The Beatles in America–Book Review
The Beatles in America–Book Review
Books written about The Beatles—despite being together as a group for just short of a decade—are a cottage industry in their own right. The Beatles in America—The Stories, the Scene, the Memories is—as the subtitle indicates—a compendium of historical content and modern recollections. Spencer Leigh compiled the book with input from many sources and his own experiences and memories.
The Beatles were important—as Robyn Hitchcock pointed out in a recent Psychedelic Scene interview about his formative years in England—”everything met at the Beatles.” The Beatles in America focuses on the run-up to their introduction to American television and radio audiences, 
their improbable and rocky retail start, and the live shows they played until 1966.
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While the “British Invasion” was certainly inspired by The Beatles, it quickly became simply Beatlemania. Until more British acts began to grow in popularity and visibility in the United States, the British Invasion was a one-trick pony until The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five and other bands grabbed onto the Fab Four’s coattails.
All told, the Beatles’ United States tours of 1964 consisted of roughly thirty shows. That number seems quaint compared to modern acts that regularly play two hundred to three hundred shows in a calendar year. Taking into account the nearly one thousand shows they had played before visiting the United States, The Beatles were a road-tested and capable performing act. The fact that they tended to play barely 30 minutes a night is indicative of the environment they were forced to endure: long travel legs, press conferences, and the constant threat of being overwhelmed by screaming fans wherever they went.
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The Beatles in America – The Stories, the Scene, the Memories includes first-hand quotes from hundreds of contemporaries from Del Shannon, Bobby Vee, and Peter Noone to current artists including Loudon Wainwright, Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle. Fan photos, ticket stubs, concert programs and travel information – along with hundreds of rare photos make this a collectible for any Beatles fan.
Originally published in 2013, The Beatles in America – The Stories, the Scene, the Memories is presented here in a hardback edition and includes a foreword by the late Sid Bernstein, promoter, impresario, and an important figure in the Beatles’ orbit.
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