Here Come the Sons
The Beatles have inspired many musicians — including their sons.
By Mike Shellans
John with Julian
All of the Beatles have sons who have pursued music professionally. Perhaps that’s not so weird. But now consider this: All of the Beatles’ sons have pursued musical careers.
For these men, being the son of a Beatle has been a double-edged sword. They attract attention and listeners just for being who they are. But the inevitable comparisons to their fathers raise the question: How can anyone stack up to a Beatle?
Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon was tied to pop music and the Beatles even as a child, having inspired John to compose “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” when he presented his dad with a drawing of a school friend. Paul McCartney composed “Hey Jude” (originally titled “Hey Jules”) out of empathy for Julian during his parents’ divorce.
Julian explored guitar, piano and drums growing up, playing drums on John’s song “Ya Ya” from his Walls and Bridges album. He turned really serious about music after his father’s death. Julian has released six albums to date: Valotte (1984), The Secret Value of Daydreaming (1986), Mr. Jordan (1989), Help Yourself (1991), Photograph Smile (1998) and Everything Changes (2011).
Julian looks like his father, and his sound and style do closely resemble John’s, but his song writing reflects his own personality and perspective. He is a true talent. Julian’s debut single, “Valotte,” for example, released when he was just 21 years old, is a well-crafted, original pop song that showed Julian’s emerging singing and piano skills. “Too Late for Goodbyes” has an engaging up-tempo reggae groove. Nods to John abound — the lyrics, vocal tricks such as bending the high notes, and the strong harmonica playing all bring to mind the senior Lennon. “Stick Around,” from Julian’s second album, offers us a maturing Julian, with richer lower register vocals than John and a 1980s synth-pop beat with a hard edge.
Julian has a gift for harmonizing, and this adds just the right musical icing to his songs. On his strong Mr. Jordan album, Julian teams up with guitarist John McCurry, an ironic progression from Lennon and McCartney in the ’60s to Lennon and McCurry in the ’80s. “Now You’re in Heaven” is one of several standout pieces from Mr. Jordan, with Julian exploring both ends of his singing range over a heavy drum beat, synthesizers and exciting electric guitars.
Julian’s Help Yourself album brought us the gorgeous “Saltwater,” while “Day After Day” from Photograph Smile is a Beatles-esque love song complete with acoustic piano, string orchestra and George Harrison-style slide electric guitar.
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“Saltwater” off the 1991 album Help Yourself. The strings and keyboard are reminiscent of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and the chords seem fresh yet familiar as Julian sings harmony with himself during the wonderfully contrasting bridge section. Steve Hunter’s Beatles-style guitar solo brings together Julian’s original ideas with riffs George Harrison sent to Julian when he was unable to make the recording session.
Julian Lennon
Sean Lennon
Sean Lennon was born on John’s 35th birthday, Oct. 9, 1975, and is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. John said of Sean: “He didn’t come out of my belly but, by God, I made his bones, because I’ve attended to every meal, and to how he sleeps, and to the fact that he swims like a fish.”
Sean was a celebrity from birth, and he took up bass and sang at an early age. He first sang on Yoko’s 1984 album Every Man Has a Woman. Unlike his half-brother Julian, Sean delved into the more experimental side of pop music, signing with Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys at the age of 23 and releasing Into the Sun in 1998.
One writer says of the album, “It has unexpectedly eclectic roots and a laid-back vibe.” But songs such as “Queue” sound somewhat amateurish and undeveloped, borrowing at times from the Beach Boys and placing Sean’s much-thinner-than-John’s voice over inexpensive sounding synthesizers and off-the-cuff harmonies.
After touring as guest bassist with Cibo Matto, an electronic pop rock duo from Japan, Sean released Half Horse Half Musician in 1999. “Heart and Lung” from that album showed Sean’s voice maturing, but he tries too hard to project. The song has cute elements, with a synth clarinet melody, bells and percussion over ’50s-style strummed acoustic guitars, but the best part occurs near the end, when Sean sings nonsense words very reminiscent of John’s vocal ad-libs. His next album, Friendly Fire, didn’t appear until 2006, and according to Allmusic.com, “As it stands, Sean’s career is starting to seem like a rich kid’s holiday, and Friendly Fire has the same feel as Into the Sun: namely, it’s a pleasant but forgettable arty pop record made by a guy who has some promise but little discipline.”
The title track for Friendly Fire, with its lovely strummed acoustic guitars and melodic electric bass, is a high point. The song is well-constructed, but even here it is clear that Sean simply wasn’t born with a great natural singing voice, and his intonation can wander at times. He does stretch his range a bit at the song’s end, with his voice’s reedy quality working better at the upper end of his register.
In 2009, Sean composed the score for the film Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead, and bits such as “Elsinore Reprise” are delightful and right in his musical wheelhouse.
John with Sean
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“Dead Meat” from the 2006 album Friendly Fire. This track has a “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” feel, with Sean’s voice supported by acoustic guitars and strings. Lush harmonies and a gorgeous chord progression elevate the bridge section, and the string interlude takes us back to the Beatles’ songs under George Martin. Sean’s solid work on the rhythm guitar and purposeful vocals make this a top-notch cut.
Sean Lennon
Zak Starkey
It seems only natural that Zak would take up drums, with father Ringo Starr (whose real name is Richard Starkey) holding down that chair with the Beatles. But Ringo said early on, “I won’t let Zak be a drummer!”
When Zak was 9, Ringo said, “We’ve got a piano at home and he bashes it, I show him a chord. I think he will be a musician, in fact.”
But Zak seemed destined to sit behind the kit. After one drum lesson from his dad, Zak taught himself, bashing away to records. Zak was performing by age 12, joining the garage band The Next as a teen and leaving home to work with the Spencer Davis group. The Who bassist John Entwistle produced Zak’s next band, Nightfly, and Zak’s ’80s project with Eddie Hardin, Wind in the Willows, was a joint venture featuring Donovan, Jon Lord, Denny Laine and Billy Ocean.
By the mid 1980s, Zak had played with Roger Daltry and John Entwistle, and he shared the stage for a 1987 Aids Day benefit concert with rock luminaries Elton John, George Michael and Boy George, as well as jazz giant Herbie Hancock. In 1987, the band Musty Jack Sponge & The Exploding Nudists featured brothers Zak on guitar and Jason on drums. Zak spent the 1990s playing with artists like Joe Walsh in Ringo’s All-Starr touring band.
After drumming for the short-lived band Face, Zak joined forces with The Who, starting with 1996’s Quadrophenia Tour. Zak’s first drum set was a gift from The Who’s Keith Moon. No one could predict at that time that Ringo’s son would eventually be Moon’s replacement.
The Who guitarist Pete Townshend has said, “We’re really pleased to have him in the band. He’s just stunning. He’s very easy to play with. Mind you, I’m very spoiled with drummers. Zak has a lot of karmic Keith Moon about him, which is wonderful. It’s easy to make too much of that — he really is his own drummer. He has his own style. But he’s very intelligent. What he did was adapt his own style as an imitator of Keith Moon, but he’s modified that, moderated it, in a very intelligent and musical way so that he won’t be directly compared.”
Zak spent time drumming for the band Oasis, a Beatles-influenced band, in the early and mid-part of the millennium, but his commitments with The Who, including their spectacular half-time show at the 2010 Super Bowl, continue to keep him busy.
Listening to Zak’s interpretation of The Who classics is like a live drum lesson. Zak seems to be the logical next step forward from Ringo, as he not only has his dad’s attention to song form, tempo and musical detail, but also more drive and fire in his belly behind the kit. Zak is the genuine article as a drummer.
Ringo and Maureen with their first baby, Zak.
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“Overture” from 1998’s Who’s Serious album. Zak is the unmistakable center of musical attention in this cut from an album showcasing The Who working with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Zak’s
energetic, driving beat gives the track life, and his precision is offset by a bit of wild abandon perhaps inherited from mentor Keith Moon. Listen as Zak makes every fill, kick and tempo change
seamless and decidedly musical.
In 2010, The Who, including Zak Starkey on drums, performed at the Super Bowl in Florida.
Jason Starkey
Ringo’s second son, Jason Starkey, once exclaimed, “Being Ringo Starr’s son is the biggest drag of my life. It’s a total pain.” Yet Jason has explored music like his brother and father, playing drums and working as a road manager for such bands as Buddy Curtis and the Grasshoppers, the People’s Friends, and with his brother in Musty Jack Sponge & The Exploding Nudists. Unfortunately, Jason’s arrest for theft and problems with drugs have slowed his career, but he continues to drum with various groups.
Dhani Harrison
George Harrison and second wife Olivia’s only son was by his father’s side during the production of his last album, Brainwashed (2001), and he sang and played guitar at the Concert for George on the first anniversary of his father’s death. Dhani (pronounced Danny) earned this comment from Paul at the Concert for George: “Olivia said that with Dhani up on stage, it looks like George stayed young, and we all got old.”
Dhani sings and plays lead guitar in a band he formed in 2006 called thenewno2 (pronounced “the new number two”). He says of the unusual name, which is a reference to the 1960s British television show The Prisoner, “I wanted it to be a faceless entity, because I didn’t want to be Dhani Harrison and the Uncles, or whatever. There was just too much flak around the name Harrison at the time. I started the band so I could send anyone to a meeting, and when they were asked who they were, they could simply say ‘The New No. 2.’”
You Are Here, thenewno2’s debut album, was released in 2009. Allmusic.com writer Tom Forget comments, “George Harrison’s son Dhani obviously has some of the biggest shoes imaginable to fill (second only maybe to poor Sean Lennon), and he’s wisely decided to avoid the whole problem by following his own modern muse. The skittering beats and synths owe more to English trip-hop acts and electronic pioneers than to classic rock.” Indeed, songs like “Shelter” combine electronic and rock sounds in a fresh, relaxed, inventive way, and Dhani’s vocal texture is much like his father’s. This is a well-rehearsed, very musical band, doing everything right, and both Spin and Rolling Stone have given the band positive reviews.
Dhani was also critical in the development of The Beatles: Rock Band game, getting Paul and Ringo’s participation and striving for accuracy. Dhani said of the project, “We’ve been working on it for the past two years. This is the first one that is going to be totally historically accurate. It’s been a real headache, but it’s been the most enjoyable work I’ve done in my life.”
In August 2010, Dhani joined with Ben Harper to form Fistful of Mercy; the band released As I Call You Down later that year. In 2012 thenewno2 released their second album, thefearofmissingout. Recently thenewno2 composed and performed the score for the film Beautiful Creatures.
Dhani and Olivia Harrison
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“Chose What You’re Watching,” a single from 2008. This is a great cut, featuring confident vocals by Dhani, hard rocking double-time drums, and catchy vocal harmonies. The bridge section has a harder edge, and the ska backbeat chorus provides an effective contrast to the earlier groove.
James McCartney
The U.K.’s Telegraph says of Paul McCartney’s son James: “He is never likely to challenge his dad as a pop pin-up: he looks like a slightly plumper, sadder and balder ginger Paul.” Beyond the remarkable facial similarity to his father, James has a similar, if thinner, vocal quality. James’ first musical appearances included Paul’s albums Flaming Pie (1997) and Driving Rain (2001). After his mother’s death in 1998, James appeared on Linda’s posthumous album Wide Prairie. Some of his youth was spent on the road with his parents and their band, Wings.
James emerged as a musician in his own right in 2009 using the name Light. Paul produced James’s album Available Light (2010), released under James’ name. His follow-up album Close at Hand was in stores the next year. Writers had mixed opinions about James’ music. One writer said, “James has released a couple of pleasant EPs that reference sixties beat music, although more the kind of jangly rock of the Byrds and Searchers than the muscular pop of the Beatles.”
James released his debut, full-length album in 2013, simply titled Me. Allmusic.com commented, “The melodies are direct, not elliptical, the feel is warm and enveloping — but it’s the craftsmanship of Me that resonates, as it takes skill to create a set of songs this subtle and strong.” Songs like “Wisteria” suffer some from unsure delivery and inaccurate intonation, showing James to be a hard worker musically but perhaps not gifted with a natural singing talent.
Paul, Linda and James McCartney.
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“Old Man” from the 2011 album Available Light. This version of Neil Young’s classic shows James to be a more-than-competent acoustic guitarist, and he delivers a heartfelt vocal.
James McCartney.
Stella McCartney
All of the Beatles’s boys entered the music business, but the girls, for the most part, have steered clear of their father’s profession, choosing quieter lives away from the media.
One noteworthy exception is fashion designer Stella McCartney, who is probably the best known of all the Beatles offspring. Bursting to prominence shortly after her fashion design studies were completed, Stella was named a creative director for Chloe in 1997. In 2001, she launched her own fashion house. She collaborates with Adidas on a line of sportswear and was the creative director for the British Olympic team in 2012. Like her dad, Stella balances her work with her family, and is the mother of four children.
Mike Shellans has been on the music faculty at Arizona State University since 1985. Among his classes are Music of the Beatles and Beatles After the Beatles. His favorite Bealtes’ song is “Dear Prudence.”