January 5: The BBC rebroadcasts "Magical Mystery Tour" in color. February 16: John, Cynthia, George and Patti travel to Rishikesh in Northern India, for transcendental meditation studies with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Also at the camp are Mia Farrow and her sister Prudence, who is having anxiety attacks and is afraid to come out of her cabin. (John wrote "Dear Prudence" there for her.)  February 19: Ringo, Paul and Jane Asher join the Shivanada Ashram group in Rishikesh. Later, Neil Aspinall drops in for a short visit. They leave after just two weeks. March 15: "Lady Madonna / The Inner Light" single is released in the U.K. and goes to # 1 on the charts. March 18: Capitol Records releases the "Lady Madonna / The Inner Light" single in the U.S., where it hits #1 as well. April 25: The Beatles' new enterprise, Apple Corps, Ltd. begins operations in its London offices. May 14: Apple initiates a major, world-wide promotional campaign. John and Paul travel to New York and appear on the NBC television network's enormously popular "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" to announce the launching of their new business. Carson is on vacation and guest host Joe Garagiola proves to be a less than satisfactory replacement. John later says "It was the most embarrassing thing I've ever been on". May 30: The band records demos of the songs written in India in George's home studio in Esher, Surrey. May 31: The group begins recording "The Beatles" ("White Album") June The band announces that all future recordings will be released on their newly-formed Apple Records label. July 3: Apple moves its operations to a new, larger building at 3. Savile Row. July 17: John, Paul and George attend the London premiere of the animated movie "Yellow Submarine", produced by Al Brodax from a screenplay by Brodax, Lee Minoff, Jack Mendelssohn and Erich Sigal, based on a suggestion by John Lennon and featuring a Beatles musical soundtrack. July 20: Jane Asher announces the end of her engagement to Paul McCartney. July 29: Recording sessions begin for "Hey Jude" at Trident Studios, an 8-track facility in Soho. July 30: The Beatles decide to close the money losing Apple Boutique and John Lennon proposes a "free-for-all". July 31: At an Apple Boutique "blowout" everything in the store given away, one free item per customer. Everything goes, down to the shelves and the rugs on the floor. The next day, the Daily Mail quotes Paul McCartney: "We always make our mistakes in public." August 1: Recording work for "Hey Jude" is completed at Trident. August 11: Apple Records releases "Thingumybob" (written and composed by Paul McCartney) single by the Black Dyke Mills Band. August 16: Apple Records releases "Those Were the Days" single, produced by Paul McCartney and featuring singer Mary Hopkin.  The record becomes Apple's first big hit, selling 4 million copies worldwide. August 22: Tensions among the boys have been mounting ever since Brian's death and have increased since their India experience. On this day, Ringo walks out of the studio during a "White Album" session. Paul performs on drums on "Back In The USSR" in his absence. When Ringo eventually comes back, his drum set has been covered with flowers. August 23: Cynthia Lennon sues John Lennon for divorce. August 26: Apple Records releases the "Hey Jude" / "Revolution" single, which eventually sells 6 million copies worldwide, becoming the Beatles' biggest hit ever. August 28: Apple Records releases the George Harrison composed and produced "Sour Milk Sea" single by Jackie Lomax, with Paul McCartney on bass, Eric Clapton on lead guitar, George and Jackie on rhythm guitars, with Ringo on drums and Nicky Hopkins on piano. September 8: The Beatles perform "Hey Jude" on the British David Frost television show. September 14: Gross sales figures for "Hey Jude" are reported to have topped $2,000,000 by the New Musical Express. September 20: ATV buys into Northern Songs Publishing Company. October 6: & 13: The American CBS Television network's weekly "Smothers Brothers Show" re-broadcasts the "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" segments from the David Frost Show. October 14: Recording work on "The Beatles" ("White Album") is finished. October 18: Yoko Ono's flat is raided and she and John are arrested on drug possession charges. November 8: Cynthia Lennon is granted a divorce from John Lennon. Later, she would say this about the breakup of their marriage: "John had at last found his soul mate. Yoko did not take John away from me, because he had never been mine. He had always been his own man and had always done his own thing, as I had learned to do". November 11: Apple Records releases "Unfinished Music No.1" / "Two Virgins" LP by John and Yoko. November 13: "Yellow Submarine" is released in the U.S.. Screenplay by Lee Minoff, Al Brodax, Jack Mendelssohn and Erich Sigal, based on a suggestion by John Lennon. November 25: "The Beatles" double LP, better known as "The White Album" is released by Apple Records and reaches #1 in the U.S. and the U.K.. No singles are issued from the album. November 28: John Lennon is convicted and fined for possession of cannabis (marijuana), after claiming "sole ownership of the pot", saving Yoko Ono from being convicted with him. December 2: Apple Records releases the "Wonderwall Music" LP, from the sound track for the motion picture "Wonderwall", which George Harrison created "as a mini-anthology of Indian music because I wanted to help turn the public on to Indian music". December 17: The motion picture "Candy", starring Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, JohnHuston, Walter Matthau, Charles Aznavour, James Coburn, John Astin and Ringo Starr in the role of Emanuel, premieres in New York to less than glowing reviews. It eventually gets banned in several countries because of its x-rated content. December 20: The "Beatles 1968 Christmas Record" is issued to fan club members. |
