We can work it out
Popular and academic writing on The Beatles
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.v9i1.27619Keywords:
The Beatles, popular music, 1960s, Britain, rock criticism, historiographyAbstract
This article surveys the evolution of popular and academic research on The Beatles from the 1960s to the present. The section on popular writing identifies and critiques four strands of popular writing on The Beatles: hagiographical and sensationalist biographies, rock criticism and chronicling. The section on academic writing argues that traditionalist academics initially opposed the very idea of scholarship on The Beatles and that contemporary British historians still question the band’s significance as part of their wider revisionist critique of the 1960s as a major turning-point in modern British history. The article concludes by suggesting how academics might profitably pursue a less biographical approach and a more rigorous form of source analysis than that generally found in popular works.
References
ATV. 1969. Man of the Decade. Broadcast, 30 December.
Bantick, Christopher. 1998. ‘Beatles Explained’. Sunday Tasmanian, 27 December.
Baur, Michael, and Steven Baur, eds. 2005. The Beatles and Philosophy. Chicago, IL: Open Court.
BBC. 2010. ‘The Top 60 Best Selling Records of the 60s’: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sknv3. Broadcast, 31 May.
Beckett, Alan. 1966. ‘Popular Music’. New Left Review 1/39: 87–90.
Beloff, Max. 1970. The Intellectual in Politics and Other Essays. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Blackburn, Robin, and Tariq Ali. 1971. ‘Power to the People’. Red Mole, 8-22 March.
Blaney, John. 2008. Beatles for Sale: How Everything They Touched Turned to Gold. London: Jawbone.
Bootleg Zone. 2014. http://www.bootlegzone.com/index.php?section=1.
Brocken, Michael, and Melissa Davis. 2012. The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide to the Literature. Manitou Springs, CO: Beatle Works.
Brothers, Joyce. 1964. ‘Beatles Symbolize Youths’ Rebellion’. Independent Star-News (Pasadena, CA), 16 February.
Campbell, Colin, and Allan Murphy. 1980. Things We Said Today: The Complete Lyrics and Concordance to The Beatles’ Songs, 1962–1970. Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian Press.
Carr, Roy, and Tony Tyler. 1975. The Beatles: An Illustrated Record. London: New English Library.
Chorley, D. F., and A. C. Nicholls. 1968. ‘Letter’. The Use of English 20/1: 48.
Cleave, Maureen. 1963. ‘Why The Beatles Create All That Frenzy’. Evening Standard, 2 February.
Cohn, Nik. 1969. Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: Pop from the Beginning. London: Minerva.
Collins, Marcus. 2007. ‘The Permissive Society and its Enemies’. In The Permissive Society and its Enemies, ed. Marcus Collins, 1–40. London: Rivers Oram.
—2014. ‘The Beatles’ Politics’. British Journal of Politics and International Relations 16/2: 291–309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-856X.2012.00545.x
Comfort, Alex. 1966. ‘The Technological Age and Human Needs: An Emotional “Technology”’. In Technology and Society: The First Bath Conference, 1965, ed. Gerald Walters and Kenneth Hudson, 170–73. Bath: University of Bath.
Connolly, Ray, ed. 1972. The Beatles Years. London: Personality Books/Music Sales.
Couillard, Lucie. 2013. ‘International Beatles Conference to Come to Penn State Altoona’. Daily Collegian, 6 June.
Cox, C. B. 1973. ‘Who Needs Exams?’ Encounter (April): 3–9.
Daily Mail. 1964. ‘Beatle Ecstasy? It’s Just a Big Giggle’. Daily Mail, 28 May.
Dallas, Karl. 1971. Singers of an Empty Day: Last Sacraments for the Superstars. London: Kahn and Averill.
Davies, Hunter. 1968. The Beatles: The Authorized Biography. New York: McGraw–Hill.
—2004. The Beatles: The Authorized Biography, rev. ed. London: Cassell Illustrated.
—2006. The Beatles, Football and Me: A Memoir. London: Headline.
—2012. ‘Why I Didn’t Tell the Whole Truth about The Beatles’. New Statesman, 25 October.
Davis, Edward F., ed. 1968. The Beatles Book. New York: Cowles Educational Corporation.
DeRogatis, Jim, and Greg Kot. 2010. The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones: Sound Opinions on the Great Rock ’n’ Roll Rivalry. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur.
Doggett, Peter. 2009. You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle for the Soul of The Beatles. Oxford: Bodley Head.
Ehrenreich, Barbara, Elizabeth Hess and Gloria Jacobs. 1992. ‘Beatlemania: Girls Just Want to Have Fun’. In The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Music, ed. Lisa Lewis, 84–106. London: Routledge.
Epstein, Brian. 1964. A Cellarful of Noise. New York: Doubleday.
Everett, Walter. 1999. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—2001. The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul. New York: Oxford University Press.
Fast, Julius. 1968. The Beatles: The Real Story. New York: G.P. Putnam.
Fowler, David. 2008. Youth Culture in Modern Britain, c. 1920–1970. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Friede, Goldie, Robin Titone and Sue Weiner. 1980. The Beatles A to Z. London: Eyre Methuen.
Friedman, Rick, ed. 1968. The Beatles: Words without Music. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.
Frith, Simon. 1981. ‘John Lennon’. Marxism Today (January): 23–25.
Frith, Simon, and Howard Horne. 1987. Art into Pop. New York: Methuen.
Frith, Simon, and Angela McRobbie. 1990. ‘Rock and Sexuality’. In On Record: Rock, Pop and the Written Word, ed. Simon Frith and Andrew Goodwin, 371–89. New York: Pantheon.
Fuller, Roy. 1971a. Owls and Artificers: Oxford Lectures on Poetry. London: Andre Deutsch.
—1971b. ‘Sailing to Byzantium’. Encounter (December): 43–47.
Gendron, Bernard. 2002. Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club: Popular Music and the Avant-Garde. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Gillett, Charlie. 1983. The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, rev. ed. London: Souvenir.
Giuliano, Geoffrey, ed. 1998. Things We Said Today: Conversations with The Beatles. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation.
Giuliano, Geoffrey, and Vrnda Devi, eds. 2002. The Lost Beatles Interviews. New York: Cooper Square.
Goldman, Albert. 1988. The Lives of John Lennon. London: Bantam.
Goodman, Dean. 1992. ‘Years of Labour Bring Forth Beatle Book’. The Globe and Mail (Toronto), 5 December.
Gould, Jonathan. 2007. Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America. London: Little, Brown.
Gow, Gordon. 1964. ‘“Pop” Scholars’. The Listener, 21 May.
Granada. 1969. The Stones in the Park. Broadcast, 2 September.
Hall, Stuart, and Paddy Whannel. 1964. The Popular Arts. London: Hutchinson.
Harker, Dave. 1992. ‘Still Crazy After All These Years: What was Popular Music in the 1960s?’ In Cultural Revolution?: The Challenge of the Arts in the 1960s, ed. Bart Moore-Gilbert and John Seed, 236–54. London: Routledge.
Harrison, Brian. 2009. Seeking a Role: The United Kingdom, 1951–1970. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Heinonen, Yrjö. 2000. ‘Man on a Flaming Pie: The Dubious Origin of The Beatles Revisited’. In Beatlestudies 2: History, Identity, Authenticity, ed. Yrjö Heinonen et al., 111–46. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä.
Heuger, Markus. 2014. ‘Beabliography: Mostly Academic Writings about the Beatles’. www.soundscapes.info.
Holbrook, David. 1964. ‘Letter’. New Statesman, 13 March.
—1966. ‘Quite Useful Neutrals’. The Use of English 17/3: 195–98.
—1969. ‘Predatory Beatles’. The Use of English 20/3: 204–12.
Hoyland, John. 2008. ‘Power to the People’. The Guardian, 15 March.
Hughes, Donald. 1964. ‘Recorded Music’. In Discrimination and Popular Culture, ed. Denys Thompson, 152–75. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Huxley, Julian. 1966. ‘A Discussion of Ritualisation of Behaviour in Animals and Man: Introduction’. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 251/772: 249–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1966.0010
Inglis, Ian. 2000. ‘Introduction: A Thousand Voices’. In The Beatles, Popular Music and Society: A Thousand Voices, ed. Ian Inglis, xv–xxii. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Laing, Dave. 1969. The Sound of Our Time. London: Sheed & Ward.
—1987. ‘Editor’s Introduction’. Popular Music 6/3: iii–iv. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0261143000002294
Lennon, John. 1961. ‘Being a Short Diversion on the Dubious Origins of Beatles’. Mersey Beat, 6 July.
Lewisohn, Mark. 1986. The Beatles Live! The Ultimate Reference Book. London: Pavilion.
—1990. The Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Abbey Road Studio Session Notes 1962–1970. New York: Harmony.
—2013. Tune In: All These Years, vol. 1. London: Little, Brown.
MacDonald, Ian. 1994. Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties. London: Pimlico.
Madinger, Chip, and Mark Easter. 2001. Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium. Chesterfield, MI: 441 Productions.
Mäkelä, Janne. 2004. John Lennon Imagined: Cultural History of a Rock Star. London: Peter Lang.
Marcus, Greil. 1979. ‘The Beatles’. http://greilmarcus.net/2014/07/11/the-beatles-1979/.
Marwick, Arthur. 1991. Culture in Britain since 1945. Oxford: Blackwell.
—1994. ‘The Arts, Books, Media and Entertainments in Britain since 1945’. In Understanding Postwar British Society, ed. James Obelkevich and Peter Catterall, 179–91. London: Routledge.
—1998. The Sixties: Cultural Revolution in Britain, France, Italy and the United States, c. 1958–74. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
—2002. The Arts in the West since 1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mawer, Sharon. 2007. ‘Album Chart History: 1969’. http://web.archive.org/web/20080215235901/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1969.php.
McGrath, James. 2010. ‘Cutting up a Glass Onion: Reading The Beatles’ History and Legacy’. In Fifty Years with The Beatles: The Impact of The Beatles on Contemporary Culture, ed. Jerzy Jarniewicz and Alina Kwiatkowska, 303–26. ?ód?: ?ód? University Press.
Mellers, Wilfrid. 1973. Twilight of the Gods: The Beatles in Retrospect. London: Faber.
Melly, George. 1970. Revolt into Style: Pop Arts in Britain. London: Allen Lane.
Middleton, Richard. 1972. Pop Music and the Blues. London: Gollancz.
Mishan, E. J. 1973. ‘To Grow or Not to Grow’. Encounter (May): 15.
Moore, Allan. 1997. The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620195
Morgan, Kenneth O. 2001 [1990]. Britain since 1945: The People’s Peace, rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
New Musical Express. 1963. ‘Life-lines of The Beatles’. NME, 15 February.
Newsweek. 1967. ‘The Urug and the Grungey’. Newsweek, 4 December.
Newton, Francis (aka Eric Hobsbawm). 1963. ‘Beatles and Before’. New Statesman, 8 November.
Norman, Philip. 2005 [1981]. Shout! The True Story of The Beatles, rev. ed. New York: Fireside.
O’Connor, John. 2005. ‘Definitive Beatles Book Finally Arrives’. Daily Yomiuri, 24 December.
O’Donnell, Jim. 1996. The Day John Met Paul: An Hour-by-Hour Account of How The Beatles Began. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Palmer, Tony. 1970. Born under a Bad Sign. London: William Kimber.
Peyser, Joan. 1967. ‘The Music of Sound, or, The Beatles and the Beatless’. Columbia University Forum 10/3: 16–22.
Pichaske, David R. 1972. Beowulf to Beatles: Approaches to Poetry. New York: Free Press.
Poirier, Richard. 1967. ‘Learning from The Beatles’. Reprinted in idem, The Performing Self: Compositions and Decompositions in the Languages of Contemporary Life, 112–40. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1992.
Rap, Thomas. 1968. Beatles: Complete Works. Amsterdam: Thomas Rap.
Rosen, Robert. 2000. Nowhere Man: The Final Days of John Lennon. Berkeley, CA: Soft Skull Press, Quick American.
Sandbrook, Dominic. 2005. Never Had it So Good: A History of Britain from Suez to The Beatles. London: Little, Brown.
—2006. White Heat: A History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties. London: Little, Brown.
Scaduto, Anthony. 1968. The Beatles: Sex, Drugs, Music, Meditation—What Next? New York: New American Library/Signet Books.
Schaffner, Nicholas. 1978. The Beatles Forever. New York: McGraw–Hill.
Schneider, Matthew. 2008. The Long and Winding Road from Blake to The Beatles. Basingstoke: Palgrave. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9780230613171
Schultheiss, Tom, ed. 1985. Beatlefan: The Authoritative Publication of Record for Fans of The Beatles Vols. 1&2. Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian Press.
Shepherd, Billy [aka Peter Jones]. 1964. The True Story of The Beatles. London: Beat Publications.
Stengel, Erwin. 1966. Review of Transcultural Psychiatry. British Medical Journal, 9 July.
Terry, Carol D. 1985. Here, There and Everywhere: The First International Beatles Bibliography 1962–1982. Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian Press.
Thomson, Elizabeth, and David Gutman. 2004. ‘Afterword’. In The Lennon Companion: Twenty-Five Years of Comment, rev. ed., ed. Elizabeth Thomson and David Gutman, 251–68. New York: Da Capo.
Times. 1964. ‘Youth Warned on Mass Hysteria’. The Times, 30 December.
Times Literary Supplement. 1968. ‘Commentary’. 4 January.
Tremlett, George. 1976. The John Lennon Story. London: Futura.
Turner, Steve. 2006. The Gospel According to The Beatles. London: Westminster/John Knox Press.
Wenner, Jann S. 1968a. ‘Beatles’. Rolling Stone, 21 December.
—1968b. Review of The Beatles: The Authorized Biography. Rolling Stone, 26 October.
—1970. ‘John Lennon: Man of the Year’. Rolling Stone, 7 February.
Wenner, Jann S., ed. 2000. Lennon Remembers: The Rolling Stone Interviews. London: Verso.
Whitehead, Peter (dir.). 1966. ‘Rolling Stones Royal Albert Hall 1966’: http://youtu.be/pNe4tISL264.
Womack, Kenneth. 2007. Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of The Beatles. New York: Continuum.
Wooler, Bob. 1961. ‘Well Now—Dig This’. Mersey Beat, 31 August.