Humility and sacrifice within the Beatles' collaborative successMusicNew York

There is no such thing as your favorite Beatle. Feat Ethan Hawke

Oct 8, 2025 · 2:05

Summary

Ethan Hawke has a bold take: there's no such thing as a favorite Beatle. When Kareem pushes back, insisting Lennon's the best, Hawke argues the Beatles' magic came entirely from their chemistry as a unit. He spins an elaborate metaphor: Ringo gets the party started, George asks why we're born and why we die, Lennon takes the piss out of George, and Paul redirects everyone to make music. The beauty? These four lads from Liverpool, "a hole," achieved greatness through humility. Paul McCartney sang backup on "All You Need Is Love." John Lennon played rhythm guitar on "Hey Jude." They believed in each other, took care of each other, and changed the world. That's the real message of the Beatles.

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So, what's your take? There is no such thing as your favorite Beatle.

100% disagree. Disagree.

Yeah, dude. Lennon's the best Beatle. You've never heard of John Lennon without Paul McCartney. The magic of the Beatles. The reason why you care about John Lennon, the reason why I care about John Lennon is because of the chemistry. It's the combination that created the greatest rock band in the history of the world.

It is undeniable that what they did together is they they were the sum of all parts. And to say I have a favorite Beatle, it's like saying I I have a favorite ventricle of my heart. It it it doesn't make any sense. This is a metaphor for mankind.

Elaborate. You got to have somebody you want to party with. You're going out and you're partying with the Beatles, right? Who makes the party happen? Ringo Starr. Here's the problem. If you're just hanging with Ringo, somebody please have a substantive conversation. Somebody's got to say, "Hey guys, why were we born? Why do we have to die?" And that's where George comes in.

That's where George comes in. And somebody's got to take the piss out of George who's just as smart of him. That's where Lennon comes in. And Lennon starts hogging the conversation. And then you got Paul and Paul's like, "Hey man, why don't we play some music?" [laughter] "Why don't we stop talking?" You know, Paul McCartney, one of the greatest musicians of all time, had to sing backup for "All You Need Is Love."

Right? John Lennon had to play rhythm guitar and sing backup for "Hey Jude." What's that? It's called humility, kids. And this is why inside the Beatles, we see in them something larger than that, which is these four young lads from Liverpool. Liverpool, forgive me all you Liverpoolians, is a hole. These guys came from a really tough place. They came from a really poor background and they changed the world because they believed in each other and took care of each other, right? And that's the message of the Beatles. Now, do we feel the same way about the Gallagher brothers?

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