We already knew that Jo Jo left his home in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, for some California grass.
Now we know precisely when.
A new three-part documentary series on the making of the Beatles’ album “Let It Be†captures the exact moment when ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ was written into the band’s chart-topping hit “Get Back.â€
The date is Jan. 13, 1969. Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr are sitting in a loose circle at Twickenham Studios in London, noodling with the lyrics for what would become the last song on one of the last albums they would ever record together.
A disgruntled George Harrison has left the session unexpectedly, and no one is sure if he is coming back.
Undeterred, the Fab Three-Fourths get back to work on “Get Back.â€
It’s McCartney who tries “ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€ in the Jo Jo verse for the first time, and it’s obvious he likes it right away.
People are also reading…
“Is ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥?†asks Lennon, with a wad of chewing gum in his mouth and Yoko Ono by his side.
“Yeah, it is. Yeah,†McCartney says. “It’s where they make ‘High Chaparral.’â€
The exchange shows up at about the 18-minute mark in Part 2 of “The Beatles: Get Back,†now streaming on Disney+.
A scene very similar to the one where Paul McCartney first tried "ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥" in the lyrics to "Get Back" while coming up with the song and rehearsing it with his fellow Beatles John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in January 1969 as Yoko Ono watched.
Academy Award-winning Hobbit wrangler Peter Jackson assembled the series using footage shot by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg for a 1970 feature film about the “Let It Be†sessions, which culminated with the Beatles’ famous concert on the rooftop of Apple Studios in London.
McCartney later told a reporter that he knew about ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ — and put it in the song — because his wife, Linda, was a fine-arts major at the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ before she met him.
According to Sir Paul, Jo Jo was just a made-up name.
The Beatles never performed in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, but Paul and Linda spent a lot of time here after they got married and the band broke up.
Paul McCartney and Wings in concert at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Community Center on June 18, 1976. Â
Paul McCartney and Wings played the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Convention Center in 1976, and in 1979, the McCartneys bought a ranch they visited often at the eastern edge of town, near Redington Pass. That’s where they were in 1998 when Linda died of breast cancer.
As for the rest of the Beatles, George Harrison performed two sold-out shows at the TCC on Nov. 14, 1974, with Billy Preston and Ravi Shankar.
He reportedly returned to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in March of 1979 to attend the wedding of his ex-wife Pattie Boyd and some guitarist named Eric Clapton.
According to news accounts, the small, private ceremony at Apostolic Bethel Temple near Valencia Road and 12th Avenue was followed by a limousine parade to the reception at what was then the Sheraton Pueblo Inn near Cushing Street and Interstate 10.
Legendary British rock guitarist Eric Clapton, left, exits Bethel Temple in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ with Pattie Boyd on ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ on March 27, 1979, after the two were married. Boyd was formerly married to George Harrison of the Beatles. Â
Clapton performed at the TCC the following day.
Ringo came to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in 1988 to get clean.
The Beatles drummer and his wife, Barbara Bach, went through six weeks of detox and rehab for alcoholism at Sierra ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
Four years later, a grateful Starr returned to lead a star-studded benefit concert for the Sierra ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Foundation.
Actor Cameron Mitchell, center on horseback, gallops into a scene on the set of the television show "High Chaparral" at Old ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Studios in May, 1968. In January the next year, when Paul McCartney put a ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ reference into the "Get Back" lyrics, John Lennon asked him if ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, and McCartney answered, "“Yeah. It’s where they make ‘High Chaparral.’â€
McCartney Ranch on Redington Road east of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in 1998.Â
Paul and Linda McCartney and their child, Mary, left, and Linda's child from a previous marriage, on Dec. 5, 1971. McCartney's long association with ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ began because Linda had been a University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ fine art student before she met and married him. Â
6 famous singers who came to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in the 1970s and '80s
Billy Joel
Photo by H. Darr Beiser/ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen.
The "Piano Man" himself, Billy Joel, performed at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Community Center, now the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Convention Center, on November 14, 1978, following the success of his iconic 1977 album "The Stranger."
Joel performed for nearly 10,000 fans in the packed TCC arena, who reportedly "went mad" for the singer and were "intoxicated" by his musicianship.Â
After Chuck Graham, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen's entertainment writer at the time, wrote a review saying Joel's concert did not have the intimate feeling fans were used to and that he appeared to be trying too hard after becoming rapidly famous, fans wrote letters to the editor saying they disagreed and thoroughly enjoyed the show.Â
Fun fact:Â Joel's hit song "Only the Good Die Young," caused many ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans to call local radio stations, saying the song was an insult to Catholicism. One station, KHYT, stopped playing it on the airwaves a few months before Joel's concert.
Diana Ross
Photo by: Joy Wolf/ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
Legendary diva Diana Ross performed for a crowd of 12,000 fans at the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s McKale Center on Oct. 3, 1983.
The 12-time Grammy Award nominee sang some of her most famous hits, like "Baby Love," "I'm Coming Out," and "You Can't Hurry Love," but according to a review of the concert by Jill Schensul published in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, Ross "just wasn't all that supreme."
The review did, however, applaud Ross for her lively stage presence and show-stopping, glamorous outfits. The fans attending the concert, who paid $12.50 to $15 per ticket, seemed to enjoy the show more than Schensul, including "grandma-types" who were "up on their chairs dancin'."Â
Fun fact: Some attendees heard a rumor that Michael Jackson would be showing up at Ross's concert and eagerly looked around as she covered the King of Pop's "Beat It" to see if he would make a surprise appearance. Jackson never did, but wouldn't THAT have been a treat for the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans in the crowd?
David Bowie
Photo by: Lew Elliott/ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen.
David Bowie made his ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ debut Sept. 13, 1974 at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Community Center as part of his Diamond Dogs Tour, named after his eighth studio album that was released earlier that year.
The TCC was set up for 9,500, but only sold tickets to 4,032 fans, many of whom were teens and young adults said to have been decked out in feather boas, glitter, bright makeup, capes, and flashy leotards.Â
The late British rock and pop star, known for bringing sexuality, flashiness, and androgyny to his performances, received less-than-favorable critiques after his show. One ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen review said his lyrics were not deep or meaningful.
That didn't stop the thousands of young ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans who showed up on a rainy Friday the 13th and paid $5.50 to $7.50 a ticket to see Bowie, aka Ziggy Stardust, aka Major Tom, aka The Thin White Duke... the man had a lot of alter egos and nicknames...
Led Zeppelin
Photo by: Duane Moore/ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen.
Led Zeppelin's lead singer Robert Plant provided his scratchy rock vocals on the band's last stop of their 1972 North American tour at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Community Center on June 28, 1972. It was the famous English rock band's first and only time playing in the Old Pueblo and 9,000 fans were there to witness it. The band reportedly started an hour later than they were scheduled to.
John Bonham, Led Zeppelin's drummer, was a standout in the show, with an ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ account of the concert by writer Joe Gold praising Bonham's 15-minute drum solo during the song "Moby Dick." Bonham reportedly ditched his drum sticks at one point and played with his bare hands. The band unfortunately broke up in 1980 after Bonham died at age 32.
Bassist John Paul Jones and guitarist Jimmy Page rounded out the band that night and the Star review and one in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen both agreed on two things: the concert was deafening and full of energy.Â
In 2011, a ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥-based tribute band, Whole Lotta Zep, paid homage to the 1972 ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ show by playing the same set list from that night, featuring big hits like "Immigrant Song" and "Stairway to Heaven."
Bo Diddley
Photo credit: Jim Davis/ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
Famed rock and roll artist Bo Diddley took the stage at 55 years old with the local Statesboro Blues Band in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ on April 12, 1984. The five-member band was not able to rehearse with Diddley before the show, but an ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ review said no one could even tell based on how well they meshed on stage.
The 90-minute concert took place at the Voila nightclub/restaurant that used to sit at Tanque Verde Road and Pima Street.
Diddley, born Ellas McDaniel, had been in the music industry for several decades by the time of his 1984 ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ visit and even had a beat named after him. The "Bo Diddley Beat" has been used by dozens of heavy-hitting musicians since: The Supremes, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, and Elton John, just to name a few.
Willie Nelson
Photo credit: Lew Elliott/ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen.
Without the two braids and signature red bandana, you may not recognize Willie Nelson at first, but that's him performing with his band at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Community Center on Sept. 6, 1976.Â
Nelson shared the stage that night with fellow country star Waylon Jennings, who is no stranger to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and lived in the Phoenix area. The two performers went on to join Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson in forming the country supergroup, The Highwaymen, in 1985.Â
Nelson performed for over two hours for a crowd of about 8,000 and received roaring cheers when he first walked out on stage (in tennis shoes, Levi's, and a t-shirt, nonetheless). One ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen review said Nelson looked like "an over-aged hippie" but undoubtedly stole the show.
It's always playtime at University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ archive devoted to video games
