4 of the Weirdest Myths and Rumors About the Beatles

The biggest band of the 20th century was the subject of plenty of rumors, myths, and conspiracies through the years. Years after The Beatles had split and well into the internet age, those myths and legends have persisted. Are any of them based in truth? Let’s look at just a few Beatles myths and rumors and examine if they were rooted in reality.

Videos by American Songwriter

Paul is Dead / Billy Shears

I’ve written about this little rumor often, and I couldn’t leave it off this list. The “Paul is dead” rumor is by far the craziest thing to come out of Beatles lore. The story goes that Paul McCartney was killed in a car crash just as The Beatles were ascending to megafame. Afraid of losing out on their momentum, the band and their management hired a doppleganger to take McCartney’s place and covered up his death. The myth went further into the internet age, with some conspiracy theories claiming that the “new” Paul was one Billy Shears, who is included as a character in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Is this one true? Obviously not. That would be insane. And I doubt they’d be able to find anyone baby-faced enough to play a convincing Paul McCartney.

John Lennon’s Deal With the Devil

This is the kind of legend that followed many great talents of the 20th century. Robert Johnson, the famed early-1900s blues musician with an incredible talent, was rumored to have sold his soul to the devil for success before he met his untimely demise. There’s also a similar rumor about Elvis Presley floating around. John Lennon, too, would also die young in a particularly dark way, leading many to believe he sold his soul for fame and the “devil” came to collect.

This rumor is obviously not true, but it’s pretty fascinating to see how the human psyche will examine tragedy surrounding famous people and assume supernatural forces are at work.

Charles Manson’s Connection to The Beatles

This one is unfortunate. The infamous cult leader Charles Manson really tried to get involved in the music industry before committing his heinous crimes. He even worked with The Beach Boys. Later, Manson would claim that The Beatles’ song “Helter Skelter” inspired his crimes, and that there were secret messages in the song that predicted a race war. Some conspiracy theorists believed him.

John Lennon would later say that Manson was an “extreme version” of conspiracy theorists who would pick apart the Fab Four’s songs to find references to LSD or evidence that Paul was dead. I’d have to agree with him on that one.

Richard Nixon Was Spying on John Lennon

Believe it or not, this entry on our list of Beatles-related rumors and myths actually ended up being true. Politics and popular culture often intersected during the Vietnam and Cold Wars. It’s not that crazy to think that the FBI had files on the more influential musicians of that time. 

Considering John Lennon was known for his very public anti-war views, President Nixon’s administration put spies on him to see how much of a communist threat he was. In 2007, files were released that proved this rumor to be true: US government spies had been monitoring Lennon for over a year.

Photo by Daily Mail/Shutterstock

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.