My friend had never heard Beatles' Yesterday before until tonight

So I was playing the Motown Beatles SH disc for my friend and I played him Gaye's version of Yesterday and he had no idea what song it was so I played him the Beatles version and he still had never heard it before

I had never met anybody that had never heard of this song before! Isn't this song in the Guiness Book Of World records as the most played song ever?

So I went through the whole Beatles catalog playing well- known songs by them and he knew like 30% of them. So strange! He's just a normal white kid from CT. He's not from a different country or anything.

BTW- He thought Yesterday was dull!

 

How old is he?

 

My age! 26!

 

Yesterday is actually the most covered song according to Guinness. That does seem strange that your friend never heard it before.

 

I was thinking the other day of how, at least in my area, the Beatles aren't played all that much on the radio. "Yesterday" and the more mellow side of the Beatles especially seems to not be on the play lists. Sometimes "Eleanor Rigby" is trotted out on the classic rock station, but that's about it. The oldies station will throw in some stuff from Rubber Soul and earlier albums.

Now, I'd be curious as to who this poor guy's parents are!? I mean in my household, how you learned to operate the audio equipment was by playing Beatles vinyl. Someone who is 26 probably missed out on that whole concept. The CD's were nothing to shout about, so maybe his folks never had any Beatles.

 

Wow I do sort of feel sorry for the dude, what a shame. I do admire the fact that someone of your age of 26 is hip enough to many types of music and can appreciate it. Always keep your ears open and listening, but most of all I admire that you are as cool of a young man to turn your friend on to good music to open up his listening habits. BE VERY PROUD!!

 

I went to college with this guy from Sugarland, Texas who had never heard of the Beatles... weird.

 

WOW! To a 42 year old guy (me), that almost makes me cry to think that today's younger generation is sometimes completely missing out on something as big as the Beatles!

I find it mandatory (if you enjoy music) to share the essentials to EVERYONE

The Beatles
Elvis
Frank Sinatra
Motown
The Blues
The Beach Boys
Dylan
and anything that Steve Hoffman has touched (for a lesson in good vs. evil in sound reproduction!)

What the hell are they teaching in college? Music education "SHOULD" be a top priority, instead of goofy crap like..."How many days would it take Johnny to get from New York to Ohio if he were driving a VW bug that was filled with 1/4 tank of gas on the PA Turnpike, in the middle of a snowstorm, using his 8-track player to keep warm?"

...and "MY" friends ask me why I didn't go to college??? Ha-hah!

Shawn, back to your friend...I suggest that you start educating him by putting on "Abbey Road" and locking the door for about 2 days. I promise that your friend will walk out of that room saying "what is that garbage I've been listening to on M-TV for all these years"!

Chris C

 

in 24 years of teaching i don't think i have ever had one student who hadn't heard of the beatles. and i taught junior high school for 18 of those years.

funny this came up, just this week i had a freshman student who never heard of elvis presley.

 

For today's teenagers, the classic oldies are 70's disco and 80's new wave tracks. The 60's are just too far away. They know many tunes from that time only through horrible remakes by girl groups or 10 second excerpts in TV commercials.

 

Look at it the other way though - this guy can now go on the journey of discovery ... I remember when I borrowed my aunt's Rubber Soul and Abbey Road LPs and heard them all the way through for the first time; they blew me away - and if I could go back, I would, if you get my meaning?

 

I have met MANY people who have either never heard any Beatles songs or of the Beatles, and not all of them are under 30. I meet many baby-boomers who have no clue as well as many seniors.

A LOT of people just have never been exposed to certain types of music for whatever reason. See, WE can't imagine it, but then we are all nutty about music.

 

A friend of mine, who's a huge Beatle fan and with music in general, married a gal who thought The Beatles and The Bee Gee's were the same group when he met her.

 

Unfortunately, people, The Beatles were a long time ago, and people of a certain(very young)age bracket have virtually no exposure to them. A guy who I work with(age 21)said to me, "Weren't they the first boy band?"(which they were to an extant, as much as they were the first ANYTHING). I couldn't believe he had no idea of how important they were, and are.

However, they will always be around and be listened to by SOMEBODY.

Evan

 

By oldies I assum you mean 650 CIL (or Senile as we pugnatiously refered to it! - ah youth!!)

 

This frankly amazes me. I could understand somebody not caring for the Beatles' music. I can maybe even buy someone never having heard a Beatles song. But to never have heard of the Beatles?