A Hard Day's Write: The Stories behind Every Beatles Song

( 13 )

Overview

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 ...

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Overview

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.

Illustrated with over 200 photographs, A Hard Day's Write is a visually alluring and highly entertaining journey to the land stretching just beneath your conscious mind, mapped out with strawberry fields, fool-topped hills, and long and winding roads.

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Editorial Reviews

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The Barnes & Noble Review
Was there really a Polythene Pam? Where are Strawberry Fields? What connection does the actor Peter Fonda have with the song She Said She Said? In this book music journalist Steve Turner shatters some well-worn myths and reveals many unknown stories behind every Beatle Song, from "I Saw Her Standing There" to Abbey Road's "The End." The lyrics that have been etched in our collective memories take on new meaning as the ordinary people and events behind each song are revealed. Arranged chronologically by album and packed with color and black and white photographs and illustrations, A Hard Day's Write is hard to put down. Look up one song and you find yourself stopping to read about the others as the mini-stories recount how private incidents influenced the Beatles, collectively and as individual artists. 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 personalities closest to the Beatles. The result is a book no Beatles fan should be without.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780060844097
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 10/18/2005
  • Edition description: New
  • Edition number: 3
  • Pages: 224
  • Sales rank: 93,706
  • Product dimensions: 8.52 (w) x 10.92 (h) x 0.53 (d)

Meet the Author

Steve Turner is the author of Trouble Man: The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye, A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Hungry for Heaven: Rock and Roll and the Search for Redemption, Jack Kerouac: Angelheaded Hipster, and Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now. His articles have appeared in Rolling Stone, Mojo, Q, and the London Times. He lives in London with his wife and two children.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 13 )
Rating Distribution

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(10)

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Sort by: Showing all of 13 Customer Reviews
  • Posted December 22, 2008

    beatles fans

    great book for all die-hard Beatles fans i recomend this to any beatles fan out there who want to know more

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted May 11, 2009

    Absolutely crazy-great rainy day reading, yeah, yeah, yeah!

    Each and every song ... and a great new insight about its making. You'll be *instantly* transported back in time as you retrace the path of the Fab 4's recording career. Such good fun!

    2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted June 17, 2013

    I don't like wrong info typo's happen that I understand in the b

    I don't like wrong info typo's happen that I understand in the book the year of Brian Epstein's death says 1962 should be 1967

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted January 31, 2010

    Great Book!

    An interesting insight.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted August 11, 2002

    The best

    If you like the beatles you'll love this because it is the best

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
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    Posted December 4, 2010

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    Posted March 20, 2010

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    Posted February 15, 2010

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    Posted November 5, 2010

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    Posted March 24, 2009

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    Posted February 24, 2009

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 25, 2009

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    Posted December 24, 2008

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