I love the Beatles. There, I said it. I heard "I Want To Hold Your Hand" while riding in the family car in December 1963 and I was hooked.
I remember seeing them on February 9, 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show. My parents, like many adults, thought the Beatles look horrid, especially with that long hair. I thought they looked and sounded fabulous.
I remember how my friends and I would purchase the albums and singles and then swap them around so everyone got to hear the latest Beatles music. I remember the first time I heard "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." I was speechless. It was an album like no other and it has stood the test of time (along with the other records). I remember going to buy the White Album and discovering it was a double album! I didn't bring enough money to buy it so I had to go back home to get more money - and I didn't mind a bit! I mean, a double album of Beatles music!!
I remember the acrimonious breakup in 1970 and the realization that there would be no more Beatles music. And while John, Paul, George and Ringo have recorded great music during their solo careers, I really can't think of a single project that was the equal of the music they made together. Opinions about music are usually subjective so you may disagree with me. That's OK. I'm sure I'm right:-)
I have over 100 Beatles titles in my library. Each one has brought me a little closer to the group. One book I read earlier this year was Rob Sheffield's "Dreaming the Beatles." Sheffield is a long-time writer of music and has been published in Rolling Stone magazine, among others.
Sheffield writes how he was amazed at the sales records the Beatles "1" CD produced. From his research into why that CD was so heavily purchased he discovered : I proved that three things never change: 1) people love the Beatles; 2) it's a little weird and scary how much some people love the Beatles; 3) even people who love the Beatles keep underestimating how much people love the Beatles. (page 307).
Fifty years after it's original release, "Sgt. Pepper," reentered the Billboard Top 100 chart this summer. It is now rumored that the White Album will be rereleased next year, its 50th anniversary.
Who will be standing at the door waiting for Zia's Record Exchange to open on the day the White Album is released? Me. Why? Read the opening sentence of this blog entry.
