Time for another instalment of the song/word of the day.
Today’s Word: Heliolatry
Oh...Now the post title makes sense
Heliolatry (noun): Worship of the sun.
Musical Example:
For those who reside in the Northern Hemisphere the concept of heliolatry was quite prevalent yesterday. Summer solstice, the longest day of the year, occurred yesterday and with it brought sunshine, warm weather (at least on Long Island, NY) and the welcomed beginning of summer. Trust me, I would know. I was out yesterday reporting on how people were spending their solstices around Long Island.
And, to help welcome in summer, I could not think of a better song than “Here Comes the Sun.” I wonder if there will ever be a word like Beatlolatry. The worship of the Beatles (in case you did not realize what I was getting at). I may suffer from a taste of this. Luckily, Beatlolatry won’t lead to eventual skin cancer. Though it may lead to a serious case of Beatles’ lyricitis (a condition which provokes constant singing of Beatles’ songs). Anyway, moving away from my stupid comments, here is what you all came here for. Quality George Harrison (who wrote “Here Comes the Sun” on one of Eric Clapton’s guitars, by the way) playing “Here Comes the Sun” with some other talented musicians.
There is something about Paul McCartney and John Lennon that makes them music magnets. Could it be that they were members of the greatest band to ever release an album, take the stage, talk, walk, sing and eat? Maybe. Or, could it be that Paul’s infectious personality intertwines with his limitless musical talents and John’s magical aura that surrounds his memory still provides listeners with a sense of attachment? Whatever this fascination may be caused by is pretty much unimportant. What is essential is that McCartney and Lennon still remain a tremendous force in the music world today, and this is most definitely reflected in today’s Court Links.
Paul McCartney often finds his way on Music Court’s links posts. The 68-year-old superstar (who celebrated his birthday on June 18) is not just a shoe-in because of the lore that surrounds his name. McCartney finds his way onto these posts because he is constantly diversifying and honing his trade (even at 68) and these endeavors are most definitely news worthy.
Recently, McCartney was asked to write music for a ballet (nothing is known about the ballet or who commissioned McCartney to do it) and, in typical McCartney fashion, he agreed.
“I’m interested in doing things I haven’t done before. That offer came up and I love writing music, the two went together and I said, ‘Yeah,’ so I just accept things before I even know what I’m doing,” McCartney said. “I don’t really know that much about it yet. I’m just writing music for it, but it’s a switch!”
I think this is just wonderful. It is exciting to see McCartney, sharp as ever, still producing various types of music. He seemed to have accomplished everything a musician can dream to accomplish (and more). And, who knows, maybe Paul McCartney can become like the Beatles of ballet writing. Oh wait!
The Holy Grail of lyrical efforts (Photo: De Souza/AFP/Getty)
In other news, John Lennon handwritten lyrics to “A Day in the Life,” which is often regarded to as the best overall Beatles’ piece ever, sold on June 18 at Sotheby’s in New York. The price tag. A modest $1.2 million. Frighteningly, this does not beat the record for highest-priced Beatles’ sheet music. That crown belongs to the hand-written lyrics to “All You Need is Love,” which went for $1.25 million.
The sheet originally belonged to Beatles road manager, Mal Evans, and they represent the song as a work in progress. Yes, surprisingly John Lennon did make initial writing errors. His work was not innately inerrant. Shocker! I am not surprised the work went for that much. Wait, yes I am; that is $1.2 million. Oh my goodness. What a price. Well, I guess in some skewed way it is totally worth it. I think I will stick to listening to the song on my vinyl player
The Music Court 