Introducing the Beatles: Background and Resources
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2023
Pages: 410
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2023
Pages: 404
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Since the mid-1960s, the life and work of the Beatles have been the subject of numerous books about the group. Their distinctive achievements as musicians and songwriters for the ages clearly merit this level of attention.
Introducing the Beatles: Backgrounds and Resources is expressly designed for teachers and students of the band interested in placing their remarkable musical output within the context of their years as a working rock ‘n’ roll group.
To immerse the reader in the work of The Beatles, QR Codes are embedded throughout the publication to play each track on Spotify.
Introducing the Beatles: Backgrounds and Resources is divided into five principal sections:
Section One includes a biographical chronology, which traces the bandmates’ lives and recordings from 1940 through the present day.
Section Two traces the evolution of the Beatles’ standard UK studio albums and singles releases from 1963 through 1970, as well as the Anthology project in the mid-1990s. It includes a detailed study of each LP’s composition and production, as well as its commercial release and public reception. Additionally, each album entry includes comprehensive information about the musicians and production personnel.
Section Three addresses the terminology occasioned by the advanced study of the band in an effort to afford teachers and students alike a sense of the larger contours of their artistic accomplishments.
Sections Four and Five provide a discography and a bibliography, and sources for further reading.
Preface
I. Biographical Chronology
II. Standard Studio Albums, Singles Releases, and
1. Please Please Me
“I Saw Her Standing There” (McCartney-Lennon)
“Misery” (McCartney-Lennon)
“Anna (Go to Him)” (Alexander)
“Chains” (Goffin-King)
“Boys” (Dixon-Farrell)
“Ask Me Why” (McCartney-Lennon)
“Please Please Me” (McCartney-Lennon)
“Love Me Do” (Lennon-McCartney)
“PS I Love You” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Baby It’s You” (Bacharach-Williams-David)
“Do You Want to Know a Secret” (McCartney-Lennon)
“A Taste of Honey” (Scott-Marlow)
“There’s a Place” (McCartney-Lennon)
“Twist and Shout” (Medley-Russell)
“From Me to You” (McCartney-Lennon)
“Thank You Girl” (McCartney-Lennon)
“How Do You Do It?” (Murray)
2. With the Beatles
“It Won’t Be Long” (Lennon-McCartney)
“All I’ve Got to Do” (Lennon-McCartney)
“All My Loving” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Don’t Bother Me” (Harrison)
“Little Child” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Till There Was You” (Willson)
“Please Mister Postman” (Dobbins-Garrett-Gorman-Holland-Bateman)
“Roll Over Beethoven” (Berry)
“Hold Me Tight” (Lennon-McCartney)
“You Really Got a Hold on Me” (Robinson)
“I Wanna Be Your Man” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Devil in Her Heart” (Drapkin)
“Not a Second Time” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Money (That’s What I Want)” (Bradford-Gordy)
“She Loves You” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’ll Get You” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” (Lennon-McCartney)
“This Boy” (Lennon-McCartney)
3. A Hard Day’s Night
“A Hard Day’s Night” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I Should Have Known Better” (Lennon-McCartney)
“If I Fell” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’m Happy Just to Dance with You” (Lennon-McCartney)
“And I Love Her” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Tell Me Why” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Can’t Buy Me Love” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Any Time at All” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’ll Cry Instead” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Things We Said Today” (Lennon-McCartney)
“When I Get Home” (Lennon-McCartney)
“You Can’t Do That” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’ll Be Back” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Long Tall Sally” (Blackwell-Johnson-Penniman)
“I Call Your Name” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Slow Down” (Williams)
“Matchbox” (Perkins)
4. Beatles for Sale
“No Reply” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’m a Loser” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Baby’s in Black” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Rock and Roll Music” (Berry)
“I’ll Follow the Sun” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Mr. Moonlight” (Johnson)
Medley: “Kansas City”/“Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” (Leiber-Stoller/Penniman)
“Eight Days a Week” (Lennon-McCartney
“Words of Love” (Holly)
“Honey Don’t” (Perkins)
“Every Little Thing” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” (Lennon-McCartney)
“What You’re Doing” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby” (Perkins)
“I Feel Fine” (Lennon-McCartney)
“She’s a Woman” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Leave My Kitten Alone” (John-McDougal-Turner)
5. Help!
“Help!” (Lennon-McCartney)
“The Night Before” (Lennon-McCartney)
“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I Need You” (Harrison)
“Another Girl” (Lennon-McCartney)
“You’re Going to Lose That Girl” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Ticket to Ride” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Act Naturally” (Russell-Morrison)
“It’s Only Love” (Lennon-McCartney)
“You Like Me Too Much” (Harrison)
“Tell Me What You See” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’ve Just Seen a Face” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Yesterday” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Dizzy Miss Lizzy” (Williams)
“Yes It Is”
“I’m Down” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Bad Boy” (Williams)
“If You’ve Got Trouble” (Lennon-McCartney)
“That Means a Lot” (Lennon-McCartney)
6. Rubber Soul
“Drive My Car” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” (Lennon-McCartney)
“You Won’t See Me” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Nowhere Man” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Think for Yourself” (Harrison)
“The Word” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Michelle” (Lennon-McCartney)
“What Goes On” (Lennon-McCartney-Starkey)
“Girl” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’m Looking Through You” (Lennon-McCartney)
“In My Life” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Wait” (Lennon-McCartney)
“If I Needed Someone” (Harrison)
“Run for Your Life” (Lennon-McCartney)
“We Can Work It Out” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Day Tripper” (Lennon-McCartney)
“12-Bar Original” (Harrison-Lennon-McCartney-Starkey)
7. Revolver
“Taxman” (Harrison)
“Eleanor Rigby” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’m Only Sleeping” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Love You To” (Harrison)
“Here, There, and Everywhere” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Yellow Submarine” (Lennon-McCartney)
“She Said She Said” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Good Day Sunshine” (Lennon-McCartney)
“And Your Bird Can Sing” (Lennon-McCartney)
“For No One” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Doctor Robert” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I Want to Tell You” (Harrison)
“Got to Get You into My Life” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Tomorrow Never Knows” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Paperback Writer” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Rain” (Lennon-McCartney)
8. A Collection of Beatles Oldies
9. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (Lennon-McCartney)
“With a Little Help from My Friends” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Getting Better” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Fixing a Hole” (Lennon-McCartney)
“She’s Leaving Home” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Within You Without You” (Harrison)
“When I’m Sixty-Four” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Lovely Rita” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Good Morning Good Morning” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” (Lennon-McCartney)
“A Day in the Life” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Sgt. Pepper Inner Groove” (Lennon-McCartney) [unlisted]
“Penny Lane” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Strawberry Fields Forever” (Lennon-McCartney)
10.Magical Mystery Tour
“Magical Mystery Tour” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Your Mother Should Know” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I Am the Walrus” (Lennon-McCartney)
“The Fool on the Hill” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Flying” (Harrison-Lennon-McCartney-Starkey)
“Blue Jay Way” (Harrison)
“All You Need Is Love” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Baby, You’re a Rich Man” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Hello, Goodbye” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Christmas Time (Is Here Again)” (Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey)
11. The Beatles (The White Album)
“Back in the USSR” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Dear Prudence” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Glass Onion” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Wild Honey Pie” (Lennon-McCartney)
“The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” (Lennon-McCartney)
“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (Harrison)
“Happiness Is a Warm Gun” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Martha My Dear” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I’m So Tired” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Blackbird” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Piggies” (Harrison)
“Rocky Raccoon” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Don’t Pass Me By” (Starkey)
“Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I Will” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Julia” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Birthday” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Yer Blues” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Mother Nature’s Son” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Sexy Sadie” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Helter Skelter” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Long, Long, Long” (Harrison)
“Revolution 1” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Honey Pie” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Savoy Truffle” (Harrison)
“Cry Baby Cry” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Can You Take Me Back?” (Lennon-McCartney) [unlisted]
“Revolution 9” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Good Night” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Lady Madonna” (Lennon-McCartney)
“The Inner Light” (Harrison)
“Hey Jude” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Revolution” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Not Guilty” (Harrison)
“What’s the New Mary Jane” (Lennon-McCartney)
12. Yellow Submarine
“Yellow Submarine” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Only a Northern Song” (Harrison)
“All Together Now” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Hey Bulldog” (Lennon-McCartney)
“It’s All Too Much” (Harrison)
“All You Need Is Love” (Lennon-McCartney)
13. Let It Be
“Two of Us” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Dig a Pony” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Across the Universe” (Lennon-McCartney)
“I Me Mine” (Harrison)
“Dig It” (Harrison-Lennon-McCartney-Starkey)
“Let It Be” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Maggie Mae” (traditional; arranged by Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Starkey)
“I’ve Got a Feeling” (Lennon-McCartney)
“One After 909” (Lennon-McCartney)
“The Long and Winding Road” (Lennon-McCartney)
“For You Blue” (Harrison)
“Get Back” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Don’t Let Me Down” (Lennon-McCartney)
“You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” (Lennon-McCartney)
14. Abbey Road
“Come Together” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Something” (Harrison)
“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Oh! Darling” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Octopus’s Garden” (Starkey)
“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Here Comes the Sun” (Harrison)
“Because” (Lennon-McCartney)
“You Never Give Me Your Money” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Sun King” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Mean Mr. Mustard” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Polythene Pam” (Lennon-McCartney)
“She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Golden Slumbers” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Carry That Weight” (Lennon-McCartney)
“The End” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Her Majesty” (Lennon-McCartney) [unlisted]
“The Ballad of John and Yoko” (Lennon-McCartney)
“Old Brown Shoe” (Harrison)
15. Anthology Project
“Free as a Bird” (Harrison-Lennon-McCartney-Starkey)
“Real Love” (Lennon)
III. Terminology
IV. Discography
V. Bibliography and Sources for Further Reading
Appendix: The Beatles in the Digital Age
Acknowledgments
Song Title Index
About the Authors
Kenneth Womack, Professor of English and Popular Music at Monmouth University, is the world's foremost Beatles scholar, having published his research about the band with such vaunted presses as Oxford, Cambridge, and Cornell. His latest project, a much anticipated two-volume study under contract with HarperCollins, addresses the life and times of Beatles roadie Mal Evans. Womack's work has been featured in the pages of Rolling Stone, while earning him opportunities to serve as an expert commentator for ABC's 20/20 and NBC's Access Hollywood. He also serves as the Music Culture critic for Salon and hosts the popular Everything Fab Four podcast.
Joe Rapolla, Chair of the Department of Music and Theatre Arts at Monmouth University, is a veteran music industry consultant, having partnered with the world's leading entertainment, media, and sports brands, including Universal Studios, MTV, HBO, Apple, Sony, IPG, BMI, and CBGB. He built and headed the Integrated Consumer Marketing departments at both Universal Music and Warner Music Group, where he successfully introduced and created Direct-to-Consumer Marketing/CRM strategies, campaigns, and platforms. At Monmouth University, he as reimagined the Music Industry curriculum, providing students with innovative, hands-on activities, including the student-run record label, Blue Hawk Records, and internship opportunities.