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Paul McCartney Comes to the Aid of American Kids...

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Peter Frank

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:34 PM
Original message

Paul McCartney Comes to the Aid of American Kids...

Edited on Thu Nov-17-05 02:37 PM by Peter Frank

For my 1,000th post, I want to offer something uplifting. As a professional musician and instructor, I've always believed that if you put an instrument in a kid's hands -- he's less likely to pick up a gun.

Paul McCartney and Fidelity Investments Launch ''The Music Lives Foundation''; Music Icon and Investment Leader Team Up To Help Keep Music Education Alive in Schools

BOSTON, October 18, 2005 -- When 54 million children went back to school across America this fall, it is likely that 27 million of them found they would not receive adequate music instruction in their classrooms1. Even though experts have shown that music education dramatically improves performance both in and out of the classroom2, increases SAT scores by 100 points3 and keeps kids in school4, budget cuts have been breaking up marching bands and silencing school choruses from Maine to California5.

In a major initiative to combat this alarming trend, Fidelity Investments today joined music icon Paul McCartney to launch a new public charity -- The Music Lives Foundation -- aimed at raising awareness of and critical funding for music education programs in schools.

"As a boy growing up in Liverpool, I was surrounded by music," said Paul McCartney. "That's just the way it was. The problem is that more and more music programs are in danger of being eliminated. That's why I'm proud to join Fidelity in supporting The Music Lives Foundation. After years and years of playing in a band and making a living doing what I love, I can honestly say: Where would I be without music?"<snip>

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20051018005855&newsLang=en

Check out the Music Lives Foundation and spread the word.

"Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the secret places of the soul"

Plato

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H2O Man

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:38 PM
Response to Original message

1. Paul is cool.

He's done enough good works that we must forgive him for putting songs like "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" on Beatles albums.

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Peter Frank

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #1

3. And "Silly Love Songs"...

...but some will say, "what's wrong with that?"

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H2O Man

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:49 PM
Response to Reply #3

5. "The only thing (he) done

was Yesterday; but since (he's) gone (he's) just Another Day."

At least Silly Love Songs and Another Day didn't get in the way of Beatles albums, and gave John something to rant about. Best darned songwriters, when they worked together! Paul could really do amazing work, including great lyrics, with John prodding him.

Paul has a more subtle political edge, but he really does make a statement with this.

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Peter Frank

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Thu Nov-17-05 03:34 PM
Response to Reply #5

14. Paul said that John was the perfect compliment to his mentality...

For example, when Paul was writing "Getting Better" John came up with the line "can't get no worse."

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H2O Man

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Thu Nov-17-05 04:04 PM
Response to Reply #14

16. "Getting Better"

is perhaps the perfect example. It isn't one of the most popular songs they did, perhaps because Sgt Pepper's is a unit, but if any one song summed up how well they worked together, that's it. I love A Day in The Life, of course, but it is more of the combining of two songs. (Still the best darned song, ever.)

Likewise, Paul's influence on John improved the quality of his work, in most cases. John's post-Beatle work is wonderful, but he did his best stuff with Paul. There are cases where one might have only added a word, or changed a phrase, but improved the song.

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mattclearing

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Thu Nov-17-05 04:16 PM
Response to Reply #16

18. In My Life was supposedly one of their more even collaborations.

I don't think it's been established who wrote what, and it's among their most acclaimed songs.

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H2O Man

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Thu Nov-17-05 04:31 PM
Response to Reply #18

19. That's pure John.

From "Lennon Remembers," (page 128), "I wrote that inKenwood, I used to write upstairs where I had about ten Brunell tape recorders all linked up ....I wrote it upstairs, that was one where I wrote the lyrics first and then sang it...." It has been called John's most mature love song. It certainly is one of the group's greatest efforts, and came around the time Paul and John were working more separately on their best songs.

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mattclearing

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Fri Nov-18-05 09:39 AM
Response to Reply #19

20. Funny, I looked awhile last night for documentation on that.

Edited on Fri Nov-18-05 09:40 AM by tasteblind

I could've sworn I read somewhere that it was a collaboration, and I've read Lennon Remembers, and the 1980 Playboy interview. I'm still trying to figure out where I got that idea.

Oh well.

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H2O Man

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Fri Nov-18-05 10:06 AM
Response to Reply #20

21. There's also

the newer book, "The Complete Beatles Chronicle," by Mark Lewisohn. On pages 202-3, it tells about the 10-18-65 recording of "another marvellous new John Lennon song, the autobiographical 'In My Life.'"

As I recall, the 1980 Playboy interview, which was later included in a 1981 book of various interviews, did not include the second part; that was published in Playboy in early 1981. At one point, I was under the impression that they were going to combine the two, and make a single book out of it. The second part had a far more detailed account of individual songs. My memory isn't what it once was, and it has been almost 25 years, but as I recall, John made some fascinating comments about the song. He said it was an unconscious anticipation of his meeting Yoko, which happened a little bit later.

Between the two, they wrote so many great songs (especially in those few years) that it is easy to mix up a few things. When I read your first post, I thought, "Now, that can't be .... can it?" and had to pull out a few books to check.

This morning, HBO played the Lennon film, which ends with a wonderfully crisp sounding "In My Life." Beautiful song.

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mattclearing

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Fri Nov-18-05 10:37 AM
Response to Reply #21

22. Maybe I have the year wrong. It was the one with Barbara Bach on the

Edited on Fri Nov-18-05 10:37 AM by tasteblind

cover. I remember there was a section of it where the interviewer just threw out songs, and John would say who wrote what. Great interview, at any rate. Lennon was such an interesting and unpredictable guy, and that comes across in the interviews with him.

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Peter Frank

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Fri Nov-18-05 01:14 PM
Response to Reply #22

23. I've found 3 different covers, but no Barbara Bach,,,

Hard to believe it's been 25 years since Lennon's murder.

BBC archival video -- http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/events2000/lennon/chapman06.ram

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mattclearing

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Fri Nov-18-05 02:07 PM
Response to Reply #23

24. This is it:

Edited on Fri Nov-18-05 02:08 PM by tasteblind

Her name is in red on black between "Hollywood's fabulous" and "in a dazzling pictorial," so it doesn't really show well.

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H2O Man

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Fri Nov-18-05 02:11 PM
Response to Reply #24

25. Your memory

seems to work quite well when it comes to Ringo. (grin)

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mattclearing

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Fri Nov-18-05 03:13 PM
Response to Reply #25

27. Funny. But the main reason is that I actually still have this one.

I just saw it when packing for a move a few weeks ago.

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Peter Frank

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Fri Nov-18-05 11:34 PM
Response to Reply #27

28. What were you packing? nt

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maximovich

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:44 PM
Response to Reply #1

4. I Like Most of Pauls Music

There is something very uplifting about his music. I'm glad to see he is helping the least amongst us.

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Peter Frank

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Thu Nov-17-05 03:59 PM
Response to Reply #4

15. Yes...

...and we should be embarrassed that a private non-citizen had to come forward to shine a light on the condition of our educational system.

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DavidBowman

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:49 PM
Response to Reply #1

6. Boooo.

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sinkingfeeling

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Thu Nov-17-05 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #6

12. Are you a ghost?

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SoCalDem

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:41 PM
Response to Original message

2. Thank you Paul...(but)

Edited on Thu Nov-17-05 02:41 PM by SoCalDem

when benevolent wealthy people start funding things that once were just part of the curriculum, it's a sticky situation. What happens when they die or their circumstances change? They cannot possibly help all public schools. and once funding is achieved elsewhere, the edu dept says "whew, that's one we don't have to fund anymore, or take crap for NOT funding"..

State lotteries are a prime example of this.. When CA started its lottery it was ballyhooed as a FANTASTIC way to get "extra" money for schools, and in the beginning, the lottery sales were high, so lots of extra money DID find its way to education, so the cuts here and there were easy to hide.. Once the people realized that the lottery was not that great, and sales dropped off, it was just "too bad" for the schools, because the funding had already been chiseled here and there..and by then there was no "extra" moeny to put it back..

private citizens should not HAVE to help fund our public education..

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Peter Frank

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:52 PM
Response to Reply #2

8. I share some of your concerns but...

...at least someone recognized that something had to be done and was willing to pony up the effort.

Also McCartney teamed up with Fidelity Investments to form the foundation. If Paul was to leave us tomorrow, I believe this part of his legacy would live on.

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halobeam

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:55 PM
Response to Reply #2

9. I do not have an understanding as well as you do, about this,

(but)...

I have to wonder, that unless the schools aren't getting what they need now, due in LARGE PART to private citizens, or lottery as you have explained, then I would surmise that private citizens doing things, such as Paul McCartney is, would be helping more than hurting, no?

If the schools aren't getting music education funded, then how is this not helping? Even if it's temporary? Isn't it better than not at all?

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SoCalDem

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Thu Nov-17-05 03:01 PM
Response to Reply #9

10. I never said it didn;t help.. just that SOME school districts

Edited on Thu Nov-17-05 03:02 PM by SoCalDem

take "windfalls" as an excuse to de-fund instead of using the extra money to enhance.. Most of the bequests are not permanent, so when they end, the curriculum has been ratcheted back and future students actually have less, and their parents have to fight the same battles over and over..

What's needed is a national "ground-floor" approach to public education..

EVERY school in EVERY district should have:

art
music (vocal and instrumental)
sciences
math
history
grammar/reading/composition (not necessarily called "English")
phys ed

once the basics are tended to, the extra stuff is a plus..

There have been enough studies done to show that music goes hand in hand with math, and art can be very helpful to all students, not just the gifted ones..

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Peter Frank

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Thu Nov-17-05 03:19 PM
Response to Reply #10

13. I find nothing to disagree with there...

Who knows? Maybe the fact that a non-citizen is intervening here will be enough to highlight the deplorable state of our ed. syst.; and embarrass officials into action.

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progressoid

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Thu Nov-17-05 04:14 PM
Response to Reply #13

17. I need some of your optimism pills.

I think it's more likely that most citizens won't even know about this. And of those that do, many will think that he should do this since he's richer than god and should give some of it back to us.

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ROH

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Thu Nov-17-05 02:51 PM
Response to Original message

7. Recommended (n/t)

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sinkingfeeling

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Thu Nov-17-05 03:07 PM
Response to Original message

11. Thanks, Sir Paul.

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mrcheerful

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Fri Nov-18-05 02:24 PM
Response to Original message

26. Small town in Michigan

cut teachers, janitors and music to pay for this years budget cuts. A week later the school system announce they were building a soccer field. Problem is, theres no soccer team in the school nor can they afford to start a team. Politics have to love the stupidity.

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Peter Frank

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Fri Nov-18-05 11:44 PM
Response to Reply #26

29. Pure politics is like big business...

...it doesn't have to make sense to continue, it only needs to continue.

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