Beatles in Simpsons
Keith Topping
In article <01bcb31f$64b6f040$1767...@mcrickmo.kpts.com>, KC
<k.cri...@icdc.com> writes
>I think one of the best things about the simpsons is the abundance of
>Beatles references contained within. All three surviving beatles have
>appeared on the show, first of all. Then the B-sharps play on top of Moe's
>tavern (let it be sessions). The one couch sceen, they fill in the Sgt.
>Pepper's cover. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I just can't
>think of. Anybody have any more?
Haven't posted this for a couple of months...
The Almost Certainly Incomplete List of Beatles References & Appearances
on 'The Simpsons'
========================================================================
latest update: 21-06-97
========================================================================
[7F04] Treehouse of Horror - The opening sequence includes a Paul
McCartney gravestone (parodying the 60s 'Paul is Dead' rumours)
[7F05] Bart the General - Marge is advising Bart on peace and
love stuff, Homer interrupts saying "Enough of all that Maharishi
Gandhi stuff" [Thanks to Sudhakar Chandrasekharen]
[7F12] Krusty Gets Busted - Reverend Lovejoy's call for a public
burning of "Krusty related merchandise" echoes the church's
reaction to John Lennon's 'Bigger than Jesus' comments in 1966
and the subsequent destruction of 'Beatle Trash' [Thanks to
Vince Chan]
[7F15] Principle Charming - Patty and Selma's co workers Stanley
and Martha Peterson's wedding vows include two lines from
'Martha My Dear' [Thanks to Kevin Bowman and Lisa Gardner]
[7F18] Brush With Greatness
1) Bart: 'Hey, who's the Mop-Top with the big Schnozz?!'
2) Marge had a schoolgirl crush on Ringo ('a likely story' notes
Homer jealously).
3) Richard Starkey (MBE) guest-stars. He lives 'somewhere in
England' seemingly in a castle(!) still answering his mid-60s fan
mail with a butler named Weatherby. His favourite colour is blue
and he is partial to 'tea and crumpets' (aren't we all?)
4) Ringo replies to Marge's letter (sent 1966) and confirms we
have 'French Fries' in England (but we call them 'chips'). He
thinks her portrait is 'Gear'!
5) Ringo's 'It Don't Come Easy' is featured.
6) Monty Burns remembers the Beatles "off-key caterwalling on
the old Sullivan Show".
[8F05] Like Father Like Clown - Krusty's office wall contains a photo
of Krusty with the Beatles c. 1964
- At the Simpsons house, Krusty finds a
video-tape of George's 'Concert for Bangladesh'
[8F06] Lisa's Pony - An orchestral version of 'Golden
Slumbers' accompanies a Homer dream sequence. [Thanks to David
Carson] This sequence is repeated in [9F17] but with a different
soundtrack.
[8F11] Radio Bart - Vince Chan suggests that Janey's
skipping song my be a reference to 'Come Together' ("One and One
and Three is Five...")
[8F19] Colonel Homer - After Lureen singed "Finally Bagged
Me a Homer" in the studio, the producer says "There's some kind
of grinding noise on the track" (Marge, grinding her teeth).
This may be an oblique reference to the 'You're Gonna Lose That
Girl' sequence in 'Help!' ("Boys, are you buzzing?!")
(Thanks to Peter Ahles)
[8F21] Otto Show - Homer's version of 'Spanish Flea'
includes a lyric concerning the Beatles.
[9F15] Last Exit to Springfield - Lisa's dentist dream sequence turns
into a missing scene from the Yellow Submarine film ("Look, it's
Lisa in the sky", "No diamonds though").
[9F21] Homer's Barbershop Quartet -
1) Marge's portrait of Ringo [7F18] is on her swapmeet stall.
2) 'Meet the Be Sharps' LP cover is a parody of 'With the Beatles'
(The American edition was, of course, 'Meet the Beatles')
3) Moe's Cavern!
4) The sacking of Wiggum and the 'anti-Barney' protests echo the
sacking of Pete Best, and his replacement with Ringo in 1962
5) After recording 'Baby on Board' Nigel says "Gentlemen you have
just recorded your first number 1" - allegedly what George Martin
said after the Beatles recorded 'Please Please Me'
6) Nigel getting Homer to keep his marriage a secret echoes Brian
Epstein's similar instructions to John Lennon.
7) The JFK Airport and Press Conference scenes are directly
lifted from the Beatles arrival in America in February 1964 (even
down to Barney/Ringo combining his hair!)
8) Homer: "Then came the greatest moment of my life"
George: "Hello Homer, I'm George Harrison"
Homer: "Oh my God! Where did you get that Brownie?!"
9) The Be Sharps merchandising - lunch boxes, mugs, (poisonous)
funny foam (cf. the 60s Beatles merchandising craze).
10) Bart: "What did you do, screw up like the Beatles and say you
were bigger than Jesus?"
Homer: "All the time. It was the title of our second album!"
11) The 'Bigger than Jesus' cover parodies 'Abbey Road'
12) The 'Meet the Be Sharps' back cover parodies the back cover
of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'.
13) Peter Vesuwalla suggests Homer getting the idea for 'Baby on
Board' from a car sign may refer to John gaining inspiration for
'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite' from a poster.
14) A parody of the infamous 'Get Back' session photo of the
Beatles looking sick and glum.
15) Barney's new girlfriend "the Japanese conceptual artist".
16) "Number 8"!
17) The rooftop reunion at Moe's, an (uncannily accurate) parody
of the rooftop gig in 'Let it Be'
18) George: 'It's been done!'
19) Homer: "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the group, and I
hope we've passed the audition!"
20) The shortening (almost) of Apu's name (ala Ringo).
21) The chorus of 'The Surgeon General Song' could be a
reference to 'I Am the Walrus' suggests 'Zed'.
[1F14] Homer Loves Flanders - Homer & Ned visit the 'Helter
Shelter'
[1F16] Burn's Heir - Deprogrammer: "My greatest
achievement was getting Paul McCartney out of Wings."
Homer: "You idiot! He was the most talented one!"
[1F18] Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song
- Joe Cocker's cover of 'With a
Little Help From My Friends' accompanies the 'Wonder Years'/
home-movie opening sequence [thanks to Dominik Halas]
[1F22] Bart of Darkness - Springfield waxworks contained an
exhibit of the Beatles as they appeared on the Ed Sullivan
Show. Unfortunately, they've melted in the heatwave.
[2F02] Sideshow Bob Roberts - Lisa describes Sideshow Bob as
'Ringo to his [Birge Barlow's] rest of the Beatles'
[2F06] Homer Bad Man - One of the corrections 'Rock
Bottom' offers is "The Beatles haven't reunited to enter
kick-boxing competitions"
[2F14] Homer vs. Patty & Selma - Barney smokes a cigar without
removing the wrapper, and sees "Sgt. Pepper" growing out of
Homer's back.
[2F20] Who Shot Mr. Burns? II - The DNA database includes the names
of Paul, George and Ringo. [Thanks to Kevin Bowman]
[2F22] Lemon of Troy - The wig Bart wears when
infiltrating the Shelbyville gang: "makes him look a lot like
one of the Beatles"
[3F03] Lisa the Vegetarian -
1) Paul and Linda McCartney guest star ('I read about you in
history class!')
2) Apu performs 'Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band' on
the tabla.
3) Apu's claim to be "the fifth Bee-atle" (a 'Help' film
reference) cannot entirely be discounted.
4) The 'Maharishi Period' is mentioned (see [7F05])
5) Paul *isn't* dead, apparently! (see [7F04])
6) "She's Leaving Home?"!
7) Homer looks in an ancient pram in front of a brick-wall,
drawn from the imagery of the European cinema trailer for 'A
Hard Days Night'. [most obscure reference yet?!]
8) Linda mentions "Apu's garden in the shade".
9) 'Maybe I'm Amazed' plays over the credits with references
to backward messages (sadly *not* "We'll f**k you like a
superman" - this *is* a family show afterall)
[3F09] Two Bad Neighbours - The Ringo portrait [7F18] is seen
[4F06] Bart After Dark - The opening 'couchgag' is a parody
of the 'Sgt. Pepper's' LP cover [thanks to Alan Hamilton]. The
opening music segues into the closing C-chord from 'A Day in
the Life' [Thanks to Kevin Bowman]. The entire sequence seems
to have been influenced by the opening to the 1987 British
South Bank Show documentary 'The Making of Sgt. Pepper' which
featured an animatation of the LP cover.
[3F24] El Viaje Misterioso de Niestro Homer
- During Homer's 'trip' Jasper
(almost) quotes from 'I Am the Walrus' (Not quite 'Goo Goo Goo
Joob', but close enough)
- several viewers have suggested that
Barney Gumble's echoing belch when Homer is hallucinating may
be a reference to 'A Day in the Life'.
- I had a fascinating email from Ken
Furphy who suggests that this entire episode is filled with
allusions to the Beatles work of the late 60s - citing dozens
of examples including the wax that Homer eats being a reference
to the waxwork figures on the Sgt. Pepper cover. "The entire
theme" Ken writes "of Homer's search for a meaning to life
beginning in 'Pepperland' and ending in the harmony of marriage
is a clear reference to the course that John and Paul's lives
took in the years 1967-1970". I'm not sure I agree with a lot
of Ken's assumptions, but it's an interesting take on the
episode.
=======================================================================
The "We love you Matlock" song from 'Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy' [1F12]:
Though an unofficial anthem for Beatles fans in the 60s, this song
actually originated in the late 50s Broadway musical 'Bye Bye Birdie',
despite claims of authorship by the mum of at least one person on this
group! Thanks to Bob Stahley, Douglas Miller and 'Jamie' for exhaustive
reserach on this subject.
Similarly, Mike Hunt (ahem...) informs me of a persistant rumour that
the Beatles are mentioned in one of the Tracy Ullman shorts. Since
these never made it to England, I have no way of checking the veracity
of this.
=======================================================================
Thanks to Ian Abrahams, Peter Ahles, Ian Atkins, Kevin A. Bowman, Colin
Brockhurst, Dave Carson, Vince Chan, Sudhakar Chandrasekharen, Nick
Cooper, Martin Day, James Drake, Keith Foofeu, Ken Furphy, 'Noel
Gallagher', Richard Green, Lisa Gardner, Dominik Halas, Alan Hamilton,
Jeff Hart, Mike Hunt, Mick McWawar, Adam Rubin, 'Reggie', Ian Reid,
Peter Shackelton, Richard Sixsmith, Jonathan Steinfield, Ian Strung,
Peter Vesuwalla, Clive Walker, Pavel Wangadonha, Mark Whitney, Jacob R.
Wilberding, Tommy Wonga, 'Zed', and someone who still insists on
calling himself 'Bart's Arse' for their outstanding work in turning
what was once a simple little list with about six entries into this
SHIMMERING BEAST...
Oh, and my mother, for teaching me to write despite the inadequacies
of the British educational system...
======================================================================
If anybody finds further references please email me at the following
address and I'll include them in future editions of the list:
ke...@tooon.demon.co.uk
======================================================================
*********************************************************************
*** "The Information Superhighway shows the average person what ***
*** some nerd thinks about Star Trek" - Homer J. Simpson [1994] ***
*********************************************************************
Marlon J. Zetty
KC <k.cri...@icdc.com> wrote in article
<01bcb31f$64b6f040$1767...@mcrickmo.kpts.com>...
> I think one of the best things about the simpsons is the abundance of
> Beatles references contained within. All three surviving beatles have
> appeared on the show, first of all. Then the B-sharps play on top of
Moe's
> tavern (let it be sessions). The one couch sceen, they fill in the Sgt.
> Pepper's cover. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I just can't
> think of. Anybody have any more?
Lisa's Yellow Submarine-esque hallucination at the dentist
Marge's painting of Ringo Starr
Apu's claim to be the fifth Beatle
Paul (and Linda) McCartney chilling out in Apu's rooftop garden
st95...@pip.cc.brandeis.edu
Lisa's hallucination of Yellow Submarine is another reference to Beatles.
Nate Patrin
Keith Topping <ke...@tooon.demon.co.uk> wrote in article
> [3F24] El Viaje Misterioso de Niestro Homer
It may be stretching it a bit, but I think the big Aztec pyramid Homer
climbs resembles the one at the beginning of "Yellow Submarine", where the
submarine is moored...
-Nate "Blue Meeeeeeeaniiiiiiiies!" Patrin
SF
KC wrote:
>
> I think one of the best things about the simpsons is the abundance of
> Beatles references contained within. All three surviving beatles have
> appeared on the show, first of all. Then the B-sharps play on top of Moe's
> tavern (let it be sessions). The one couch sceen, they fill in the Sgt.
> Pepper's cover. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I just can't
> think of. Anybody have any more?
When Lisa is given an anaesthetic at the dentist's, she dreams she is
flying in a Beatles universe and she meets the band in the Yellow
Submarine.
Be seeing you,
Franck.
--
It is the Tale, not He who Tells It
Stephen King
William H Hockings
On Thu, 28 Aug 1997, SF wrote:
> KC wrote:
> >
> > I think one of the best things about the simpsons is the abundance of
> > Beatles references contained within. All three surviving beatles have
> > appeared on the show, first of all. Then the B-sharps play on top of Moe's
> > tavern (let it be sessions). The one couch sceen, they fill in the Sgt.
> > Pepper's cover. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I just can't
> > think of. Anybody have any more?
>
> When Lisa is given an anaesthetic at the dentist's, she dreams she is
> flying in a Beatles universe and she meets the band in the Yellow
> Submarine.
Also on the B-Sharps episode, Bart says, "what did you do, mess up like
the Beatles and say you were bigger than Jesus?" and Homer says "Actually,
that was the name of our second album" and the cover is Abbey Road-esque.
And their first album cover is nearly identical to with the Beatles.
Also on the B-Sharps episode, Barney hooks up with a Yoko Ono facsimile,
and he introduces a new song very similar to Revolution 9.
Steve Vizer
In addition to this, Homer is facing backwards (like Paul) on the back of the
"Bigger than Jesus" album.
BenC100
William H Hockings <will...@U.Arizona.EDU> writes:
>Also on the B-Sharps episode, Bart says, "what did you do, mess up like
>the Beatles and say you were bigger than Jesus?" and Homer says "Actually,
>that was the name of our second album" and the cover is Abbey Road-esque.
>And their first album cover is nearly identical to with the Beatles.
Actually, it's closer to "Meet the Beatles," an American-oriented album
containing parts of "Please Please Me," "With the Beatles" and the "I Want
to Hold Your Hand" single (of course, the truly enlightened Beatles fan got
the British imports). It would be like the Simpsons producers slapping
together moments from early shows, calling it "Meet the Simpsons," and
sending it overseas.
_____________________________
Ben...@aol.com (Ben Collins)
"My mom says I'm cool."
--Milhouse Van Houten
Farside
In article <3405E3...@hol.fr>, franck....@hol.fr says...
>
>KC wrote:
>>
>> I think one of the best things about the simpsons is the abundance of
>> Beatles references contained within. All three surviving beatles have
>> appeared on the show, first of all. Then the B-sharps play on top of Moe's
>> tavern (let it be sessions). The one couch sceen, they fill in the Sgt.
>> Pepper's cover. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I just can't
>> think of. Anybody have any more?
>
> When Lisa is given an anaesthetic at the dentist's, she dreams she is
>flying in a Beatles universe and she meets the band in the Yellow
>Submarine.
>
>
> Franck.
>-- Also the BSharps album cover looks like "Meet the Beatles".....Hop
BenC100
sere...@aol.com (Serena PBJ) writes:
>One thing that confuses me about that episode is the roles of each member.
> For instance, the chant of Barney Never, Wiggum Forever has Barney as
>Ringo, but later he is seen with a Japanese performing artist, putting him
>in the John role.
>
>OK, i know, you can't expect much continuity in The Simpsons. But it
>would be nice if they got that straight.
Each character isn't meant to have a specific role; they just play themselves.
Russ Schumacher
SF wrote:
> KC wrote:
> >
> > I think one of the best things about the simpsons is the abundance
> of
> > Beatles references contained within. All three surviving beatles
> have
> > appeared on the show, first of all. Then the B-sharps play on top
> of Moe's
> > tavern (let it be sessions). The one couch sceen, they fill in the
> Sgt.
> > Pepper's cover. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I just
> can't
> > think of. Anybody have any more?
>
> When Lisa is given an anaesthetic at the dentist's, she dreams she
> is
> flying in a Beatles universe and she meets the band in the Yellow
> Submarine.
>
Help us. Help Us.
--
Russ Schumacher
Valparaiso University
russ.sc...@valpo.edu
http://www.isd.net/rschumac
David Brown
The entire B-Sharps Episode was a Beatle thing
In article
<Pine.A32.3.93.970902...@mustique.u.arizona.edu>, William H
Hockings <will...@U.Arizona.EDU> wrote:
>On Thu, 28 Aug 1997, SF wrote:
>
>> KC wrote:
>> >
>> > I think one of the best things about the simpsons is the abundance of
>> > Beatles references contained within. All three surviving beatles have
>> > appeared on the show, first of all. Then the B-sharps play on top of
Moe's
>> > tavern (let it be sessions). The one couch sceen, they fill in the
Sgt.
>> > Pepper's cover. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I just can't
>> > think of. Anybody have any more?
>>
>> When Lisa is given an anaesthetic at the dentist's, she dreams she is
>> flying in a Beatles universe and she meets the band in the Yellow
>> Submarine.
>
>Also on the B-Sharps episode, Bart says, "what did you do, mess up like
>the Beatles and say you were bigger than Jesus?" and Homer says "Actually,
>that was the name of our second album" and the cover is Abbey Road-esque.
>And their first album cover is nearly identical to with the Beatles.
>
JC Sousa
Hey, don't forget the fact that at the end they give a concert on top of a
building, just like the Beatles, and the police try to break it up.
Thomas R. Collins
>SF wrote:
>
>> KC wrote:
>> >
>> > I think one of the best things about the simpsons is the abundance
>> of
>> > Beatles references contained within. All three surviving beatles
>> have
>> > appeared on the show, first of all. Then the B-sharps play on top
>> of Moe's
>> > tavern (let it be sessions). The one couch sceen, they fill in
the
>> Sgt.
>> > Pepper's cover. I'm sure there are plenty of others that I just
>> can't
>> > think of. Anybody have any more?
>>
>> When Lisa is given an anaesthetic at the dentist's, she dreams she
>> is
>> flying in a Beatles universe and she meets the band in the Yellow
>> Submarine.
>>
There's one episode in which Ringo Starr finally receives a portrait
Marge painted of him. You're right -- Beatle references are cool.
Andrew Gill
David Brown <gro...@execpc.com> wrote something easily accessable, and
thus, usable in article <5uptbf$r...@newsops.execpc.com>
Does anyone remember why this thread was started? Someone posted every
Beatles ref, and people started posting their own, not actuaolly reading
the post, which had them in it. PLEASE STOP THIS!
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