Paul McCartney and John Lennon Entered 1 Hall of Fame Without Beatles Bandmates George Harrison and Ringo Starr
The Beatles seemed to do almost everything together. They shared hotel rooms even when they made it big, did press conferences together, got high with Bob Dylan together, and took over the world as a unified quartet. Yet that unified front looked different when Paul McCartney and John Lennon made it into one musical hall of fame and left George Harrison and Ringo Starr behind.
Paul McCartney skipped The Beatles Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony
The Fab Four seemed to spend every waking moment together in the 1960s, but that wasn’t quite the case.
Manager Brian Epstein split the quartet for their vacations. On at least one occasion, Paul and Ringo vacationed together (along with their significant others) while John and George did the same. Separating John and Paul helped keep the friction between them to a minimum. They probably needed time apart since they bunked together and worked together so frequently.
After the band broke up, Paul declined to perform at George’s charity event, The Concert for Bangladesh, in 1971. He later skipped The Beatles’ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1988. Yet the year before, Paul and John entered one musical hall of fame without George or Ringo.
Paul and John entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, but George and Ringo aren’t in it
John and Paul established themselves as expert songwriters with The Beatles. Paul started as a songwriter when he was a teenager, long before he and John formed the band, as John’s Twitter account once wrote. They inspired and influenced countless musicians who followed them.
As such, John and Paul entered one hall of fame without Ringo and George.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted John and Paul in 1987, a year before The Beatles entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Songwriters Hall of Fame noted Paul’s string of No. 1 hits, both with John and as a solo artist. The organization pointed to John’s solo albums selling millions of copies as a sign of his songwriting greatness.
Paul and John have spent years in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, but Ringo and George are still waiting for their calls. Those calls seem unlikely to come, but they earned other accolades in their post-Beatles careers.
George and Ringo made the RNR HOF as solo artists, and Ringo is in a hall of fame the other Beatles will never join
John and Paul entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 without their Beatles bandmates. But their talented drummer did the same several years later.
Ringo entered a hall of fame the other Beatles never had a shot at joining when the Percussionist Arts Society inducted him into their HOF in 2002.
George and Ringo took the spotlight at The Beatles Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction since Paul opted not to attend. Both earned enshrinement in the hall as solo artists, joining Paul and John as dual entrants. Paul inducted Ringo into the RNR HOF in 2015. George’s Traveling Wilburys bandmates Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne inducted him in 2004 in a ceremony that included a solo performance no one saw coming.
Paul and John went into the Songwriters Hall of Fame without Ringo and George, but all of The Beatles earned individual accolades for their musical talents.
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