Creativity: Get Back (To Basics)

Randy Lane • December 7, 2021

Social media has been on fire since  Disney +  released  The Beatles: Get Back.

For the first time, we are privileged to watch The Beatles create their last album in the studio. Director  Peter Jackson  has done a remarkable job editing over 150 intimate hours of previously unseen video and audio into an eight-hour documentary broken into three parts.

Get Back  is a tumultuous ride revealing the joys and conflicts of The Beatles shortly before their breakup in 1970.  Get Back  is a clinic on the creative process of these four artistic geniuses.

There are numerous takeaways for ensemble radio and podcast shows.

Collaboration
Collaboration and working as a team transcend conflicts and ego outbreaks. When The Beatles authentically and creatively collaborated, their mutual affection and respect is evident.

In one segment, George Harrison took the time to listen to one of Ringo’s song ideas and then helped him develop it.

  • If you are the host, take the time to listen to ideas from everyone on your team from peripheral players, producers, phone screeners, and interns.

Prime the pump
As a way of stoking their creative juices, The Beatles often launch into impromptu renditions of favorite artists’ songs before working on their own songs for the album. These spontaneous jams create laughter, unity, and focus.
What unites you as a team before starting your show or planning sessions? Here are some thought starters:

  • Listen to a past perfectly executed segment to fire up the team.
  • Play a short, fun improv game to loosen everyone up creatively.
  • Listen or watch a funny bit from a favorite comedian.

Playful and childlike
The Beatles were playful and in the moment, having fun like kids. In one scene they take turns singing  On Our Way Back Home  with their teeth clinched!

  • Brian Phelps ( Mark & Brian) once aptly said, “The way to remain creative is to look at the world through the eyes of a 9-year-old.”

Planning
Take a planning tip from The Beatles. The London rooftop concert was a notable example of  planned spontaneity. Days of planning went into the performance.

  • As  Mark Twain  said, “It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”

Listen to your show
The Beatles put themselves in the place of the audience by sitting back, listening, and singing along to their finished songs.

  • We recommend talent listen to segments of their show weekly and discuss what worked well and what could have worked better.

Melody first, then tie in the lyrics
The Beatles were all about melody, then they worked the lyrics around the melody. How does that relate to a show?

  • What  you say is not as important as  how  you say it. Tone and presentation are everything.

Coaching
When The Beatles got stuck or veered off track,  George Martin  would reign them in, get them focused, make suggestions, and remind them of deadlines. They were constantly honing, tweaking, and editing lyrics and melodies.

  • The essence of coaching is to unlock the creative potential of talent by asking questions and making suggestions. George Martin and Paul McCartney would soften their recommendations with words like, “it’s a bit…too fast, or “could we try it once this way?”
     
  • Continue to ask, “ What else ” can we do to make this segment or bit better, give it more impact?”

Photo by visuals on Unsplash

< Older Post Newer Post >

Share this article

Recent Posts

Get Interactive

By Randy Lane • September 29, 2026
When I start coaching a show, talents often say:“Nobody calls anymore.” Or: “Listeners in this market don’t call radio shows.” My response is, “That’s interesting, because several of our shows get more calls than they need.” The difference isn’t necessarily the market. It’s often how the show invites people into the conversation.  Airing callers and text […]

Go Analog!

By Randy Lane • September 21, 2026
Jerry Seinfeld wrote every episode of Seinfeld longhand, on a yellow legal pad, with a blue Bic pen. He still writes that way. He’s said the flashing cursor on a screen makes him anxious, like it’s asking, “So, whaddaya got?” Why Start With Pen and Paper?Writing by hand slows you down just enough for ideas to […]

Asking Versus Telling

By Randy Lane • September 15, 2026
In the era of loud, fast-talking announcer DJs, my radio mentor, Todd Wallace, asked my fellow DJs and me, “Would you talk to your neighbor over the back fence like a pukey DJ or just in natural conversation?” Of course we all said we’d talk to them conversationally. Todd concluded, “Talk to listeners on air like […]
Show More