My Unforgettable Week With The Beatles | Paul Saltzman | YCUT Interviews

What would it be like to spend a week with The Beatles? Two-time Emmy Award winning Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman is one of the lucky few who knows the answer.

During a period of soul-searching and heartbreak in early 1968, Saltzman landed at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, India. Coincidentally, the four members of The Beatles - Paul, John, George and Ringo - were in the midst of their own spiritual awakening within the compound's gates.

In this special YCUT interview, we'll hear about Paul's remarkable week at Rishikesh, featuring his stories and photographs from that fateful encounter. We'll learn about how he heard snippets of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, caught an intimate sitar performance with George Harrison, exchanged jokes with John Lennon, and more.

For more, check out his documentary film:

Photo attribution for select photos in this episode: (c) Paul Saltzman, All Rights Reserved.
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Questions / Comments / Ideas:

Eli Rosen
Christopher Foss
Jeremy Ribakove
Kheng Lai Tan

#TheBeatles #YouCantUnhearThis #Music
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00:00 How I Got To India
07:41 Meeting The Beatles
14:08 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da'
17:05 Another Beatle Surprise
20:23 The Four Personalities
30:01 The Forgotten Photos
34:33 Returning to India
36:35 Meeting The Beatles...Again
44:20 The Real Bungalow Bill

[YouCantUnhearThis]

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[zapdunga]

I was very lucky enough to have met George Harrison, I believe 1993. It was just a fluke. I was sitting in a famous guitar store on Staten Island called Mandolin Brothers on my lunch break. I was sitting on a stool playing a Gibson J160e and playing a Beatles song, I don't remember which. The store was empty except for the owner, the late Stanley Jay, Larry Wexler, Two guitar luthiers in the basement working on fixing guitars, and Stan's wife at the front desk. I was sitting in a position facing the front door. I could see a white limousine pull up right in front. I think nothing of it and looked back down at the guitar I was strumming. I hear a very familiar voice saying, "Nice guitar mate, I have one just like it, love it.". I pick my head up and George Harrison is standing right in front of me. Before I could say anything, he said "Is Stan around, I called to let him know I was coming to look at some mandolins" IT dawned on me that he thought I worked there. Stan's wife came over to us and told George she let Stan know he was here and he'll be right down. She then very politely said "we are going to close the store while Mr. Harrison is here so you'll have to leave." She asked George if she could have the Staten Island Advance, (a local newspaper) come to take some pictures as it would be good publicity for the store. George politely said "they could come and write about it, but no pictures please". And by that time Stan was there and asked me politely to leave. George was so nice, he told Stan that it wasn't necessary to ask me to leave as they were going upstairs where the mandolins were kept. Stan said he wanted to close the store to the public and asked me to go. I smiled at George and said, "It's OK, my lunch break is over and I have to go back to work." I put the guitar I was playing very carefully back up on the wall and as I was leaving stuck my hand out to shake his hand. He shook my hand and grinned and said "Nice meeting you mate". I was still so shocked and overwhelmed, I barely audibly said "Me too". Walked out the door and into my van parked across the street and just sat there trying to take in what had just happened. The Staten Island Advance had the story in their newspaper the next day, "George Harrison visits Mandolin Brothers". (But no pictures as George had asked). Unfortunately George died in 2001 and Stanley Jay in 2014, both of cancer.

[vicbertfartingclack]

This was an enthralling interview - thank you for sharing this. Hearing Mr Saltzman talk I can totally understand why The Beatles warmed up to him so quickly and took him into their circle. Wonderful.

[tjcint]

This man expresses himself so beautifully .. a very special person.

[itsmadfar]

This interview was remarkable! It's one of the very few I've heard that allows us a peek into just how surprisingly humble the four lads could be. I was genuinely touched by Paul Saltzman's account of how profoundly this experience had moved him - and I felt lifted by his illustration of their humanity. Thank you! 🙏❤ 💫

[barrygoodson]

A great story about human existence. Doesn't matter about fame or fortune but how we treat each other. The fact that Paul shared a week with the Beatles is nice but the really nice part is that it was just a being human experience for all of them. It wasn't a fan meets the Beatles snapshott but a chance to have real conversations over a period of time about life. Very cool !

[reneaceves]

Such a beautiful story. I love the way this man describes what happened and what was going on inside his head and heart.

[henriquecardoso]

this video is enthralling, I keep coming back to it.

My favorite part is the session with George, I almost teared up with him when he spoke those words.

[taragreenetarotastro]

Wow as a Beatles fan since I was 12and I got to see them play live 4 times in Toronto. Paul was a very lucky man and really because he was listening to his soul's guidance is all. Paul is a pure spirit,

[nicholasrosebush]

Of all the interviews about The Beatles on youtube, this was just phenomenal.

[almostbeatlessongs]

Another beautiful story about the Beatles magical effect on people. And so many cool rare photos!!! Thank you!

[KenChawkin]

What a lovely interview! Thank you both for doing this. I've heard Paul give similar interviews, but each one reveals something new. And throughout all of them, Paul's sincerity, innocence and humility shine through. His film is definitely worth watching.

[eodnavigator]

Wonderful interview! Never interrupted Paul!

[glenndespres]

So grateful to see this! As if my admiration for each one of the Beatles wasn’t rock solid; this just brings it to another level. How Paul Saltzman came to be in that place at that time, was going to say ‘some things are meant to be’ but I know now that ‘all things are meant to be’. Thank you so much for sharing this and as Paul likes to say, ‘Namaste’.

[J_Ciner]

This was fascinating, I really enjoyed it! I never would have imagined the photographer of those pictures would have so many stories, I had never even thought about a person behind that camera before this. He seems like a lovely guy.

[JohnDoe-twes]

That was great, much appreciated. My thoughts of the Beatles as people is that they were just four boys from Liverpool who made it big. Always considered them to be just nice guys. So I am glad to have this confirmed. Their music in my view is first class.

[davecostello]

What a wonderful man, Paul Saltzman is!

[patriciaeddy]

Paul, you truly were so lucky to have had the chance to have met all four.
How truly fortunate.
Much love to you.🤗

[douglasrexford]

Paul is a great soul with amazing experiences of innocence, simplicity, and Self Realization. His films reveal critical generation-changing experiences with meditation and civil rights in the 60's and 70's.

[rerun]

This channel is no filler - all thriller. 😮