Tune In
Once completed, this will surely be the definitive record of the four boys from Liverpool: "It can be said without fear of hyperbole; this is what the Beatles were and are, and fifty-plus years after they leapt into view--fifty--there's little hint it's going to change. So many would-be successes have come and gone, there's now an acceptance that no one can be bigger or better. John Winston Lennon, James Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard Starkey hold on strong, universally acknowledged as a cultural force, still somehow current and wove into the fabric of modern lives."
Lewisohn starts the book as a four-part harmony biography, tracing the lineage of each family of the Fab Four. John, who lived mostly with his Aunt Mimi, hardly knew his father, and lost his mother in his teens; Paul McCartney, who grew up mostly happy, but also lost his mother; George, from a working class family, who became crazy about guitars; and Ritchy, who had a very sickly childhood, losing many years of school because of illness, but became a rather cocky young drummer. Slowly they come together. John forms a band, The Quarry Men, and one day meets Paul at a church fair. He is so impressed by Paul's showmanship that he invites him to join. They are looking for a lead guitarist and Paul knows George. They change their name to the Silver Beatles and then the Beatles, but take forever to find a drummer.
During this section Lewisohn captures what it was like for these four music crazy boys. Mostly it's about how they eagerly listen to American records, because British music was nothing to get excited about (their was a brief skiffle craze but they were never really into that--they liked rock and roll). I loved the description of the first time John heard a Little Richard record--he was speechless, which was not a normal thing with John.
The Beatles took American music and reinvented it. They scoured the record shops and listened to B-sides, incorporating more obscure songs into their act. They did Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles (the big part of their set was a ten-minute long version of "What'd I Say") and a lot of songs by American girl-groups, often without changing the gender of the lyrics.
All the while they headed toward stardom. If one didn't know the outcome, one would think the book was about a failed band. So many little turns of luck were required for them to make it that it's a cliffhanger. First, they were fancied by Brian Epstein, a record-store manager who had never managed musicians before. Epstein was a posh fellow compared to the rough boys, who wore leather get-ups and cowboy hats. Then it took forever to get a recording contract. Parlophone, where they landed, was the last outpost, and George Martin liked them but wasn't all together behind them. They finally made "Love Me Do" as their first single, which Martin didn't really like. It was only when it cracked NME's (The New Music Express) top 30 did things start to happen.
One stroke of luck was that Ritchy Starkey, who took the name Ringo Starr, didn't emigrate to America as planned. He was all set to move to Houston when he realized there was too much paperwork involved. The story of the Beatles' drummer is a major one throughout the book. I can't remember all the guys who played drums for them, but they eventually landed on Pete Best, the son of a woman who owned a club where they played. He was good looking but sullen, and did not mix well personality-wise with the other three (their comedy on stage was a large part of their appeal). He also wasn't a very good drummer. The others wanted to get rid of him for a long time, but couldn't act, either out of loyalty or cowardice or both. But when George Martin said he was no good and wouldn't allow him to play (he'd use a session drummer next time) the other three Beatles got Epstein to fire him. Starr, who had played for years with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, was contacted and immediately said yes. It's often said that Pete Best is the unluckiest man in show business, but Lewisohn spells out that whatever the other Beatles felt about him, he was not going to be a Beatle if George Martin had anything to say about it.
There is so much in this book it's hard to summarize it all. Lewisohn details their trips to Hamburg, and how on the first trip they slept four to a window-less room in the back of a porn theater. Paul and Pete were banned from the country for an arson incident. George, being underage at the time, was there illegally. There is also a lot about their tight relationship with fans. The first Beatles fans were mostly girls, and some of them became quite friendly with the group (and not in a sexual way). Two were even approached to manage them, before Epstein came along. But don't worry, the Beatles had plenty of sex. George lost his virginity in Hamburg, while the other Beatles listened.
We also learn all about Stuart Sutcliffe, who for a time was the Beatles' bass player, even though he didn't know to play bass. He stayed in Germany and died of a brain hemorrhage when he was just 22.
Some of this can be overwhelming. Lewisohn goes into detail about every concert, every instrument, even telling us how many hours the Beatles played in certain cities. And, when the subject is this narrow, what appears to be trivial has great import, such as the debut of their trademark hair styles: "The Beatles haircut was born that afternoon, perhaps October 12 or 13, 1961, in the tranquility of 9 rue de Beaune, a narrow side-street shaded by tall buildings. The quiet was pierced the following morning when the concierge discovered the debris under Jurgen Vollmer's bed. She would not be the last to scream over the Beatles' hair."
Lewisohn is also playful. He peppers the text with winks and nods, such as writing when John and Paul ascend stairs to have a cigarette: "They found their way upstairs and had a smoke," which would be a line in "A Day in the Life" some eight or nine years later. He also has some great factoids, such as how Little Richard, when he toured with the Beatles, loved them, except he didn't like that John farted. Also, this tour was when Billy Preston was introduced to the Beatles. He was sixteen at the time.
Looming over the whole thing is the personality of John Lennon. He basically founded the band and was the leader, though the unique thing about them was that they didn't appear to have a leader. Groups in those days was Some Guy and the Somethings, and when they first went into record George Martin was trying to figure out who would be the lead singer. Then it dawned on him--this was something new--all of them could sing. It was a group, and that is what made them exciting. When they recorded their second single, "Please Please Me," he congratulated them. "You've just made your first number 1 hit."
As for Lennon, he does come across as the most complicated of them all. "Many were repulsed by his attitude and behavior--uncompromising, unpredictable, rude, cynical, sarcastic, anti-authoritarian, quickly bored--but to others he was sensational; a perpetual high-wire act who lived and communicated without a safety net, a faithful friend, generous, honest, gifted, literate, articulate and hugely funny. He dressed and looked tough and was no stranger to fighting, but his hostility was mostly verbal: he could shout louder than anyone else and lacerate with a brevity and with that took the breath away." While the Beatles were a foursome, with each of their personalities and talents playing a part in their success, it is clear from Lewisohn's book that, in the early days at least, John was the focal point.
Okay, I'll be ready for part two anytime now.
I've read the book in its entirety and loved it. Can't wait for volume 2.
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