Nowadays Olive Can't Even Write

In 2008, a piece of paper with the handwritten lyrics for the John Lennon-penned " Give Peace a Chance " sold for $790,000 at auction after being estimated to be worth about $400,000 or so. Credit: Christie's/The Canadian Press The owner, author Gail Renard was given the lyrics when she was sixteen years old by Lennon during he and Yoko Ono's bed-in against the Vietnam War at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada. Renard was with them for all eight days, helping to keep fans and press controlled and looking after Ono's five-year-old daughter, Kyoko. She also had a hand in the first recording for the song, among many other guests, including Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, Petula Clark, and Alan Ginsberg.  She credits Lennon for kicking off her career, with one of her first paid submissions being an interview they had set up.  If you are interested in learning more about her eight day experience, she talks in-depth about it in her book, titled John Lennon: Gi...

On April 12, 1990, the Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (located at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts) announced that it would be naming Asteroids 4147, 4148, 4149, and 4150 to Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr respectively. All four of them are between 5 and 10 diameters, and were discovered in 1983 and 1984 by Brian A. Skiff and Dr. Edward L.G. Bowell. Both worked in the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona at the time. Credit: Apple Corps Ltd. "My colleague and I have been fans of the Beatles for 25 years or so, ever since their early days. We thought this would be an unusual distinction for them." Bowell says. He then goes on to add, "It is customary to name asteroids after distinguished scientists or Greek and Roman goddesses, but times are changing, and we think it is a fun thing to honor some other people we like and who we think have done nice things in the world." The two astronomers had discovered a...

The Beatles' Official Fan Club Closes (1972) Credit: David Magnus/Shutterstock Despite the Beatles' breakup taking place in 1970, their fan club continued on for another two years in support of each member's solo careers until it was asked to be dissolved by the Beatles themselves. A meeting was held at Apple Corps, where they discussed the value of a fan club for a band that no longer existed when club secretary Freda Kelly also revealed she would be leaving the work force to raise her two children. The final decision was made by George Harrison, who turned to Kelly and said " Freda, you were there in the beginning, you’re there at the end. Let’s call it a day, let’s end the fan club". Led Zeppelin Releases Presence  (1976) Led Zeppelin released their seventh studio album,  Presence , through Swan Song Records. It was recorded in Hollywood, California while singer Robert Plant was recovering from a car accident, as he was forced to recover abroad as a tax exile  ...

While today marks what would have been the 80th birthday of former Beatle George Harrison, it also marks the 8th birthday of the George Harrison tree's replacement, which couldn't have been needed for a more amusing reason. Source: Anna Pantoliano The original tree, which was a Canary Island pine, was planted on Harrison's birthday a few months after his death on this day in 2002. It managed to survive until 2014, when it was eaten by beetles. Ceremony organizer Paula Greenfield blames California's long-standing drought for the infestation, adding  “It’s because of the drought that beetles are able to get into the trees to begin with. I’ve had neighbors who’ve lost trees during this drought — when they take them down they’re totally hollowed out.” The replacement tree was planted the following year on what would have been his 72nd birthday. In order to avoid this one having the same ironic fate as the first tree, a yew pine was chosen instead. Less likely to be eaten b...

Hey, readers! After a nasty bout with the flu, I am now back with another list. Nothing new today, but there are a couple of interesting anniversaries. Check them out below! The Monkees Announce Decision to Drop Session Musicians (1967) Source: Keystone Features/Getty Images Rather than using session musicians, The Monkees decided they would use their own recordings from this point forward. They had been wanting a chance to record their own written material for some time, but were not initially given a chance. The Beatles Release Double A-Side Single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" (1967) The Beatles released the John Lennon-penned " Strawberry Fields Forever " and the Paul McCartney-penned " Penny Lane ", which served as a turning point from their usual poppy sound to a more psychedelic sound, as well as a sort of ode to both members' childhoods. " Strawberry Fields Forever " is also my all-time favorite Beatles song. Elec...

 February 7 carries a fair amount of news with it, mainly based around birthdays and important anniversaries. Check them out here! The Beatles Release "Please Please Me"  in the US (1963) & Arrive in the US for the First Time (1964) Source: @FlyPanAm on Twitter "Please Please Me"  became the first Beatles single to be released to the US a month after its UK counterpart. It had been rejected by various American record companies before being picked up by Vee-Jay Records.  The following year, The Beatles made their first appearance in the States. Their flight, Pan Am flight 101, was greeted by over 5,000 fans as it arrived at JFK Airport in Queens, New York. The Stooges Release Raw Power (1973) Raw Power  was the Stooges' third studio album, which contains one of their most well-known songs, "Search and Destroy" . Although it was originally mixed by vocalist Iggy Pop, it had to be remixed by David Bowie due to Pop's lack of regard for overall qual...

 On February 1, 2008, US space agency NASA announced its decision to beam the Beatles' " Across the Universe " into space. It was the first song to be used as such.  Source: Harper Collins/Press Association The song was to be aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light-years away as a means to celebrate the song's 40th anniversary. It was officially beamed on the 4th through the deep space network, which is a series of giant radio antennas used to support spacecraft missions. Paul McCartney wrote to the space agency, stating: "Amazing! Well done, NASA. Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul." Yoko Ono also added a statement. "I see that this is the beginning of the new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets across the universe." As a result of the event, fans have dubbed February 4 as Across the Universe Day. If you would like to read more on the event, you can check it out on NASA's website here . Happy listening!

January 30, 2022 - Today seems to be a rather loaded day for the music world, and holds a lot of great news, as well as a cool part of music history! Celebrating the Late Marty Balin on His Birthday (1942) Martyn Jerel Buchwald, known professionally as Marty Balin, was a co-founding member of Jefferson Airplane, and later, a member of Jefferson Starship. Balin would have been 81 years old as of today. Celebrating the Late Steve Marriott on His Birthday (1947) Source: Andrew Maclear/Redferns Stephen Peter Marriott, was the co-founder of both Small Faces and Humble Pie, and has been recognized by artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Perry, Clem Burke, and Paul Stanley as one of the best vocalists ever. Marriott died far too young at the age of 44, and would have been 76 today. Phil Collins Celebrates His 72nd Birthday (1951) David Philip Charles Collins, known as the drummer and (eventual) lead singer of Genesis, celebrates his birthday today. He learned to play the drums at age five, an...

42 years ago, on the night December 8, 1980, the world was sent into shock by the unexpected death of John Lennon. Lennon was assassinated by Mark David Chapman, who had him autograph a copy of "Double Fantasy" almost six hours beforehand as he and then-wife Yoko Ono were leaving The Dakota, the apartment complex where they resided, and later returned to at 10:50 PM. As they were entering the building, Chapman shot him a total of four times (twice in the back, twice in the shoulder) at close range. He was rushed to the hospital in the back of a police cruiser and announced dead on arrival at 11:15 PM. Source: AP Photo The following morning, Yoko Ono issued a statement reading "There is no funeral for John. John loved and prayed for the human race. Please do the same for him. Love, Yoko and Sean." Many of the following details covering the aftermath of John Lennon's Death have been highly disputed, as many different versions of the event's timeline as well as...