Beatles music inspired by Transcendental Meditation

Fifty years ago Wednesday, the Beatles began recording what would become known as "The White Album."

The first song they worked on was one that John Lennon wrote in response to the protests against the Vietnam War. Most of the songs for the album were written in March and April of 1968 while band members were attending a Transcendental Meditation course in India.

Lennon would later say that the phrase repeated in this song, "it's gonna be alright," was borrowed from something the Beatles learned during the course. They were taught that God would take care of the human race no matter what happened politically.