Something About the Beatles

My guest has produced one of those rare books in The Beatles' literary canon not penned by an insider (or by someone named Lewisohn) that has arrived with a tidal wave of press; in advance and since. Ian Leslie, who in the past has written about psychology, has put together a thesis examining the singular personal and professional relationship between Lennon and McCartney, and how it manifested in their art. That's a lot to unpack but we cover a lot of ground in our conversation.  

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On April 10, 2025, the film One To One: John and Yoko was released in US theaters. Gary Wenstrup (SATB Olympiad series) attended a screening, and in this SATB Special, have a discussion on what we saw: what was good - what we thought was less so - what was in it - what was not in it.

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An important part of understanding both rock history generally and The Beatles' history specifically is contained in a study of the fan magazines produced throughout the 50s and 60s. For the purposes of this discussion, Dr. Allison Bumsted's newly-published TeenSet, Teen Fan Magazines and Rock Journalism: Don't Let The Name Fool You is THE roadmap to understanding the role these journals played in both promoting artists and instilling a sense of community among fans, pre-internet and social media. Allison focuses much of her research on TeenSet, a groundbreaking magazine created by Capitol Records that began as one thing and...

Returning guests Cameron Greider and Jack Petruzzelli (both of the RPM-School.com) are on hand to discuss more of what The Beatles used in their songcraft: 6th and minor 3rds. If ths sounds like indecipherable music theory, hang on - it isn't and once you become aware of it, you'll recognize it everywhere - how often and how artfully they used it, and to what effect.

Also in the conversation: Neil Inness, and the topic of plagiarism.

Jack, Cameron and I will all be on hand in upstate New...

YOU the loyal listeners decided what your fave moments of the show were, and based on your input, SATB runs down moments from the past 7+ years, featuring only a sampling of the many guests we've had on the show. These include (alphabetically):

Nancy Lee Andrews

Christine Feldman-Barrett

Pattie Boyd

Allison Bumsted

James Campion

Laura Cortner

Dennis Diken

Duncan Driver

Elliot Easton

Debbie Gendler

Glenn Greenberg

Cameron Greider

Jerry Hammack

For most whose lives were changed by The Beatles, it can only remain a dream that they would one day meet one, much less work alongside one and develop a key role in that Beatle's life and develop a friendship. But Buffalo, New York native Gary Astridge was one exceptional fellow, whose passion for percussion, inspired by the 1964 Ed Sullivan Show debut, would impact his life in ways far beyond imagining. He took up drums and was so curious about the details of Ringo's set-up that he made it a lifelong study. Then came the day that Ringo needed...

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Beatles scholar Richard Mills is the author of The Beatles and Fandom: Sex, Death and Progressive Fandom (published by Bloomsbury). We discuss the unique and enduring aspects that of the group's multi-faceted base and how it is that decades later, a good portion of the population is STILL obsessed.

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Returning guest May Pang has had a busy couple of years, both with the presentation of her story in the acclaimed documentary, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, as well as her ongoing touring photographic exhibit of her photos taken fifty years ago. In this conversation, we discuss a number of topics outside the doc, including Allan Klein, Dick Cavett, the Imagine film (1972), and the productive period where she was at John's side, facilitating work that included three US chart-topping singles and collaborations with Mick Jagger, Phil Spector, Harry Nilsson, Ringo, David Bowie, Elton John...and almost, Paul.  

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2024 winds down with the merging of two guests that have appeared on the show this year, in a spirited discussion of David Whelan's investigation into John Lennon's murder as presented in Mind Games. Robert Rosen (Nowhere Man) serves as skeptic in a conversation weaving together the bigger picture that converged on December 8, 1980, as well as the sketchy players surrounding the convicted killer both before and after. Joining the conversation is attorney Carole Krohn, presenting her own legal insights into the case. 

If all of this is a bit heavy for you in general or at...