Frequently Asked Questions


This is a page dedicated to Frequently Asked Questions that I have received via E-mail.  This is not a definitive FAQ on the Beatles, but hopes to answer some of the question I have gotten regarding the Site, the Fab Four, etc.

FAQ last updated Monday, January 5, 2004

  1. Why Did you Make this Site?
  2. What's the Big thing about the Beatles?  Why are they so popular?  I don't hear anything that  sounds too spectacular.
  3. I have an album that I need appraised, how much can I get for this album?
  4. I need lyrics for a certain song, but I don't know the album it is on.
  5. I need a bigger scan of one of the album covers .  Where can I go to get a larger scan?
  6. Why do you not include an album cover scan or lyrics for certain albums on this page?
  7. What does that weird stuff John says on   "Across the Universe" mean?  Jai Guru Deva Om?
  8. Who were the people on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album?
  9. Is Paul McCartney dead?

Got a question of your own that isn't answered here?  Let us know


Why Did you Make this Site?

I didn't make it.  I "rescued" it from neglect and being deleted.  Please read About this Site to find out more information on it's past

What's the Big thing about the Beatles?  Why are they so popular?  I don't hear anything that  sounds too spectacular.

Before the Beatles, we had Elvis, Buddy Holly, and teen heartthrobs like Fabian and Dion.  What the equivalent of that today would be like growing up with just Garth Brooks and Ricky Martin and other loner artists - artists that didn't change there style for anything.  Some are good, some are not so good.  The Beatles added a new twist to the mix being a group of four to make it big.  Getting past that fact, they also revolutionized not just the direction of the UK, but the direction of the United States and the rest of the world. 
They also revolutionized the recording industry by creating things that no one had ever heard before.  Sounds that you now can make with the ease of a synthesizer were created by the Beatles, by hand, in the recording studio.  They and Sir George Martin helped further Multi-track recording that you hear with just about every single song in the recording industry in this day and age.  They also wrote and performed there own songs.  Something that wasn't being done that much at that point, and continues to put people in a tough spot today.  The songs weren't just snappy and popular, between the musical notation and the subjects of the songs, they broke into new territory there as well.  People compare Lennon/McCartney with the likes of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart.
Most importantly - the Beatles set the standard  for where Music would go.  Oh sure, the Stones may have done better work, the Who, Cream, Led Zepplin and others did monumental stuff as well - but who set them on that course but the Fab Four?  Who set the bar and constantly raised it?  The Liverpudian Lads were the ones that brought music where it needed to go and let music take care of itself once it got there.

I have an album that I need appraised, how much can I get for this album?

I'm sorry, but I do not know the value of specific albums by the Fab Four.  However, I recently stumbled across a page that would be a great help to many many fans.  Please visit http://rarebeatles.com/sleeves/sleeves.htm to get an idea how much an album cover is going for.

I need lyrics for a certain song, but I don't know the album it is on.

Please look through the Listing By Song page to find the song before emailing me trying to find one. 

I need a bigger scan of one of the album covers .  Where can I go to get a larger scan?

Check out the High Definition Album Cover Scans.

Why do you not include an album cover scan or lyrics for certain albums on this page?

You need to realize that the Beatles had hundreds of variant albums released around the globe during their eight year tenure together as recording artists and hundreds more released after the breakup.  EMI commissioned hundreds of compilation album releases between 1963 and today.  There are also variant albums that were released in the US ("Meet the Beatles", "Beatles 65", "Hey Jude", etc) by Capitol records that are not included on this page.  Other variants include bootleg albums, interview albums, and others.

What does that weird stuff John says on   "Across the Universe" mean?  Jai Guru Deva Om?

Well, it definitely has to do with a Mantra learned under the Maharishi in India (or at there first meeting with the Yogi in London) in 1968   The meaning is "Thanks to the divine teacher" .  The Guru Deva is the person who taught the Mararishi.

Who were the people on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album?

Check out this still under construction page which lists the names of the people who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover!

Is Paul McCartney dead?

No.  But it is a fun little hoax to check out with certain albums.  There are web sites totally devoted to the Paul Is Dead hoax phenomenon.  

 

© 2001-04 John Fontana