A Hard Day's Write, Revised Edition: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song by Steve Turner (Used Hardcover)

A Hard Day's Write, Revised Edition: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song by Steve Turner (Used Hardcover)

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Collins (Nov. 1 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062736981
• ISBN-13: 978-0062736987
• Product Dimensions: 1.3 x 22.2 x 28.6 cm
• Shipping Weight: 903 g

• A lavishly illustrated, rollicking account of the real people and events that inspired the Beatles' lyrics.

  Who was "just seventeen" and made Paul's heart go "boom"? Was there really an Eleanor Rigby? Where's Penny Lane? In A Hard Day's Write, music journalist Steve Turner shatters many well-worn myths and adds a new dimension to the Fab Four's rich legacy by investigating for the first time the ordinary people and events immortalized in the Beatles' music and now occupying a special niche in popular culture's collective imagination.

  Arranged chronologically by album, the book breaks new ground by exploring how private incidents influenced the group's writing and how their music evolved. Turner reveals that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was really a drawing by Julian Lennon of his childhood friend; Bungalow Bill was an all-American tiger hunter; Doctor Robert was a New York 'speech doctor'; and much more. A longtime Beatles admirer, Turner tracked down and interviewed the real-life subjects of the songs, probed public records and newspaper archives, and spoke in depth to the people closet to the Beatles to unearth tales that have never before been made public. The result is a book that chronicles an untold story of the Beatles themselves.

• Steve Turner gives the background story behind every Beatles song on all their officially released albums up to Abbey Road. Other books make the same claim, but this one's the best! To me, the most fascinating entries are about John's autobiographical songs, such as 'In My Life' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever.'
  The story behind 'A Day In the Life' is riveting and is partly based on a personal tragedy for Paul.
  Find out what John's inspiration was for 'Tomorrow Never Knows.' Does Dr. Robert really exist? 'She's Leaving Home' is based on a true story Paul had read about in a newspaper. Which was the first Beatles song not to be about love? Learn how much of an influence Dr. Timothy O'Leary was. Who's Ocean Child ('Julia')? Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is behind a few songs, but not always the way you might think! A song based on a conversation with Peter Fonda? You bet! What's the story of the sitar in 'Norwegian Wood,' and just who is the mysterious woman in whose bathtub John slept? I could go on and on!
  The text is very well researched, and includes quotes from people who were involved with the Beatles.
  The photos are excellent and add to the realness of the songs. See Eleanor Rigby's gravestone, Matt Busby (from 'Dig It')and the man who 'blew his mind out in a car.'
  AHDW is thorough, accurate and FUN to read. If I could, I'd give it 10 stars!