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These Are the Best Beatles Books

By Stephen Thomas Erlewine

In the decades since the Beatles ’ 1970 breakup, the group’s rise and fall has been told as a myth. It’s also been told via children’s story, salacious gossip, dry history, detailed diaries, technical manuals, cartoons, and graphic novels. There are volumes dedicated to their recording equipment, encyclopedias chronicling all of the music and film the group has yet to release, collections of the photos from before they were stars—basically, if you can think of an idea related to John Lennon ,  Paul McCartney , George Harrison , and Ringo Starr , it’s been published. This constant trickle of books can overwhelm even steadfast Beatlemaniacs, but the greatness of the music has also drawn out greatness within authors. The best books about the Beatles rank among the best pop culture writing—and criticism—ever.

Along with the band’s massive, lasting influence on music, their narrative has a clean, dramatic arc, separated into three distinct acts, each of which is worthy of deep exploration. While there are certainly more than 10 worthy books about the group, the following volumes provide the foundation of any Beatles library. These titles offer richly reported history, incisive critical analysis, detailed accounts of the quartet at work, and insider accounts that humanize a band who are still often seen as larger-than-life caricatures. Reading any one of these books will provide insight into a phenomenon that’s often thought of only in the broadest terms. Reading all 10 will illustrate why their myth only grows stronger over the years: Their story is always the same, yet always different.

The Best Overall Introduction

Shout! was first published 11 years after the Beatles split and, more importantly, a year after the assassination of John Lennon, during a period when conventional wisdom began to settle. Author Philip Norman received no direct input from any of the four Beatles for the book, so he relied on research and first-person interviews with people who operated in their orbit, all of whom were ready to settle scores while keeping the fires of the Beatles’ myth alight. This perspective distinguishes the swift, thorough, and entertaining Shout! over its only other single-volume bio competitor, Hunter Davies’ official 1968 account, The Beatles , and helps place the quartet’s mercurial ’60s output in the context of that tumultuous decade.

The Definitive Origin Story

Tune In —the first (and, to date, only) installment in a planned three-part biography from eminent Beatles scholar Mark Lewisohn—is the opposite of Shout! Where Norman’s book moves at a rapid clip, Lewisohn intentionally recreates the rise of the Beatles at a pace so unhurried, it gives the illusion that events are unfolding in real time. Perhaps such deliberateness is the inexorable result of a lifetime spent researching the Beatles, but the remarkable achievement of Tune In is how it makes the group’s first act, which runs from before the band’s formation until the end of 1962, seem like their most exciting era.

All of this is due to to Lewisohn’s decision to start his research from scratch. In doing so, he finds that printing the legend has obscured the truth: Such worn stories like Decca Records refusing to sign the Beatles, how George Martin received his assignment to produce the group, and John choosing which parent to live with simply didn’t happen the way scores of books say they did. These revelations, combined with Lewisohn’s knack at illustrating how the Beatles’ rise was not inevitable—time and time again, they hit limits on their respective circuits, and Lennon and McCartney went years without writing originals—gives Tune In a corrective punch. If Lewisohn never completes the other two volumes, at least he set the record straight for what is perhaps the murkiest period of the Beatles.

The Tales Behind Every Song

Granted unprecedented access to Abbey Road’s vaults and tape logs, Mark Lewisohn wrote The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions as a sequel to The Beatles Live! , a chronicle of all the concerts the Fabs played. That 1986 book splits the difference between fan service and scholarship, but The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions transcends such distinctions by providing a riveting day-by-day account of how the Beatles created their art. Alternate takes are examined in detail, along with overdubs and unreleased songs, many of which wouldn’t make it out of the Abbey Road vaults until the ’90s release of the multi-part Anthology , if ever. Lewisohn’s skills as a documentarian give this book an enthralling narrative: The songs take shape in print as he precisely details them.

The Critical Analysis

With  Revolution in the Head , Ian MacDonald breaks down every song the Beatles ever released, placing each one within its cultural context while sussing out the motivations behind both compositions and covers. As a critic, MacDonald is exacting and not overly generous: He’s quick to dismiss songs he deems as throwaways, sometimes ascribing emotional attributes to the Beatles that aren’t entirely supported by the text. But these critiques hardly diminish the massive achievement of  Revolution in the Head , nor its influence. It’s a sober, compelling read that frequently questions deeply cherished beliefs, a book that lives inside the head as much as it does on the page.

The Official Story (According to Paul)

After years of being painted as the soft, fuzzy one in the Beatles, Paul McCartney took part in this biography written by his longtime friend Barry Miles. It relies on never-before-published interviews between the two mates and, given this tight relationship, Many Years From Now is as close to a McCartney autobiography as we’re likely to get.

It’s fascinating—and revealing—that the bulk of this weighty book is focused on the life of the mind. McCartney isn’t as interested with the old tales as he is with getting proper credit for his achievements, so Miles devotes most of his lengthy tome to Paul’s insights on nearly every composition he penned in the ’60s and, tellingly, the narrative comes to a close when the Beatles do. Consequentially, the book reads like a necessary corrective: It smashes the stereotype that Paul was merely a pop star by establishing his avant-garde credentials, a move that illustrates just how complicated the creative team of Lennon/McCartney really was.

What Beatlemania Was Really Like

Published during the waning days of Beatlemania, Love Me Do! is the definitive document of what the Beatles meant during their popular peak. Embedded with the band between the release of Please Please Me and the filming of A Hard Day’s Night , the American journalist Michael Braun reported the sensation around the Beatles with a fond detachment. He was open to their charms but cognizant of their flaws—neither of which the Beatles disguised, because their success was so sudden and they’d yet to develop their guard. As such, Love Me Do! captures how the Beatles really were during this heady time: They spiked their Cokes with Scotch, they flexed their muscles, while John admitted the avant-garde bored him, and Paul puzzled out the meaning of Fellini. Braun nails the personalities of all four of the Fabs while also capturing the chaos surrounding them, and that makes Love Me Do! the rarest of things: an act of snap journalism that transcends its time.

The Insider Account

Derek Taylor was one of the great non-musical figures of ’60s rock’n’roll. He served as the Beatles press agent twice, once during Beatlemania and once after the 1967 death of the band’s manager, Brian Epstein—before returning to helm the press office of Apple Corps, the doomed multimedia conglomerate the band established in 1968. He also spent the middle of the Swinging Sixties in California, where he worked with the Byrds, organized the Monterey Pop Festival, and was unsuccessfully wooed by Hollywood icon Mae West. Taylor attracted these luminaries because he was there during the heat of Beatlemania, but the wondrous thing about his memoir, As Time Goes By , is how he’s as much an observer as he is a participant in the chaos. Already in his 30s when he discovered the Beatles, Taylor’s life was transformed by the Fabs, yet he never considered them gods. His weariness with the group sometimes seeps through—at one point, he claims he never hated another person like a he hated Paul in 1968—but that’s why the book still crackles. It was written in 1973, when the group were all alive and all thorns in his side, but he was keen to capture just how wondrous their moment in time was. 

The Ultimate Hanger-On Tells All

He was called the “House Hippie” when he worked at Apple Corps between 1968 and 1970, and for good reason. Richard DiLello was a Californian refugee who was Derek Taylor’s deputy, clipping press notices and participating in flights of fancy, such as scouring London to find a giant barrel to house bushels of apples to add flair to a promo party. Ultimately, he was a fly on the wall for the madness of Apple Records in the late ’60s—a neverending million dollar bash he dubbed the “Longest Cocktail Party.”

Published a year before  As Time Goes By , this book sometimes seems to be in dialogue with its companion—DiLello’s affection for Taylor is apparent on every page—but where Taylor was an equal to the Fabs, the House Hippie was a lucky hanger-on who got to witness the disintegration of the Beatles.  The Longest Cocktail Party  captures the rapid collapse of Apple Corps, as DiLello gives PR cover for John and Yoko’s increasingly elaborate art stunts, champions a completely forgotten band named White Trash, skips gingerly around the Hells Angels invited (and subsequently discarded) by George Harrison, then navigates the sudden changes when Allen Klein—the American music mogul and impresario who every Beatle but Paul hired as a manager in 1969—decided to turn the flailing vanity project into a business. Swift, swinging, and alive, it’s by far the funniest Beatles book out there.

The Dramatic Afterlife

Peter Doggett begins You Never Give Me Your Money where most Beatles books end: when the group began to splinter in the wake of Brian Epstein’s death in 1967. It’s an inspired move. The Beatles may have ceased to function as a band in 1970, but John, Paul, George, and Ringo began to drift apart much earlier than that. And ever since, despite a lack of new Beatle music and a surplus of lawsuits—not to mention the deaths of Lennon and Harrison—that perpetual dysfunction has remained a constant undercurrent driving the group’s afterlife.

You Never Give Me Your Money traces the tangled personal and professional relationships of the Beatles all the way through to the 21st century. Doggett focuses on the business, never losing sight of how the Beatles turned into a corporation long before they stopped playing as a band. There may be some gossip lurking in these pages, but the real excitement comes from the revelations of how lawsuits and record contracts affected both the Beatles legacy and the solo careers of all four musicians: witness how each member received royalties from the solo albums of their former bandmates until the mid-’70s, at which point Paul becomes the biggest individual star of the group, tipping the financial balance decidedly in his favor. As these grimy economic particulars constitute largely unexplored territory in Beatles books, You Never Give Me Your Money is riveting in a unique way, as Doggett’s clean and lucid style turns courtroom battles and petty grievances into high drama.

The Contemporary Reevaluation

Nearly every book about the Beatles is a historical document of some sort, attempting to capture the group within the confines of the ’60s. Rob Sheffield turns this concept on its head with Dreaming the Beatles , choosing instead to interpret what they meant as an evolving cultural institution in the decades following their breakup.

This isn’t to say Sheffield dismisses history. As a music critic who grew up with the Beatles as a constant in his life, he’s absorbed countless books and articles about the band, which frees him to draw fresh, surprising insights about their music, including the stacks of records the Fab Four released as solo artists. The thrill of Dreaming the Beatles is discovering how Sheffield finds all the good and not-so-good of McCartney within “So Bad,” a forgotten single from 1983—a conclusion that demonstrates not just the author’s depth of knowledge, but how the Beatles are no longer anchored to history. Here, Paul’s solo recordings are in dialogue with the music he made as a Beatle, as well as the music George, John, and Ringo made on their own, and we, as an audience, hear it as a collective piece, too. Dreaming the Beatles is the only book to acknowledge this interconnectivity and it’s also filled with sharp criticism that challenges conventional wisdom. Once you know the history by heart, this is the place to understand what the Beatles mean now.

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By Jazz Monroe

9 Beatles books you need to read

BY Mike Cormack

6th Dec 2019 Music

This iconic British band had more than their fair share of stories, and these are the nine best books that tell them 

The Beatle publishing industry is alive and well, yet the sheer plethora of books also means that it can be hard to know which are most worth your precious reading time. There are books from everyone from their chauffeur to John Lennon’s wife Cynthia, and volumes covering everything from their musicianship to their time in connection with Scotland. So which are the very best of all the books written about the fab four?  

For books about their lives:

The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away   by Allan Williams

As such, his story only covers the group's earliest days, up until 1961. But he has written a small gem of a book, filled with characterful stories and effective pen-portraits of the group. The inside track on what really happened in Hamburg and how the lads landed up there is invaluable.  

Shout!: The Story Of The Beatles by Philip Norman 

Norman is terrific on the early years of the Beatles, with great portrayals of the desperation of their early years (playing in Allan Williams’ strip club and of the death of Brian Epstein, for example). His sources seem to fade after about 1967, but for a gripping account of Hamburg, the Cavern and Beatlemania, Norman’s book is hard to beat. 

John Lennon In My Life by Pete Shotton 

Pete Shotton was John Lennon's childhood friend, and his book is particularly useful on two periods in John's life. First, as a schoolboy, when both attended Quarry Primary School then the Liverpool Institute, during which time they egged each other on to ever greater displays of insubordination.  

Later on, after Beatlemania, they seem to reconnect, and Shotton is highly revealing about Lennon's mental state, his budding relationship with Yoko Ono, and how the Fabs worked, rested and played in 1966-1968. He is devastatingly frank about his friend and pleasingly cynical about the group. 

Tune In  by Mark Lewisohn 

If you want to know from which shop George Harrison bought a guitar, and how much the weekly payments were, and what Paul wrote in a letter to a Cavern fan, and when John first heard a particular record, this is the book for you. It is astonishingly detailed, its 900 pages covering only up to the release of "Love Me Do" in 1962. As an accumulator of facts and sources, Lewisohn is incomparable. 

Lennon: The Definitive Biography by Ray Coleman 

Coleman’s is the best biography of an individual Beatle. It is particularly good on John’s college days (when he could be a less than appealing individual) and on the Beatles’ music (Coleman having been a journalist for the Melody Maker during this period). He is sometimes a little too in love with John, however. 

For books about their music:

The Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn 

This is a day-by-day analysis of every recording session by The Beatles, and as such it is utterly invaluable. It shows how hard they worked, how swiftly many songs were dispatched, and how they gradually took over Abbey Road (with sessions running to 3am by the time of Revolver ). Lewisohn’s precise annotation of every studio session shows how lightning was captured in a bottle—but on a near-daily basis for seven unprecedented years. 

All You Need Is Ears by George Martin 

Martin’s place in the story of The Beatles is, of course, universally recognised. Witty, urbane, exceptionally imaginative and unflappably competent, Martin was a delight of a man and his book conveys that well.  

It also features his other recording and A&R work, and his breaking away from EMI (on learning what his annual bonus would be after producing songs that had been #1 in the UK for around 40 weeks in 1964). He is of course most acute on The Beatles’ music, its radical creativity, and on the incredible recording innovations they inspired.  

Revolution In The Head by Iain MacDonald  

Far and away the best book on the music of The Beatles. It chronologically lists every single recorded song, with full information on recording dates and instrumentation. For each MacDonald then adds a description of the song—varying from a couple of lines (for "All Together Now") to full authoritative essays. MacDonald is a musicologist and so his discussions can be slightly technical, but his explication is often stellar.  

Tell Me Why: The Beatles: Album By Album, Song By Song, The Sixties And After by Tim Riley  

If you find the musicological analysis of Revolution In The Head a bit much, Tell Me Why might be the book for you: it's also a song by song reading of every Beatle track, but with the emphasis on the feeling and overall meaning. Riley does very well to draw out the shape and emotion of the songs, without requiring any musical knowledge, though he does put them all into overall context.  

Here, There And Everywhere: My Life Recording The Music Of The Beatles by Geoff Emerick 

Emerick was a 15-year-old Abbey Road recording engineer when an unknown group from Liverpool arrived to record “Love Me Do” in 1962. He writes wonderfully on the recording techniques and discoveries from throughout the Beatles’ career, from the invention of automatic double tracking to Lennon’s idea of swinging on a rope around a microphone for “Tomorrow Never Knows”. He is also frank on how the Beatles’ final years saw a sharp decline in their behaviour. 

Read more: 10 Artists who inspired the Beatles

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10 Best Beatles Books

By Colin Fleming

Colin Fleming

Considering that it takes some formidable organizational chops to serve as a competent  Beatles bibliographer, it can be downright daunting if you’re coming to the stacks of Fab Four literature as a neophyte reader wondering where you might start. For those are some buckling shelves, filled with worthy tomes, arresting diversions, gossipy trivia and dense accounts of what kind of gear the band used, who their tailors were, how many times per annum they visited the dentist, etc.

Romantic other-halves have weighed in on the story/saga side of things; ditto competing rivals, A&R men, siblings, business associates, sacked partners. There is a lot of dross. But considering that we’re talking hundreds of books, there are some top-drawer offerings as well.

Philip Norman is an old hand with Beatles-based scholarship, and his massive bio, Paul McCartney: The Life , provides a nice opportunity to survey those shelves of Beatles lit. Here’s a look at 10 of the other best Fab Four volumes to check out.

‘The Beatles, Lennon and Me,’ by Pete Shotton

The standard Beatles history posits the star-crossed Stuart Sutcliffe as John Lennon’s best friend, until his tragic death in 1962, whereupon Paul McCartney became Lennon’s chief mate, but Pete Shotton better fit the bill. He was there first, romping with Lennon as schoolboy tearaways, and in on all the things that boys do with each other: lots of circle jerks, incidentally, in this candid, and very Northern memoir. Lennon later bought Shotton a supermarket, and the latter was awfully adept at telling Lennon when the rocker was full of shit, which was often enough. Bracing, ribald and infused with love.

[ Find It Here ]

‘The Man Who Gave the Beatles Away,’ by Allan Williams

Williams is the titular figure, and you never have to sweat how good he is, how bright, how canny, etc., because he’s always there to tell you. He was the band’s first manager when, in his words, no one would go near them with a barge pole, Not a lot of people can boast like Williams does and still come off as a likable person, but that’s Williams: avuncular, shady as all hell, but earnest, like some comic-relief character from a Fielding novel who steals an early chapter or two. He loses out on future riches, naturally, but the dude keeps coming back, and even plays his role in the bartering of the wildly under-appreciated Star Club tapes.

‘Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Beatles,’ by Geoff Emerick

Beatles producer George Martin has a nice little remembrance called All You Need Is Ears , but it was his mid-1960s engineer Geoff Emerick who shot past him in the post-career Beatle book game. Emerick was integral to the sounds of Revolver and Sgt. Pepper – he is, in his way, as responsible for McCartney’s bass tone at the time as the bassist himself – and the band’s sonic palette was never richer. Here he tells you how many of those sounds came to be at Abbey Road, and what might have been a dry accounting for gearheads pulses with “damn, I didn’t know that!” narrative glee.

‘Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation,’ by Philip Norman

The knock on this Philip Norman bio has always been that he looks down on his subjects, but the author’s honesty is admirable. In fact, the most compelling Beatles books tend to be the ones that you can have a mental punch-up over, disagreeing with a given taken, but enjoying it all the same because it makes you think, or sends you back to reevaluate something. Norman puts his readers through these enjoyable paces, and he also nails the Hamburg period better than anyone. If you want the spirit of the Beatles hustling and grinding on the Reeperbahn, trying like madmen – and pilled up, desperate, manic madmen – to get somewhere, get good, get better than everyone else so as to give the world that eventual fist pump of being the best, you come to this book.

[Find It Here]

‘The Beatles: The Authorized Biography,’ by Hunter Davies

The volume many people think of – erroneously – as the first Beatles book set a high standard with its frankness. Released in 1968, The Beatles was the only place, for a long time, you could get examples of the correspondence between John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe. Consider these lines from a poem Lennon sent his friend: “I can’t remember anything/Without a sadness/So deep that it hardly/Becomes known to me.” That is Fitzgerald “dark night of the soul” territory, and it comes from a time when few people would have thought the Beatles anything but louts. Don’t be put off by the authorized-access element – clearly these were guys who needed to unburden themselves of some truths they’d been toting around for the bulk of a decade, and they pile up here.

‘Lennon Remembers,’ by Jann S. Wenner

The Beatles have just ended, and Rolling Stone founder Wenner  sits down with Lennon for a confessional that doubles as harsh attack, soul purging, study in how songs came to be, and, in the end, a kind of lament for something that was the defining journey of a life, which would never come close to being replicated. Lennon is more hurt than angry, one senses, as he lobs stones at the stained-glass windows of Beatledom.

Ironically, for all of the bashing, the book presents McCartney as the Beatles’ most talented member, reflecting a respect that Lennon clearly feels. He tells you – not always correctly — who wrote what, song-wise. But beyond the hurt feelings and foggy memories is a clarity of thought that emerges almost despite the man himself. As he says: “And the thing about rock and roll, good rock and roll, whatever good means, etc., ha-ha, and all that shit, is that it’s real. And realism gets through to you, despite yourself. You recognize something in it which is true, like all true art.” Hear, hear.

‘The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions,’ by Mark Lewisohn

You wouldn’t think you’d be able to turn what’s basically a log book of every Beatles session at EMI studios – running down who the producer was, who the engineer was, what songs, backing tracks or overdubs were put on tape – into a page-turning wonder, but so it goes here. Lewisohn, whose gargantuan Tune In – the first of a three-volume Beatles series – came out a few years ago, has never been good at discussing why a song functions as well or not as well as it does, but he does have a knack for situating you in a spot. Reading Recording Sessions , you practically find yourself sitting in the studio as the band start up the next take. This was also the first time readers got a sense for the treasures locked away at Abbey Road, the gems that would surface on a lot of bootlegs that further changed how one understood the band.

‘The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles,’ by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines

The scandalous choice. This 1983 gossip orgy was a huge seller, and it brought the dirt, thanks to Brian Epstein assistant Peter Brown. Is it akin to Gibbon? No – it’s very clickbait-y, paperback-style, but it does capture the spirit of the Beatles as a unit, and as individuals, like little ever has. You might even say as well as the Beatles themselves did on their own. The band possessed a strange alchemy in that there was something about them, and their music, that fostered works not by them but which were very Beatlesque works nonetheless. The Yellow Submarine film is another example. Reading The Love You Make feels, at times, illicit, and if a book can give you a contact high, this would be it.

‘Revolution in the Head,’ by Ian MacDonald

Woe that MacDonald didn’t write more – he committed suicide in 2003 – but this is a major work quite apart from the Beatles book repository. He takes on every song, and some sacred cows are off to that processing plant never to return home again. One wonders how such eviscerations would be greeted in the Internet age. MacDonald has no problem telling you he thinks some beloved work sucks – like “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” – which is fine, but what is better is that he backs it up. Do you have to agree? Hell no. We’re not here to agree, we’re here for an experience: to think, to challenge old saws, to see, too, things we loved anew, and better. That teacher who changed your life when you were a kid was not the one who dispensed the easy A’s, but rather the one who made you work, and MacDonald is a tough grader. This is the Beatles book to read a dozen times. Every pass through brings something new. Also, while the critical reputation of Sgt. Pepper has been eclipsed in recent years by Revolver , Rubber Soul , and Abbey Road – with the White Album and A Hard Day’s Night making progress, too – MacDonald just flat out gets that album better than any other writer on record. Even when he’s panning individual parts of it, he knows, and he helps you know, how the totality is something else entirely, and that this is one of the key documents of Western Civilization.

‘Love Me Do! The Beatles’ Progress,’ by Michael Braun

The first, and what I’d maintain as the best, Beatles book is one even most Beatles fans are unaware of. Hasn’t helped that it tends to dip out of print, but this is as close to a Beatles ride-along as you’ll get, with American writer Michael Braun following the band at the end of 1963 and into the early phases of the U.S. invasion the following year. Lennon himself, in the Wenner book, singled out this one as better than the Davies, a true book that portrayed them as they were: as bastards, in his word. And, yeah, there’s some of that. They make cracks at the expense of Jews, the disabled, gays. A lot of it is in a blow-off-steam kind of way, and Braun does a compelling job of conveying the non-stop pressure the group was under. In some ways they can’t handle it, and sleep away huge amounts of time; in other ways, they do what they do, and write songs no one else could touch. The Beatle wit is depicted better here than in any other book, and if the four, and their patter, were in effect a hermetically sealed entity so designed as to better take on the world, this is your chance to crack the fold.

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The best Beatles biopics… ranked!

They're gonna put me in the movies...

Last weekend marked the 52nd anniversary of The Beatles taking to the roof of their Savile Row HQ to give what would be their final live performance. They were filming it as the climax to their final movie, Let It Be . The Beatles made movies you see, like Help! and A Hard Day’s Night and Magical Mystery Tour . They even almost made their own version of The Lord of the Rings … but JRR Tolkien wouldn’t grant them the rights because he hated them (probably).

If you think mentioning the above anniversary is just being used as a lazy reason to write a rundown of Beatles biopics… well… then… yeah. Well done. You’re right. Here we go.

10 ‘The Linda McCartney Story’ (2000)

If this was intentionally a parody movie in the vein of Star Stories or Spinal Tap , it would genuinely be number one. As it is, this unlicensed, made-for-TV movie is so inaccurate that the plot could have been relayed by John Lennon in the ’70s. One particularly memorable, completely made-up scene which takes place during The Beatles’ break-up, features Lennon jumping the gate of the McCartney family home, throwing a rock through the front door window, and shouting “McCartney! Who the hell do you think you are?!” So bad it’s almost good… but not quite.

If it were a Beatles song it would be… ‘Misery’

9 ‘John and Yoko: A Love Story’ (1985)

Only reaching number nine because it’s not The Linda McCartney Story , and also because the actor playing Lennon (Mark McGann) is slightly more believable, it actually has rights to some John Lennon songs, and was made with the cooperation of Yoko Ono… which is maybe how she comes off as so likeable in the film.

If it were a Beatles song it would be… ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’, obviously.

8 ‘Birth of the Beatles’ (1979)

Apart from Eric Idle and Neil Innes’ brilliant The Rutles: All You Need is Cash (which technically doesn’t count), this is probably the first attempt at a Beatles biopic. It’s strange to think that John Lennon was still alive to see this – a film covering 1959-1964, with a technical advisor role for Pete Best, The Beatles’ first drummer. This sort of lends the film an air of credibility… which instantly disappears again when you find out they used Beatles songs without permission, and as a result haven’t been able to re-issue it since.

If it were a Beatles song it would be… ‘Carnival of Light’ – in that no one’s bloody heard it since it was made.

7 ‘The Hours and the Times’ (1991)

John Lennon and Beatles manager Brian Epstein took a holiday together in 1963, shortly before The Fabs went stratospheric. This sojourn has since gone into urban myth territory with some suggesting things may have gone a bit beyond a manager/client relationship on this trip. This was suggested to Lennon shortly afterwards, who denied it. Very beautifully shot, and featuring a strong John Lennon in the shape of Ian Hart who would go on to reprise the role in Backbeat .

If it were a Beatles song it would be… ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret?’

6 ‘Yesterday’ (2019)

Okay bear with me here. It counts… there’s an actor portraying a Beatle at the end… IT COUNTS, OKAY? The cost of acquiring the rights to use The Beatles’ music in this movie was $10 million, nearly 40% of the film’s total cost. I could try to make a joke about this being the reason they couldn’t afford a good script or actors – but the screenplay is by Richard Curtis, and Himesh Patel is a very likeable lead. It’s good, and it’s watchable… even if it does feature Ed Sheeran.

If it were a Beatles song it would be… ‘Baby, You’re a Rich Man’

5 ‘Lennon Naked’ (2010)

Christopher Eccleston was 46 when he portrayed a 27-year-old Lennon, but it’s really a minor gripe since, as you may know, he’s quite a good actor. This is an account of Lennon’s final years as a Beatle. The BBC-made TV movie can be flimsy in places, but Eccleston’s portrayal of a petulant, brilliant, and damaged Lennon is compelling. As an added bonus, it stars  Fleabag ‘s ‘Hot Priest’, Andrew Scott, as Paul McCartney.

If it were a Beatles song it would be… ‘Yer Blues’

4 ‘Two of Us’ (2000)

Lennon and McCartney, estranged since the break-up of The Beatles, met up in New York in 1976. This much is true. But the resulting film is a fictional account of what they might have talked about, and how they might have reconciled their differences… sort of fan fiction with a budget. Starring Jared Harris ( Chernobyl , good in everything) and Aidan Quinn, it has credibility of sorts in that it was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who directed the Let It Be movie.

If it were a Beatles song it would be… Er… have a guess

3 ‘Nowhere Boy’ (2009)

Lennon had a fascinating and tragic relationship with his mother Julia, from whom he was largely estranged for much of his childhood, and who was run over and killed when he was 17 – an event that would go on to define his entire outlook on life. This feature, an adaptation of Imagine This: Growing Up with My Brother John Lennon by his half-sister Julia Baird, is sensitively handled and beautiful to look at, feeling like a proper film as opposed to a sensationalist cash-in.

If it were a Beatles song it would be… ‘Julia’

2 ‘The Rutles: All You Need is Cash’ (1978)

For something that actually, technically, isn’t a Beatles biopic, this is one of the most authentic of all our selections – and it has an actual Beatle in it. Eric Idle and Neil Innes’ brilliant parody, featuring fictional band The Rutles, predates career-spanning documentary The Beatles Anthology by almost 20 years but bears an uncanny resemblance to it, as we follow Dirk, Stig, Nasty and Barry from their humble beginnings in Rutland to worldwide superstardom. Oh, and it features a news reporter who looks uncannily like George Harrison… Would be number one if it was actually about The Beatles.

If it were a Rutles song it would be… ‘Cheese and Onions’

1 ‘Backbeat’ (1994)

“ Backbeat, the word is on the street/That the fire in your heart is out. ” It’s almost as if Oasis were influenced by this band. Backbeat is a gritty Brit flick realisation of The Beatles’ hedonistic Hamburg days, and the story of Stuart Sutcliffe, one of the many Beatle bit players in contention for the position of ‘fifth Beatle’. Though it plays with the truth slightly, all the performances are stellar, and the story of the very talented and tragic Sutcliffe, incredibly moving.

If it were a Beatles song it would be… ‘In My Life’

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• The Beatles

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100 Best Beatles Books of All Time

We've researched and ranked the best beatles books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more

The Beatles Anthology

The Beatles | 5.00

See more recommendations for this book...

Here, There and Everywhere

My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles

Geoff Emerick, Howard Massey | 4.87

The Beatles

The Biography

Bob Spitz | 4.86

Tune In (The Beatles

All These Years, #1)

Mark Lewisohn | 4.84

A Hard Day's Write

The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song

Steve Turner | 4.68

The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions

The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970

Mark Lewisohn | 4.64

Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation

Philip Norman | 4.64

Cynthia Lennon | 4.58

I, Me, Mine

George Harrison | 4.58

John Lennon

Philip Norman | 4.56

Don't have time to read the top Beatles books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

• Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
• Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
• Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.

Paul McCartney

Many Years from Now

Barry Miles | 4.55

During the past year Paul McCartney has been in the public's eye more than at any time since the peak of Beatlemania over thirty years ago. His fans have been treated to the best-selling Flaming Pie and Standing Stone albums, a full hour of Paul on "Oprah," and this thoughtful and comprehensive biography that brings us closer to the man than ever before. Based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews over a period of five years, and with complete access to Paul's own archives, Barry Miles has succeeded in letting Paul tell the story of his life as a Beatle in his own words. It includes...

During the past year Paul McCartney has been in the public's eye more than at any time since the peak of Beatlemania over thirty years ago. His fans have been treated to the best-selling Flaming Pie and Standing Stone albums, a full hour of Paul on "Oprah," and this thoughtful and comprehensive biography that brings us closer to the man than ever before. Based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews over a period of five years, and with complete access to Paul's own archives, Barry Miles has succeeded in letting Paul tell the story of his life as a Beatle in his own words. It includes Paul's recollection of the genesis of every song that he wrote with John Lennon and the fascinating details about their remarkable collaboration.

The Beatles Lyrics

The Stories Behind the Music, Including the Handwritten Drafts of More Than 100 Classic Beatles Songs

Hunter Davies | 4.53

In His Own Write

John Lennon, Yoko Ono | 4.52

About The Awful

I was bored on the 9th of Octover 1940 when, I believe, the Nasties were still booming us led by Madolf Heatlump (who only had one). Anyway they didn't get me. I attended to varicous schools in Liddypol. And still didn't pass—much to my Aunties supplies. As a member of the most publified Beatles my and (P, G, and R's) records might seem funnier to some of you than this book, but as far as I'm conceived this correction of short writty is the most wonderfoul larf I've ever ready.

God help and breed you all.

You Never Give Me Your Money

The Beatles After the Breakup

Peter Doggett | 4.52

Now, for the first time, You Never Give Me Your Money tells the behind-the-scenes story of the personal rivalries and legal feuds that have dominated the Beatles' lives since 1969....

Now, for the first time, You Never Give Me Your Money tells the behind-the-scenes story of the personal rivalries and legal feuds that have dominated the Beatles' lives since 1969. Journalist Peter Doggett charts the Shakespearean battles between Lennon and McCartney, the conflict in George Harrison's life between spirituality and fame, and the struggle with alcoholism that threatened to take Richard Starkey's life. In vivid detail, Doggett also describes the wild mismanagement of the Beatles' fortune staked largely in Apple Corps.

You Never Give Me Your Money is a compelling human drama and an equally rich and absorbing story of the Beatles' creative and financial empire, set up to safeguard their interests but destined to control their lives. From tragedy to triumphant reunion, and chart success to courtroom battles, this meticulously researched work tells the previously untold story of a group and a legacy that will never be forgotten.

Revolution In The Head

The Beatles Records and the Sixties

Ian MacDonald | 4.50

The Love You Make

An Insider's Story of the Beatles

Peter Brown, Steven Gaines, et al. | 4.48

1, 202 | 4.46

Living in the Material World

George harrison.

Olivia Harrison, Mark Holborn, Paul Theroux, Martin Scorsese | 4.45

Postcards from the Boys

Ringo Starr | 4.42

The John Lennon Letters

John Lennon, Hunter Davies | 4.41

The Complete Beatles Chronicle

Mark Lewisohn, George Martin | 4.41

Can't Buy Me Love

The Beatles, Britain, and America

Jonathan Gould | 4.36

Lennon Remembers

The Full Rolling Stone Interviews from 1970

Jann S. Wenner, Yoko Ono, John Lennon | 4.35

Beatles '66

The Revolutionary Year

Steve Turner | 4.35

Magical Mystery Tours

My Life with the Beatles

Tony Bramwell | 4.34

Dreaming the Beatles

The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World

Rob Sheffield | 4.34

All The Songs

The Story Behind Every Beatles Release

Philippe Margotin | 4.34

The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics

Alan Aldridge | 4.33

Wonderful Tonight

Pattie Boyd, Penny Junor | 4.31

Beatles Gear

All the Fab Four's Instruments, from Stage to Studio

Andy Babiuk | 4.30

A Day in the Life

The Music and Artistry of the Beatles

Mark Hertsgaard | 4.30

The Definitive Biography

Ray Coleman | 4.30

Ticket to Ride

Inside the Beatles' 1964 and 1965 Tours That Changed the World

Larry Kane | 4.29

All You Need Is Ears

The inside personal story of the genius who created The Beatles

George Martin | 4.29

Unseen Archives

Tim Hill | 4.27

A Spaniard in the Works

John Lennon | 4.27

All We Are Saying

The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono

David Sheff | 4.27

Yellow Submarine

The Beatles | 4.26

Instamatic Karma

Photographs of John Lennon

May Pang | 4.26

Philip Norman | 4.26

Peter A Carlin | 4.26

McCartney's own ambitions fueled much of the group's progress. But even as he...

McCartney's own ambitions fueled much of the group's progress. But even as he steered himself from childhood tragedy to his meeting with John Lennon to the gestation of the Beatles and their rise to international acclaim, the same appetites that drove the group to its greatest creative and commercial heights also served to tear the band members apart.

Still, McCartney's career didn't end with the Beatles' breakup. Nor, for that matter, did the bonds between the Beatles. And in this definitive biography, Peter Ames Carlin examines McCartney's entire life, casting new light not just on the Beatles era, but also on his years with Wings and his thirty-year relationship with his first wife, Linda McCartney. He takes us on a journey through a tumultuous couple of decades in which Paul struck out on his own as a solo artist, reached the top of the charts with a new band, and once again drew hundreds of thousands of screaming fans to his concerts. Carlin presents McCartney as a musical visionary, capable of crafting pop gems such as "Band on the Run" and "Maybe I'm Amazed." But he also reveals a layered and often conflicted figure, as haunted by his legacy -- and particularly his relationship with John Lennon -- as he was inspired by it.

Built on years of research and fresh, revealing interviews with friends, bandmates, and collaborators spanning McCartney's entire life, Carlin's lively biography captures the many facets of Paul McCartney and paints a vivid portrait of one of our era's living legends.

The Fifth Beatle

The Brian Epstein Story

Vivek Tiwary, Philip Simon, Andrew C Robinson, Kyle Baker | 4.24

Beatlesongs

William J. Dowlding | 4.23

Beatles Forever

Nicholas Schaffner | 4.21

With A Little Help From My Friends

The Making of Sgt. Pepper

George Martin, William Pearson | 4.20

An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney

Howard Sounes | 4.19

Fab is the first exhaustive biography of the legendary musician; it tells Sir Paul’s whole life story, from childhood to present day, from working-class Liverpool beginnings to the cultural phenomenon that was The Beatles to his many solo incarnations.

Fab is the definitive...

Fab is the definitive portrait of McCartney, a man of contradictions and a consummate musician far more ruthless, ambitious, and moody than his relaxed public image implies. Based on original research and more than two hundred new interviews, Fab also reveals for the first time the full story of his two marriages, romances, family feuds, phenomenal wealth, and complex relationships with his fellow ex-Beatles.

Baby's in Black

Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles

Arne Bellstorf | 4.18

Recording The Beatles

The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used To Record Their Classic Albums

Kevin Ryan & Brian Kehew | 4.16

The Last Days of John Lennon

A Personal Memoir

Frederic Seaman | 4.15

The Beatles: The BBC Archives

Kevin Howlett | 4.14

Who Were the Beatles?

Geoff Edgers, Who HQ, et al. | 4.13

The Beatles Complete Chord Songbook

The Beatles | 4.12

Skywriting by Word of Mouth and Other Writings

John Lennon | 4.12

Andrew Solt, Sam Egan, Yoko Ono, David Wolper | 4.12

Tell Me Why: The Beatles

Album By Album, Song By Song, The Sixties And After

Tim Riley | 4.12

The Longest Cocktail Party

Richard DiLello | 4.11

A Cellarful of Noise (Rhino Rediscovery)

Brian Epstein, Martin Lewis | 4.10

A Cellarful of Noise , Epstein's long out-of-print autobiography, gives readers the inside story of his discovery and management of the world's most famous rock 'n' roll band. From their initial struggles to their wild rocket ride to the pinnacle of success, this true story...

A Cellarful of Noise , Epstein's long out-of-print autobiography, gives readers the inside story of his discovery and management of the world's most famous rock 'n' roll band. From their initial struggles to their wild rocket ride to the pinnacle of success, this true story includes

This new edition of A Cellarful of Noise features an introduction by world-renowned Beatles expert Martin Lewis, which, along with Epstein's own words, creates a compelling insightful exploration of the life and times of a gifted man who had an ear for genius.

Man on the Run

Paul McCartney in the 1970s

Tom Doyle | 4.10

Solid State

The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles

Kenneth Womack | 4.10

David Duchemi | 4.10

The Beatles Sheet Music Collection

Beatles | 4.09

A Twist Of Lennon

Cynthia Lennon | 4.09

Kurt Cobain | 4.09

Imagine This

Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon

Julia Baird | 4.08

Behind the Locked Door

Graeme Thomso | 4.07

The Lives of John Lennon

Albert Goldman | 4.07

The Beatles from A to Zed

An Alphabetical Mystery Tour

Peter Asher | 4.07

Loving John

May Pang, Henry Edwards, John Lennon, Yoko Ono | 4.07

Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin | 4.06

Bernard Tan I’m also a Murakami and Vonnegut fan, Kafka on the Shore, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, Slaughterhouse-Five, etc. Now that I look at the books listed, they seem to carry an existential theme. I guess I like to understand humanity and human behaviour ultimately to better understand myself. I find reading a means to connect with people who may have lived before my time, or in a... (Source)

How the Beatles Reimagined Rock 'n' Roll

Robert Rodriguez | 4.06

Northern Songs

The True Story of the Beatles' Song Publishing Empire

Brian Southall | 4.06

Special A, Vol. 1 (Special A, #1)

Mark Lewisohn | 4.05

Shoulda Been There

A Novel on the Life of John Winston Lennon

Jude Southerland Kessler | 4.05

First 50 Songs by the Beatles You Should Play on the Piano

The Beatles | 4.04

Fire and Rain

The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970

David Browne | 4.04

The Beatles Swan Song

She Loves You Other Records

Bruce Spizer | 4.04

Robbie Robertson | 4.04

Eight Days A Week

Inside The Beatles' Final World Tour

Robert Whitaker | 4.04

This lavish book, containing many preciously unpublished photographs, documents the tempestuous journey that began in Germany and included a visit to Hamburg, scene thereof the group's legendary early performances. After playing their last-ever European concert there, The Beatles made an unscheduled stop-over in Alaska before arriving in Japan, where they were confined to ther hotel between shows for their own security....

This lavish book, containing many preciously unpublished photographs, documents the tempestuous journey that began in Germany and included a visit to Hamburg, scene thereof the group's legendary early performances. After playing their last-ever European concert there, The Beatles made an unscheduled stop-over in Alaska before arriving in Japan, where they were confined to ther hotel between shows for their own security. Their final destination, Manila in the Philippines, turned into a nightmare after unintentional offense was given to Imelda Marcos, wife of the country's dictator.

Whitaker's intimate view of John, Paul, George and Ringo highlights their characteristic humor, even under the strain of touring, and documents the more serious inner world of The Beatles at a turning point in their career.

Miss O'Dell

My Hard Days and Long Nights with the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and the Women They Loved

Chris O'Dell, Katherine Ketcham | 4.04

The Beatles Solo on Apple Records

Bruce Spizer, Allan Steckler | 4.03

An Illustrated Record

Roy Carr, J. E. A. Tyler | 4.03

The Walrus Was Paul

The Great Beatle Death Clues

R. Gary Patterson | 4.03

The Beatles Off the Record

The Dream Is Over

Keith Badman | 4.03

Memories from Martha's Vineyard

Matt Taylor | 4.03

Lennon Revealed

Larry Kane | 4.02

Memories of John Lennon

Yoko Ono | 4.02

A Book of Instructions and Drawings

Uncle John’s Truth, Trivia, and the Pursuit of Factiness Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader #32)

Bathroom Readers' Institute | 4.02

The Story of Rock

Editors of Caterpillar Books | 4.02

Maximum Volume

The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin, The Early Years, 1926–1966

Kenneth Womack | 4.02

Beatles For Sale on Parlophone Records

Bruce Spizer, Frank Daniels | 4.02

That Magic Feeling

The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966-1970

John C. Winn | 4.01

Octopus's Garden

Ringo Starr | 4.01

Beatles on Apple Records

Bruce Spizer | 4.01

The Beatles as Musicians

The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul

Walter Everett | 4.01

Complete Scores

The Beatles | 4.00

The Lonely Hearts Club (The Lonely Hearts Club, #1)

Elizabeth Eulberg | 4.00

The Unreleased Beatles

Music & Film

Richie Unterberger, The Beatles | 4.00

Power Brokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business

Fredric Dannen | 4.00

Daniel Ek Still the essential biography of the music industry. (Source)

A Private View

Robert Freeman | 4.00

Every record tells a story

The Best Beatles Books

What are the greatest books about the beatles .

With over eighty nine thousand books* now registered in The British Library that mention The Beatles in one way shape or form, I thought it would be helpful to present a buyer’s guide to the best ones.

This list of Beatles Books is the result of many happy hours of reading the best Beatles books – the ones that best told the story of John Paul, George and Ringo.

This was itself the result of many hours of research trying to avoid reading any of the less good books about The Beatles, albeit I have read quite a few of those also. I have filtered out most of these so what we are left with is what I hope is a pretty comprehensive, yet quality-filled list, all of which I have read.

As hard as it may be to believe, there are plenty of folk out there who know more about The Beatles than I do. If that’s you, or even if it isn’t, but you think I have just missed an obviously fantastic read, then please let me know in the comments section below!

The Best Books About The Beatles:

A recommended beatles bibliography in chronological order:.

Love Me Do: The Beatles Progress, Michael Braun One of the first Beatles books, this was a first hand account by an American journalist living in the UK of the early years which took The Beatles from Cambridge to the Carnegie Hall via Juke Box Jury and Ed Sullivan . It gets really close to the four protagonists and is fascinating in its account of the ever increasing interest in the band.

Why you should read it: One of the first accounts and one that gets close to the early Beatles.

A Cellarful of Noise, Brian Epstein (ghost-written by Derek Taylor). This is an interesting period piece that gave insights into Epstein’s life managing the Beatles at the height of Beatlemania. An official account, it ignores any of the more controversial aspects of Brian’s turbulent life.

Why you should read it: It’s Brian in his own words.

The Beatles: The Authorized Biography, Hunter Davies The first “authorised biography”, Davies visits the Beatles at their homes and provides some fascinating details behind the scenes. Again, it is quite sanitised, but with the benefit of hindsight, the picture of domestic “bliss” between John and Cynthia is easily seen though…

Why you should read it: The first official biography.

The Beatles Get Back, Jonathan Cott and David Dalton Released as part of the Let It Be LP package, this features many glossy photos of those album sessions.

Why you should read it: For the glossy photos.

Lennon Remembers, Jann Wenner – Just a brilliant explosion of John Lennon ‘s thoughts and feelings as he looks back on his time with The Beatles. Endlessly quotable – this is the moment Lennon lifted the veil and gave a shocking and honest account of his life.

Why you should read it: It’s Lennon’s greatest interview. Incredible stuff.

The Longest Cocktail Party, Richard DiLello Consistently amusing account of the last days of Apple by the”House Hippie”. The Beatles are a mere side attraction compared with the arrivals of Allen Klein, Magic Alex…and Hells Angels.

Why you should read it: It’s very funny, and Liam Gallagher wants to make it into a film. The film is unlikely to be as good.

Out of His Head:The Sound of Phil Spector, Richard Williams Included here because of the details included of Spector’s controversial handling of “Let It Be” and his later sessions with Harrison and Lennon.

Why you should read it : It’s an account of Spector before it all went wrong. A diary of a madman.

As Time Goes By: Living in the Sixties, Derek Taylor Derek Taylor spent six years as press agent for the Beatles. This book is something of a hotch potch of memories and episodes in Taylor’s life, including various incidents both Beatles and non-Beatles related – not least of which was being on the other end of the phone when the police busted the Beatles for drugs.

Why you should read it: A rare insider’s account: you don’t get much closer to The Beatles than being their press agent.

The Beatles:An Illustrated Record, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler The first of a series of books (Bowie, Dylan) that looked at the career of an artist through their records.

Why you should read it: It’s a discography, (including bootlegs and sings written by Lennon/McCartney but performed by other artists) has great press clippings, photos, concert posters and insights into the records.

The Beatles Forever, Nicholas Schaffner

An excellent early-ish career biography in a large format packed with photos of the band and their record sleeves, discography, memorabilia etc. different from the Illustrated Record as it was more than a discography – it actually told the full story of how The Beatles changed the world.

Why you should read it: One of the best books – because of the mix of words and over 400 pictures, including the infamous “Butcher” cover and one of George living in the material world – playing Monopoly.

Shout! Philip Norman

Perhaps the first successful attempt at a full career biography that really achieved a level of comprehensiveness befitting the band. A classic, written a decade after the band split and released less than a year after Lennon’s murder. NB. Philip Norman admitted in his subsequent McCartney biography he held something of a pro-Lennon bias when writing this book.

Why you should read it: A complete account and a great starting point.

The Playboy Interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, David Sheff A compilation of a series of interviews with Lennon and Ono from September 1980. The interviews culminated in a song-by-song breakdown of who-wrote-what in each of the songs in the Lennon and McCartney canon.

Why you should read it: One of Lennon’s last interviews – and one that uniquely looked back at the music.

The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of The Beatles , Peter Brown and Steven Gaines A thorough insider’s story of the story from start to finish – one of the first books (after Shout!) to attempt to do so.

Why you should read it: Another insider account – it’s revealing about the characteristics of the individual Beatles from Brown’s perspective – and one that is most comprehensive.

The Last Days of John Lennon, Frederic Seaman Beginning with the story of his own arrest for allegedly stealing Lennon’s private journals, Frederic Seaman – who for a time was Lennon’s assistant in New York – gives a serious account of his time with Lennon. An insight into Ono’s protection of Lennon and the level of (often justified) paranoia and suspicion prevailing over the period. See also below – “The Covert War Against Rock” for a critical summary of Seaman’s role in a project to destabilise Lennon.

Why you should read it: A unique story of Lennon’s life – and tragic death – in New York.

The Complete Beatles Chronicle , Mark Lewisohn (incorporating 1986’s The Beatles Live and a condensed version of 1988’s The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions ). A factual reference book detailing almost Every Day In The Life of The Beatles. Lewisohn worked for McCartney for a while sorting out his archives – and it shows. The bible for Beatle fans.

Why you should read it : Because you literally want a day by day account of The Beatles’ movements. Don’t you?

With A Little Help From My Friends, George Martin with William Pearson. Also known as “Summer of Love” – An account by George Martin of the making of Sgt Pepper. A look behind the scenes at the Abbey Road EMI studios during the summer of love.

Why you should read it: The fifth Beatle tells us what it was like to record one of the greatest albums ever made.

Revolution In The Head, Ian McDonald

A classic of its kind, McDonald dissects every Beatles tune, providing a personal view of every one, and in many cases the background to each.

Why you should read it: It’s all about the music: Every song analysed beautifully. File under “Essential”.

A Hard Day’s Write, Steve Turner

The story behind every Beatles song illustrated with over 200 photographs.

Why you should read it : It revealed the story behind “She’s Leaving Home” – a newspaper report (reprinted) about 17 year old runaway Melanie Coe.

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles This book was written with the full cooperation of Paul McCartney, so has the advantages and disadvantages of being “official”. What is of particular interest is reading how Paul developed his interests in the counter culture through the Indica Gallery and bookshop. We learn that it was McCartney rather than Lennon who initially showed more interest in the various causes and movements of sixties popular culture.

Why you should read it: It dispelled the myth that John was the avant-garde Beatle.

The Covert War Against Rock, Alex Constantine There’s a brilliant and well researched chapter in this otherwise rather paranoid book on how the FBI was spying on Lennon and how Goldman tried to trash Lennon’s reputation. Other chapters introduce some interesting theories on how “The Man” has bumped off a number of rock stars. Not all the chapters have quite as good evidence as the Lennon chapter however, which undermines its credibility overall. Fascinating stuff however.

Why you should read it : Because otherwise you might not think they’re all out to get us…

The Beatles Anthology by The Beatles A companion piece to the excellent documentary series. Coffee table style, it eschews controversy, being an “official” account, but a great starting place. Packed with amazing photos too.

Why you should read it : Because it is more detailed than the accompanying DVD and your coffee table looks bare without it.

A Ticket To Ride: Inside The Beatles’ 1964 Tour That Changed The World, Larry Kane A reporter’s inside view of the Beatles’ first two US tours in 1964 and 1965. There’s plenty of scandal, all handled with diplomacy: we may never know more about what exactly happened between Jayne Mansfield and John Lennon but this book is as close as we will ever get to knowing what those early mania-filled tours were like.

Why you should read it: I love books that cover tours. It’s like a (slightly) more genteel “Hammer of the Gods”.

Magic Circle: The Beatles In Dream and History, Devin McKinney McKinney attempts to deconstruct aspects of The Beatles in a series of essays. I thought the book occasionally threatened to disappear up its own backside. Good if you like that sort of thing…

Why you should read it: Some in-depth essays about the impact the Beatles had on the world.

John, Cynthia Lennon Cynthia Lennon’s first hand account of life with her husband and son, of growing up in Liverpool and of her being betrayed by John.

Why you should read it: An interesting insight into the early years from the lady that knew John best – at the time.

Magical Mystery Tours: My Life With The Beatles, Tony Bramwell A childhood friend of George, Tony Bramwell got the job of Roadie to The Beatles by offering to carry George’s guitar into a hall so he could get in for free. His book is both highly detailed, appears factually strong and is page-turningly readable.

Why you should read it : It’s very entertaining and is close to its subjects. Excellent stuff.

Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles, Geoff Emerick Geoff’s account of his time as an EMI engineer – during which he was effectively George Martin’s right hand man – is very readable, often funny and occasionally scathing (especially of George Harrison’s early prowess and George Martin’s claims to the credit for some of The Beatles’ best studio moments).

Why you should read it: In case you thought George Martin was responsible for all that studio genius, here’s his assistant to tell you otherwise.

The Beatles: The Biography, Bob Spitz A huge volume that covers the whole story from start to finish. Very thorough and readable with more detail especially on the early days.

Why you should read it: it’s even more comprehensive than “Shout”.

The Unreleased Beatles Music & Film, Richie Unterberger A huge reference book of unreleased material – every take and every session. Impressive stuff.

Why you should read it: A take-by-take account of everything the Beatles ever recorded and didn’t release.

Can’t Buy Me Love, Jonathan Gould An excellent book similar in style to Philip Norman’s Shout! with the extra perspective that a gap of eighteen years between books can provide.

Why you should read it: Because Gould is an excellent writer and for that reason it perhaps just pips the other main contenders (“Shout” and Bob Spitz’s book).

You Never Give Me Your Money, Peter Doggett Doggett achieved something extraordinary with this book – fresh perspective on how and why the Beatles split up in an entertaining and readable account of the last year of The Beatles – and the tangles between John, Paul and Allen Klein.

Why you should read it: Doggett found the untold tale of why the Beatles split. Brilliant.

Tune In – Mark Lewisohn

I think everyone else can put their pens down now. Lewisohn’s got it covered, with fresh perspectives and sources. The first part of the trilogy spans over 1700 pages and only gets to 1962. Let’s hope we (and Lewisohn!) all live long enough to read parts two and three…!

Why you should read it: Because when the third one is written and published, there may not be the need to read any of the rest….

Beatles with an A – Mauri Kunnas

Genuinely a Beatles book with a difference – a comic strip that is both factually accurate and very funny. See my review by clicking this link.

Over to you: Have I missed any? I mean, certainly I have. But are there any that are the equal of the ones mentioned above? If so – please let me know in the comments section below.

* Probably. I mean, I haven’t checked or anything, so this number might be nearer eighty eight thousand. Or three hundred and twelve. You get the point….

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53 responses to “The Best Beatles Books”

[…] you cry. **** Never fear, and worry not. Not only am I going to give you a top ten list, but on a new permanent feature of the Every Record Tells A Story site I am also going to chuck in a list of other noteworthy Beatles-related reads – because […]

Just added the books from this list that I haven’t already read to my “must read list.” Thanks for posting this list.

You’re welcome – glad it was useful.

I’m looking for a book that ACCURATELY says WHO PLAYED WHAT on each and every song. For example, the times PAUL played lead guitar instead of George, or drums instead of Ringo, etc. Is there a book that does that?

My gut feel for a break down of that sort is to recommend Mark Lewisohn’s The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. Lewisohn sat down at Abbey Road and listened to the whole lot, and wrote the book. It is very detailed – a day by day account of what tracks were recorded and by whom. Anyone else any views on this?

Is this the one which documents who was responsible for having to stop a take, and noting that it was Ringo on only two(!) occasions?

Ringo is the most famous drummer in the world. He is not the best, but he is much better than most people think and he is one of the most underrated.

Back when everyone else was playing boom-chick accompaniment, he had unique parts for each song. Just think of the “d d da” at the beginning of “She Loves You”, the breaks between verse and chorus on “Help”, the fills on “A Day in the Life” and “Let it Be”, “Rain”, “Ticket to Ride”. Really head and shoulders above the competition.

Lewisohn includes many of the actual session logs in the book. I’ve found it to be, by far, the most comprehensive account of who played what and when.

Mark Lewisons “beatles recording sessions” book

I have The Beatles A to Z which is like a dictionary of people, places, things—anything related to the Beatles, with a short description of each.

A well intentioned book, unfortunately filled with errors and misinformation. The authors include themselves with entries listing themselves as authors of said book!

You’ve got nearly all the best books in your list so a job well done.

I few more that can be considered:

1. John Lennon by Philip Norman – the most comprehensive Lennon bio 2. The official Beatles bio by Hunter Davies is still a pretty good read 3. Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartneyby Howard Sounes – who has also written a very readable Dylan bio

I missed ‘All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release’ – which is fairly recent. A thoroughly enjoyable read even though I’ve already read Turner and Ian MacDonald.

Yes – Norman’s account of Lennon is an obvious omission, albeit John’s Aunt Mimi (I think) told Mark Lewisohn she had gone through it and annotated a copy with corrections quite strongly – she wasn’t a fan at all! Hunter Davis is in the list – and I agree it is still worth reading. One book not here but quoted a few times in Lewisohn’s “Tune In” (the extended version of which I read and which is extraordinary) is Pete Best’s book Beatle! which I will have to check out…

FYI: Coursera offers a course on the Beatles by John Covach from the University of Rochester

https://www.coursera.org/course/beatles

Suggested Readings

Primary reference:

William J. Dowlding, Beatlesongs, Touchstone, 1989. A great one-volume account of all the Beatles albums and singles, organized chronologically and in running order, providing song info and Beatle comments. A perfect place to start.

Additional references:

The Beatles Anthology (5-DVD set), Apple, 1995. The Beatles story told as by the band. It is interesting to compare the story as they tell it with the many other band biographies that are out there. There is also a book that provides the full interviews from this project, and this is an excellent resource as well. Other insider accounts are provided by George Martin, Geoff Emerick, Geoffrey Ellis, and Peter Brown, as well as by Brian Epstein in his autobiography (ghost written by Derek Taylor).

Walter Everett, The Beatles As Musicians (two volumes), Oxford University Press, 1999 and 2001. Without question the best books on the technical aspects of the Beatles music available. Highly recommended, especially for those with music training.

Mark Lewissohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Sterling, 2013. After years of being out of print, this excellent book on the details of Beatles recording sessions is due to be published in an inexpensive paperback version in October 2013.

Andy Babiuk, Beatles Gear, Backbeat, 2009. For the gearheads out there, this book gives you all the details you need on the guitars, amps, drums, and other gear the band used in the 1960s.

The Beatles Complete Scores, Hal Leonard, 1993. While no knowledge of musical notation is required for this course, if you can read music this is a great resource. This volume transcribes every track recorded by the band and presents it in score format. There are errors, but overall this is a crucial resource for those interested in the technical details of the music.

I really enjoyed the Anthology documentary – it is listed elsewhere on this site under my. “Best music documentaries” page. Thanks for your comments by the way – much appreciated – that’s a fascinating list for what academics would see as required reading. I have been tempted (as i do own an epiphone casino) by the beatles gear book – it looks lovely albeit I don’t know how much space I have in my home for another coffee table book – might need a bigger coffee table before long!

I’m looking for a book I had briefly that explained about the Beatles’ albums released in the UK compared to how the albums were modified and marketed in the US. For example, the album titles were changed, the cover art sometimes also changed, and the number and selection of songs on each album changed because of decisions by the publishing companies. It was very interesting and I cannot exactly recall the cover of the book. I gave it to a friend who had heart surgery and now said friend will not even tell me the name of the book. I moved and lost touch so I can’t stop by and take a look. I’ve been searching for years. I picked it up on a garage sale and the book smelled “funny” (wink, wink) so I gave it away. Anyway, I would greatly appreciate a lead on what it might be. Thanks!

How about The Beatles US LPs: Where They Came From & How They Charted, by Ken Westover? Out of print now, but covered all the US releases?

I appreciate the feedback but that doesn’t look like it. I remember the book as having a white cover with perhaps red lettering and maybe a pic of the Lads. I skimmed through it at the time but when I moved, I let it go. I’ve been searching for years. It seems to be the Holy Grail of Beatle info!

Copperhair, is this the book you were looking for? https://www.beatle.net/product/the-beatles-story-on-capitol-records-part-2-the-albums/

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Very interesting. I heard Mark Lewisohn talk about “Tune In” twice and both talks very different and fascinating. I pleaded with him to try and finish vols 2 and 3 more quickly but I think we will just have to be patient and hope we live so long. I would recommend “The John Lennon Letters” edited by (you guessed it) Hunter Davies and also the audio version of that book

Thanks – out of interest what makes the audiobook version worthwhile on that one? Regarding Lewisohn, I heard him say in an interview that he’s never had so many people asking after his health!

There are two volumes written by John C. Winn: ‘Way Beyond Compare’ and ‘That magic feeling’ that document every recorded and filmed thing by The Beatles. It is impresive and one of the Lewisohn’s favorite beatlebooks.

Thank you – haven’t seen these before

*goes on to Amazon*

Ok this is bizarre as it does not usually take me two years to reply to an email but I have just revisited your blog about Beatles books and see you asked me a question on 27/03/15. The audio version is good as we hear Hunter talking enthusiastically about the letters and Christopher Eccleston reads the letters in what sounds at least to me in John’s “voice”. I was lucky enough to find and audio copy in a charity shop for a very small price! Sorry about the delay.

Thank you! Having flicked through the paperback I can now see why an audiobook version might bring it to life a bit. Thanks for the reply – even two years later!

Any good books on George Harrison that talk about him as guitar player and what his playing special, distinctive, etc? I got the one put out by Rolling Stone and *that* was not it! I ME MINE doesn’t do it either. Thanks!

Good question. I can’t think of any that only focus on his guitar playing. More likely to find that in magazine articles and interviews.

Good list, and thorough. I would add an old one…I think it’s way out of print, but the go-to book to see who sang, played, guested and when things were released is “All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles discography 1961-1975. ”

I got it for Christmas in 1976 (I was 11) and it was a great reference book. The only book I ever wore out! It’s in pieces and has seen better days but I still have it.

Would love to send you a copy of my book “Beatletoons – The Real Story Behind The Cartoon Beatles.” Not because I think it belongs on this list, but because I think you may enjoy it as an interesting read about a part of their history that is still a mystery.

Would love to read that. I remember the cartoons on TV, and you have reminded me that I keep meaning to seek them out. I’m off to YouTube now to take another look….

Email me your address.

I would love to read this myself !! Watching the Beatles cartoons on a Saturday morning was how I became a Beatles fan !! As I was born in 1969 ,The Beatles were well and trully over by the time I was old enough to appreciate them in their hey day . I just remember looking forward to Saturdays and watching the show . It was just so funny !!! And of course , the music was brilliant .

While I don’t believe there’s ever been an official home video release of The Beatles cartoon, I did purchase on Ebay (some years ago) the full 39-episode run on DVD, recorded off one of the cartoon channels. It was a real trip back in time to my childhood, when I eagerly awaited each episode and watched without blinking, approximately one foot from the tv screen. Imagine my delight watching the show with my granddaughters and seeing them respond exactly as I did some fifty years earlier. Magic!

Here is a book released in 2004 you might want to consider.

Greaat list, but there’s an obscure gem missing: The Beatle Who Vanished by Jim Berkenstadt. It’s all about Jimmie Nicol, who filled in for Ringo for 13 days on tour at the height of Beatlemania, while Ringo had his tonsils out. Much of the book is a detailed diary of what it was like to be on tour with the Beatles in Europe, Asia and Australia in 1964.

The book begins with a detailed look at Nicol’s life in Liverpool, pre-Beatles, and his work in the music industry after his brief stint at a Beatle. Highly recommended.

Oooh yes, I remember hearing about that guy on the Anthology series. Hadn’t realised he had written a book – thank you!

Or rather, there was a book written about him…

Hi I compiled my own list of Beatle books and then I saw your listings here. I’m glad you agree with many of the same books as me. Here’s my lists separated into these headings: Reference/Biography/First Hand accounts of The Beatles career. I also did a category of books which might be good but I don’t have enough conclusive info at present.

Reference: The Beatles: The BBC Archives: 1962-1970 by Kevin Howlett Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1957-1965 by John C. Winn That Magic Feeling: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966-1970: by John C. Winn “Beatles” Gear: All the Fab Four’s Instruments from Stage to Studio by Andy Babiuk Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties by Ian MacDonald The Complete “Beatles” Chronicle by Mark Lewisohn The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story Abbey Road 1962 – 1970 by Mark Lewisohn Tell Me Why: The Beatles: Album By Album, Song By Song, The Sixties And After by Tim Riley The Beatles’ Story on Capitol Records, Part One: Beatlemania and the Singles by Bruce Spizer The Beatles’ Story on Capitol Records, Part Two: The Albums by Bruce Spizer Recording the Beatles : The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums by Kevin Ryan & Brian Kehew The Beatles’ London: The Ultimate Guide to Over 400 Beatles Sites in and Around London by Piet Schreuders Looking Through You: The Beatles Book Monthly Photo Archive by Tom Adams Beatlemania: The Real Story of The Beatles UK Tours by Martin Creasy The Unreleased Beatles by Richie Unterberger

Biography: You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle For The Soul Of The Beatles by Peter Doggett The Beatles – All These Years: Volume One: Tune In by Mark Lewisohn The Beatles: The Authorised Biography by Hunter Davies Shout!: The True Story of the Beatles by Philip Norman The Beatles Anthology by Brian Roylance Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America by Jonathan Gould The Beatles in Scotland by Ken McNab Magic Circles: The Beatles in Dream and History by Devin Mckinney Baby You’re a Rich Man: Suing the Beatles for Fun and Profit by Stan Soocher The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz

Original Sources/First Hand accounts of The Beatles career: Love Me Do!: “Beatles” Progress by Michael Braun With the Beatles: A Stunning Insight by The Man who was with the Band Every Step of the Way by Alistair Taylor Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles by Tony Bramwell John, Paul, George Ringo & Me by Tony Barrow Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust: Off the Record with the Beatles, Bowie, Elton & So Much More, by Ken Scott, Bobby Owsinski John Lennon Called Me Normal by Norman ‘Hurricane’ Smith A Cellarful of Noise by Brian Epstein The Beatles and Me On Tour by Ivor Davis The Rocking City: The Explosive Birth of The Beatles by Sam Leach The Beatles by Chris Hutchins Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles by Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey All You Need Is Ears by George Martin As Time Goes By by DerekTaylor Fifty Years Adrift by Derek Taylor The Man Who Gave the “Beatles” Away: The Amazing True Story of The Beatles’ Early Years by Allan Williams I, Me, Mine by George Harrison The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles by Peter Brown The Ray Connolly Beatles Archive by Ray Connolly The Beatles Lennon and Me by Pete Shotton Lennon Remembers by Jann S Wenner The Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLello BEATLE! The Pete Best Story by Pete Best Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt.Pepper by George Martin Ticket to Ride: Inside the Beatles’ 1964 & 1965 Tours That Changed the World by Larry Kane

Maybe for inclusion list: I Want To Tell You – The Definitive Guide To The Music Of The Beatles Volume 1:1962/1963 by Anthony Robustelli The Beatles at Rishikesh by Paul Saltzman John by Cynthia Lennon Wonderful Today: The Autobiography of Pattie Boyd by Pattie Boyd The Beatles As Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul by Walter Everett The Beatles As Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology by Walter Everett The Songwriting Secrets Of The Beatles by Dominic Pedler Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry Of The Beatles by Kenneth Womack The Beatles with Lacan: Rock’n’ Roll as Requiem for the Modern Age (American University Studies) by Henry W Sullivan Beatles for Sale: How Everything They Touched Turned to Gold by John Blaney (?????) Revolver: How the Beatles Reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roll by Robert Rodriguez A Twist of Lennon by Cynthia Lennon The Beatles Collected by Pete Nash Revolution: making of the Beatles’ White Album (The Vinyl Frontier by David Quantick Inside the “Yellow Submarine”: The Making of the “Beatles’” Animated Classic by Robert R. Hieronimus The Beatles: The True Beginnings by Roag Best The Beatles Forever by Nicholas Schaffner The Beatles’ Let It Be (33 1/3) by Steve Matteo

Is The Beatles Lennon and Me the same book as John Lennon In My Life by Pete Shotton and Nicholas Schaffer? If so I have just bought that one – it is next on the list. Shotton was Lennon’s childhood friend, so it is a first person account. Thanks for posting the list – great stuff. PS The Alan Williams book on your list is one I’d also particularly like to check out.

Hi Yes The Pete Shotton book was originally published as “John Lennon In My Life” and “The Beatles Lennon and Me” is a reissue. The re-issue is very hard to get hold of so if you bought the first issue that is even rarer. PS I just started my own little blog of Beatle books http://fabbeatlebooks.blogspot.co.uk/ (still many more to add though)

[…] Every Record Tells A Story […]

This is a great list, and I’ve used it to pick several books, some of which I’ve read and enjoyed, and some which are sitting in the pile of books waiting to be read. Thank you, Is there any chance of similar list of Best Books about The Rolling Stones?

Thank you Howard – great to hear you are making good use of it. I’m a bit ahead of you on the Rolling Stones as I did write something similar a while back – the link is here:

The Top Ten Best Rolling Stones Books…ever!

Yeah…D’oh. Right after I wrote the comment, a Google search for Best Rolling Stones Books brought me right back here. Thank you, True Adventures was ordered, has arrived and is cued up on the to-be-read shelf.

On the whole, that was a marvellous list.

I have never seen a Beatles’ book list that I agree with more – even starting with the same book I always choose, Michael Braun’s ‘Love Me Do’.

I just have a few points and suggestions:

1. Personally, I think that ‘Revolution in the Head’ is drivel, terrible (look at his opinion of ‘Across The Universe’), but that is just a personal viewpoint (i.e., correct 😉 ) on my part

2. Unfortunately, Tony Bramwell’s book is not as factually accurate as you thought – it even gets the year that ‘Sgt. Pepper’ was released wrong! I hope that was either a typo, or the result of bad editing

3. Another book that I have never liked the presentation of, but which (unfortunately) is essential for people like me who are obsessed with The Beatles and with guitars, amps, and with with the guitars, amps and so on that The Beatles played, is the sometimes updated ‘Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four’s Instruments from Stage to Studio’, by Andy Babiuk (a man who never seems to reply to his emails)

4. To level the playing field about some of the remarks Geoff Emerick makes about George Harrison’s guitar playing, and for another perspective on The Fabs, we have Ken Scott’s ‘Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust: Off the Record with The Beatles, Bowie, Elton & So Much More, Hardcover Book’. Ken Scott, along with Geoff Emerick, was one of the 5 main (“First”, as opposed to “Assistant” or “Second”) recording engineers who worked with The Fabs. Again, unfortunately for my wallet, essential

5. Even though I think this book is very poorly written, ‘Recording The Beatles’ by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, is an essential read for those of us interested in the recording studios and equipment The Beatles used. N.B. Recording engineer Glyn Johns (in his book) says that all of what Ryan and Kehew wrote about him in their book is factually incorrect, and Johns is quite caustic in his criticisms (I do not blame him given that ‘RTB’ was touted so highly)

For Completists (i.e., me, and most of the rock book buying community), I would add the books listed below, regardless of the sometimes awful writing (which can also be endearing).

One of the thing about the books I am listing in this section is that they are all by people who were there, not ‘second generation’ people. I think this is important, regardless of factual inaccuracy or bias of the various authors.

6. ‘Apple’s Core: The Beatles from the Inside’ by Dennis O’Dell

7. ‘Who’s The Redhead On the Roof? My Life with The Beatles’ by Kevin Harrington

8. THERE IS A RUMOURED MAL EVANS book coming out, as of me writing this in late 2019

9. ‘John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me’, by one of their publicists, Tony Barrow

10. ‘The Birth of The Beatles’ by Merseyside promoter, and friend of The Fabs, Sam Leach

11. ‘The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away’, by Allan Williams ONE OF THE TWO OR THREE ESSENTIAL FAB BOOKS, I think.

12. ‘I Should Have Known Better’, by Geoffrey Ellis

13. ‘With The Beatles’ by ‘Mr. Fixit’, Alistair Taylor

14. Various excellent Beatles photo books by photographer Robert Freeman

15. ‘The Beatles Diary’, by former chauffeur, Alf Bicknell

16. Bill Harry has written quite a few Beatles’ books, from ‘The Beatles’ Bible’ listing the people who worked with the band, to ????????????

17. ‘Inside the Yellow Submarine: The Making of The Beatles’ Animated Classic’, by Robert, R. Hieronimus

18. ‘In His Own Write’ and ‘A Spaniard in the Works’ by John Lennon!!! (and maybe, the posthumously published-book-that-he-said-was-not-ready-to-be-published-just-before-he-died, ‘Skywriting By Word of Mouth’

19. ‘Loving John’, by May Pang

20. ‘One Day at a Time’ by Anthony Fawcett

21. ‘Twilight of the Gods: The Beatles in Retrospect’ by Wilfred Mellers (a good book by a critic, unlike ‘Revolution in the Head’)

22. ‘The Beatles as Musicians’ (volumes 1 and 2 – another example of excellent critical writing), by Walter Everett

23. ‘The Dawn of Indian Music in the West’, by Peter Lavezzoli. A very interesting mixture of the history of Indian (mostly North Indian, known as Hindustani) Classical Music, its main figures (e.g., Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan), and its influence on people like George, (and other rock and jazz musicians such John Coltrane, John McGlaughlin, and so on) and his influence in spreading the music. This is a book for those who know Hindustani Classical Music already, but could be interesting for others, too.

I could go on, but will not.

Geert- thank you so much for that very thoughtful summary. Terrific stuff. I will add Rob Sheffield’s recent book Dreaming The Beatles and I got Pete Best’s book for Christmas this year, so that may yet be added. I do want to read the “The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away” having heard about it recently (it is also recommended by Mark Lewisohn). Thanks again

Thanks, Chris. Glad you enjoyed it.

Please check out my book that was released in 2014 entitled “Some Fun Tonight! The Backstage Story of How The Beatles Rocked America; The Historic Tours of 1964-1966” it’s a two volume book. The hard bound version is housed in a slip case and is limited in number.

A is for Apple – An illustrated history of the Beatles’ multimedia corporation: Vols. 1, 2, 3 found at http://www.apcor.net . Amazing three volume set with more volumes to come. You have to see it to believe it.

Also, Some Fun Tonight! The Backstage Story of How The Beatles Rocked America; The Historic Tours of 1964-1966. Great stories and photos.

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Re. Rhonda and Chris’s comments about The Beatles’ cartoons, Apple (the proper one) bought the rights to those cartoons sometime around 2017, I think, so I am sure we will see a future remastering and re-release.

Anyone got an opinion on the Jerry Hammack books Vol 1-5 – The Beatles Recording Reference Manuals? Wasn’t sure whether to outlay the £150 for them all!!

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The 10 greatest beatles movies, ranked according to imdb.

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I Am 100% Not Ready For Robert Pattinson's Upcoming Cult Favorite Horror Remake

This classic american short story could be the next great folk horror movie after the watchers, 20 best war movies based on true stories.

The world is currently experiencing somewhat of a Beatlemania 2.0. This is largely thanks to Get Back , the extraordinarily detailed (and extraordinarily long) look into the making of Let It Be  and the failed accompanying TV special. Luckily, fans of that documentary, and of the band themselves, will be pleased to know that decades' worth of movies have been made regarding the Fab Four.

RELATED:  10 Unpopular Opinions About The Beatles: Get Back, According To Reddit

Some of these movies were directly made by The Beatles themselves, and some are merely about The Beatles. Some, even, are simply inspired by the band and their musical output. Regardless, they're all related to the iconic Fab Four and were well-received.

Magical Mystery Tour (1967) - 6.2

Not available to stream.

Magical Mystery Tour is a classic movie about drug use . The story doesn't necessarily make the drug use explicit, but its making was fueled by a wicked imagination and heaping doses of LSD.

The Beatles were in the midst of their drug years while making Magical Mystery Tour , and most of it was shot on the fly without a script. The results are quite bizarre. It makes little sense as a coherent film, but as a time capsule to a wickedly unique time in history, Magical Mystery Tour works wonders.

Birth Of The Beatles (1979) - 6.4

Surprisingly, there are very few biopics about The Beatles. Birth of the Beatles is one of the rare exceptions. Directed by Richard Marquand and produced by Dick Clark Productions, Birth of the Beatles originally ran as a TV movie on ABC.

With the band's original drummer (Pete Best) serving as technical advisor to ensure historical accuracy, Birth of the Beatles chronicles the band's beginnings in Liverpool. It's nothing special, but it's a worthwhile film about Beatles history and is competently made.

Yesterday (2019) - 6.8

Stream on fubo tv.

Written by Richard Curtis and directed by Danny Boyle, Yesterday asks a tantalizing question - What would happen if The Beatles never existed?

Protagonist Jack Malik finds himself in an alternate dimension in which The Beatles never existed, and he crafts their discography from memory in an effort to become famous. While the film doesn't quite take full advantage of its creative premise, it is still one of Danny Boyle's best movies  and a must-watch for any self-respecting Beatles fan.

Two Of Us (2000) - 7.0

This television film was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the same man hired to helm the Let It Be project (which eventually became Get Back ). Starring Jared Harris as John Lennon and Aidan Quinn as Paul McCartney, Two of Us takes place six years after The Beatles had broken up.

RELATED:  The 10 Best Uses Of The Beatles' Music In Movies & TV

Lorne Michaels makes a public plea on Saturday Night Live , offering The Beatles $3,000 if they would reunite and play on his show. This was a real event, and it was jokingly considered by Paul and John. The plea, and the relationship between the two frontmen, is captured in touching detail in Lindsay-Hogg's TV movie.

Nowhere Boy (2009) - 7.1

Stream on showtime.

Nowhere Boy is another biopic chronicling the early lives of The Beatles - specifically John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It's a great biopic about a rock musician , with Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing Lennon and Thomas Sangster playing McCartney.

The movie mainly focuses on the life of Lennon and his troubled upbringing in Liverpool. It doesn't go into too much detail regarding The Beatles and their creation, but as a biopic about one of music's greatest minds, Nowhere Boy is well worth watching.

Help! (1965) - 7.2

Rent on apple tv.

The second film to star The Beatles, Help! was released in the summer of 1965 and signaled a shift in the band's creative output.

The band was shedding its goody boy band aesthetic and embracing more aspects of the growing counterculture. Its story was totally bonkers (featuring the likes of cults and mad scientists), its music was a bit more mature (the soundtrack became iconic), and it was filmed with a far more experimental approach. It's not the greatest Beatles film, but it is still well worth seeking out.

Across The Universe (2007) - 7.3

Stream on the roku channel & hoopla.

Inspired by the music of The Beatles, Across the Universe is a musical containing 30+ Beatles songs. A love story about Jude and Lucy (do the names sound familiar?), Across the Universe is a spellbinding adventure through the counterculture of the late '60s, the Vietnam War, and the popularization of hallucinogenic drugs.

RELATED:  8 Fictional Characters Inspired By The Beatles

It's simply unlike any other musical. And with the help of some of the greatest Beatles tunes, it has long enjoyed a positive reception within the band's fandom.

Yellow Submarine (1968) - 7.4

Rent on apple tv.

Arguably one of the best animated movies ever , Yellow Submarine has been monumentally influential on modern filmmaking. Released throughout 1968, Yellow Submarine is an animated adventure with a stellar soundtrack.

It helped legitimize animation as a serious art form, and it influenced many future animators - including Pixar co-founder John Lasseter. Its influence continues to reverberate half a century late, and without Yellow Submarine , there might not have been Toy Story or Beauty and the Beast . A  Yesterday  s style film about that would be welcome.

A Hard Day's Night (1964) - 7.6

Stream on hbo max & the criterion channel.

Released during the height of Beatlemania,  A Hard Day's Night proved that they were more than pop superstars. A genuinely great musical,  A Hard Day's Night  is exceptionally made and richly performed by the Fab Four. A meta-film of sorts, it follows the overworked band as they prepare for a television appearance.

The film has proven enormously influential, not just on future musicals but on the very concept of music videos. It's easily one of the most important films of the 1960s - and maybe even of all time.

Let It Be (1970) - 7.7

Get Back was sourced from the Let It Be footage, and despite coming from the same place, it crafted an entirely different story. If Get Back is "I Want to Hold Your Hand" Beatlemania, then Let It Be is the brooding and somber "Eleanor Rigby."

It's the much darker brother of Get Back , filmed with a gritty, colorless bleakness and depicting a band on the verge of total collapse. Subject matter aside, Let It Be is a fascinating and painfully intimate glimpse into the band's final days and their tragically waning cohesiveness.

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• The Beatles: Get Back (2021)

50 Great Books about The Beatles

What made The Beatles the international phenomenon they were and continue to be? Their early songs broke the rock sound barrier. They evolved from one of the most popular performing bands in the world to create albums that revolutionized music and society. Today they and their works are part of everyday life. Their music has been repackaged several times. Their songs have been covered by other artists thousands of times. What makes them and their music so enduring and thought-provoking?  Just who are the Beatles?  Here are the 50 best books about The Beatles, the most influential band in history.

(Trivia fans, see if you can find all the book titles that use a phrase from a Beatles song.)

#1 – Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years

Mark lewisohn.

Tune In is the first volume of All These Years by the world’s leading Beatles historian, Mark Lewisohn.  A decade in the making, it follows the band members from their childhoods through 1962 when their breakthrough– and their unexpected success– was just days away.  This book has been almost universally lauded as the most thorough (944 pages), riveting and accurate story of the Fab Four.

#2 – The Love You Make: An Insider’s Story of the Beatles

Peter brown.

Peter Brown was a close friend of and business manager for the band. This book tells the inside story of the music and the madness, the feuds and the drugs, the marriages and the affairs—from the greatest heights to the self-destructive depths of the Fab Four. In-depth and definitive. It’s one of the most comprehensive, revealing biographies of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Newsday called it “the most authoritative and candid look yet at the personal lives…of the oft-scrutinized group.”

#3 – Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation

Philip norman.

Philip Norman’s biography of the Beatles is considered by many the definitive work on the world’s most influential band. The updated edition charts the rise of four scruffy Liverpool lads from their wild, often comical early days to the astonishing heights of Beatlemania. It describes the chaos of Apple and the collapse of idealism as the band heads for breakup. It also describes their struggle to escape the smothering Beatles’ legacy and the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison. Witty, insightful, and moving, Shout! is essential reading for Beatles fans and anyone interested in pop music.

#4 -The Beatles Off the Record

Keith badman.

This is a nearly 500-page compendium of unrehearsed interviews and outrageous opinions by each of the four Beatles’ members. Their commentaries on the personalities, events, and issues of the day are arranged chronologically by year from the beginning of their careers to the end of the Beatles in 1970. “This is the most comprehensive oral history of The Beatles ever published. . . .” Midwest Book Review.

#5 – Revolver: How the Beatles Reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roll

Robert rodriguez.

Released in 1966, Revolver packed the ammunition to signal a huge change in the Beatles — from a performing rock bank to a studio-based creative force.  Revolver sparked a revolution in music. It influenced everything from the psychedelic San Francisco sound (Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead) to the first wave of post-blues hard rock (Sabbath, Zeppelin) through heavy metal and movie soundtracks. The Beatles’ seventh album was the game-changer, the author argues, placing it above Sgt. Pepper as the group’s artistic high-water mark.

#6 – Here There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles

Geoff emerick.

Emerick became an assistant engineer at Abbey Road Studios in 1962 at age 15, and was there as the Beatles recorded their first songs. He later worked with the Beatles as they recorded the groundbreaking She Loves You and I Want to Hold Your Hand. He watched them mature from a young and playful group to professional, polished musicians as they recorded such hits as Eight Days A Week and I Feel Fine. In 1966, as chief engineer, he was responsible for their distinctive sound in Revolver, whose recording techniques changed the course of rock history. Emerick also engineered Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road, considered by many the greatest rock recordings of all time. Emerick talks about the band’s creative process and the personal dynamics, from the relentless competition between Lennon and McCartney to the infighting and frustration that brought a bitter end to the world’s greatest rock band.

#7 – The Beatles

Hunter davies.

During 1967 and 1968 Hunter Davies spent 18 months with the Beatles at the peak of their powers as they defined a generation and rewrote popular music. As their only authorized biographer, he had unparalleled access to John, Paul, George, and Ringo as well as friends, family, and colleagues. Davies collected a wealth of intimate and revealing material that still makes this one of the classic Beatles books. He remained close with the band and had access to more information over the years. This edition brings the story up-to-date with new material on the Beatles’ solo careers and lives.

#8 – The Beatles: The Biography

Spitz, a veteran music journalist, did a massive amount of research for this huge book which for many years was considered the definitive story of the band that changed the world. Spitz unflinchingly looks not only at the music but also the sex, drugs and the irony that once the Beatles attained the stardom they dreamed of, they became prisoners of their success. The author also looks at the bad business deals that novice manager Brian Epstein made, which cost the band millions. The Beatles: The Biography takes a hard and fair look at the world of rock by the band that reinvented it and changed culture. It’s one of the handful of must-haves for anyone looking to understand the Beatles, their evolution and the ‘60s revolution.

#9 – Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Songs and the Sixties

Ian macdonald.

Many critics and fans consider this the “Bible of the Beatles.” It captures the band’s journey from adorable teenagers to revered cultural emissaries. Each of their 241 tracks is assessed chronologically from their first amateur recordings in 1957 to their final “reunion” recording in 1995. It offers fascinating details about the Beatles’ lives, music, and era, keeping in its sites what made the band so important, unique, and enjoyable. Ian MacDonald was a songwriter, a record producer, and the author of The Beatles at No. 1.

#10 – A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles

Mark hertsgaard.

For decades the secrets behind the Beatles’ artistic evolution were in a locked room at London’s Abbey Road Studios.  Hertsgaard gained access to the archives and the result is an unparalleled look at the band’s music and artistry. It shows how four individual artists became a creative force that changed the popular music landscape. It gets inside the creative process, which is inspiration followed by dogged persistence. The author combines literary analysis with investigative reporting and the ability to tell a good story. The result is a valuable page-turner whose revelations lead to a greater understanding of the rock group that changed the world.

#11 – All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release

Philippe margotin, jean-michel guesdon.

These two music historians discuss and analyze every Beatles song, from their debut album “Please Please Me” to their final “The Long and Winding Road.” The book delves into the history and origins of the Beatles and their music as well as the composition of every song, the recording process, and the instruments used. The book, which is arranged chronologically, is a trivia treasure house for even the most hardcore Beatles fan. It features facts ranging from when and where each song was recorded, to how many takes a song took before the group was satisfied.

#12 – A Hard Day’s Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song

Steve turner.

This is a lavishly illustrated, lively account of the real people and events that inspired the Beatles’ lyrics. Was there a girl who was “just 17” and made Paul’s heart go “boom”? Who was the real Eleanor Rigby? And yes, Penny Lane is a real place. Music journalist Turner lays to rest many time-worn myths and adds a new dimension to the Beatles’ rich legacy by investigating the ordinary people and events immortalized in the Beatles’ music that have become part of our pop culture.

#13 – Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America

Jonathan gould.

Nearly 20 years in the making, Can’t Buy Me Love is a masterful work of group biography, cultural history, and music criticism. Gould looks at the Beatles in the broad and, at times, chaotic context of their time and place. The four boys from Liverpool were influenced by Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry as well as The Goon Show and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Gould brings a musician’s understanding of their growth as artists and musicians, as well as the advances in recording technology that made their sound possible. Developments in television and radio helped their explosive success. Gould explores the roles played by manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin. He also studies the influence on the Beatles’ music of contemporaries like Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Ravi Shankar. Gould shows that the Beatles were the epicenter of an entire generation’s experience and a pop culture melding of Britain and America.

#14 – You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup

Peter doggett.

The earth stood still a moment in 1970 when Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving the Beatles. Though the Beatles’ breakup was widely viewed as a cultural tragedy, one of the most fascinating phases of their story was just about to begin.

The author tells the behind-the-scenes story of the personal rivalries and legal feuds that have dominated the Beatles’ lives since 1969. Doggett, a journalist, charts the larger-than-life battles between Lennon and McCartney, the conflict in George Harrison’s life between spirituality and fame, and Ringo’s struggle with alcoholism. The book is a compelling human drama and a fascinating story of the Beatles’ creative and financial empire. It was created to safeguard their interests but wound up controlling their lives. From tragedy to triumphant reunion, and chart success to courtroom battles, this work tells the previously untold story of a group and a cultural legacy.

#15 – Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles

Tony bramwell, rosemary kingsland.

Bramwell was boyhood friends with three of the Beatles long before they were famous. He was with the band during its entire existence, in different roles from producing and directing Beatles videos to heading Apple Films. He describes the rise and fall of the Apple empire, Brian Epstein’s frolics, Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters, Phil Spector’s eccentric behavior, and new stories about Yoko Ono. He uncovers new information about the Shea Stadium concert footage, John Lennon’s late-night “escapes,” and more. Bramwell, the “ultimate Beatles insider” shares his own version of the frantic and glorious ascent of four boys from Liverpool lads who remade and expanded the world of rock music. The Globe and Mail calls it “A sprawling, amiable account of life near the world’s most famous and most gifted pop group. A welcome addition to Beatles lore.”

#16 – Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1957-1965

John c. winn.

Winn spent 20 years sifting through, scrutinizing, organizing, and analyzing hundreds of hours of audio and video recordings. He’s put them into a digestible chronological framework for Way Beyond Compare and its companion volume, That Magic Feeling: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970. In doing so, he’s answered questions about every known Beatles recording through 1965, telling you where to find them, what makes them unique, and how they fit within the context of the Beatles’ amazing musical and cultural journey.

#17 – That Magic Feeling: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966-1970

From Revolver to Let It Be, this book continues the chronicle of the group’s spectacular career from its creative zenith to final split. As the Beatles moved into the mid and late 1960s, their collective and individual musical talent and innovations evolved at an unparalleled pace. Like its companion volume, Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1957—1965, this work thoroughly chronicles all known and available Beatles recordings during this period of incredible creative growth. With more than 500 entries, it includes recording sessions, concerts, newsreel footage, press clips, TV and film performances, home movies, radio interviews, documentaries, studio outtakes, home demos, and alternative mixes–all of which are given complete coverage for the first time.

#18 – The Complete Beatles Chronicle: The Definitive Day-by-Day Guide to the Beatles’ Entire Career

In 1979, Beatles expert Mark Lewisohn set about establishing a complete list of the group’s live appearances from 1957 through 1966, when they stopped giving concerts. The seven-year project was published as The Beatles Live! Shortly thereafter, EMI Records invited Lewisohn to be the only person outside of the Beatles and their production staff to go into Abbey Road and listen to the entire collection of Beatles session tapes and to interview practically everyone involved in their making. The result was published in 1988 as The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. The Complete Beatles Chronicle combines and updates all the vital material in the two previous books along with a definitive account of the Beatles’ work in radio, television, and film. The Complete Beatles Chronicle has been called the Beatles Bible. No other book provides such an accurate and detailed account of the Beatles’ daily routines.

#19 – The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970

This definitive guide by renowned Beatle expert Lewisohn covers every recording session done by the Beatles at EMI’s famed Abbey Road recording studio. It includes the number of takes for each song; who contributed what; previously unpublished studio documents and interviews with many of the key recording personnel. It also includes facsimile reproductions of Abbey Road recording sheets, tape boxes, album sleeve roughs, memos, contracts, press releases and more. Illustrated with over 350 photographs (including rare images by Linda McCartney). The volume also features an exclusive introductory interview with Paul McCartney.

#20 – The Beatles Anthology

The beatles.

Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr agreed to tell their combined story for this book. Together with Yoko Ono Lennon, they also made available the full transcripts (including all the outtakes) of the television and video series The Beatles Anthology. Through painstaking compilation of sources worldwide, John Lennon’s words are equally represented. The Beatles also opened their personal and management archives for this project, allowing the unprecedented release of photographs which they took during their careers, as well as documents and memorabilia from their homes and offices. This is the Beatles story, from the first rough gigs, their meteoric rise to fame, the musical and social changes during this period, through their breakup.

#21 – All You Need Is Ears: The inside personal story of the genius who created The Beatles

George martin.

George Martin was the man who spotted the Beatles’ talent, who recorded and produced them from the start, and who brought their musical ideas to life. In this witty and charming autobiography, he describes exactly what it was like to work in the studio with the Beatles–from the first audition (and his decision to scrap Pete Best on drums) to the wild experimentation of Sgt. Pepper (complete with sound effects, animal noises and full orchestras in evening dress). This is a singular look at the most important musical group of all time, and how they made the music that changed the world. It’s a unique inside look at their creative process, and the play of genius and practical improvisation that produced their incredible sound.

#22 – With a Little Help from My Friends: The Making of Sgt. Pepper

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band is considered by many critics and fans as the greatest rock album ever. Released in June 1967, it was the Beatles’ ninth official album release and was an immediate success. It spent 27 weeks at the top of the albums chart in the UK and 15 weeks at #1 in the U.S. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it #1 in its list of “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” It won four Grammy awards, including the first ever Album of the Year. Martin is often referred to as the “fifth Beatle” because of his extensive involvement with each Beatle album. Martin, the group’s producer, arranger and mentor, describes in detail what went into the creation of each song artistically and technically, as well as his long and intimate history with The Beatles from the beginning of their career through Sgt. Pepper.

#23 – A Cellarful of Noise: The Autobiography of the Man Who Made The Beatles

Brian epstein.

From his first encounter with the struggling group in 1961, through their meteoric rise, to his untimely death in 1967, Brian Epstein was in many ways the heart and soul of the Beatles. Their manager and peace-keeper, Epstein helped create and guide the phenomenal group. This autobiography reveals the inside story, from their initial struggles to their wild, unprecedented ride to success. It includes hundreds of details and little known facts about the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other stars of the time. The new edition features an introduction by renowned Beatles expert Martin Lewis, which, along with Epstein’s own words, creates a compelling insightful exploration of the life and times of a gifted man with an ear for genius.

#24 – The Man Who Made the Beatles: An Intimate Biography of Brian Epstein

Ray coleman.

This is an in-depth look at Epstein’s life with contributions from family, friends, artists and business associates. The author examines the childhood and adolescence of a talented, kind and troubled man. Things kick into gear when Epstein discovers the Beatles and agrees to become their manager. This was new territory for Epstein and with the group’s explosion in popularity, they all were soon in a huge new game whose rules needed to be written. Both Epstein’s life and the business were often messy but it’s clear that Epstein was devoted to his bands and held a special love for the Beatles. Coleman does not shy away from the facts and handles Epstein’s inner turmoil and final years with a journalist’s objective eye.

#25 – In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story

Debbie geller, anthony wall.

Without Manager Brian Epstein, there would have been no Beatles. He traded their black leather jackets for suits, created the iconic mop-top hair style, polished their inherent charm and encouraged their creativity. He pushed them, promoted them and in doing so, the well-to-do businessman created the playbook for the rock business. He was smooth and charismatic but in private the Jewish homosexual suffered arrest, beatings and blackmail. He was often depressed with suicidal tendencies, combatting the turmoil with alcohol and drugs. Geller tells the story using many of Epstein’s diaries as well as interviews with Paul McCartney, George Martin and Marianne Faithfull, as well as friends and family. It’s a fascinating look at a charismatic talent who, unwittingly created a cultural revolution while destroying himself.

#26 – Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll

Fred goodman.

Allen Klein was a granite tough business manager who gained infamy for supposedly making way for the Beatles breakup and robbing the Rolling Stones. However, the truth, as journalist Goodman shows, is complex and nuanced. As the manager of the Stones and then the Beatles (along with Sam Cooke, Donovan, the Kinks, and others), Klein taught young performers how to be businessmen as well as rock stars. But Klein was as merciless with his clients as he was with anyone else, earning himself a reputation as a major show biz villain. Now, with access to Klein’s archives, Goodman reveals the full story of the Beatles breakup, how the Stones achieved the greatest commercial success in rock history, and how the music business evolved into what it is today.

#27 – The Beatles Lyrics: The Stories Behind the Music, Including the Handwritten Drafts of More Than 100 Classic Beatles Songs

For the Beatles, writing songs was a process that could happen anytime — a scribble on the back of an envelope or on hotel stationery. These original documents have ended up scattered across the world. Many have never been published before. More than 100 songs and lyrics are reproduced in this book, giving Davies a unique platform to tell the story of the music. These reproductions bring an immediate connection with the minds of their creators. Sections are crossed out and rewritten. Some words made their way into songs that never made it to paper. It’s hard to get closer to an artist than to study his words, in his handwriting, as he stumbles through the creative process, as all artists do. The Christian Science Monitor called it “A fascinating, intimate glimpse into the creative process behind some of the greatest pop songs ever written.”

#28 – Beatles: Here, There, and Everywhere

Nancy j. hajeski.

Hajeski maps out the crazy, at times mind bending journey of the Beatles, from their performances in Hamburg’s red light district to their innovative recordings at Abbey Road Studio. The journey includes the Beatles’ audition at Decca studios, the flat at 57 Green Street, their American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, plus other stops as they sped upward in popularity. Attention is also given to each British album, notes on instrumentation and solo careers, and other facts.

#29 -The Beatles “Speaking Words of Wisdom”

Mark swearingen, don christian.

This book includes more than 130 transcribed interviews with the Beatles from their first known interview in 1962 until the announcement of their breakup in 1970. It also features pictures of the interviewers and the locations as well as statistical data about the interviews. The beauty of this book is that it’s told in the words of the Beatles themselves as events were happening. It brings to life the heady days and months of the Beatles’ hectic lives along with their unique wit and charm.

#30 -The Beatles: The BBC Archives: 1962-1970

Kevin howlett.

This is a carefully curated collection of the surviving transcripts of the Beatles’ appearances on BBC Radio and Television from 1962 to 1970. It also features commentary from author/Beatles expert Kevin Howlett and rare photographs and memorabilia from the BBC. The book includes never-before-seen BBC transcripts, historical documents, and rare photos. Howlett uses material from the BBC television and radio archives as well as previously unpublished transcripts of interviews, and reminiscences from presenters, producers, and studio staff. The result is a fresh look at the creative and personal evolution of the band—from the witty, irreverent foursome of the early 60s to the more reflective individuals before the split at the end of the decade. Each chapter details a full year in the life of the band and is introduced with text by Howlett that puts the material into historical context.

#31 – The Beatles: Six Days that Changed the World

Bill eppridge.

Award-winning photographer Eppridge was given unique access to the Beatles’ first trip to the U.S. The result is a unique inside look at historic tour that marked the beginning of the British Invasion. In February 1964, Eppridge was on assignment for Life magazine to cover the band’s arrival at JFK airport. They invited him to continue shooting in their room at the Plaza Hotel and during the days that followed, including the Ed Sullivan Show rehearsal and performance; in Central Park; on a train ride to Washington, D.C., for the concert at the Washington Coliseum; at the British embassy; and at their famous performance at Carnegie Hall. The book is an intimate account of a visit that introduced the Beatles to America and changed the course of music.

#32 -The Beatles Invasion!: The inside story of the two-week tour that rocked America

The Beatles’ first excursion to the U.S., February 7 to February 21, 1964, was a seismic event in American culture. It was a musical earthquake that defined music going forward and a cultural youth quake that defined generations to come. That 14-day tour solidified the Beatles’ careers as we invited them to dominate pop culture through the rest of the 60s. Spitz, the New York Times bestselling author of The Beatles: The Biography takes readers through those whirlwind days — from The Ed Sullivan Show to Carnegie Hall, giving us a sense of how America fell in love with the Beatles and moved from staid Eisenhower era to the go-go Sixties almost overnight.

#33 – The Beatles At Shea Stadium: The Story Behind Their Greatest Concert

Dave schwensen.

The Beatles’ Shea Stadium concert on August 15, 1965 has been called one of the most exciting and important concert events in the pop music history. Produced by Sid Bernstein and introduced on stage by Ed Sullivan, the Beatles performed for a record crowd of 55,600 fans. It was the height of Beatlemania and launched the modern era of outdoor stadium shows. The book tells the story of this concert through commentary and exclusive interviews with Beatles insiders, friends and fans. The story begins in 1963 with Bernstein scheduling the then-unknown group for two concerts at Carnegie Hall and the first wave of U.S. Beatlemania. The author follows the events leading up to the concert as the Beatles arrive in New York and tape The Ed Sullivan Show. We go backstage as they nervously prepare to face their largest live audience. The concert and excitement surrounding their performance are described in detail based on unedited live recordings and eyewitness accounts, and gives new insights into making the television special.

#34 – The Beatles Are Here!: 50 Years after the Band Arrived in America, Writers, Musicians & Other Fans Remember

Penelope rowlands.

The arrival of the Beatles was an unforgettable cultural touchstone. Rowlands explores the emotional impact―for many it was hysteria―of the Beatles’ February 1964 touchdown on American soil. 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 the author’s own Beatlemaniac phase: 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.

#35 – How the Beatles Changed the World

Martin w. sandler.

The Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show has been called “a night that changed the course of American culture.” More than 70 million viewers – the largest-ever audience for an entertainment show – watched the Beatles’ performance February 9, 1964. The Beatles were more than the most successful musical group of all time. They changed popular culture. As their work matured, they were the embodiment of the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. When they became prisoners of their own success they retreated into the recording studio. They became even more influential by creating songs and albums of such uniqueness, breadth and depth that pop music was profoundly altered. “Overall, this book is a welcome reminder that popular entertainment can be a powerful force for positive change in the world.” School Library Journal

#36 – The Beatles: The Long and Fabulous Road: Beatles Biography: The British Invasion, Brian Epstein, Paul, George, Ringo and John Lennon Biography–Beatlemania, Sgt. Peppers (Volume 1)

The story of the boys from Liverpool: their hits, their movies, their tours, their women, and their legend. The ample, entertaining text–complete with over 100 photos and memorabilia–is peppered with Beatles quotes, “Fab Facts” and Beatles lyrics. The story begins in England in the 1950s, moves around the world to the Beatles solo careers and into the 21st Century. Rodriguez captures the band, the members, and a profound moment in time.

#37 – Beatleness: How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade the World

Candy leonard.

A compelling book with a fascinating concept. The Beatles hit the U.S. in February 1964 and were immediately everywhere with sounds, words, images, and ideas. Leonard argues that the Beatles influenced young Americans through six critical years of child and adolescent development. They provided an alternative curriculum, more fun and engaging than anything in school. As a result, first generation fans have a relationship with the Beatles that is unique in human history—a powerful attachment much more profound than mere nostalgia. Part generational memoir and part cultural history of the 60s. Beatleness enables the reader to experience—again or for the first time—what it was like to grow up with the Beatles and shows the impact of “Beatleness” as an ever-evolving stimulant in young lives.

#38 – Lennon vs. McCartney: The Beatles, inter-band relationships and the hidden messages to each other in their song lyrics

Adam thomas.

Thomas shows how the Beatles’ song lyrics contain secret conversations between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Varying between strong affection and outright hostility, these hidden messages clearly mirror the fluctuations the two Beatles were experiencing in their personal relationship at the time. The Beatles themselves have made only fleeting references to this troubled phase. Paul McCartney acknowledges what he calls the “song wars” period, confirming that, at the time, “I was really writing a lot of songs to John.” John Lennon meanwhile played down the negative tone of his messages saying “I’m entitled to call Paul what I want and vice versa. It’s in our family.”

#39 – The Making of John Lennon: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of the Beatles

Francis kenny.

The author focusses on the question of what might have caused the downfall of one of the most confident and brilliant musicians of the past century. Kenny emphasizes three main influences which helped shape Lennon’s creative process and stayed with him throughout his life: his strong roots in his hometown of Liverpool; his troubled mental health; and a turbulent family background. Kenny explores how Lennon’s troubles affected his relationship with the other Beatles, his family, the press and the public. It’s an intriguing look into one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

#40 – The Beatles and Me On Tour

In the summer of 1964, the Beatles took America by storm and changed rock ’n’ roll forever. In this first chronicling of that revolutionary tour from the inside, Davis shares the stories behind the stories as only an insider can. In the rowdy and riotous recollections Davis, a reporter for the London Daily Express, had unrestricted access to the Liverpool lads as a member of the Beatles entourage. From inside the band’s hotel suites to the concert arenas to the private jets, the madness and magic play out through Davis’ personal accounts of hanging with the Beatles for 34 jam-packed days. These are well-told stories of all-night Monopoly games with Lennon, the Beatles’ living-room jam with Elvis, and the night Bob Dylan introduced the band to pot. This is a definitive account of the band at a defining moment in the history of rock.

#41 – I Want To Tell You – The Definitive Guide To The Music Of The Beatles Volume 1:1962/1963

Anthony robustelli.

A musician and lifelong Beatles fan, Robustelli takes the reader on a unique journey with an in depth, song-by-song analysis of the first two U.K. Beatles albums, Please Please Me and With the Beatles. This is a definitive guide to the music including the band’s musical prowess, their composition techniques, recording process and their many musical influences. Robustelli shows how their music came to be and how it changed rock music forever. This is the first of a projected seven volume set on the songs of the Beatles. It’s a fascinating insight for musicians and Beatles fans alike.

#42 – Sex and the Beatles: 400 Entries

Jeff walker.

The Beatles lived the whole “drugs, sex and rock n roll” lifestyle. This is the book on the sex part. This book takes the reader through the sexual escapades of The Fab Four from adolescence to adulthood. It focuses mainly on the Quarry Men and Beatles years, but continues right through the solo era to 2013. It’s salacious and humorous, citing anecdotes from nearly 50 sources. When you’re tired of reading analyses of their music and how they dominated the world and changed culture, browse through the 400 entries about sex and the Beatles. How hard can it be?

#43 – The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story

Vivek j. tiwary, andrew c. robinson.

Another volume on the “untold true story” of Brian Epstein, the visionary manager who discovered and guided The Beatles — from their gigs in a tiny cellar in Liverpool to international stardom. This study is an uplifting, tragic, and ultimately inspirational human story about the struggle to overcome huge obstacles. Epstein died at age 32, having helped The Beatles prove through Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that pop music could be an inspirational art form. Given the fact that Epstein was homosexual when it was a felony UK, Jewish in anti-Semitic surroundings, and from the dingy port town of Liverpool, it is a remarkable story of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.

#44 – Lennon Remembers

Jann wenner.

This candid book reveals new information on the breakup of the Beatles, fellow musicians such as Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, Lennon’s attitudes towards revolution and drugs, and his relationship with Yoko Ono. This edition includes new introductions by Ono and Wenner, and new material never before seen in print. The book presents a compelling portrait of a complex musical genius at the height of his career. Sometimes anguished and angry, often tender and poignant, these interviews are indispensable to understanding who John Lennon was and why his legacy continues. “Arguably the most legendary interview ever conducted with a major celebrity.”—Library Journal

Cynthia Lennon

This book by Lennon’s first wife was published 25 years after his death to tell the true story of their lives together. Julian, the couple’s only child, provides the forward. Cynthia describes their marriage, the Beatles’ meteoric rise and the problems that success added to the marriage. Cynthia describes John as brilliant and loving but also jealous and sometimes abusive. She blames his use of LSD as the final straw in a fragile relationship, along with John’s relationship with Yoko Ono. It’s an intensely personal account of a wife and mother fighting to hold on to a marriage that is doomed. We see one of the most famous men in the world in a lifelong battle with personal demons. It’s a moving – and sad – story.

#46 – Ringo: With a Little Help

Michael seth starr.

This is an in-depth biography of Beatles drummer Richard Starkey who adopted the name Ringo Starr and became the most famous drummer in the world. It traces his days as a sickly child with long hospital stays and not much education. He grew up in Dingle, one of the roughest sections of Liverpool. He became a locally known drummer who replaced Beatles drummer Pete Best. He lived a life of rock excess, floundered when the band broke up, overcame alcohol abuse and went on to create a successful solo career. He remains, along with band mate Paul McCartney, an active elder statesman of rock.

#47 – George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door

Graeme thomson.

George Harrison, the youngest Beatle, was also the most spiritual, discovering Eastern religion, persuading his bandmates to visit India and get attuned to Eastern spiritual beliefs and music. When the band broke up, Harrison created his own life filled with music, charity, spirituality and gardening. With scores of interviews with friends and collaborators, Thomson creates a fascinating look at “the quiet Beatle” who also seemed to be the most evocative.

#48 – I, Me, Mine

George harrison.

This volume is based on Harrison’s conversations with Beatles spokesperson Derek Taylor. The Beatles guitarist and songwriter discusses everything from early Beatlemania to his love of gardening. Also included are the lyrics to over 80 of his songs, many in his own hand, accompanied commentary. Fifty archival photographs of George with The Beatles and solo capture a journey of creative and spiritual transformation. His wife, Olivia, provides the introduction to “the quiet Beatle” who gently introduced the Western world to Eastern religion and philosophy.

#49 – Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s

Paul McCartney walked away from the Beatles and faced a huge world of no Beatles and countless choices. He and his wife Linda settled in his farmhouse in Scotland while he battled depression. He eventually worked himself out of what could have been a career-killing funk and started at ground level with his new band, Wings. His career could have also ended with his highly publicized drug bust in Japan and his nine days in jail. Just when he had found some stability and a direction, John Lennon was murdered. But the “cute Beatle” always springs back, as he’s proven over the decades. The years and experiences could have done in a lesser human, but McCartney emerged victorious, energetic and in full control of his creative powers. Music journalist Tom Doyle expertly documents the fall, rise and reinvention of one of the most prolific artists in rock history.

#50- Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now

Barry miles.

McCartney seems to have a stash of eternal youth elixir as he continues to perform, write songs, play and do interviews. This comprehensive biography gives us an inside look at the man who was one half of one of the greatest song writing teams ever. It’s based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews over a period of five years, and complete access to Paul’s own archives. It includes Paul’s recollection of the genesis of his and Lennon’s collaborations and the fascinating details about their immortal tunes which continue to be covered by artists in all genres a generation later.

Other Books About the Beatles Worth Noting

The Beatles’ Shadow: Stuart Sutcliffe & His Lonely Hearts Club by Pauline Sutcliff  by Douglas Thompson

Let’s Put the Beatles Back Together Again 1970-2010: How to Assemble & Appreciate the 2nd Half of the Beatles’ Legacy  by Jeff Walker

The Beatles: Where We Grew Up: Their Formative Years In Hamburg; 1960-1962  by Jonathan Clark

Brian Epstein Story: BEATLES  by Debbie Geller

John Lennon: The Life  by Philip Norman

The Beatles: Paperback Writer: 40 Years of Classic Writing  by Mike Evans (Editor)

The Beatles Through Headphones: The Quirks, Peccadilloes, Nuances and Sonic Delights of the Greatest Popular Music Ever Recorded  by Ted Montgomery

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The King of Pop. The Gloved One. Humanitarian. Father. Appreciation subreddit dedicated to the life and art of Michael Joe Jackson (1958 - 2009 - ∞).

Is it crazy that I think Michael Jackson could surpass The Beatles as the best-selling music artist if the estate were to release more posthumous albums?