Common song by Muslim Magomayev and The Beatles
Muslim Magomayev is a musical icon of the Soviet Union! Exactly like The Beatles - an icon of an entire era of British rock ... But what can be common between them? In fact, they are connected by only one song. Although it would be more accurate to say "one and a half"! Why? About everything in order!
How did Yesterday sound for the first time in the House of Unions?
The concert that took place in March 1974 marked a kind of milestone in the history of Soviet television ... To begin with, it is worth noting that on the Internet you can find information about how Magomayev performed the "Beatle hit" back in the late 1960s. It happened in the Kremlin. But! If we talk specifically about a public solo performance, then it happened in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions…
At that time, Muslim Magomayev was already incredibly popular in the vastness of the Soviet Union! This explains all the excitement that surrounded this concert ... It is worth noting that there was a live broadcast! Yes Yes! But for that time, it was a big, big rarity ... The Soviet viewer will not let you lie: then almost all programs could be watched only in the recording. However, returning to the topic of the concert, it should be added that, for some unknown reason, the filming of it has not been preserved ... But not everything is so bad! After all, atmospheric photographs of that day and an audio recording in decent quality have been preserved!
And it all started like this...
March. 1974 Column Hall of the House of the Unions. Svetlana Mikhailovna Morgunova announces the eighteenth composition. She turned out to be the same "Yesterday" ...
Muslim Magometovich performed the cult "Beatle hit" very beautifully! True, it is somehow strange, in its own way ... In the performance of Magomayev, this chamber, intimate composition turned into a pompous anthem!
And who remembers, somewhere at the beginning of the third minute, the artist, apparently, forgot himself and sang the glory of one very well-known political party. True, he came to his senses in time and, in great embarrassment, switched to almost a whisper ... At the end of the concert, the signature “Along the Piterskaya” sounded, which literally struck the audience down!
But many are still tormented by the question: “How was he allowed to perform a hit, originally from the decaying West?” Well, there are several factors that explain this.
First, The Beatles weren't completely banned in the Soviet Union. Everyone knew their music, many of our artists covered their creations (Pesnyary, Vesyolye Rebyata). Yes, and CDs with their songs were released in the USSR.
Secondly, Muslim Magometovich was considered a "verified" artist. For several years he had an internship in Italy, at the La Scala theater. And yes: he did NOT emigrate. Proceeding from this, for this reason, much was allowed to him ...
Few people know, but after all, such a legendary performance for the history of the Soviet Union might not have taken place! Some say that on the day of the concert, Magomayev felt unimportant. Even on stage, he rose, overcoming himself. But he went out and sang in such a way that no one could even think of any ailments! True, not everyone agrees with this ...
If you read the comments of people on the Internet, it becomes clear that not everyone liked Magomayev's performance, namely, his version of "Yesterday" ... But there are those who are simply delighted with the artist's performance! In general, it is not in vain that they say: how many people - so many opinions! We will not join one side or another, but will give each listener the opportunity to independently enjoy and evaluate the "Magomaev" version of "Yesterday"!
By the way: the vinyl "Yesterday" was never released... And only in the era of CD, it saw the light on the collection!
Now a little about the song itself...
As Paul McCartney said, the music for "Yesterday" was born by itself, very easily and spontaneously! What can not be said about the text ... The first drafts turned out to be complete nonsense (“scrambled eggs” (“scrambled eggs”) rhymed with “legs” (“legs”).
It took Paul a lot of time to write the song... Sometimes, the other members would make fun of their colleague, especially if the inspiration visited him while working together on some new track!
Ironically, The Beatles' biggest hit didn't even have a proper title at first (aside from the hilarious Scrambled Eggs). Known today to everyone "Yesterday" came to Paul only when the work on the song was almost completed. It happened in May 1965, in Lisbon. It was then that McCartney was visiting Bruce Welch. Thus, the famous hit was first played on an acoustic guitar by a member of the rock band The Shadows.
As you know, the rest of the Beatles did not take part in the writing of "Yesterday". Perhaps for this reason, at first they didn’t even want to include the song on the Help! Furthermore! The composition was forbidden to be released in Britain, because it allegedly did not match the group's image.
As a result, in the homeland of The Beatles, "Yesterday" was released only 11 years later ... And in vain that at first they did not see it as a hit! In general, the record sold 3 million copies worldwide ...
Conclusion…
Well, now back to the question: “Why exactly one and a half songs?” Well. The fact is that for some time the composition “When The Saints Go Marching In” was present in Magomayev’s repertoire.
And, we think, it's no secret to anyone that the Beatles accompanied Tony Sheridan who performed it. Here you are, please, half of another song! A total of one and a half.
