Wednesday, May 04, 2016

The Sheppard-Lennon debate

In Lee Sheppard's Tax Notes column this week, before segueing to her actual (tax) topic, she offered a well-deserved Prince tribute, but couldn't resist a drive-by slag at the Beatles, in the form of claiming that George Martin was their most important member.

I'll subcontract the answer to this to John Lennon, from a 1971 letter:

"When people ask me questions about 'What did George Martin really do for you?' I have only one answer, 'What does he do now?'  I noticed you had no answer for that!.... [A]nd, by the way, I hope Seatrain is a good substitute for the Beatles."

Had he written this letter 3 years later, he could have added America and "Tin Man" - a song that is unforgettable if you listened to the radio in the early 1970s, but not for lack of trying.

(Sorry, George Martin, whom I of course appreciate and admire.)

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