Something About the Beatles: Interview II, The Historian and the Beatles

In my second interview with the Something About the Beatles podcast, posted Monday, Robert Rodriguez and I discussed the overall arc of Beatles historiography, analyzed some of the “canon” works, and spent a lot of time talking about drugs.

Listen to the podcast here. 

We also mentioned or analyzed a number of both well-known and lesser-known Beatles books, including everything from Apple to the Core to John Lennon called me Normal. Some of the books we discussed, such as Peter Doggett’s You Never Give Me Your Money, are more thoroughly analyzed in my own book but, for new visitors, here are some links to my earlier blog reviews:

For a more in-depth look at the impact Rolling Stone and the media has had on Beatles’ narratives, here’s my review of Joe Hagan’s recent biography of the magazine’s editor, Jann Wenner:

Book Review: Sticky Fingers, Joe Hagan’s biography of Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner

A basic synopsis of how the issue of drug use has (and hasn’t) been discussed in Beatles historiography is available here:

Setting the Stage: The Beatles and Drugs, Part One

Followed by a more thorough review of Joe Goodden’s excellent Riding So High.

The Beatles and Drugs, Part II. Book Review: Riding So High, by Joe Goodden

Here’s a review of Fred Goodman’s recent Allen Klein biography, which suffers from some serious methodological issues — and is currently being used as the almost sole source for Klein’s Wikipedia page, providing more casual fans and readers with inaccurate and unbalanced information.

Revisiting the Demon King: Fred Goodman’s biography of Allen Klein

Philip Norman’s works played a significant role in The Beatles and the Historians, but his recent Paul McCartney biography was published too late for me to include in my book. Here’s my blog review of the book and its significance:

Re-Writing History: A Review of Philip Norman’s Paul McCartney: The Life

Last, but not least, is a review of Norman Smith’s rare and provocative but frankly bizarre memoir:

The “Normal” Version of Beatles History

Comments, questions and discussion on the podcast are welcome. Feel free to comment on the book reviews, either on this thread or even on the older ones: you will eventually get a response.