Beatles. - Experiencing the Beatles: a listeners companion

Experiencing the Beatles: A Listeners Companion, by Brooke Halpin

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ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Halpin, Brooke.

Title: Experiencing the Beatles : a listener's companion / Brooke Halpin.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2018] | Series: Listener's companion | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017006659 (print) | LCCN 2017009194 (ebook) | ISBN 9781442271432 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781442271449 (electronic)

Subjects: LCSH: Beatles. | Rock musicEngland19611970History and criticism.

Classification: LCC ML421.B4 H325 2018 (print) | LCC ML421.B4 (ebook) | DDC 782.42166092/2dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006659

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

The goal of the Listeners Companion series is to give readers a deeper understanding of pivotal musical genres and the creative work of their iconic composers and performers. This is accomplished in an inclusive manner that does not necessitate extensive music training or elitist shoulder rubbing. Authors of the series place the reader in specific listening experiences in which the music is examined in its historical context with regards to both compositional and societal parameters. By positioning the reader in the real or supposed environment of the musics creation, the author provides for a deeper enjoyment and appreciation of the art form. Series authors, often drawing on their own expertise as both performers and scholars, deliver to readers a broad understanding of major musical genres and the achievements of artists within those genres as lived listening experiences.

The Beatles was one of the first topics considered when the Listeners Companion series was originated. Beethoven, the blues, and the Beatles: those three Bs would cover great swaths of the most important musical territory of the last two hundred years and were at the top of the list for the series. But topics get jostled, book proposals stall, authors come and go, and even the Beatles had to wait their turn until the right time and place. Fortunately, Experiencing the Beatles by Brooke Halpin now stands ready to walk the reader through the expansive and highly creative recorded catalog from, as Ringo Star puts it, a great little rock band. That little band formed when the rock genre was still a candidate for temporary fad and hardly seemed likely to alter music history. How obvious it all seems now. Of course the Beatles were going to be the most famous band ever. Of course their music would influence decades of the worlds greatest musicians and composers. This sense of manifest destiny for the Beatles makes discussing their music exceedingly challenging. Placing the reader into an environment where the magnitude of the Beatles was not so apparent is a delicate matter. Take Yesterday as just one example. Here is a song that now lives in the pantheon of rock legend. Its poetic potency and gravitas in the Beatles oeuvre is now viewed as undisputed. But in the context of the time, it was an out-of-place acoustic song with a nice melody but no discernable chorus. For all practical purposes, it was a Paul McCartney solo feature rather than a Beatles ensemble piece. The point being that the music of the Beatles needs context to be understood and enjoyed to the fullest extent. This is where Brooke Halpin is able to make his palpable contribution. As the host of his weekly radio show, Come Together with the Beatles, Halpin regularly delves into the people, places, and events surrounding the Beatles catalog, giving him an astute appreciation for the music. By speaking to hundreds of people who were there when the music was being conceived, recorded, and first enjoyed, Halpin has just the kind of insight that is so right for the Listeners Companion series. Reading Halpins words will give you the benefit of his lifetime of study and surely motivate you to revisit your Beatles recordings with a heightened comprehension of not only your old favorites but a few of the lesser-known gems as well.

Gregg Akkerman

It would be impossible to write this book without there having been John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr playing in a band called the Beatles; Franco Sciannameo and Gregg Akkerman for introducing me to Rowman & Littlefield; Natalie Mandziuk, who worked with me on editing this book; and to Beatles fans throughout the world who keep the Beatles and their music alive.