Beatles Christmas Panto

Between 1963 and 1969, the Beatles mailed recorded Christmas greetings to members of their official fan club. Here's their December 1966 record, hinting at the psychedelic direction in which they were headed:

"Nowhere Boy" Screenwriter Interviewed

The upcoming John Lennon biopic "Nowhere Boy" is based on the memoir by Julia Baird, John's half sister, says Nowhere Boy screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh.

New/Old Lennon Interview Unearthed

You'd think that everything the Beatles ever said or did has been collected by now, but no.

The Beatles Video Blog!

Great collection of video treasures here, including this gem:



From the February 11, 1964 concert at the Washington Coliseum--the Beatles at their rockin' finest. Watch this, and you know what all the excitement was about.

I'm not crazy about the title, but. . .

. . .this should be interesting:



As far as I can tell, it opens in January 2010.

Hey Jude, I Like Your New Song

Okay, I've listened to it twice now, and I'm beginning to like Julian Lennon's new song, a tribute to the recently deceased kindergarten playmate who inspired "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds":

Layla in the Sky for the Benefit of Shaft

How long will the Beatles last? Now we know:

And the beat goes on. . .and on. . .and on

Guess who's the top selling band of the 2000s? You are correct, sir!

Just tell me one thing: what's a Nickleback? A kind of football player?

Beatles on Uke, continued

Several people I know told me of The Beatles Complete on Ukulele, which was recently featured in a piece on National Public Radio.

There's a reason why the Beatles go so well with the ukulele, about which I will post in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy this delightfully weird version of "Your Mother Should Know":



Okay, that's four minutes of your life that you'll never get back.

My Favorite Beatles Song

What's my favorite Beatles song? George's masterpiece of authentic emotion and heartfelt simplicity:




Listen for the rooster crowing at 1:36!

Spot the Error in McCartney Bio Review

Bernadette Phillips, reviewing Peter Carlin's recent biography of Paul McCartney for the Winnipeg Free Press, doesn't have much positive to say about the book. But can you trust someone who gets her history wrong?

Only two of the former Beatles survive. George Harrison died of cancer in 2001, and John Lennon was gunned down as he signed an autograph for his murderer outside his New York apartment in 1980.

Though John had indeed signed Mark Chapman's copy of Double Fantasy earlier on the fateful evening of December 8, 1980, Lennon was on his way into the lobby of the Dakota when Chapman stepped from the shadows and shot the Beatles founder four times in the back.

Chapman's signed album has, though, an interesting history. After being picked up at the murder scene and used in the prosecution, the album was sold in 1999 (for an undisclosed sum of between $150,000 and $460,000). It is currently up for sale.

I could comment, but I won't. Suffice it to say that there isn't a good reason for wanting to own this ghoulish bit of memorabilia.

Hello Little Girl

Welcome to my Beatles blog! I've set this up both for my students and myself as a supplement to the course wiki for The Beatles and the English Poetic Tradition, a course I'll be teaching in the First Year Seminar Program at High Point University

I'll be using this site to collect and draw your attention to my Beatles-related musings as they occur.