Staff Picks
Can't Get Enough Beatles?
- Allison T.
- Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Collection
After watching Get Back, Peter Jackson's film that reworks footage from the Beatles Let It Be sessions, are you craving more about the fab four? We have just the thing for you!
The Beatles Anthology.
Published in 2000
The Beatles. Help!.
Published in 2007
Ringo finds a ring that is needed by a cult so they can perform their sacrifices, and now the band is being chased by the cult, mad scientists, and a side cult. Bonus features include deleted scenes, a documentary, behind-the-scenes footage, and more.
The Beatles Lyrics
The Stories Behind the Music, Including the Handwritten Drafts of More Than 100 Classic Beatles Songs.
Published in 2014
The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles
Published in 2009
Eight Days a Week
The Touring Years.
Published in 2016
Based on the first part of the Beatles' career, the period in which they toured and captured the world's acclaim. Explore how John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr came together to become this extraordinary phenomenon. It explores their inner workings - how they made decisions, created their music, and built their collective career together - all while exploring the Beatles' extraordinary and unique musical gifts and their remarkable, complementary personalities.
George Harrison
Living in the Material World
Published in 2011
"Using unseen photos and footage, ... director Martin Scorsese traces the life of George Harrison in a personal film, weaving together performance footage, home movies, rare archival materials and interviews with his family and friends"--Container.
Good Ol' Freda
Published in 2013
Freda Kelly was just a shy Liverpudlian teenager when she was asked to work for a local band hoping to make it big - the Beatles. Freda had faith in the Beatles from the beginning, and the Beatles had faith in her. As many people came in and out of the band's circle, Freda remained a staple because of her unfaltering loyalty and dedication. As the Beatles' devoted secretary and friend, Freda was there as history unfolded, witness to the evolution of the greatest band in history.
A Hard Day's Night
Published in 2014
Captures all the fun, excitement, and unforgettable music of John, Paul, George, and Ringo at the height of Beatlemania. The Beatles perform their songs and look for adventure, all while avoiding hordes of screaming fans. Packed with all-time Beatle favorites, including A Hard Day's Night; All My Loving; Can't Buy Me Love; I Should Have Known Better; She Loves You; Tell Me Why; and more.
Strange Fruit
The Beatles' Apple Records
Published in 2011
"In 1968, under a haze of publicity, The Beatles opened their collective door to all manner of musicians, writers, artists, film-makers, inventors, designers, freaks and more than a fair share of opportunist sharks. But, despite a hefty investment, little of substance was forthcoming from these assorted misfits outside of the music that emerged from one division of the potential empire; Apple Records. Even discounting those Apple platters that featured as artist the collective or individual names of the companys bosses, music that stands the test of time superbly was released under the stamp of this enterprise. Music which remains available still and both popular and exciting more than 40 years after the majority of it was produced. Strange fruit : The Beatles' Apple Records is the story of a record label which came to exist under extraordinary circumstances, produced extraordinary records and was operated under extraordinary guidelines."--Container
You Never Give Me Your Money
The Beatles After the Breakup
Published in 2009
The world stopped in 1970 when Paul McCartney announced that he was through with the Beatles. His statement not only marked the end of the band's remarkable career, but also seemed to signal the demise of an era of unprecedented optimism in social history. Though the Beatles' breakup was widely viewed as a cultural tragedy, one of the most fascinating phases of their story was just about to begin. Here is the behind-the-scenes story of the personal rivalries and legal feuds that have dominated the Beatles' lives since 1969. Journalist Peter Doggett charts the Shakespearean battles between Lennon and McCartney, the conflict in George Harrison's life between spirituality and fame, and the struggle with alcoholism that threatened to take Richard Starkey's life. This is a compelling human drama and a rich and absorbing story of the Beatles' creative and financial empire, set up to safeguard their interests but destined to control their lives.--From publisher description.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions
The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970
Published in 2013
Covers every Beatles recording session at Abbey Road recording studio, including the number of takes for each song, studio documents, and facsimiles of contracts and other memorabilia.
The Roof
The Beatles' Final Concert
Published in 2018
"He was there! Apple Records former US manager Ken Mansfield takes a touching and comprehensive look back on one of rock'n'roll's most significant events, while bringing an insider's perspective to the days leading up to 42 fascinating minutes of the Beatles monumental Rooftop Concert"-- Provided by publisher.
John Lennon
The Life
Published in 2008
A biography of the controversial, outspoken member of the Beatles whose extraordinary songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney changed the world of rock music forever. Norman also wrote Shout!, one of the first and still one of the best Beatles histories.
Paul McCartney
The Life
Published in 2016
The definitive Paul McCartney biography, written with his approval by bestselling biographer Philip Norman. Since the age of twenty-one, Paul McCartney has lived one of the ultimate rock-n-roll lives played out on the most public of stages. Now, Paul's story is told by rock music's foremost biographer, with McCartney's consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before. PAUL McCARTNEY reveals the complex character behind the facade and sheds new light on his childhood?blighted by his mother's death but redeemed by the father who introduced him to music. This is the first definitive account of Paul's often troubled partnership with John Lennon, his personal trauma after the Beatles' breakup, and his subsequent struggle to get back to the top with Wings, which nearly got him murdered in Africa and brought him nine days in a Tokyo jail. Readers will learn about his marriage to Linda, including their much-criticized musical collaboration, and a moving account of her death. Packed with new information and critical insights, PAUL MCCARTNEY will be the definitive biography of a musical legend.
The Last Days of John Lennon
Published in 2020
John Lennon was one of the world's most influential people. Mark David Chapman was one of the most invisible. By the end of 1980, the Beatles had been broken up for a decade ? a decade John Lennon had spent in search of his true identity: singer, songwriter, activist, burn out. But now, he declared, "it's the perfect time to be coming back." Except that Lennon was a marked man. As early as the Beatles' controversial 1966 American tour, during which the band had feared for their safety, Lennon had complained, "You might as well put a target on me." The Nixon administration did just that, putting Lennon under FBI surveillance. If only the agents hadn't been so intently focused on the star himself, they might have detected Mark David Chapman's powerful, ever-growing obsession with the man he'd grown up idolizing. Chapman, himself a tragic nowhere man, ultimately achieved the notoriety he craved by making the target on Lennon very real ? and single-handedly wounding the spirit of a generation.
Visualizing the Beatles
A Complete Graphic History of the World's Favorite Band
Published in 2018
A visual history of The Beatles illustrates the evolution of their style and sound through infographics that examine the songs on every album, cover designs, chart positions, instruments used, and a wealth of other details.
The Beatles
All Our Yesterdays
Published in 2016
"The Beatles are the world's most enduring and biggest rock band ever! This is the story of their struggle for success. Taking us through the early days of rock 'n' roll, and their lives in Liverpool during the 1950s, we journey with them to Hamburg as they come of age and through grit, determination and masses of talent became the lads who made the sixties swing!,"--page [4] of cover.
Lennon
The Man, the Myth, the Music--the Definitive Life
Published in 2011
The author, a music historian and journalist writes a biography that challenges many popular assumptions about Lennon's life, from his widely misunderstood 'Working Class Hero' origins to his epic romance with Yoko Ono. Also critic for NPR he takes us on the remarkable journey that brought a Liverpool art student from a disastrous childhood to the highest realms of fame. He portrays Lennon's rise from Hamburg's red light district to Britain's Royal Variety Show; from the charmed naïveté of "Love Me Do" to the soaring ambivalence of "Don't Let Me Down"; from his shotgun marriage to Cynthia Powell in 1962 to his epic media romance with Yoko Ono. This narrative draws on numerous new and exclusive interviews with Lennon's friends, enemies, confidantes, and associates. He explores Lennon in all of his contradictions: the British art student who universalized an American style, the anarchic rock 'n' roller with the moral spine, the anti-jazz snob who posed naked with his avant-garde lover, and the misogynist who became a househusband. What emerges is the enormous, seductive, and confounding personality that made Lennon a cultural touchstone.--From publisher description.
Dreaming the Beatles
The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World
Published in 2017
"John, Paul, George, and Ringo remain the world's favorite thing. Yet every theory ever devised to explain why has failed. It wasn't their timing. It wasn't drugs. It wasn't that they were the voice of a generation. The vast majority of Beatles fans today weren't born when the records came out-- yet the allure of the music keeps on growing, nearly fifty years after the band split. The world keeps dreaming the Beatles, long after the Beatles themselves figured the dream was over. Our Beatles have outlasted theirs." -- Book jacket.
Ringo
With a Little Help
Published in 2016
Ringo: With a Little Help is the first in-depth biography of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who kept the beat for an entire generation and who remains a rock icon since the Beatles took the world by storm over fifty years ago. This book traces the entire arc of Ringo's remarkable life and career, from his sickly childhood to his life as the world's most famous drummer to his triumphs, addictions, and emotional battles following the breakup of the Beatles. Born in 1940 as Richard Starkey in the Dingle, one of Liverpool's most gritty, rough-and-tumble neighborhoods, he rose from a hardscrabble childhood marked by serious illnesses, long hospital stays, and little schooling to emerge, against all odds, as a locally renowned drummer. Taking the stage name Ringo Starr, his big break with the Beatles rocketed him to the pinnacle of worldwide acclaim in a remarkably short time. He was the last member of the Beatles to join the group but also the most vulnerable, and his post-Beatles career was marked by chart-topping successes, a jet-setting life of excess and alcohol abuse, and, ultimately, his rebirth as one of rock's revered elder statesmen.
Sound Pictures
The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin
Published in 2018
More than anyone besides the bandmates themselves, George Martin was the man who created the unique sound of the Beatles. Sound Pictures offers a powerful and intimate account of how he did so. The second and final volume of the definitive biography of the man, Sound Pictures traces the story of the Beatles' breathtaking artistic trajectory after reaching the creative heights of Rubber Soul. As the bandmates engage in brash experimentation both inside and outside the studio, Martin toils along with manager Brian Epstein to consolidate the Beatles' fame in the face of growing sociocultural pressures, including the crisis associated with the "Beatles are more popular than Jesus" scandal. Meanwhile, he also struggles to make his way as an independent producer in the highly competitive world of mid-1960s rock 'n' roll. As Martin and the Beatles create one landmark album after another, including such masterworks as Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (The White Album), and Abbey Road, the internal stakes and interpersonal challenges become ever greater. During his post-Beatles years, Martin attempts to discover new vistas of sound recording with a host of acts, including Jeff Beck, America, Cheap Trick, Paul McCartney, and Elton John, his creative breakthroughs followed by unprecedented commercial success. Eventually, though, all roads bring Martin back to the Beatles, as the group seeks out new ways to memorialize their achievement under the supervision of the man who has come to be known as Sir George. Now, more than fifty years after the Beatles' revolutionary triumphs, Martin's singular stamp on popular music has become more vital than ever, as successive generations discover the magic of the Beatles and their groundbreaking sound.
Solid State
The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles
Published in 2019
"This book examines the creation of the Beatles' final masterwork in terms of the technological strides that made their cumulative achievements possible"-- Provided by publisher.