October 2019

Last year – upon the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles; that eponymous double album issued as the group’s Apple debut – a symposium was convened at Monmouth College in New Jersey

Fifty years on and the “Paul is dead” hoax has lost none of its power to fascinate on so many levels. Perhaps the most compelling angle for examination is how did something so clearly nonsensical in the light of day get disseminated so widely and not just dismissed out of hand? It seems that a perfect storm of circumstance gave it traction and resonance, with both what was happening within The Beatles and within the community most receptive to believing that truth was not what authority figures told us. Helping unpack all of this is sociologist Candy Leonard, author of Beatleness. Her book covers the subject in some detail. Opening song: “Saint Paul” by Terry Knight Closing song: “So Long, Paul” by Werbley Finster, AKA Jose Feliciano

What happens when the surviving member of a legendary American power pop band and a Los Angeles musician whose lineage includes two giants of the Great American Songbook, both steeped in Beatles, get together to make music? The result is now two albums deep in a band called Those Pretty Wrongs. Jody Stephens, formerly of Big Star and Golden Smog is a singer/songwriter/drummer and Luther Russell is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer, formerly of The Freewheelers. Their latest release as Those Pretty Wrongs, Zed For Zulu, has just been released. Their insights into making music and what they gleaned from The Beatles makes for a fascinating discussion. Check out their work (and current tour dates) here: http://www.thoseprettywrongs.com/ https://lutherrussell.com/ https://www.ardentstudios.com/

The host of the longest-running Beatles program on US radio, Carter’s passion for The Beatles has taken many forms through the years: