The Beatles_HWG 2024

Mango platter with ebonized mango upright stand.
An additional charge of $250 to crate for shipping - does not include shipping cost.

The Boys from Liverpool
In the 1960's, people all over the world knew who the Beatles were. Today not much has changed. I was 10 years old when the-Beatles broke up in 1970. I was too young to be a part of the 60's rock music explosion, but I do remember the day that I heard that news. They were the first modern Rock & Roll band. Before them there was Elvis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and more, but never a group with one name and no front man; just The Beatles, spelled with an "a".

Over the decades, for those of us who listened to classic rock radio stations, we would hear a Beatles song or two almost daily, as I still do now while working in my wood studio. There were times that I would mention to my wife that I had heard a great Beatles song that day. It wasn't that I was unfamiliar with the song, but just
-that I appreciated it because of the feelings it aroused in me.

Although I liked their music, I never considered myself to be a Beatles fan. But recently, I came across a book recommended by a friend entitled "In Tune" by Mark Lewisohn. It's a detailed account of John, Paul, George, Ringo and their family's history in Liverpool, England. All of whom originated from Ireland except for Ringo's family. The book takes the reader through their childhoods to the early Rock & Roll days of their band. As I read this long and detailed book, I came to appreciate what they meant to music and to a movement, more than ever before. The band wrote almost 200 songs, with John and Paul writing most of them together.

Before I read this book, if I had been asked how many Beatles songs I was familiar with, I probably would have answered, about 20. But when I looked up the complete titles list of their original songs, it ended up being close to 80 songs that I could sing some of the lyrics or at least hum along to. I was stunned that the count was so high.

With their music, they gained so much fame and they gave us, the world, so much in return. So, in recognition of the four Liverpudlians that came from working class families and were raised in a rough and industrial city, I made this piece. The song titles are burned into the wood, much like their music is burned into our minds. This Mango wood piece holds 36 of their better-known songs and it was made with "Love, Love, Love..."
Michael Patrick Smith
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