The Complete Beatles Chronicle: The
Only Definitive guide to the Beatles
entire career on stage, in the studio,
on radio, TV, film and video by Mark
Lewisohn
Does What It Claims,And Does It Well
A massive, gorgeous chronicle of the Beatles days together, from the
producer of the wildly successful The Beatles: Recording Sessions.
Exhaustively documents the groups public and private lives from the early
days until their breakup. Illustrations.
Personal Review: The Complete Beatles Chronicle: The Only
Definitive guide to the Beatles entire career on stage, in the
studio, on radio, TV, film and video by Mark Lewisohn

Since publishers and editions change from time to time, I am not certain
that I am reviewing the exact book. This book will be interesting mainly to
those who were teenagers during the 1960s. These persons will recall the
first time they heard each of the Beatles' albums, or they will recall the
event of buying these albums. For example, I first heard Sgt.Pepper at the
Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The album was played before the
performers went on stage -- that was Cream on their first American tour,
along with Gary Burton Quartet and the Flaming Groovies (a last minute
replacement for the Electric Flag). Anyway, the book takes the form of a
diary detailing when and under what circumstances many of the songs
were composed, recorded, and performed. The book contains 360 pages
of small print, and almost every page has a 1/4 page photograph, though
some are 1/8 page or 1/2 page, in size. The latter part of the book
contains color photos. The reproductions of the photos are better than one
might expect -- nice contrast and sharp focus. We learn that the original
name of the Beatles was the Quarry Men, where this name came from
Quarry Bank High School for Boys (page 12). We learn that the Quarry
Men (John, Paul, George, and John Lowe (drums)) made their first
recording in 1958 (page 13). We learn that Ringo was the drummer for a
band called "Al Caldwell's Texans" even before he (Ringo) jointed "Rory
Storm and the Hurricanes." (page 16) We learn that the first appearance
of the lineup of John, Paul, George, and Ringo took place on August 18,
1962, and this was at Hulme Hall, where the occasion was the Horticultural
Society's annual dance (page 75). We learn that the Beatles' first U.S.
performances were in February 1964. An interesting fact is that Charles
Finley, then owner of the Kansas City Athletics baseball team, paid
$150,000 out of his own pocket to persuade the Beatles to play in Kansas
City, and that the manager of the hotel in Kansas City cut up the Beatles'
bed linen into 3-inch squares, and sold them for $10 each (page 139). We
learn that the trumpet players on Strawberry Fields Forever were Tony
Fisher, Greg Bowen, Derek Watkins, and Stanley Roderick (page 234) and
that Dave Mason played the B-flat piccolo trumpet on Penny Lane (page
240). We learn that Maxwell's Silver Hammer took 27 takes, that She
Came In Through the Bathroom Window took 39 takes, and that Here
Comes the Sun had 13 takes (pages 324-327). Again, the reading is fairly
dry and fun facts are encountered only on occasion. There is essentially
no information on the Beatles' social lives. But for those who were
teenagers during the 60s, the book is likely to be a page turner.
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