How to go
What: “Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles”
When: 7:30 p.m. March 9
Where: Kuss Auditorium
Tickets: $34 to $54; visit springfield artscouncil.org or call (937) 328-3874
SPRINGFIELD — Of all the things written about The Beatles, the “Rolling Stone Album Guide” still says it best: “Not liking them is as perverse as not liking the sun.”
So when “Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles” comes to town Tuesday, March 9, it’ll be like taking in a year’s worth of vitamin D in two hours.
After this God-awful winter we’ve had, just soak it up.
But honestly, you aren’t going to a show like this to see four guys play dress up with matching suits and fake mustaches.
You’re going for the songs.
The music of The Beatles is loved almost universally, by moms and dads reared on single-45s and by grandkids playing “Rock Band.”
With Rain in the forecast, I thought it’d be fun to call on a few of the area’s biggest Beatle fans, ranging from their 20s to their 50s, and ask them to rattle off their 10 favorite songs, in no particular order.
Me first — then I’ll get a little help from my friends.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0352 or amcginn@coxohio.com.
Andrew McGinn
1. “Rain” — While I was born a decade after this came out, I can look back and think, “What an era.” The Byrds had just recorded “Eight Miles High” and then The Beatles threw down with “Rain.” Everything nowadays has been done before — here’s partly why.
2. “Tomorrow Never Knows” — When I first heard this as a high schooler in the early ’90s, I was floored at how modern it sounded. A full-scale assault on the senses.
3. “Strawberry Fields Forever” — My dad likes the line, “Living is easy with eyes closed.” So do I.
4. “Please Please Me” — It makes me wish I could’ve experienced the British Invasion firsthand. Oh well. It’s still supremely catchy.
5. “I Feel Fine” — Some pioneering use of feedback opens another catchy tune.
6. “Dear Prudence” — A great song for a spring drive with the window down and your left arm out.
7. “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” — Lennon’s voice instantly appeals to the misfits among us. I suppose that’s me.
8. “Helter Skelter” — I’ve only known this song post-Charles Manson, so whenever I blast it, it creeps me out. But in a good way. I think.
9. “All My Loving” — Remember when things weren’t so cynical? Me neither. But I wish I could go there.
10. “What You’re Doing” — A minor song off “Beatles for Sale,” but also proof that the chiming clang of a 12-string Rickenbacker 360 can make any tune really memorable.
John Lippolis, guitar teacher and guitarist in Glass Onion, a local Beatles tribute band
1. “I Am the Walrus” — What I like about it is the way Lennon uses his words.
2. “It Won’t Be Long” — It’s just a straight-up John Lennon song with a lot of energy to it.
3. “Don’t Bother Me” — The way the bass rolls. It’s so catchy.
4. “I’m a Loser” — Being in seventh grade, it had a lot of meaning to me. I had a crush on a girl who didn’t particularly like me.
5. “Sexy Sadie” — What drew me to that song is the piano in the beginning. It was a Lennon song, and I like Lennon songs.
6. “Your Mother Should Know” — It’s one of Paul’s poppy tunes that’s just so catchy. You think, damn, why didn’t I think of that?
7. “Mean Mr. Mustard”/“Polythene Pam”/“She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” — “Mean Mr. Mustard” was just so cool. Here comes Lennon writing from the gut again. And then comes “Polythene Pam” and the opening 12-string, I had to learn to play that.
8. “Doctor Robert” — It’s the way the guitars are used in the beginning. It sticks in my mind.
9. “I’m Down” — My all-time favorite Beatles screamer. We’ve started doing it in Glass Onion. Do you end the show with it? Do you start the show with it? No matter where you put it, it’s a great piece.
10. “Lovely Rita” — Simplicity again, just letting words roll off the tongue.
Wayne Justice, founder of the ZaRanda Audio Studio in the State Theater and a member of Equinox, a local ensemble that backs silent films
1. “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” — I love this song’s three very different parts, which only Lennon could have orchestrated so interestingly that I always have to listen to this song a second time.
2. “Yes it Is” — John, Paul and George possessed such a magic to make their vocals blend.
3. “I’m Only Sleeping” — The music supports the lyrics and what you get is a very dreamy and catchy tune. Not just a song, but an experience.
4. “We Can Work it Out” — While much can be said for the lyrics, vocals and music, it was the drone of the harmonium that grabbed my interest.
5. “Baby’s in Black” — This is one of the strongest Lennon/McCartney numbers.
6. “The Ballad of John and Yoko” — What I like best about this song is that every bit of it was John and Paul only, recorded one night in April 1969. A light moment in the otherwise tense friendship of these two in their final years of collaboration.
7. “There’s a Place” — A great example of how tight they were musically.
8. “In My Life” — Producer George Martin performed the sped-up piano solo, and provided probably the best example of how well he meshed with the band.
9. “It Won’t Be Long” — The way the “yeahs” come in on the offbeat gives it a little soul that sets it apart from their other early hits.
10. “Rain” — John’s vocals are searing, Paul’s bass is so deep and present it challenges my speakers; you feel that stuff.
Brett Turner, manager of marketing and communications, Ohio Masonic Home
1. “Strawberry Fields Forever” — I can imagine hearing this in 1967 and getting the feeling something new and revolutionary was happening.
2. “Hey Jude” — While the chorus could have been monotonous, it has the opposite effect. You end up singing along. That’s the magic of The Beatles.
3. “Rain” — It really kicked in for me watching the video for it — the ultimate in cool, the pre-“Sgt. Pepper” Beatles in sunglasses playing in an English garden with fans swarming the gates.
4. “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” — Nonsense lyrics combined with several different musical styles equals Lennon at his best.
5. “Penny Lane” — We actually had to sing this in middle school. That should have turned me off of it.
6. “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” — Lennon painting a picture with words and music.
7. “No Reply” — One that shows the band’s songwriting growth from the simplicity of “Love Me Do” to more mature themes.
8. “I’m Only Sleeping”/“Tomorrow Never Knows” — Two lesser-known gems off “Revolver” courtesy of Lennon’s “experiments.”
9. “All My Loving” — The first song on “The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits” album and, in essence, the first Beatles song I ever heard.
10. “Let it Be” — My daughter Kaitlynn’s favorite Beatles song, making it a sentimental favorite of mine.
Mindy Rigel, singer in Glass Onion
1. “I Will” — The perfect love song, and when I hear “I Will” I immediately think of my husband.
2. “I Need You” — What a beautiful song.
3. “Twist and Shout” — “Twist and Shout” was played during “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” one of my favorite movies. I watched it over and over, and listened to this song over and over in the process. So when it was suggested that I sing this song for Glass Onion, I was thrilled. Memories.
4. “Because” — I love the harmonies.
5. “Got to Get You Into My Life” — My son’s favorite Beatles song. Therefore, it ranks as one of my favorites.
6. “I Should Have Known Better” — The harmonica part in this song rocks, and the overall feel is fun and light.
7. “All You Need is Love” — Isn’t this the golden rule?
8. “Something” — I get lost in its beauty.
9. “Ticket to Ride” — I actually first heard this song recorded by Karen Carpenter. Her voice is pure and true.
10. “Get Back” — It has so much electricity.
Scott Ground, bassist in Glass Onion
1. “A Day in the Life” — A bouncy bass line and arguably one of the longest-held piano chords to ever finish a song.
2. “If I Fell” — One of the hardest songs to sing in harmony.
3. “I Saw Her Standing There” — The four-count intro by Paul jumps into the coolest bass line ever.
4. “Leave My Kitten Alone” — Just a funky little ditty. Fun to play.
5. “One After 909” (“Anthology 1” version) — This version was done six years before the final version showed up on “Let it Be.” The two versions are completely different.
6. “Across the Universe” — I enjoy just sitting and listening to the song with headphones on.
7. “Oh! Darling” — McCartney’s raspy voice and a pretty slick bass line.
8. “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You” — Harrison’s guitar playing and the infectious rhythm of the melody.
9. “Something” — A great love song.
10. “And I Love Her” — Love the way McCartney sings the song and the way it’s shot in “A Hard Day’s Night.” Lots of shadows and smoke.
Levi Massie, singer-songwriter from Clark County
1. “Blackbird” — It’s the piece that introduced me to finger-picking, and the first time I heard it, I knew I had to learn it.
2. “Nowhere Man” — It’s one of those songs that’s so personal it’s universal. Lennon wrote it because he didn’t know where he was going, and at some point in all our lives, we all feel that way.
3. “In My Life” — This song is so meditative to me. I can put it on and forget where I am at and go back to a happier time.
4. “Across the Universe” — This is Lennon at his poetic finest.
5. “Yesterday” — I read the story about how McCartney wrote this song. The melody came to him in his sleep, he woke up and went to the piano and it was done. In fact, he thought it was so good that he figured he had heard it somewhere else. I can relate.
6. “A Day in the Life” — The one thing I love about The Beatles, and the thing that makes them so great, is their ability to adapt and change. This song is on my list for that reason, that there are no rules in music.
7. “Something” — Honestly, it was the first love song that ever made an impression on me.
8. “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” — One of the first songs I ever really learned on guitar.
9. “Let it Be” — This song is profound in its simplicity. “Let it Be” is a way to live life, and when I first heard it, that’s what I started doing.
10. “The Long and Winding Road” — It has no bridge or chorus or anything conventional about it, and that’s why I love it so much, for its pure emotion and spontaneity.
About the Author