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9.09am
18 December 2012
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This may be a silly thing, but I find it kinda fun to think about sometimes, especially if the celebrity is a big fan of The Beatles. Seeing as a person’s favourite Beatle gives you an idea of their personality, I thought it might be interesting to make a list for each Beatle of the famous people who love them most, and if you happen to have any quotes on hand, that would be nice as well. I find it particularly interesting what musicians say because sometimes their choice can be heard in the way they play or seen from their style, but other times it can be the complete opposite of what you’d assume.
Here are the ones I know:
Gary Oldman
Kevin Spacey
Steve Jobs
– “John Lennon ‘s creativity and work ethic didn’t just help ensure the Beatles‘ music was legendary, it also inspired Apple’s recently deceased co-founder Steve Jobs to strive for perfection within his company, according to an authorized biography of the visionary by Walter Isaacson.
A bootleg of the classic Beatles’ song ‘Strawberry Fields Forever ,’ especially one part where Lennon stops the band from playing and makes them return to the beginning to revise a chord, fascinated Jobs, according to the biography, as reported by Showbiz 411.
‘It’s a complex song, and it’s fascinating to watch the creative process as they went back and forth and finally created it over a few months. Lennon was always my favorite Beatle,’ Isaacson quoted Jobs as saying before he addressed the chord change the two heard. ‘Did you hear that little detour they took? It didn’t work, so they went back and started from where they were…Yet they just didn’t stop. They were such perfectionists they kept it going and going.’
The care with which Lennon and the other Beatles crafted their songs ‘Made a big impression on me when I was in my thirties….They kept sending it back to make it closer to perfect,’ Jobs said.
The Beatles’ sonic results were part of the reason Jobs held himself and his employees to such a strong work ethic driving them to work toward perfection.
‘The way we build stuff at Apple is often this way. Even the number of models we’d make of a new notebook or iPod,’ he said. ‘We would start off with a version and then begin refining and refining, doing detailed models of the design, or the buttons, or how a function operates. It’s a lot of work, but in the end it just gets better, and soon it’s like, “‘Wow, how did they do that?!? Where are the screws?’”
Drew Barrymore
Joey Ramone
Joe Strummer
John Green
Elton John
Jack White – “Paul is my favorite Beatle. He’s been a big influence on me — especially the way that he sings.”
Meryl Streep
Renee Zellweger
Brian Wilson
Meg Ryan
Oprah Winfrey
J.K. Rowling
Dave Grohl
Katey Sagal (Leela on Futurama, Gemma on Sons of Anarchy)
Noel Gallagher
Brian May
Professor Brian Cox
Lemmy
– “It’s funny how that hit me,” he told Kerrang. “The last death that affected me was Sid Vicious, cos he never had a f*****g chance. But George Harrison really upset me. It was about three days before it really sank in. It was a real shame. He was the best musician in the Beatles and in the end he wrote the best songs. While Lennon and McCartney were off doing their personal columns, Harrison was coming out with great stuff.”
“Lemmy was listening to George Harrison ‘s greatest hits before gigs, which is pretty awesome. I’d be sitting in his dressing room listening to ‘My Sweet Lord ’ and then 10 minutes later, he was pummeling Glasgow or Sheffield with ‘Dr. Rock.’” – Wes Orshoski
Johnny Marr
Martin Scorsese
Tim Allen
Keith Moon
May Pang
Steve Gorman (Black Crowes drummer)
I’ll edit quotes in later on.
5.54pm
5 July 2010
Offline This is pretty interesting. Why exactly is May Pang’s favourite Beatle Ringo?
The Pope owns 51% of General Motors
6.12pm
6 August 2013
Offline - Katey Sagal (Leela on Futurama, Gemma on Sons of Anarchy)”
Sorry, but Katey will to me always be Peggy Bundy from Married with Children. Just like no matter what Ed O’Neill does in his career (and he’s had a great career… he still has a great career), I can never not see him still as Al Bundy to this very day.
The idea of Lemmy from Motorhead prefering George Harrison is humorous to think about, but Lemmy’s always marched to the beat of his own drummer.
Considering Elton John worked with John Lennon in ’74-’75, it’s easy to envision John being his favorite Beatle.
Keith Moon gave Zak Starkey his first drum kit, so no surprise Keith favored Ringo.
"There's no such thing as bad student... only bad teacher."
6.12pm
10 August 2011
Offline
What does a choice of a favorite Beatle say about a person?
That in itself is a great topic.
With regards to celebrities, do we know, bewareofchairs, that the list is (still) accurate? David Grohl has played a great deal with McCartney; do we know if Harrison is still his favorite?
"Into the Sky with Diamonds" (the Beatles and the Race to the Moon – a history)
6.30pm
8 November 2012
Offline Into the Sky with Diamonds said David Grohl has played a great deal with McCartney; do we know if Harrison is still his favorite?
I had the same question.
parlance
8.05pm
Reviewers
16 December 2013
Offline Bjway said
This is pretty interesting. Why exactly is May Pang’s favourite Beatle Ringo?
I was about to ask the same question.
10.22pm
18 December 2012
Offline She doesn’t really explain why:
In Seth Swirsky’s new movie Beatles Stories, Pang, who romanced Lennon in the mid-1970s after he split from Yoko Ono, admits her ex once asked her who her Fab Four favourite was – and wasn’t pleased with the answer.
She says, “John said, ‘Who is your favourite Beatle?’ and I said, ‘Ringo’. I was so embarrassed. I said, ‘But your songs were it. I loved your songs’. Which is true. I loved his songs but my favourite Beatle was Ringo.
“John was quite upset, actually.”
Wasn’t Linda McCartney’s favourite Beatle John?
10.27pm
Reviewers
16 December 2013
Offline ^ Yes, I’ve heard Paul say that Linda’s favorite Beatle was John as well.
But for May’s to be Ringo, it is a quite interesting thing to hear.
12.14am
21 November 2012
Offline ^
That thing about them actually preferring other Beatles is actually hilarious.
And I had the same question about Dave Grohl.
2.08am
18 December 2012
Offline wetsroosa said
- Katey Sagal (Leela on Futurama, Gemma on Sons of Anarchy)”
Sorry, but Katey will to me always be Peggy Bundy from Married with Children. Just like no matter what Ed O’Neill does in his career (and he’s had a great career… he still has a great career), I can never not see him still as Al Bundy to this very day.
The idea of Lemmy from Motorhead prefering George Harrison is humorous to think about, but Lemmy’s always marched to the beat of his own drummer.
Considering Elton John worked with John Lennon in ’74-’75, it’s easy to envision John being his favorite Beatle.
Keith Moon gave Zak Starkey his first drum kit, so no surprise Keith favored Ringo.
Ah, I knew I was forgetting something! Thanks for reminding me.
About the list, I’d say it’s pretty reliable because I went by quotes which are very recent, and some of the people on there have made it very clear who their favourite is over the years. I wondered that about Dave Grohl as well, but I went with George because Grohl has only known Paul for a few years, whereas George has been his favourite for most of his life, and it’s not like he has the option of playing with him if he wanted to. Also, like with May Pang preferring Ringo, I think it’s interesting to know which Beatle a person looked up to before they met them or became friends with them.
Then again, I remember an NME article where Ringo was named Grohl’s favourite, so maybe he’s a “love them all” kinda guy. 
Musicians like Elliot Smith and Alex Turner seem like they’re the same way. At one point when he did the Submarine soundtrack Alex said George was his favourite musician, but he’s also a big fan of John’s lyrics.
11.33pm
8 November 2013
Offline benedict cumberbatch was asked in an interview if he prefers john lennon or paul mccartney, and he answered: “john.”-and then, nearly ashamed “sorry, paul”. 
but i don’t know if this counts, as ringo and george were not considered.
1.57am
1 August 2013
Offline I can’t imagine Bob Dylan giving a straightforward answer to any sort of “who/what is your favorite ____”, but he did say this a few years ago:
“To this day, it’s hard to find a better singer than Lennon was, or than McCartney was and still is. I’m in awe of McCartney. He’s about the only one that I am in awe of. He can do it all. And he’s never let up. He’s got the gift for melody, he’s got the rhythm, he can play any instrument. He can scream and shout as good as anybody, and he can sing a ballad as good as anybody. And his melodies are effortless, that’s what you have to be in awe of… He’s just so damn effortless. I just wish he’d quit. [laughs] Everything that comes out of his mouth is just framed in melody.”
3.11am
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline And Bobby said this in 1985, “I really miss (Jimi Hendrix) a lot, him and Lennon…”
And as part of the same interview commented, “I mean I relate to people as people but people as fans, I’m not sure I know what that means and don’t forget John Lennon was murdered by a so-called fan…”
And as early as 1965, Bob dismissed Paul as a writer, “Yesterday ? You can find a thousand songs like that being written in the Brill Building.”
Bob liked George most, and recognised an equal in John.
“Shine your light, Move it on, You burned so bright, Roll on John…”
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
5.27am
1 August 2013
Offline ^^I can see Bob’s point about “Yesterday .” It’s lovely; I can’t knock it — but IMO its elevated status has more to do with its placement in history and remarkable creation legend — a melody that arrived in a dream and became the most covered song of all time, etc.
I’m certain I read a Bob-quote stating quite categorically that Lennon wasn’t in his league, lyrically. This was fairly recently; late 2000s, I think.
So, trust Dylan to be of many minds on the subject. I would hope George was his “favorite,” though, seeing as they were friends. (?)
5.29am
1 August 2013
Offline Do we have Katie Couric in George’s column? She did a lovely interview with Olivia after George’s passing.
And yes, Linda’s favorite Beatle was John, lol. 
A fact Paul frequently reported with much mock-chagrin.
9.25am
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline Isn’t that the problem with this type of question? Often, for the answer to “favourite”, the answer from many of their contemporaries will be based on who they were/are closest friends with from among the four. Responses are also often depending on the circumstance, setting, or when the statement was made.
That said, I think it’s fair enough to say George was Eric Clapton’s and Ravi Shankar’s favourite Beatle.
Ozzy Osbourne has said John on numerous occasions, and also names In My Life as his favourite song ever.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
12.55am
8 November 2012
Offline Well, I can tell you who doesn’t have a favorite Beatle: Rod Stewart.
parlance
12.43am
8 November 2012
Offline A story from Colin Hay from NBCSanDiego via the Macca Report:
Colin Hay does what he wants
He’s a man who picked himself up by his bootstraps after his band Men at Work imploded in 1985 and made his own way through the music industry ever since. He started a record label, Lazy Eye Records, to release his albums when labels weren’t calling. He’s toured (and continues to tour) worldwide. He’s got one of the most recognizable voices around, made cameos on “Scrubs” and has written some of the catchiest pop hits of the last 30 years.
Knowing his penchant for storytelling and his lifelong affinity with The Beatles — and that he’s hung out with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (even played in Ringo’s All-Starr band for a while), I had to ask: Did you freak out when you first met Macca?
“When I first met Paul McCartney , it was at a small club in Hollywood called Largo. He came to the club, and he may not have been there for me — but in my head, I decided he came to see me. [Laughs] But as I was going on stage, he was just standing there. And it was very exciting because that was the band to me, and for a lot of people as well. I don’t think anyone ever put anything together as incredible as those guys. He actually pointed out to me in one conversation, ‘The coincidence of four people meeting and getting together is quite remarkable when you think about it. When you look at John, he’s no slouch, George is no slouch, Ringo is no slouch and neither am I. But having all four of us meet and come together as a band is actually rather extraordinary, you know?’
parlance
The following people thank parlance for this post:
Beatlebug1.56am
22 September 2014
Offline parlance said
Well, I can tell you who doesn’t have a favorite Beatle: Rod Stewart.parlance
Ha! Even the Rutles are better than Rod; just ask @Ron Nasty.
The following people thank georgiewood for this post:
parlance, Ron NastyI say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did'.
Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake, 1997
12.07am
1 December 2009
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georgiewood said
parlance said
Well, I can tell you who doesn’t have a favorite Beatle: Rod Stewart.parlance
Ha! Even the Rutles are better than Rod; just ask @Ron Nasty.
Don’t understand the antipathy toward Rod or that quote – I don’t give a f**k about a “Beatles Reunion” that wouldn’t involve John and George either. And he and his band made a couple of albums practically as good as any of the immediate post-Beatle solo output. (Not as good as the Rutles tho!)
The following people thank vonbontee for this post:
Beatlebug, Ron NastyGEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
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