Given the phenomenal fame and commercial success that the Beatles knew for the entire course of their familiar career, their music per se has received surprisingly little detailed attention. Not all of their cultural influence can be traced to tong hair and flashy clothing; the Beatles had numerous fresh ideas about melody, harmony, counterpoint, rhythm, form, colors, and textures. Or consider how much new ground was broken by their lyrics alone -- both the themes and imagery of the Beatles' poetry are key parts of what made (and still makes) this group so important, so popular, and so imitated. This book is a comprehensive chronological study of every aspect of the Fab Four's musical life -- including full examinations of composition, performance practice, recording, and historical context -- during their transcendent late period (1966-1970). Rich, authoritative interpretations are interwoven through a documentary study of many thousands of audio, print, and other sources.

Biography of John Lennon told by his "best friend."

Over 30 landmark interviews, accounts, and memoirs of The Beatles and their entourage, recording how they inadvertently became counter-culture's figureheads and changed society.

Paul McCartney has lived an extraordinary life in popular music and popular culture. His careers as a Beatle, as a solo musician and band leader in Wings, and in areas outside music have varied tremendously and are well-documented. That Was Me explores the impact of Paul McCartney as a musician outside the Beatles, identifying the continued excitement in generations of fans and listeners, and his perennial efforts to perform and record music. Richard Driver argues that his solo career is multi-faceted and extremely diverse, ranging from breaking sharply with the style and output of the Beatles to experimenting in orchestral and operatic music and returning to music designed to emulate and reproduce the style, success, and popularity of the Beatles. Through McCartney we can literally and symbolically view and revisit the popular music phenomenon that was the Beatles, and popular music from the 1950s to today.

The definitive biography of The Beatles, hailed as "irresistible" by the New York Times, "riveting" by the Boston Globe, and "masterful" by Time. As soon as The Beatles became famous, the spin machine began to construct a myth -- one that has continued to this day. But the truth is much more interesting, much more exciting, and much more moving -- the highs and the lows, the love and the rivalry, the awe and the jealousy, the drugs, the tears, the thrill, and the magic to never be repeated. In this vast, revelatory, exuberantly acclaimed, and bestselling book, Bob Spitz has written the biography for which Beatles fans have long waited.