How They Became The Beatles

An account of the band's rise to fame, featuring many rare documents and photographs.

Almost everyone can sing along with the Beatles, but how many young readers know their whole story? Geoff Edgers, a Boston Globe reporter and hard-core Beatles fan, brings the Fab Four to life in this Who Was...? book. Readers will learn about their childhoods in Liverpool, their first forays into rock music, what Beatlemania was like, and why they broke up. It's all here in an easy-to-read narrative with plenty of black-and-white illustrations!

In 1957 in Liverpool, England, a young lad named John Lennon and his band played music at a local church fair. In the audience was Paul McCartney, who liked what he heard and soon joined the group. Paul's friend George Harrison kept showing up at rehearsals until the older boys finally let him in. Eventually they found the perfect drummer, Ringo Starr, and the perfect name: The Beatles. Told through a lyrical text and stunning paintings, this book spotlights four ordinary boys growing up amid the rubble of postwar England who found music to be a powerful, even life-saving, force.

She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah! When Regina Bloomsbury's band, the Caverns, breaks up, she thinks it's all over. And then she makes a wish—"I wish I could be as famous as the Beatles." The Beatles are her music idols. The next day, she gets up to find that the Caverns are not just as famous as the Beatles, they have replaced them in history! Regina is living like a rock star, and loving it. There are talk shows, music videos, and live concerts with thousands of screaming fans. And Regina is the star of it all. But fame is getting the better of Regina, and she has a decision to make. Does she want to replace the Beatles forever? Greg Taylor's The Girl Who Became a Beatle is a rocking young adult novel about the good and the bad of Hollywood, fame, and rock 'n roll.

"Ken McNab's in-depth look at The Beatles' acrimonious final year is a detailed account of the breakup featuring the perspectives of all four band members and their roles. A must to add to the collection of Beatles fans, And In the End is full of fascinating information available for the first time. McNab reconstructs for the first time the seismic events of 1969, when The Beatles reached new highs of creativity and new lows of the internal strife that would destroy them. Between the pressure of being filmed during rehearsals and writing sessions for the documentary Get Back, their company Apple Corps facing bankruptcy, Lennon's heroin use, and musical disagreements, the group was arguing more than ever before and their formerly close friendship began to disintegrate. In the midst of this rancour, however, emerged the disharmony of Let It Be and the ragged genius of Abbey Road, their incredible farewell love letter to the world"--

This inspiring picture book tells the story of the friendship between Ringo, Paul, George, and John, and how their unique talents came together to make something brilliant. In 1957, a boy named Paul met a boy named John. John was funny and confident, while Paul was quiet and steady, but one thing they had in common was a love and talent for songwriting. When they were joined by George and Ringo, they formed the band whose name would soon be known across the world: The Beatles. Together, the Fab Four became the world’s best-loved band, drawing huge crowds to packed-out stadiums. But even they got nervous sometimes, and in those times they knew they could rely on each other. Through the power of friendship, The Beatles made their biggest dreams come true and still bring joy to the lives of millions. Friends Change the World is a series of picture books that celebrates the power of friendship. From musical greats to sports champions, scientists and explorers to artists and activists, these are the true stories of real friends who achieved amazing things. Whether best friends since school or thrown together by a chance encounter, they supported and inspired each other to make their shared dreams come true. This charming series shows 4- to 7-year-olds how togetherness, respect, and friendship can make the world a better place.

Liverpool, England, October 1956. Schoolboy John Lennon and his best friend, Peter Shotton, decide to start a skiffle group as "a bit of a lark." Four years later John, now accompanied by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best, leaves Liverpool to start a series of near legendary gigs in Hamburg, Germany. His group now performing under their newly acquired name THE BEATLES. This is the story of those four years. The story of how one of thousands of amateur schoolboy skiffle bands evolved into the beginnings of the greatest band in popular history. It's a story of hope, creativity and exploring musical boundaries. It's also a story of tragedy, coincidence and at times just sheer luck. This is a story of beginnings, the story of John, Paul, George and Ringo - Before They Were Beatles.

This well-researched book explains how Paul McCartney's artistic process led The Beatles. The author analyzes the Beatles' songs showing how they used ideas from the fields of psychology and the social sciences. McCartney's songs began incorporating these ideas and language when he arrived at the Asher's in 1963 which led the group to worldwide fame and guided the "counterculture." The group continued to use these subtexts as a way to write songs through their final album release. A ground-breaking literary analysis of The Beatles' songs and why they were compelling. Discusses the 1959 Macy Conference on LSD and Psychotherapy, the theories of Frank Fremont-Smith, Dr. Carl Van Rhijn, Dr. Sidney Cohen and cyberneticist Gregory Bateson. Analysis of R.D. Laing's general anti-psychiatry approach, David Cooper's writings, and Maxwell Jones's concept of the "therapeutic society." The last place one would think to find such ideas was in Beatles songs, but the author shows them influencing the structure of most of their output, including from the early "She Loves You," on to "Yellow Submarine," "Hey Jude" and "Going Home," and explains their integration with McCartney's artistic process. "Changing the fashions and lifestyles of youth throughout the world didn't happen by accident. We knew what we were doing." - John Lennon"An entertaining deep dive into the lyrics of Paul McCartney. A must-read for Beatlemaniacs." - Ken Goffman, author of Counterculture Through the AgesIncludes Appendices, Reference Notes and Index. 446 pages.