing tome. "I'm just being brutally honest. I'm not trying to shock or surprise anybody, about my own mistakes and certainly the mistakes of others. But I'm not running for president or anything, so I'm not white-washing the life that I've lived."

Fogerty will also be exploring his past with a career-spanning box set that's due out in 2015 and is currently being assembled. But new music is in his crosshairs, too, though he says there are "not quite specifically songs yet, but the textures of the sound of the music, and that sort of thing takes shape for me. I do practice a lot or have a guitar in my hands every day, so ideas develop from that."

John Fogerty's statement about current lawsuit:

December 8th 1976: The Eagles Release ‘Hotel California’

If The Eagles’ first four albums helped make their case for being one of the biggest rock bands of the 1970s, then the release of their fifth album, Hotel California, helped cement the band’s status as one of the biggest rock bands of all time.

Released on December 8^th, 1976, Hotel California would usher in a more mainstream rock sound for the band, a stylistic departure from the country-rock they were known for, as well as be the debut of Joe Walsh to the band’s lineup.  The album also yielded three of the band’s biggest hits:  “New Kid in Town” and “Hotel California,” which both hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Life In The Fast Lane,” which topped off at number 11.

Hotel California would go on to sell 16 million copies in the U.S. alone.  The only release in their catalog to surpass those sales is Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), which has sold an astounding 29 million copies.

EX-CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL BANDMATES SUE JOHN FOGERTY

There’s yet another bad moon on the rise for Creedence Clearwater Revival, as John Fogerty and his former bandmates head back to court.

Doug Clifford, Stu Cook and the late Tom Fogerty’s widow have filed suit in a Nevada court alleging that John Fogerty is in breach of a 2001 agreement concerning usage of the band’s name. They’re also charging him with trademark violations, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

This latest disagreement appears to have sprung from negative comments John Fogerty made in the press about Creedence Clearwater Revisited, the off-shoot band that Clifford and Cook have maintained in John Fogerty’s absence. Their original settlement expressly allowed Fogerty’s ex-bandmates to appear under the updated name.

More recently, however, Fogerty said “using the name is sort of a sacrilege,” in one interview. Later, he expanded on those thoughts: “When the band broke up, I never had any problem not trying to abscond with the name Creedence as a solo artist. I just think that thing is from a certain time and it is untouchable, unless everybody is there.”

Meanwhile, Fogerty has also been promoting an extensive tour focusing on CCR’s 1969-era albums. Clifford and Cook — who have said they won’t consider talk of a reunion — called that usage unauthorized, and said it created confusion as to whether they were involved.

Fogerty, of course, earlier sued to stop Creedence Clearwater Revisited from touring in 1996, leading to the 2001 out-of-court agreement. Three years before that, Fogerty refused to perform with Cook and Clifford as Creedence were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now, they say Fogerty is threatening yet another legal action over unpaid royalties from concerts dating back to 2011.

That will have to wait until after this latest proceeding. Cook, Clifford and Tom Fogerty’s widow are seeking unspecified damages, and have requested a jury trial. “It’s the saddest story in rock,” Cook admitted back in 2000, “and one of the longest ongoing stupid feuds.”

Watch Hologram Paul McCartney Sing in Eye-Popping 'Hope for the Future'

Paul McCartney has taken another step into the virtual realm with the jaw-dropping video for "Hope for the Future." The clip features a hologram McCartney floating around the 28th century universe of the video game Destiny, singing the wide-eyed lyrics on top of massive sand dunes and mountains. 

"Hope for the future, it's coming soon enough," he croons in the chorus while making grandiose hand gestures. "How much can we achieve? / Hope for the future, it will belong to us / If we believe; if we believe." McCartney appears as a projection from a Ghost AI assistant, exploring the game's vivid landscapes with assorted Guardian characters from the Activision title. 

The former Beatle wrote "Hope for the Future" exclusively for Destiny, working with producer Mark "Spike" Stent and a 120-piece orchestra conducted by frequent collaborator Giles Martin. McCartney, along with composers Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, also composed an additional 50 minutes of music for the soundtrack. As Destiny developer Eric Osbourne told Vulture, the singer-songwriter wasn't paid for the project, taking part solely for "the creativity." This week, McCartney released the track in standalone form, paired with four remixes. 

In other digital McCartney news, the rock legend recently teamed with Jaunt for an innovative app that allows fans to view a performance of "Live and Let Die" from every imaginable angle. The footage was filmed using stereoscopic 3-D cameras during the last-ever concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, where McCartney played in August – nearly 48 years after the Beatles played their final official gig at the venue.

December 8th Birthdays: Jim Morrison and Gregg Allman

Two of classic rock’s biggest names share a December 8^th birthday.

In 1943, The Doors’ Jim Morrison was born.  His stage presence and unabashed sex appeal coupled with his powerful, bluesy voice helped launch The Doors to stardom in the 1960s through hits like “Light My Fire,” “Hello, I Love You,” “Love Her Madly,” “People Are Strange” and many more.

To this day, Morrison remains one of rock’s greatest frontmen.  His sudden death in 1971 at the age of 27 only lends to his legend.

…Four years after the birth of Mr. Mojo Risin’, one of Southern rock’s biggest icons would enter the world.

Gregg Allman was born on this day in 1947.  Allman made his mark along with his brother Duane with The Allman Brothers Band, which formed in 1969.  Two short years later, the band’s classic live album At Fillmore East would bring them their first taste of commercial success and pave the way for the live album trend of the 1970s.

Allman, of course, achieved solo success as well and is currently prepping for a solo tour set to kick off on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta.

34 YEARS AGO: JOHN LENNON MURDERED

John Lennon would have turned 74 this past October, but as we all know, his life was tragically cut short by four bullets from an assassin’s gun. John Lennon died on Dec. 8, 1980.
In these days of instant gratification, instant fame and disposable heroes, it seems almost quaint to acknowledge someone like Lennon. Real in an unreal world, despite the insane heights of fame he reached, he never seemed like anyone but John Lennon. Sure, that definition may have changed a bit over the years. Certainly the Lennon of 1980 was a somewhat different figure from the Lennon of 1972 or 1964, but through all his life, he was still John.
Musician, singer, songwriter, author, artist, activist … what can be said about the man that hasn’t been said a million times over? From humble and troubled beginnings, Lennon would go on to literally change the world with his music, words, wit and his often open-wound approach to living life.
He and Paul McCartney became the most successful songwriting team of the 20th century. The two wrote songs that became standards of a generation or two, and though other artists would over time sell more records and play to larger stadiums of fans, no one will ever match the impact of the Beatles. It was a time and place never to happen again. Not bad for a bunch of kids who simply loved playing and writing rock ‘n’ roll songs.
Their constant desire to write better songs, to find new sounds and new ways of doing things, moved rock and roll music (and pop culture) in directions no one at the dawn of the 1960s could have ever imagined. From ‘She Loves You’ to ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ in just over three years? Incredible! For that matter, the Beatles entire career was there and gone in the time it now takes many bands to release a second or third album.
Married at a young age, he and his first wife Cynthia had one son, Julian, but due to the explosion of the Beatles, he was gone for much of Julian’s childhood. In 1968, he met the woman who would become his second wife, Yoko Ono, and the two were famously inseparable. John always seemed to follow his heart both musically and personally. His solo catalog drives like a car on a bumpy road, with some incredible highlights and some highly questionable lows, yet anything but dull.
In the early 1970s, John and Yoko had moved to New York City, a place he very muched loved. During this era, his outspoken opposition to the Vietnam war and the Nixon administration led Nixon to attempt to silence him under the watchful eyes of the FBI, ultimately leading to him facing deportation. John dropped out of music altogether when his son Sean was born in 1975, famously playing the role of househusband for five years until the spark to make music struck again in 1980. The resulting album, ‘Double Fantasy’, was released barely a month before he was killed.
Today, Lennon’s music lives on stronger than ever. His music, solo and Beatles, is still heard everywhere. It has taken on new life forms and shape-shifted its way into the hearts and minds of younger generations along the way. It would be hard to tell someone where to start on a journey through Lennon’s music, but putting your ears to albums like ‘Help,’ ‘Revolver,’ the White Album, ‘Plastic Ono Band’ or ‘Imagine’ certainly wouldn’t be a bad launch pad.
For those of us of, ahem, a certain age, it’s impossible to imagine a world without Lennon or the Beatles. They’ve just always been there as part of our DNA. It’s easy to state that the world would be a much different place had Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr never existed. It’s almost impossible to overstate their impact on the world at large, let alone the music world.
It’s hard to believe that so many years have passed since John Lennon was murdered. Murdered, in cold blood on the streets of his favorite city, by a so-called fan. There is still no way to wrap your head around the insanity of that act, but there are plenty of ways to wrap our heads around the joy and excitement Lennon and his music has given the world over the years.

Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese Producing ’70s Rock Drama Series for HBO

It took a while to make it happen, and it isn’t taking the shape they’d initially envisioned, but Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese‘s ambitious, as-yet-untitled “rock project” is on its way to the screen.
Initially conceived by Jagger, it was originally planned as a film before making its way to HBO as a series concept in 2010. Titled ‘History of Music’ at one point, the show was supposed to use 40 years of pop culture as the backdrop to a long story about the long relationship between two friends, but over time, the focus was narrowed and shifted; according to the network, the series as it stands now “will explore the drug- and sex-fueled music business as punk and disco were breaking out, all through the eyes of a record executive trying to resurrect his label and find the next new sound.”
Although the show is still looking for a title, plenty of other pieces have already fallen into place, including a running time (it’ll be an hour-long drama) and a production homebase (it’ll shoot in New York City). Scorsese and Jagger have also rounded up a cast, which includes Bobby Cannavale in the lead role and a roster of supporting players that includes Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, Juno Temple and Max Casella. A premiere date remains to be scheduled.
It’s just the latest collaboration between Scorsese (who has already directed the pilot) and Jagger: The duo recently worked together on the 2008 Rolling Stones documentary ‘Shine a Light.’ The director also has a healthy relationship with HBO; along with Terence Winter, who’s also producing this new series, he’s part of the brain trust behind the network’s hit show ‘Boardwalk Empire.’

Rod Stewart Calls Ian McLagan ‘The True Spirit of the Faces’

Rod Stewart has offered a public tribute to his former Faces bandmate Ian McLagan, 
who passed away Dec. 3.

In an interesting twist of fate, when Stewart heard the news of McLagan’s death, he was watching a live set by Mick Hucknall — the founder of Simply Red and Stewart’s replacement on vocals when the Faces reunited without him in 2009. “I’m absolutely devastated,” he told NME. “Ian McLagan embodied the true spirit of the Faces. Last night I was at a charity do, Mick Hucknall was singing ‘I’d Rather Go Blind,’ andRon Wood texted to say Ian had passed. It was as if his spirit was in the room. I’ll miss you mate.”

Hucknall added his own tribute on Twitter, sending out a photo of McLagan and assuring followers that if there’s an afterlife, it’s now being enlivened by the famously irreverent keyboardist’s signature style:

Wood, who suffered another loss with the passing of Rolling Stones sideman Bobby Keys on Dec. 2, tweeted his own eloquently brief farewell to both men.McLagan and Stewart had a somewhat testy public relationship in recent years, chiefly owing to Stewart’s ongoing dithering over whether to make room in his schedule for an oft-discussed reunion with the rest of the Faces. There seemed to be progress on that front, with thoughts of putting something together for 2015; whatever happens next, as Stewart pointed out, it just won’t be the same without McLagan.

Beatles’ Children: Where Are They Now?

There are 15 individuals who are literally children of the Fab Four, many of whom have been, or continue to be, involved in creative fields. In the list below, we take a look at the progeny of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison andRingo Starr, including the musicians’ birth children, adopted children and stepchildren. Find out what the Beatles’ kids have been doing … yesterday and today.

Heather McCartney

Born: Dec. 31, 1962

 

 

Paul gained a stepdaughter when he got married in 1969. Heather See was born to Linda Eastman from her marriage to geologist Joseph Melville See, Jr., but was raised mostly by her mother after her parents separated after less than two years together. When Paul and Linda married, the Beatles bassist took the steps to adopt Heather as his own daughter. Her last name was changed and, to this day, she considers Paul her dad.

As she grew up, Heather took an interest in photography, art and pottery, becoming a well-respected potter as an adult and beginning a line of houseware items in 1999. After losing her mother to cancer in 1998, Heather’s birth father committed suicide in 2000. She now lives in a cottage on her adopted father’s Sussex estate.

 

 

Julian Lennon

Born: April 8, 1963

 

 

Julian Lennon was born to John and his first wife, Cynthia, just as the Beatles were hitting the big time. As a young boy, Julian inspired three Beatles tunes: ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ and ‘Good Night’ (written by his dad) and ‘Hey Jude’ (written by Paul to console Julian during his parents’ divorce).

After John left Julian’s mom for Yoko Ono, father and son were estranged for a period – something Julian has expressed bitterness about – but reconnected in the early ’70s. At that point, John fostered Julian’s musical interests, buying him a guitar and showing him a few chords. Julian ended up following in his father’s footsteps, becoming a pop star with 1984’s platinum-selling ‘Valotte’ album. Although his subsequent recordings haven’t matched that success, Julian has continued to release records, collaborating on a single with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler in 2013.

He also has put his creativity to use in other ways, including a 2010 exhibition of his photography and a book detailing his collection of Beatles memorabilia. In 2009, Julian founded the environmental/humanitarian charity the White Feather Foundation, named after something his father once told him.

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Kyoko Chan Cox

Born: Aug. 8, 1963

 

 

When John and Yoko married in 1969, Lennon became a stepfather to Yoko’s daughter, Kyoko, from her marriage to American film producer/art promoter Anthony Cox. In the early years of Ono and Lennon’s marriage, Yoko and her ex-husband were engaged in a custody battle over their daughter, inspiring the song ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For Her Hand in the Snow)’ – credited to a Plastic Ono Band that included John, Ringo and Eric Clapton.

Cox eventually disappeared with Kyoko, raising her under the name Ruth Holman as part of a religious cult named The Living Word Fellowship. Although Kyoko and her father left the church in the ’70s, mother and daughter did not see each other again until the late ’90s. It’s said that Kyoko, who works as a teacher and is married with two children, has since become close with her mom.

 

Zak Starkey

Born: Sept. 13, 1965

 

 

Ringo Starr and Maureen Starkey welcomed their first son, Zak, after getting married earlier in the year. Although the Beatles drummer discouraged his son from getting involved in the music industry, Zak began taking an interest in the drums after his godfather, Keith Moon, gave him a drum set at the age of eight.

He got serious about drumming following his parents' 1975 divorce, eventually joining the Icicle Works and then his dad’s All-Starr Band. But Zak got his biggest break when he filled his godfather’s old role in the Who in the mid-’90s. Band members and Who fans found him the perfect, powerful fit for the band. Zak has continued to record and tour with Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, as well as serving as the drummer for Oasis for a time and handling the sticks for Johnny Marr and the Healers.

Zak married Sarah Menikides in 1985, and the couple gave the world the first Beatle grandchild, Tatia (who is now a musician).

 

 

Jason Starkey

Born: Aug. 19, 1967

 

 

Two years into her marriage to Ringo, Maureen gave birth to a second son, Jason. While growing up, Jason got into more than his share of brushes with the law. He was fined for trying to steal a car stereo when he was 20 and appeared in court on drug charges a couple years later. But Jason put those days behind him, joining a succession of indie bands.

Like his older brother and his father, he’s a drummer – although he doesn’t seem too fond of the family legacy. “Being Ringo Starr’s son is the biggest drag of my life,” he once said. Jason has been in a long-term relationship with fashion designer Flora Evans and the couple have three sons.

Francesca Gregorini

Born: Aug. 7, 1968

 

 

Six years after Ringo and Maureen divorced, the Beatle got married again, this time to actress (and former Bond girl) Barbara Bach. And so, in 1981, Ringo became stepfather to two of Bach’s kids from her marriage to Italian industrialist Augusto Gregorini.

Barbara’s oldest child is Francesca, who grew up in Rome and the U.S. before moving to England after her mother married Ringo. She went on to graduate from Brown University and dabble in music before gaining attention as a filmmaker. Francesca has written and directed two independent films, including 2013’s ‘The Truth About Emanuel,’ which was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. Gregorini also earned notoriety for her relationship with ‘Arrested Development’ actress Portia de Rossi, which ended in 2004.

 

 

Mary McCartney

Born: Aug. 28, 1969

 

 

Paul and Linda were expecting Mary when they wed in 1969. Music fans might know her best as the little baby peeking out of her father’s coat on the back cover of the ‘McCartney’ album (a photo taken by her mother). And like Linda, Mary took an interest in photography, eventually working as a professional photographer and photo editor.

In 2001, she was a producer on the TV documentary ‘Wingspan’ (about her parents’ band) and served as her dad’s interviewer. She currently runs the photo department at Paul’s company, MPL Communications. Outside of her work, Mary has been involved in numerous charitable causes and wrote a vegetarian cookbook in 2012. She’s been married twice, currently to director Simon Aboud, and has four children.

 

 

Lee Starkey

Born: Nov. 11, 1970

 

 

Lee arrived just after the breakup of the Beatles in 1970, and just as her parents’ relationship was falling apart (although Ringo and Maureen wouldn’t divorce for another five years). Lee got some major attention in 1989 when she co-starred in an Oldsmobile ad with her father.

Around the same time, she co-founded the Los Angeles boutique Planet Alice, which specialized in '60s styles. Once the shop closed, she worked as a fashion designer and makeup artist.

A year after her mother succumbed to leukemia, Lee was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgeries and radiation therapy. In 2001, the tumor returned and she was treated again for her illness. Lee has been in better health ever since, often showing up at her brothers’ gigs and Stella McCartney’s shows. She’s been in a relationship with Kasabian/Beady Eye bassist Jay Mehler for the past eight years. In 2009, Lee gave birth to triplets.

 

 

Stella McCartney

Born: Sept. 13, 1971

 

 

The most famous of Paul and Linda’s children, Stella has become a well-known name in the world of fashion. She became interested in designing clothes at a young age, and worked her way up the ranks all the way up to launching her own, self-titled fashion line in 2001. There are now 17 Stella McCartney boutiques around the world.

In addition to claiming a number of celebrity clients (including close friend Kate Moss), Stella designed the athletic wear for all the British athletes competing in the 2012 Olympics. In 2013, she was made an Office of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to fashion. Stella has also earned a reputation for being outspoken, wearing a shirt that read “It’s About F--king Time” to her dad’s induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and openly criticizing her ex-stepmom Heather Mills. She married publisher Alasdhair Willis in 2003 and the couple now have four children.

 

 

Gianni Gregorini

Born: 1972

 

 

Ringo’s second stepchild from his 1981 marriage to Barbara Bach, Gianni was born four years after Bach and Augusto Gregorini’s firstborn, Francesca. Gianni, then a little boy, served as a pageboy at his mom’s wedding to Ringo. He grew up to work for his father in Italy, but later moved to Los Angeles, where he works as a businessman.

 

 

Sean Lennon

Born: Oct. 9, 1975

 

 

John and Yoko’s only child together, Sean, was born on his father’s 35th birthday. After his second son’s birth, John took a break from music to stay at home. Sean inspired Lennon to write the song ‘Beautiful Boy,’ which appeared on the 1980 comeback album ‘Double Fantasy’ (released just before John’s murder).

Like his parents, Sean became a musician, writing with Lenny Kravitz and joining Cibo Matto before getting signed to the Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal record label. He’s released a few solo albums over the years, recorded a handful of film soundtracks and collaborated with a number of musicians, including his mother, the Flaming Lips, the Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr. and Mark Ronson. A few years back, he and his model girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl formed the avant-garde folk group the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, releasing their first full-length album, ‘Midnight Sun,’ in 2014.

 

 

James McCartney

Born: Sept. 12, 1977

 

 

Paul and Linda’s only son took an early interest in music – not because of his dad’s influence, but because he saw Marty McFly play the guitar in ‘Back to the Future.’ Quickly, Paul stepped in to give young James a Stratocaster that had been previously owned by Carl Perkins. James contributed to a couple of his pop’s solo records (‘Flaming Pie’ and ‘Driving Rain’), playing guitar and drums.

Years later, he began his own music career, releasing a couple of pop-rock EPs – co-produced by Paul – and then a debut album, ‘Me,’ in 2013. He stirred up a small media flurry in 2012 when he suggested that he, Sean Lennon and Dhani Harrison could start a second generation Beatles.

 

 

Dhani Harrison

Born: Aug. 1, 1978

 

 

Dhani is the only child of George and Olivia Harrison, who married the month after their baby boy was born.  Named for the sixth and seventh notes in the Indian music scale, Dhani emerged as a professional musician when helping Jeff Lynne complete his father’s ‘Brainwashed’ album, following George’s death in 2001. He also played acoustic guitar through much of the "Concert for George" tribute in 2002, joining a lineup that included Ringo and Paul. In 2006, Dhani co-founded the indie rock group thenewno2, who have since released three albums. He is also a member of the rock trio Fistful of Mercy with Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur. In addition to his musical work, Dhani was a major force behind ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’ video game, bringing together the surviving members with the game designers. He married Solveig “Sola” Karadottir in 2012.

 

 

Arlen Blakeman

Born: 1992

 

 

When Paul married his third wife, Nancy Shevell, in 2011, he added another child to his brood. Paul became a stepdad to Arlen Blakeman, Nancy’s son from her previous marriage to lawyer Bruce Blakeman. It was the then-teenage Arlen who gave his mother away to Paul during the wedding ceremony. Arlen has since spent time away at college, occasionally making public appearances with his mom and stepfather.

 

 

Beatrice McCartney

Born: Oct. 28, 2003

 

 

Beatrice was born to Paul and his second wife Heather Mills in 2003. Despite an acrimonious divorce, Paul and Heather share custody over young Beatrice. She served as the flower girl at Macca’s 2011 wedding to Nancy Shevell.