What do you think?
Rate this book
The Beatles Are Here!: 50 Years after the Band Arrived in America, Writers, Musicians & Other Fans Remember
The arrival of the Beatles was one of those unforgettable cultural touchstones. Through the voices of those who witnessed it or were swept up in it indirectly, The Beatles Are Here! explores the emotional impact—some might call it hysteria—of the Fab Four’s February 1964 dramatic landing on our shores. Contributors, including Lisa See, Gay Talese, Renée Fleming, Roy Blount, Jr., and many others, describe in essays and interviews how they were inspired by the Beatles.This intimate and entertaining collection arose from writer Penelope Rowlands’s own Beatlemaniac she was one of the screaming girls captured in an iconic photograph that has since been published around the world—and is displayed on the cover of this book. The stories of these girls, who found each other again almost 50 years later, are part of this volume as well. The Beatles Are Here! gets to the heart of why, half a century later, the Beatles still matter to us so deeply.
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2014
20 people are currently reading
580 people want to read
About the author
Penelope Rowlands
9 books13 followersPenelope Rowlands is a journalist and the author of A Dash of Daring, a critically acclaimed biography of Carmel Snow, the brilliant Irish-American editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar (from 1934-1958).
Rowlands has also edited two well-received anthologies, The Beatles Are Here! and Paris Was Ours -- in each case also contributing both the introduction and an essay of her own. She is the author of three books on design, including monographs on Jean Prouvé and Eileen Gray.
She is currently working on a new biography..
Rowlands has also edited two well-received anthologies, The Beatles Are Here! and Paris Was Ours -- in each case also contributing both the introduction and an essay of her own. She is the author of three books on design, including monographs on Jean Prouvé and Eileen Gray.
She is currently working on a new biography..
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 19, 2014
The Beatles are yesterday's news. This book, maybe intentionally, made that clear. It's a collection of sound bites and essays that tries to forward the firsthand impression of the Beatles arriving in the U.S and what it meant to the locals. I liked some of the entries but no way does this book deserve 4.12 stars. I don't know why, but all non fiction is insanely overrated here. I thought my Beatles fatigue would be marginalized and my clinically dead interest in the Beatles would be galvanized by reading this book, but that didn't happen. I'm rating this book a 3 stars as a sign of respect for the ladies that suffered in their long life...people who just happened to be there back in 1964.
March 22, 2020
This was a real trip down memory lane for me. I was 13 when the Beatles were on that first Ed Sullivan show. I guess I thought they were okay but I was never going to be a screamer. I didn't come from a family of screamers - my mother didn't scream over Rudy or Frankie and my sister didn't scream over Elvis. Of course, we didn't see any of these people live, maybe that would have made a difference. Although why pay bucks and then keep yourself from hearing them?
Most of the articles were okay. One of them, I think it was about the Sgt. Pepper album, was a trifle long. Either that or I was particularly exhausted. Since I fell asleep twice during this article. There was just too much detail about the lyrics on the back of the jacket (that may have been the title of the article - the back of the jacket).
An all-round enjoyable book. Memories of people, mostly my age, remembering how we came out of our grief for our slain president, John F. Kennedy, and into a love for the mop-tops.
Most of the articles were okay. One of them, I think it was about the Sgt. Pepper album, was a trifle long. Either that or I was particularly exhausted. Since I fell asleep twice during this article. There was just too much detail about the lyrics on the back of the jacket (that may have been the title of the article - the back of the jacket).
An all-round enjoyable book. Memories of people, mostly my age, remembering how we came out of our grief for our slain president, John F. Kennedy, and into a love for the mop-tops.
December 1, 2015
There are a myriad of subjects we should care about. Do you, though? A person might care about their grade in algebra, but this does not mean they care what x equals. If you really want to know, I will tell you what x equals.*
Comparing the Beatles to an algebra grade is a poor metaphor including many reasons, but my point stands. However, I learned from reading this book that I do not care about fans' shenanigans. I am fascinated with pop culture circa 1960's, but I don't care about a person passing the dutchie when the following excerpt also entails a person passing the dutchie.*
Don't even get me started on the person who claimed they preferred George because he would be easier to get than Paul's face. I don't care if you were 12 years old. Why skip out on Paul's face when you really don't have to? Plus, it's a huge insult to George, who was more chopped liver than Ringo. (Contrary to popular belief, Ringo was more liked than George. I mean, the guy's hilarious.)
This chronicle contains the same format throughout--fan girls (interspersed with a rude nonfan whom I have just added to my hit list) who watched the Ed Sullivan show and became enamored with the Fab Four. I would be a hypocrite if I had something against fan girls, but it is the same repetitive drivel. The stories blur until you cannot tell them apart. I realize that may perhaps be the "socialistic" point of the impact of the Beatles, but there is not one singular story that focuses solely on their later cultural impact. There is discussion with their later albums, but I did not feel the distinction needed for a book like this. Incorporating nonfans/fans/musicians/famous musicians is a step toward this, but because of the material, it was not good enough. I suppose you could say there was nothing particularly wrong, but I was just not feeling it.
Another problem I had with this book is that I was bored the majority of the time. You might think that talk of the Beatles would never put me to sleep, but this book felt more like a cultural anecdote than anything else. A French woman seemed to feel that writing her opinion on her husband's sexual ability was necessary to get to the point at the end of the story. Because actual fans wrote these, they did not seem to add up.
I thought the story had a poor beginning quality. While revving the Beatles up, a fan managed to put every other artist during this time period down. I admit that I often grate my teeth at some Sinatra songs (*cough cough his cover of "Yesterday"), but it is not compelling to put down a classic musician in this way. The music industry had barely dawned with this man. Just because his music contains consonance does not mean it is terrible. He was a classy man and had good songs: "Fly Me to the Moon," "The Way You Look Tonight," "Come Fly With Me." I realize that people are entitled to their opinions, but it is pure stupidity to put something such as this (among others) down--even more stupid for whoever formatted this to put this in the beginning of the book. There was also another person who compared the lyrics to "When I'm Sixty-Four" to "Young and Beautiful," claiming that the former was more potent, clear, and better lyrically. It's a good song; I actually like it better than "When I'm Sixty-Four" because of its poetic and musical qualities. I'll show you what "abstract" is. Unfortunately, there is no abstract way to say that I want to punch you in the face. Finally, to criticize the Four Seasons is plain stupid; everyone knows they were involved with the Mafia.
Don't get me wrong. The Beatles are the best (in my biased opinion), but many unknowingly paved the steps before them and there are still good artists after. This is an incorrect and dangerous impression to have.
The third-to-last chapter flowed the best. It incorporated necessary information, was real with the readers, and was interesting. I also enjoyed the second-to-last because of the mention of Beatles Halloween costumes. I need to get more of my friends interested in them in time for it to roll around. ;)
All in all, it could have been better. It could have been more about the Beatles than these people's lives and their "impact" in them. Hormones. Don't. Count. Dopamine does, though. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. The booty.
2. "Pass the Dutchie" is a song you should look up if you are comfortable with that sort of thing.
Comparing the Beatles to an algebra grade is a poor metaphor including many reasons, but my point stands. However, I learned from reading this book that I do not care about fans' shenanigans. I am fascinated with pop culture circa 1960's, but I don't care about a person passing the dutchie when the following excerpt also entails a person passing the dutchie.*
Don't even get me started on the person who claimed they preferred George because he would be easier to get than Paul's face. I don't care if you were 12 years old. Why skip out on Paul's face when you really don't have to? Plus, it's a huge insult to George, who was more chopped liver than Ringo. (Contrary to popular belief, Ringo was more liked than George. I mean, the guy's hilarious.)
This chronicle contains the same format throughout--fan girls (interspersed with a rude nonfan whom I have just added to my hit list) who watched the Ed Sullivan show and became enamored with the Fab Four. I would be a hypocrite if I had something against fan girls, but it is the same repetitive drivel. The stories blur until you cannot tell them apart. I realize that may perhaps be the "socialistic" point of the impact of the Beatles, but there is not one singular story that focuses solely on their later cultural impact. There is discussion with their later albums, but I did not feel the distinction needed for a book like this. Incorporating nonfans/fans/musicians/famous musicians is a step toward this, but because of the material, it was not good enough. I suppose you could say there was nothing particularly wrong, but I was just not feeling it.
Another problem I had with this book is that I was bored the majority of the time. You might think that talk of the Beatles would never put me to sleep, but this book felt more like a cultural anecdote than anything else. A French woman seemed to feel that writing her opinion on her husband's sexual ability was necessary to get to the point at the end of the story. Because actual fans wrote these, they did not seem to add up.
I thought the story had a poor beginning quality. While revving the Beatles up, a fan managed to put every other artist during this time period down. I admit that I often grate my teeth at some Sinatra songs (*cough cough his cover of "Yesterday"), but it is not compelling to put down a classic musician in this way. The music industry had barely dawned with this man. Just because his music contains consonance does not mean it is terrible. He was a classy man and had good songs: "Fly Me to the Moon," "The Way You Look Tonight," "Come Fly With Me." I realize that people are entitled to their opinions, but it is pure stupidity to put something such as this (among others) down--even more stupid for whoever formatted this to put this in the beginning of the book. There was also another person who compared the lyrics to "When I'm Sixty-Four" to "Young and Beautiful," claiming that the former was more potent, clear, and better lyrically. It's a good song; I actually like it better than "When I'm Sixty-Four" because of its poetic and musical qualities. I'll show you what "abstract" is. Unfortunately, there is no abstract way to say that I want to punch you in the face. Finally, to criticize the Four Seasons is plain stupid; everyone knows they were involved with the Mafia.
Don't get me wrong. The Beatles are the best (in my biased opinion), but many unknowingly paved the steps before them and there are still good artists after. This is an incorrect and dangerous impression to have.
The third-to-last chapter flowed the best. It incorporated necessary information, was real with the readers, and was interesting. I also enjoyed the second-to-last because of the mention of Beatles Halloween costumes. I need to get more of my friends interested in them in time for it to roll around. ;)
All in all, it could have been better. It could have been more about the Beatles than these people's lives and their "impact" in them. Hormones. Don't. Count. Dopamine does, though. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. The booty.
2. "Pass the Dutchie" is a song you should look up if you are comfortable with that sort of thing.
December 11, 2013
Fifty years ago the Beatles made their first trip to the USA and changed the musical, and cultural, landscape forever. This book is a compilation of memories and an assessment of what they meant to the people who were there. It is comprised of essays, interviews and tells how Beatlemania crossed the ocean and the reactions to it. Many parents were less than impressed – seeing them as dangerous influences (you wonder how they responded when the Rolling Stones touched down...) with their long hair and cheeky humour.
There are famous fans, including Billy Joel and Cyndi Lauper, those who witnessed the concerts, who stood outside their hotels and screamed and even those who were unimpressed by this strange, new import. Amongst the memories are contemporary news articles, very interesting to read with the benefit of hindsight. The author managed to track down most of the girls seen on the cover photo of this book, who reflect on that time with warmth. There are comments on the importance of the Beatles acknowledgement of black music in a, still very much, racially divided country. One of my favourite pieces is an article on the song, “When I’m Sixty Four” and an appreciation of the enduring Lennon and McCartney songbook. Other fans mention “A Hard Day’s Night” and the sheer joy of their music.
“Whatever the Beatles had,” muses one fan, “no one else in my lifetime had it.” A ‘new’ Beatles appeared every so often in the seventies and eighties, only to disappear again. Few musical acts last – none with the enduring influence of the Beatles, who not only touched so many people so long ago, but continue to do so. This book is sure to be enjoyed by fans, whether they were there at the time or not and is a great book of memories to treasure.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
There are famous fans, including Billy Joel and Cyndi Lauper, those who witnessed the concerts, who stood outside their hotels and screamed and even those who were unimpressed by this strange, new import. Amongst the memories are contemporary news articles, very interesting to read with the benefit of hindsight. The author managed to track down most of the girls seen on the cover photo of this book, who reflect on that time with warmth. There are comments on the importance of the Beatles acknowledgement of black music in a, still very much, racially divided country. One of my favourite pieces is an article on the song, “When I’m Sixty Four” and an appreciation of the enduring Lennon and McCartney songbook. Other fans mention “A Hard Day’s Night” and the sheer joy of their music.
“Whatever the Beatles had,” muses one fan, “no one else in my lifetime had it.” A ‘new’ Beatles appeared every so often in the seventies and eighties, only to disappear again. Few musical acts last – none with the enduring influence of the Beatles, who not only touched so many people so long ago, but continue to do so. This book is sure to be enjoyed by fans, whether they were there at the time or not and is a great book of memories to treasure.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
February 26, 2014
As usual I received this book for free in exchange for a review. This time it was from NetGalley and despite that kindness I give my scrupulously honest opinion below.
The book's format is simple. It's simply a collection of oral first-person stories about the Beatles and their impact on fans, other artists and anybody else who happened to be around at the time. Basically, the Beatles as described from the outside.
To the positive, the book looks at the group from a mind-boggling variety of viewpoints. Everyone possible is represented from musicians to roadies to simple fans. It's an abundantly circumspect book.
To the negative, I'm a fan like the rest of us, but I'm not sure how much there really is to say here. There are hundreds upon hundreds of books about the Lads from Liverpool but there's only so much new information to convey. Many of these stories left me saying, "soooo.... What?" We have, I think, reached Beatles saturation and this book is just another straw in the haystack.
In summary, this is a great book for reminiscing. If you were there then you'll find the book harkens you back to a day when you had these same feelings and thought these same things. For those of us born a bit later, however, this may be a bit too much. Love the Lads as you will, there's only so much you can say about them.
The book's format is simple. It's simply a collection of oral first-person stories about the Beatles and their impact on fans, other artists and anybody else who happened to be around at the time. Basically, the Beatles as described from the outside.
To the positive, the book looks at the group from a mind-boggling variety of viewpoints. Everyone possible is represented from musicians to roadies to simple fans. It's an abundantly circumspect book.
To the negative, I'm a fan like the rest of us, but I'm not sure how much there really is to say here. There are hundreds upon hundreds of books about the Lads from Liverpool but there's only so much new information to convey. Many of these stories left me saying, "soooo.... What?" We have, I think, reached Beatles saturation and this book is just another straw in the haystack.
In summary, this is a great book for reminiscing. If you were there then you'll find the book harkens you back to a day when you had these same feelings and thought these same things. For those of us born a bit later, however, this may be a bit too much. Love the Lads as you will, there's only so much you can say about them.
June 18, 2020
Please please me.
I am an absorber of oral history. I've read at least one about the Beatles and their first visit to the U.S.. This book inspired me to talk about the Beatles launch on all of us in 1964.
I was 3. They is a vague memory of fighting over whether I could watch Beatles cartoons and having a " Soapy" of George I took with me into the bath. All my memories are black and white.
The Beatles were, for me, before my mother died. Things became less happy.
Lovely memories. If u want to have a feel of what back then was like, please, please read this book.
I am an absorber of oral history. I've read at least one about the Beatles and their first visit to the U.S.. This book inspired me to talk about the Beatles launch on all of us in 1964.
I was 3. They is a vague memory of fighting over whether I could watch Beatles cartoons and having a " Soapy" of George I took with me into the bath. All my memories are black and white.
The Beatles were, for me, before my mother died. Things became less happy.
Lovely memories. If u want to have a feel of what back then was like, please, please read this book.
June 16, 2018
Our library is having Rock The Summer Reading with a section of books just about music. They have it every summer to encourage children and adults to read more. This is a very different book about the Beatles because it is a collection of stories by writers, musicians, and fans. I know I am a big Beatles fan myself, and that they still matter to some of us even after 50 years. We watched The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 when I was 11. I loved them. My father thought they were a bunch of long haired kids, talentless bums, and that they would not amount to anything. What did he know. He was still stuck in Perry Como, Tony Bennet and Frank Sinatra. This was the era of new music that had Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. The arrival of the Beatles felt like the world belonged to us. The common thread to this book is that rock and roll was and is such a vital part of our lives Their music touched our soul and made us happy. I have seen Paul and Ringo at concerts and we had a great time. It is always nice to performers that you sing along with because you know all the words.
March 6, 2020
An oral history of when the Beatles and their music came to the United States, looking back through the voices of those who were there, musicians, writers and the front line of screaming young women in an infamous photography taken by The New York Times. At times it was difficult to read these memories, as it meant reflecting back to my own history: early knowledge through British contacts, attending the concerts, buying the records, what the songs meant to me. Not one person had attended the Beatles concert in Washington, D.C. which was unique in that they landed during a blizzard and had to take an old-fashioned train down from New York. Just like the movie. There were photographs of them throwing snowballs in Washington, just before the concert. I remember so much in terms of the massive cultural change that was about to implode, with this group at the forefront.
April 3, 2025
This is it. Never mind all that academic agonizing over which Beatle played what instrument on what song or what John said to Paul, etc. This is the book to read to get a giddy glimpse of what it really felt like to be swept up in the title wave of Beatlemania that hit America in the early 1960s. These firsthand accounts convey as well as possible, the giddy excitement, optimism and sheer happiness that those of us who were young then felt and will never forget and set our entire culture on a course of change.
February 26, 2018
The first couple of stories were good, but then the further into the book you get the more the stories all seem to sound the same and it got repetitive and boring pretty quick.
October 13, 2020
Fun for me
September 3, 2016
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.25/5
For how much longer can we get mileage out of The Beatles? For quite awhile is my guess, based on the number of books that continue to be released about the remarkable, iconic group. And as long as the books are well-written, strongly-themed and have something unique to say, then those books will continue to be welcomed. This is such a book.
The Beatles Are Here! is not so much a book about the Beatles themselves, but a reflection on the effect the Beatles had on our society, by way of the effect on individuals. This book contains a number of short essays from a mix of people, recollecting their introduction to the Beatles' music or appearance. The vast majority of these essays are very well written and insightful. Just a very few essays lacked merit and typically those were by people with 'name' recognition. I did wonder what the point of their inclusion might be. Is it possible that editor Rowlands or the publisher had committed to the works before they were written? Is it possible that they were included in order to help sell the book based on the essayists name? Anything is possible, of course. But really, this book doesn't need 'name' authors to sell it. The quality of most of the work here, and editor Penelope Rowlands' insightful placement of the essays holds its own and reads very well.
Although the bulk of the essays are unrelated (other than the obvious connection to the Beatles), there is a really nice, quite fascinating connection/correlation between a few of the essays.
If you take a moment to look at the photo on the cover of the book, you'll see a rather iconic photograph of a group of teenaged girls behind a homemade banner proclaiming "Beatles Please Stay Here 4-Ever." The girls are enthralled, screaming, reaching out. This is often how we picture the early days of the Beatles, especially in America ... with teenage girls screaming and crying.
That same photo inspired a piece by Gay Talese in the New York Times, September 21, 1964 (included in this book). The girl dead center, screaming, is Penelope Rowlands, editor of this collection. Through the magic of the internet, most of the girls centered in the photograph have reunited and contributed an essay to the book. Fascinatingly, none of them seemed to know each other before (or since) the photo was taken, but were brought together once by their love of the Beatles, and again by the circulation of the photograph.
The essays of these girls (now women) are among the most interesting. Rowlands sprinkles these essays throughout the book, rather than lumping them all together, which works quite well as, unless the essay is written by someone with a recognizable name, we are not sure if an essay is by someone connected to the photo or not. It was a small, brilliant method of giving the reader just a touch of mystery. Among those essays connected with the photo is a compelling essay by the photographer who took the picture, Henry Grossman, who travelled with the Beatles.
Even in a book of essays by people who typically didn't have a physical connection to the Beatles, we can glean some important tidbits. Nothing particularly new, perhaps, but for me at least, some things hit home here for the first time. Musician Janis Ian points out that
This makes perfect sense, and I wonder why I haven't read this, this succinct, before.
I'm not sure that there's much new to be learned about the Beatles themselves, or even their music, but this book clearly shows that we can still learn about the effect that the Beatles (and their music) had on our society which was ripe for that which the Beatles provided.
Looking for a good book? Whether you're a fan of the Beatles, pop music, pop culture, or even social studies of the 1960's, The Beatles Are Here! is a remarkable, compelling book and highly recommended.
For how much longer can we get mileage out of The Beatles? For quite awhile is my guess, based on the number of books that continue to be released about the remarkable, iconic group. And as long as the books are well-written, strongly-themed and have something unique to say, then those books will continue to be welcomed. This is such a book.
The Beatles Are Here! is not so much a book about the Beatles themselves, but a reflection on the effect the Beatles had on our society, by way of the effect on individuals. This book contains a number of short essays from a mix of people, recollecting their introduction to the Beatles' music or appearance. The vast majority of these essays are very well written and insightful. Just a very few essays lacked merit and typically those were by people with 'name' recognition. I did wonder what the point of their inclusion might be. Is it possible that editor Rowlands or the publisher had committed to the works before they were written? Is it possible that they were included in order to help sell the book based on the essayists name? Anything is possible, of course. But really, this book doesn't need 'name' authors to sell it. The quality of most of the work here, and editor Penelope Rowlands' insightful placement of the essays holds its own and reads very well.
Although the bulk of the essays are unrelated (other than the obvious connection to the Beatles), there is a really nice, quite fascinating connection/correlation between a few of the essays.
If you take a moment to look at the photo on the cover of the book, you'll see a rather iconic photograph of a group of teenaged girls behind a homemade banner proclaiming "Beatles Please Stay Here 4-Ever." The girls are enthralled, screaming, reaching out. This is often how we picture the early days of the Beatles, especially in America ... with teenage girls screaming and crying.
That same photo inspired a piece by Gay Talese in the New York Times, September 21, 1964 (included in this book). The girl dead center, screaming, is Penelope Rowlands, editor of this collection. Through the magic of the internet, most of the girls centered in the photograph have reunited and contributed an essay to the book. Fascinatingly, none of them seemed to know each other before (or since) the photo was taken, but were brought together once by their love of the Beatles, and again by the circulation of the photograph.
The essays of these girls (now women) are among the most interesting. Rowlands sprinkles these essays throughout the book, rather than lumping them all together, which works quite well as, unless the essay is written by someone with a recognizable name, we are not sure if an essay is by someone connected to the photo or not. It was a small, brilliant method of giving the reader just a touch of mystery. Among those essays connected with the photo is a compelling essay by the photographer who took the picture, Henry Grossman, who travelled with the Beatles.
Even in a book of essays by people who typically didn't have a physical connection to the Beatles, we can glean some important tidbits. Nothing particularly new, perhaps, but for me at least, some things hit home here for the first time. Musician Janis Ian points out that
"The Beatles were fully formed by the time they started recording. From then on they just amplified what they were doing. If you listen to that first album, Meet the Beatles, it's incredible. it really shows how much time they spent on stage, working out arrangements.... There's a very different dynamic that happens to a song when you've played it live a lot in front of audiences."
This makes perfect sense, and I wonder why I haven't read this, this succinct, before.
I'm not sure that there's much new to be learned about the Beatles themselves, or even their music, but this book clearly shows that we can still learn about the effect that the Beatles (and their music) had on our society which was ripe for that which the Beatles provided.
Looking for a good book? Whether you're a fan of the Beatles, pop music, pop culture, or even social studies of the 1960's, The Beatles Are Here! is a remarkable, compelling book and highly recommended.
January 8, 2014
Rolled my personal clock way, way back until I was re-living vivid memories of 1964 passions
Several new books mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles arriving in the US and performing in front of a screaming live audience on the Ed Sullivan show--a show that everyone I knew at the time, young and old, watched. What I love about The Beatles Are Here! is that it isn’t about the Beatles themselves--there are plenty of other books for that and I’d rather listen to Beatles music, watch a video of them performing, or laugh through one of their irreverent interviews than read about them anyway. Instead, this book is a forceful but widely varied collection of personal essays by writers, musicians, fans young and old, and even non-fans about the rather amazing impact the Beatles had on culture, music, and individual lives.
Expecting to like this book, I ended up loving it. Just about every essay was fascinating in its own way, bringing back some aspect of that strange 1964, just post-Kennedy assassination, no longer the 50’s but not yet what we think of as the 60’s time like nothing else ever has. The essays that almost electrified me are the ones written by fans because those reignited my own vivid memories of passionate pre-adolescent obsession.
Being only nine I loved Paul because, well, he was the cutest and I wasn’t old enough to be very deep. The problem was, I was almost too rational for my own good. (I wanted to believe in Santa but long before kindergarten I just couldn’t.) I KNEW it was crazy for a nine year old to be infatuated with a 21 year old man she had never met , so I hotly denied any interest in the Beatles as long as I could with frequent random and vehement diatribes that must have fooled no one--I give my mother credit for never calling me on it--but then I reversed and embraced my Paul obsession with fervor. And, like many of the essayists in the book, that passion ended up influencing a somewhat amazing/ridiculous amount of my life.
I read that Paul claimed to like classical music so I decided I did too, and then listening to it I actually did. John, Paul and George wrote their own songs so I wanted to be original too and wrote reams and reams of immature but deeply felt poetry. Unlike many bands the Beatles continued to evolve by keeping their art and lives growing and changing, and still to this day being a lifelong learner and explorer who investigates ideas and embraces experiences is how I try to live.
So thank you John, Paul, George, and Ringo, and thank you Penelope Rowlands for putting this book together. (Penelope got caught up in the Beatles excitement when she was young too--one of those girls screaming on that cover photo is her.)
Essayists include Gay Talese, Verlyn Klinkenborg, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Fran Lebowitz, Renée Fleming, Janis Ian, Tom Rush, Roy Blount, Jr. Barbara Ehrenreich, Cousin Brucie and plenty of “ordinary” but highly articulate fans. This is the second collection put together by Penelope Rowlands that I’ve read and the first, Paris Was Ours which has essays by people who spent formative parts of their lives in the City of Light, is also wonderful.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing. The opinions are obviously all mine.
Several new books mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles arriving in the US and performing in front of a screaming live audience on the Ed Sullivan show--a show that everyone I knew at the time, young and old, watched. What I love about The Beatles Are Here! is that it isn’t about the Beatles themselves--there are plenty of other books for that and I’d rather listen to Beatles music, watch a video of them performing, or laugh through one of their irreverent interviews than read about them anyway. Instead, this book is a forceful but widely varied collection of personal essays by writers, musicians, fans young and old, and even non-fans about the rather amazing impact the Beatles had on culture, music, and individual lives.
Expecting to like this book, I ended up loving it. Just about every essay was fascinating in its own way, bringing back some aspect of that strange 1964, just post-Kennedy assassination, no longer the 50’s but not yet what we think of as the 60’s time like nothing else ever has. The essays that almost electrified me are the ones written by fans because those reignited my own vivid memories of passionate pre-adolescent obsession.
Being only nine I loved Paul because, well, he was the cutest and I wasn’t old enough to be very deep. The problem was, I was almost too rational for my own good. (I wanted to believe in Santa but long before kindergarten I just couldn’t.) I KNEW it was crazy for a nine year old to be infatuated with a 21 year old man she had never met , so I hotly denied any interest in the Beatles as long as I could with frequent random and vehement diatribes that must have fooled no one--I give my mother credit for never calling me on it--but then I reversed and embraced my Paul obsession with fervor. And, like many of the essayists in the book, that passion ended up influencing a somewhat amazing/ridiculous amount of my life.
I read that Paul claimed to like classical music so I decided I did too, and then listening to it I actually did. John, Paul and George wrote their own songs so I wanted to be original too and wrote reams and reams of immature but deeply felt poetry. Unlike many bands the Beatles continued to evolve by keeping their art and lives growing and changing, and still to this day being a lifelong learner and explorer who investigates ideas and embraces experiences is how I try to live.
So thank you John, Paul, George, and Ringo, and thank you Penelope Rowlands for putting this book together. (Penelope got caught up in the Beatles excitement when she was young too--one of those girls screaming on that cover photo is her.)
Essayists include Gay Talese, Verlyn Klinkenborg, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Fran Lebowitz, Renée Fleming, Janis Ian, Tom Rush, Roy Blount, Jr. Barbara Ehrenreich, Cousin Brucie and plenty of “ordinary” but highly articulate fans. This is the second collection put together by Penelope Rowlands that I’ve read and the first, Paris Was Ours which has essays by people who spent formative parts of their lives in the City of Light, is also wonderful.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing. The opinions are obviously all mine.
March 22, 2014
This is a high energy little book that is really only. For. Beatles. Freaks. Forty-nine contributors from all walks of life—rock critics to musicians to normal schmoes—reflect on the band, their legacy, and their own little piece of Beatle pie. Most of these uniformly folksy entries are from Baby Boomers, which is to say they’re self-absorbed. Few of the memories, stories, and reflections have anything to do with the Beatles themselves. The most interesting of them isn’t from rocker Billy Joel or critic Griel Marcus but a diary entry from a Cleveland fangirl. Her dad was a fireman; she went to Catholic school and had a crush on Paul. She’s totally normal, very tame, and it’s interesting to see a slice of her life, the words she chooses, and the thought processes of someone ‘typical’ for the early 1960s. Rowlands’s own fawning entry is countered by photographer Henry Grossman’s anecdotes about his more personal contact with the band, especially George Harrison. DJ Bruce Morrow asserts that it was simply kismet that the band hit “at the right time and at the right place,” and author Fran Liebowitz presents the outsider’s view— she didn’t enjoy the band at all. But all Liebowitz, et al. are really doing is yakking about themselves. It’s not bad, it’s just that readers are going to really need to want to read it. VERDICT If you love love love the Beatles like bees love honey/Pinterest loves baby goats/I love my gf’s boobs, you’ll love this. Otherwise…not so much.
Find this review and others at Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
Find this review and others at Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
April 29, 2014
I love that this book features the viewpoints of those who fueled the Beatlemania of the day, rather than the Beatles themselves. After all, the fans are what made this band great - they're the ones who so infamously screamed bloody murder, threw themselves into pools, dashed up onto stages in feverish reverie. They're the ones who chose(?) to love the Beatles and all that they represented. It was them in this book, also, that helped me understand exactly why this was such a phenomenon, and what it felt like to so sincerely love such fine young men from so far away.
The stories that I enjoyed most were the ones of women who were teens/preteens around the time that the Beatles appeared. It was fascinating to me how they became swept up in the tide of the cultural times... and how that tide eventually ebbed and released their psyches. Soon enough, they moved to college, and their parents threw out their box of Beatle paraphernalia, and that was that. Still, the memory of those times lingered on. It's great that these "sisters in screaming" found each other again.
Some other entries in this collection I did not appreciate so much, however. One person ranted on and on in a dry science-textbook manner about the cultural implications of the Beatles; others digressed until I forgot what they were writing about altogether. These people could have been left out and the book would have been a lot better.
Overall, though, I enjoyed the viewpoints that Rowlands collects and presents to the reader. It helps me more appreciate the band that I'd been shown a couple years back, it helps keep those times alive so that we may continue to listen, and learn, and love.
The stories that I enjoyed most were the ones of women who were teens/preteens around the time that the Beatles appeared. It was fascinating to me how they became swept up in the tide of the cultural times... and how that tide eventually ebbed and released their psyches. Soon enough, they moved to college, and their parents threw out their box of Beatle paraphernalia, and that was that. Still, the memory of those times lingered on. It's great that these "sisters in screaming" found each other again.
Some other entries in this collection I did not appreciate so much, however. One person ranted on and on in a dry science-textbook manner about the cultural implications of the Beatles; others digressed until I forgot what they were writing about altogether. These people could have been left out and the book would have been a lot better.
Overall, though, I enjoyed the viewpoints that Rowlands collects and presents to the reader. It helps me more appreciate the band that I'd been shown a couple years back, it helps keep those times alive so that we may continue to listen, and learn, and love.
February 4, 2017
Penelope Rowlands has done a fine job in assembling an oral history of remembrances of diverse people as they reflect on the arrival of the Beatles in America in 1964. Some of the participants are famous some are not. Several musical stars including Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper discuss how the Beatles impacted their lives and resulted in their becoming musicians. Other fans describe what it was like to be outside a hotel where the Beatles stayed or in the audience when they played. They describe mayhem, enthusiasm and joy. They describe a generational shift from their parents world and the beginning of the growth of various aspects of culture in the sixties.Some of the essays will make you laugh, some are really thoughtful others make the reader reflect on the revolutionary nature of the Beatles as described in an essay on the significance of the Sergeant Peppers album. Beatles fans are of all stripes and this fine collection captures that and captures the enthusiasm of the fans who 50 years later still love those boys from Liverpool.
January 4, 2014
Overall and excellent oral history and snapshot of an event that changed the cultural landscape, The Beatles arrival in America and their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Form 50 years distance it's difficult to grasp just how profound an experience it was for many of the people who witnessed the seminal TV event, and how it changed so many lives; but this collection of essays and interviews is a good attempt at capturing that moment and its impact.
The collection doesn't have a central narrative or theme beyond the "I saw The Beatles and it changed my life" undercurrent of each entry and that can make reading a little repetitive after a while. There aren't too many variations on that theme that you can produce and keep it engaging. This may be a book better served by dipping into occasionally and enjoying a few of the essays at a sitting, rather than as a straight cover-to-cover read through.
The collection doesn't have a central narrative or theme beyond the "I saw The Beatles and it changed my life" undercurrent of each entry and that can make reading a little repetitive after a while. There aren't too many variations on that theme that you can produce and keep it engaging. This may be a book better served by dipping into occasionally and enjoying a few of the essays at a sitting, rather than as a straight cover-to-cover read through.
February 27, 2014
Hard to believe its been 50 years, but what a great way to celebrate this heartbreaking anniversary.
I was just a young boy when the Beatles came to the USA, but I still remember it well. Music is always so closely tied to powerful and emotional memories, and the Beatles music was the perfect soundtrack for a young persons childhood and coming of age transitions.
This book is a beautiful tribute to the band, as its a collection of memories from the people just like you and I...where they were, how the band affected them.
Make no mistake, the Beatles affected EVERYONE in one way or another, and this is the real treasure of the band.
This book focuses on that issue specifically and does so in a wonderful way. Time and money allowing, this book could and should be thousands of pages long, as each of us has something to remember and most of us just love sharing it with others.
Great book. Thank you very much.
I was just a young boy when the Beatles came to the USA, but I still remember it well. Music is always so closely tied to powerful and emotional memories, and the Beatles music was the perfect soundtrack for a young persons childhood and coming of age transitions.
This book is a beautiful tribute to the band, as its a collection of memories from the people just like you and I...where they were, how the band affected them.
Make no mistake, the Beatles affected EVERYONE in one way or another, and this is the real treasure of the band.
This book focuses on that issue specifically and does so in a wonderful way. Time and money allowing, this book could and should be thousands of pages long, as each of us has something to remember and most of us just love sharing it with others.
Great book. Thank you very much.
April 27, 2014
When the people interviewed for this book kept to the subject of their experiences/feelings about the Beatles, it made for extremely entertaining reading. When they went off-task, and talked about totally irrelevant things, I was bored stiff. I wanted to reach through the pages to them and say, "Please stick to the topic!!" I have memories/stories related to the Beatles, and was very interested in reading about these peoples' experiences. Thanks to those to told their stories, and to those who wandered off the topic, well....if I see you in person, I'll be sure to avoid asking you specific questions!
March 12, 2016
Linda Belfi Bartel said it well..."It's like it [Beatles music] warps us back in time to when we were kids." (p. 209). Forty-nine contributors share their reminisces of their childhood and the Beatles through interviews, letters, and essays. Mostly they are positive, but some are not. Perhaps the most interesting are those of musicians such as Billy Joel and Cindy Lauper. Writer Roy Blount, Jr., discusses the structure of their music. The word that links them all together is "screaming." Do you have any memories regarding the Beatles? I do.
August 2, 2014
As a teenager, journalist Rowlands greeted the Beatles 50 years ago by holding a sign begging “Beatles Please Stay Here” with five fellow Beatles fans outside the CBS studios where the group was performing on the Ed Sullivan Show. In this personal history, Rowlands gathers the recollections of fans, writers, musicians, and artists about the ways that the Beatles and their music affected them. Very interesting as there are some famous peoples' recollections.
August 11, 2016
This book was an interesting and fast read with recollections of The Beatles impact on writers, musicians and a few regular fans. A snapshot in time, the book takes me back a few years to a time when I was younger, and things seemed simpler.
Read
January 8, 2014my fav group I got to see when I was in the 9th grade
March 1, 2014
Quick read, enjoyable!
March 22, 2014
Great for any Beatle fan, I enjoyed it, thanks for the memories !!
Want to read
September 9, 2016I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads and will rate once I have read the book.
April 21, 2014
Like any collection of works from different creators, some will be better than others. The best transport readers back to those astonishing days when the Beatles first landed in America.
September 9, 2016
A pleasant dose of nostalgia for those who remember fondly the era of Beatlemania.
July 21, 2014
Interesting to read about other people's remembrances of this now iconic event.
December 8, 2014
Good book telling the story of the Beatles. I really liked the pictures.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews