Category: Music

Article on “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) ” by the Beatles

“You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” is a strange song with an equally strange history. The sax solo is by Brian Jones who was dead by the time it was released. It sounds like the Bonzo Dog Band or Monty Python, not like the serious “Let It Be” on the other side of the single.

The “joke” Beatles song that features Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones

7 June 1967:The Beatles record five takes and overdubs for a remake of You Know My Name (Look Up The Number), the future b-side of the Let It Be single.See more:www.beatlesbible.com/1967/06/07/r…

— The Beatles Bible 🍏 (@beatlesbible.com) 2025-06-07T15:00:28.088Z

30 April 1969:George Harrison records the guitar solo for the Beatles' single Let It Be.Vocals and effects are then added to You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).Paul McCartney: "It was just so hilarious to put that record together."See more:www.beatlesbible.com/1969/04/30/r…

— The Beatles Bible 🍏 (@beatlesbible.com) 2025-04-30T13:16:22.586Z

November 26, 1969, John Lennon participates in his last session with the Beatles, mixing and editing their B-side “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number.”)

— Stan Miller (@milbo11.bsky.social) 2024-11-26T23:16:55.133Z

Sly Stone dies at 82

I saw Sly and the Family Stone twice and they were incredible. See my prior post – link at the bottom.

There are a lot of "GOATs." Then there's the real one. Rest in Power, Sly. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-…

— Noah Shachtman (@noahshachtman.bsky.social) 2025-06-09T19:52:30.206Z

RIP. highly recommend ?uestlove’s documentary on sly stone if you haven’t seen it http://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2…

— jamelle (@jamellebouie.net) 2025-06-09T20:15:05.545Z

Sly Stone, who died on Monday at 82, forged harmony — musical and otherwise — that he wasn’t able to hold together on his own, our critic writes of the influential musician.

— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2025-06-10T16:30:07.370349Z

RIP to Sly Stone. Calling someone a genius has mostly lost meaning, except when you apply it to Sly. I'm glad Questlove gave him a revealing and rewarding documentary with SLY LIVES (AKA THE BURDEN OF BLACK GENIUS). I wrote about it for @ebertvoices.bsky.social.

— Robert Daniels (@812filmreviews.com) 2025-06-09T19:39:32.702Z

I have posted on Sly before:

Happy Birthday to Sly Stone

I watched The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose (2006)

I bought a used DVD of this on eBay. I had heard of the Holy Modal Rounders but was not familiar with their music. Robert Christgau, a great writer about music, is a big admirer of theirs so I thought I would give the film a chance. The Rounders started in the early 1960s but most of the film takes place between 2000 and 2003. The music has been called psychedelic folk.

Here is the trailer and the entire film. I don’t normally post entire films but IMDB doesn’t show it streaming anywhere and the DVD is out of print.

I recommend the film. It certainly is honest and one of the two main performers, the late Steve Weber, doesn’t usually come across well. His behavior, to put it kindly, is erratic.

Peter Stampfel, who is still around, seems much more reasonable.

There are lots of performance clips and interviews with folks such as Christgau and Dave Van Ronk. Sam Shepard, who was in the band for several years, is also interviewed. There is even a clip of their appearance on Laugh-In.