Philip Norman: Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation (1981)
The only problem with Philip Norman's Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation is that it's so engrossing, so insightful, and so comprehensive that it was years before I felt compelled to read another book about the Fabs.
First published in 1981, not long after John Lennon's murder, Shout! was embraced by critics and readers alike, selling in the millions of copies -- almost like a, you know, Beatles record!
Norman's exhaustive research into John, Paul, George, and Ringo's Liverpool upbringing, their formation and development as a band (including The Cavern, Hamburg, and those -- Stuart Sutcliffe, Pete Best -- who fell by the wayside), even before their mainstream breakthrough, is essential reading in its own right.
But the author's detailed description of what followed -- the fame, the mania, the music (both its creative and recording process), and the changing personal dynamics within the group and their close-knit circle of handlers, manages to capture both the indescribable JOY of The Beatles' reign and contextualize the sadness of its conclusion.
Of course, not everyone agrees, and over the years the book has come in for select criticism, including Norman's alleged negative views of McCartney, though I personally don't recall noticing this, and I've often had to defend Paul to my snootier, John-is-everything friends, so I guess it's all a matter of opinion.
So never mind the Kennedys: for rock 'n' roll fans of all ages, THIS was Camelot and we'll never see its like again.
Shout! helps even those of us born A.B. ('After Beatles') to feel like we experienced some of the happiness and excitement John, Paul, George, and Ringo brought to the world, and thankfully left for all of us in their wake.
The Beatles: Abbey Road (1969)
The Beatles: Rubber Soul (1965)
The Beatles: Please Please Me (1963)
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