Beatles For Sale on Parlophone Records covers all of the singles, albums and extended play discs issued by the Beatles in the U.K. from 1962 through 1970. Each record is given a separate chapter, which tells the stories behind how the songs appearing on the disc were written and recorded. The chapters also detail how the records were marketed and contain sales and chart information. The book has chapters on the history of EMI and Parlophone Records, how records are mastered and manufactured, how EMI contracted with other record companies to press Beatles singles and albums to help meet demand, British radio and record charts in the sixties and other record-related topics. The book has over 700 illustrations, all in either color or original black and white.
Bruce Spizer is an American tax attorney and music historian. Bruce Spizer is a life-long native of New Orleans and a first generation Beatles fan. He is a well-known Beatles author/historian and is considered one of the world's leading experts on the Beatles. A "taxman" by day, Bruce is a Board Certified Tax Attorney and CPA. A "paperback writer" by night, Bruce is the author of ten critically acclaimed books on the Beatles, including "The Beatles Are Coming! The Birth of Beatlemania in America," "The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper: A Fans' Perspective," "The Beatles White Album and the Launch pf Apple" and "Beatles For Sale on Parlophone Records," which covers all of the Beatles records issued in the U.K. from 1962 - 1970. His articles have appeared in American History, Beatlefan, Goldmine and Parade. He has appeared on ABC's Good Morning America and Nightline, CBS's The Early Show, Fox National News, CNN, and morning shows in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Nashville, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. He is a frequent guest on local, national and international radio programs, including those broadcast by NPR, ABC and the BBC. Bruce has been a guest speaker at numerous Beatles conventions in the U.S. and U.K. and at the Grammy Museum, the Paley Center for Media, the Newseum, the American Film Institute, New York's Lincoln Center and the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame & Museum in Cleveland. He wrote the questions and answers for the Beatles edition of Trivial Pursuit. Bruce serves as a consultant for Universal Music Group, Capitol Records and Apple Corps, Ltd. on Beatles projects. His credits on Beatles releases include the multi-million selling CD "1," the CD box set "The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2" (wrote the essay), "The U.S. Albums" box set, the Ron Howard film "Eight Days A Week" and the deluxe edition of the 50th Anniversary release of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
This book had a lot of detail about the Beatles' recordings. However, the intro to the book advised the reader not interested in such great detail how to pass by that stuff and enjoy the story of the Beatles' recording lives. It was fun to learn about how complex, detailed, and difficult writing and recording music actually is. The book reflects how dedicated these men were to their art and the great effort they put into achieving excellence, originality, and musicality in their work. They were truly "once-in-a-lifetime" led us on an incredible journey. They earned all the accolades they received. They certainly made (and still do) my life richer for the listening.
Bruce Spizer exhaustive reviews of all the various aspects of the Beatles recordings are amazingly detailed and endlessly fascinating. These are reference books rather than books to read straight through. This particular volume explores the British label Parlophone, which released all the Beatles albums in the U.K. until they formed their Apple label.