John Legend named his favorite Beatles song and he made a good choice. His explanation, however, was awful. He said a certain Beatles song stuck out to him because it was adapted into a movie. That movie was so terrible George Harrison publicly attacked it.
John Legend’s favorite Beatles song is from ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
During a 2009 interview with Cleveland.com, Legend was asked to name his favorite song by The Beatles. He picked the title track from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. While that tune isn’t as acclaimed as “Yesterday” or “Strawberry Fields Forever,” it boasts a catchy hard-rock riff and some of the Fab Four’s trademarked British humor.
“That sticks out because of the movie,” Legend said. “Everything they did … incredible talent, man. It’s just amazing how great they were, how they influenced our culture, and how the music still stands up today.”
George Harrison attacked the movie based on that song
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the song “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The movie of the same name is a different matter. It’s a bizarre fantasia starring the Bee Gees as the titular band. The film includes a bunch of weird scenes commenting on consumer culture, Beatles covers, and appearances from Peter Frampton, Alice Cooper, Carol Channing, Steve Martin, and numerous other celebrities. It’s not a well-regarded film.
George Harrison is partly responsible for the movie’s bad reputation. During a 1979 interview with Rolling Stone, the “My Sweet Lord” singer said that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the result of the Bee Gees, Frampton, and producer Robert Stigwood getting consumed with greed. He criticized the Bee Gees for starring in a movie inspired by The Beatles, saying it would have been as bad as The Beatles starring in a movie inspired by The Rolling Stones.
John Legend said The Beatles are 1 many artists who paved the way for him
Even though Legend likes a movie George lambasted, The Beatles still meant a lot to him. During a 2006 interview with NPR, Legend discussed his listening habits. “I listen to all those kinds of music, from classic soul to hip-hop to Brazilian music to, you know, jazz to indie to alternative,” he said. So whatever. I listen to all of it. Classic rock and classic pop, all of that.”
Legend was asked to name some of the musicians who inspired his work. “Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Beatles, Outkast, Jay-Z,” he said. Considering Legend’s catalog includes soul songs, rap songs, and piano ballads, it’s easy to see how each of those stars impacted him as an artist.
The interviewer said Legend’s influences are eclectic. “Eclectic,” he replied. “Yeah. Those are just people I really enjoy listening to. And to me, as a musician, there aren’t any boundaries genre-wise as far as what can you listen to to inspire you. And all those things are inspiring. I listen to stuff from the ’50s, I listen to stuff from now and everything in between.
Legend has questionable taste in movies but his taste in music is suburb!
