The Beatles Come to America

Rating:
Summary: Can It Really Be 40 Years?
Review: Although generally known for his encyclopedic knowledge of classical music (as host of NPR's "Performance Today" and now of XM Radio's Classics channel), Martin Goldsmith seems equally knowledgeable in the world of rock music -- as Washington, D.C. fans of his "Songs for Aging Children" radio program already recognize. Combining this broad, cross-genre musical perspective with a wonderful gift for storytelling (compellingly demonstrated in his first book, "The Inextinguishable Symphony"), Goldsmith's highly readable account of the Beatles' early years and their coming to America is both journalistic in style and insightful cultural commentary.

"The Beatles Come to America" is part of the publisher's "Turning Points in History" series -- which includes such other seminal events as Columbus discovering America, the Louisiana Purchase, the Declaration of Independence, D-Day, Jackie Robinson's integrating major league baseball, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall (by William F. Buckley). Reasonable minds may well differ as to whether the Fab Four's arrival in America belongs in the same league as those other events, but Goldsmith does an excellent job relating this event's impact not only on American *cultural* history, but on our history generally. Few would dispute, of course, that President Kennedy's assassination was a watershed event in U.S. history; and Goldsmith observes persuasively how America's multi-faceted reaction to the Beatles -- less than three months after the assassination -- was not only part of our emergence from national mourning, but also the first evidence of a new generational/cultural "Berlin Wall."

But don't let the publisher's "turning point" designation turn you off. This isn't some stodgy exegesis on "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." Above all, it's a fun read -- reminding us of those days when we stayed glued to the radio, eagerly awaited each new Beatles single, and got exasperated with our parents and the press for talking only about their haircuts!

Still, as much as I enjoyed the book's by-now familiar stories of the Beatles' appearances here in Washington, D.C. and on the Ed Sullivan Show, my favorite parts of "The Beatles Come to America" are in Goldsmith's telling of the Beatles' pre-stardom gigs in Germany where, under miserable conditions, they truly honed their music and performance skills -- and John and Paul really learned how to create wonderful music together.

There may not be a great deal that's new here for the rabidly devoted and knowledgeable Beatlemaniac, but for the rest of us mere then-and-now Beatle fans, this is a book that will bring warm smiles of remembrance and recognition. Not to mention shock and awe that it really has been 40 years.

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: Bummer! As a Beatles aficionado, I picked this up hoping to learn something new about the greatest band ever...I didn't find it here. This book is filled with factual errors and perpetuates the same old myths again and again. Early on, Goldsmith's credibility is shot. There are many errors that are trivial: e.g., "the Beatles wore their collarless Edwardian suits on The Ed Sullivan Show" - oops - AND - the date that Sullivan always claimed to have witnessed the Beatles' tumultuous Heathrow reception is called into question; a little research would have shown that this date has been pinpointed and documented by real Beatles historians - there's even newsreel footage of it - oops - OR - Goldsmith states that the Beatles' first American concert was, like almost everything American, their largest audience ever; according to real Beatle historians, December concerts in London were bigger - oops - AND - Goldsmith misstates how much the Beatles were paid by Ed Sullivan for three appearances - oops - OR - well, there are many, many more. But there are also significant errors. When I reached the passage crediting Sid Bernstein with bringing the Beatles to America, I wanted to scream. This is really irksome - and simply untrue. The author perpetuates this BIG myth which, unfortunately, has never been proven by anything other than Bernstein's telling of it: Goldsmith bought the tale - hook, line and sinker. Had Goldsmith done his homework, he would have found MUCH evidence to the contrary (most glaringly, press accounts from 1964 quoting Sid, saying that after Sullivan booked the Beatles, he got Brian Epstein's number and called him to pitch the idea of a live appearance - yes, Bernstein IS responsible for booking them into Carnegie Hall). While this is not earth shattering information, Goldsmith pointedly takes credit away from Sullivan (where it rightly belongs) and anoints Bernstein as The Man Who Brought The Beatles To America. Recent press accounts have quoted Goldsmith on this - pretty frustrating if you like your history served with facts. Ultimately, Goldsmith rewrites history in a book that purports to illuminate it - his research into a critical turning point in American culture is incomplete, to be kind. The book may revisit a time that we all love to remember - just don't count on its accuracy. Noted Beatles authority Bruce Spizer covers much the same ground in his latest book but does so with painstaking research and astounding thoroughness. Spizer's effort puts this book to shame. As a Beatle-lover, I'm always thrilled to find an author who adds definition and dimension to one of the great stories of the 20th Century. Goldsmith is not one of those guys - I recommend that you spend your money elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Sheer Poetry!
Review: First of all, it must be stated emphatically that carioca04 (see below) is both vicious and wrong. Goldsmith never states that the Beatles wore Edwardian suits on Ed Sullivan, never states that Sullivan didn't witness the Beatles at Heathrow on October 31, 1963, and never states that the Beatles' concerts in America were bigger than earlier concerts in London. As to Sid Bernstein, respected Beatle historians from Hunter Davies to Alan Cozinn point to Bernstein's importance in the story. Carioca04 obviously has an axe to grind or an agenda to advance (quite possibly in support of other Beatle books that haven't achieved Goldsmith's popularity) and it's pretty sad to witness.

That said, Martin Goldsmith offers a superb short history of the band and his writing is marvelous. He evokes or quotes from such poets as Wordsworth, Shelley, Eliot, Housman, and Frost, and quotes the soaring rhetoric of President Kennedy, all to great effect. And his own prose frequently approaches the poetic. This is a book that will stay with you long after you close it ... it's well worth its modest price tag.

Rating:
Summary: Sheer Poetry!
Review: First of all, it must be stated emphatically that carioca04 (see below) is both vicious and wrong. Goldsmith never states that the Beatles wore Edwardian suits on Ed Sullivan, never states that Sullivan didn't witness the Beatles at Heathrow on October 31, 1963, and never states that the Beatles' concerts in America were bigger than earlier concerts in London. As to Sid Bernstein, respected Beatle historians from Hunter Davies to Alan Cozinn point to Bernstein's importance in the story. Carioca04 obviously has an axe to grind or an agenda to advance (quite possibly in support of other Beatle books that haven't achieved Goldsmith's popularity) and it's pretty sad to witness.

That said, Martin Goldsmith offers a superb short history of the band and his writing is marvelous. He evokes or quotes from such poets as Wordsworth, Shelley, Eliot, Housman, and Frost, and quotes the soaring rhetoric of President Kennedy, all to great effect. And his own prose frequently approaches the poetic. This is a book that will stay with you long after you close it ... it's well worth its modest price tag.

Rating:
Summary: The Beatles Come to America
Review: I loved this book. It's a cool look at the Beatles' musical and cultural influence on America in the 60's, and how their magic is still appreciated today. The author does a great job of picking out fun anecodotes and details about the band, inspiring me to pull out and listen to all of my Beatles' CDs.

Rating:
Summary: So good it made me cry!
Review: I thought I knew a fair amount about the Beatles but this wonderful book filled in so many gaps in my knowledge of the band's early years. The story of those magical two weeks in February '64 is told compellingly and with fine detail but also with deep emotion. And the book's concluding pages, with the author sitting in the churchyard in Liverpool where it all began, moved me to tears. A great book worthy of its subject!

Rating:
Summary: So good it made me cry!
Review: I thought I knew a fair amount about the Beatles but this wonderful book filled in so many gaps in my knowledge of the band's early years. The story of those magical two weeks in February '64 is told compellingly and with fine detail but also with deep emotion. And the book's concluding pages, with the author sitting in the churchyard in Liverpool where it all began, moved me to tears. A great book worthy of its subject!

Rating:
Summary: quite unnecessary
Review: This is a book in the Turning Points series that feature defining moments of our world. Goldsmith refers to two dates in this book that changed the world (or at least the USA): The Kennedy assassination on November 22nd 1963 and the televised performance of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in New York on February 9th 1964. When I looked at the title, I expected this book to deal almost exclusively with that period, but in fact the arrival of The Beatles in the US isn't discussed until you reach page 115, which is along way into the book considering it only has 196 pages in total. Before that the author takes us through the formative years of the Fab Four in the UK and Hamburg plus the rise to stardom before breaking through in the US and includes biographies on all the major players in this well known career story.
Although it's certainly written in an easy and pleasant style, this period has been described by many other authors much more extensively and in much more properly researched detail. This book doesn't add anything new to that and is therefore quite unnecessary. It does however add it's fair share of mistakes (old and new) to Beatle history. Mistakes that could easily have been avoided with some decent research!
To list but a few:
Page 12 - Once again it is claimed John Lennon was born during a fierce air raid on Liverpool. For the umpteenth time: WRONG! Authors clearly tend to copy mistakes from other authors. And of course it's more interesting than writing there was no air raid that night.
Page 32 - In Spite Of All The Danger is suddenly a Lennon/McCartney song in this book, where of course it's the only McCartney/Harrison song.
Page 72 has The Beatles only playing two Lennon/McCartney originals at the Decca Sessions. Love Of The Loved, Like Dreamers Do and Hello Little Girl makes three according to me (fooled by the fact that only two appeared on Anthology 1?).
What saves the book to some extent is the part where the author writes about his own memories of the Kennedy assassination (everyone of his generation remembers where they were when they heard the news - the author was at school in St. Louis (page 107) and suddenly the school P.A. system was broadcasting the audio of a TV news broadcast in which the shooting of the president was reported (as an aside: a clear difference back then between schools in the US and in the Netherlands. We didn't have a P.A. system in school in 1963. We had only just progressed to the electric school bell!). He then goes on to describe the sadness that everyone seemed to feel in the US for along period of time and how The Beatles played a big part in lifting the spirits of the young. What is certainly also interesting is his account of what happened on the Ed Sullivan Show and for instance how the papers responded to their performance the day after (like the New York Herald Tribune that wrote 75% publicity, 20% haircut and 5% lilting lament). The book starts and ends with an account of a trip he made to Liverpool to visit the Beatles sites and here he clearly illustrates the impact The Beatles had on him. It is however too little to make this book a useful addition to the collection of the avid Beatle fan.