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282: The Women’s Revolution (Or: The Beatles’ Effect)     My guests are three very special ladies who have all appeared on the show before, but this time, all three have memoirs out. Debbie Gendler was the first to appear on SATB (121: New York Stories) and her story as the 1st US fan (as far as I’m concerned) was initially laid out there. But now HER memoir has been published, I Saw Them Standing There: Adventures of an Original Fan During Beatlemania and Beyond. Debbie joins returning guests Carol Tyler (146: Fab 4 Mania) and Sibbie O’Sullivan (273: My Private Lennon) as they react to each other’s books. What ensued though was something bigger than what we anticipated, as the notion of collating their stories and those of other 1st-generation fans into something bigger and grander took shape. Something About The Beatles is now an Evergreen podcast.

283: Giles on Trial – The Reissues Critiqued with John Leckie and Jerry Hammack     

284: Sixty Years On with Ivor Davis    Returning guest (episodes 130 and 174) Ivor Davis is a British journalist who, in 1964, went on tour with The Beatles for the Daily Express, covering their North American dates while ghost-writing a column for George Harrison (having taken over the assignment from Derek Taylor). He did similar duties for the following year, and after which, he settled in California as west coast correspondent. His job saw him cover the Warren Commission findings, the gubernatorial campaign trail for Ronald Reagan (governor) and in 1968, Bobby Kennedy (whose murder Ivor was a witness to). The following year, Ivor was at the center of the Manson Family case when he became the first journalist to visit Spahn ranch, as well as the first writer to publish a book on the Tate-LaBianca murders, Five To Die. (We discussed this in the two previous shows.) In short, he’s been around.  He first published his memoir of The Beatles’ experience as The Beatles and Me On Tour ten years ago for the 50th; it’s now been expanded and republished for the 60th anniversary. In his conversation, Ivor offers his observations from the current perspective, post Get Back and “Now and Then,” as well as inner-circle personas he came to know along the way.  He also has a new true crime book out, The Devil in My Friend about a 1980s double murder in Malibu. You can find info on all at his website, https://ivordavisbooks.com/

286: Nowhere Man ’24 with Robert Ros285: Sixty Years Ago in America with Lee Abrams, Dennis Diken, and Elliot Eastonen    As part of the ongoing campaign in 2024 to look back at 1964, we present another conversation with first-gen fans, this time focusing on the Capitol issues as well as US Top 40 radio. Returning guests Elliot Easton and Dennis Diken (The Cars and The Smithereens respectively) are joined by Lee Abrams, radio visionary and co-founder of Sirius XM. We discuss their fandom as it unfolded in real time, the impact and influence of radio, as well as their takes on the US releases (and the Beach Boys too).  You can find Lee’s writings here: https://www.leeabramsmediavisions.com/blog Something About The Beatles is an Evergreen podcast. 

286: Nowhere Man ’24 with Robert Rosen    In this conversation, my returning guest (see episodes 189 – 245 – 266) discusses his recent visit to Spain, where a belated Beatlemania is in full swing. He also offers his insights on the recent May Pang documentary, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, as well as his take on David Whelan’s investigation into John Lennon’s murder and the latter’s preoccupation with “lucid dreaming.” Check out Robert’s writings at https://www.robertrosennyc.com/index.htm Highlights of his evening in Sevilla (with Mary Lyn Maiscott) can be found here: 

SATB 287: The Historian and Get Back with Erin Weber   http://www.somethingaboutthebeatles.com/287 In the years since Peter Jackson’s epic re-imagining of the January 1969 saga landed, SATB has examined it through a number of angles: from Brits – women – musicians – authors – and so forth. But this will be the first time I have actually had a conversation about it with a professional historian, your friend and mine, Erin Weber. This conversation analyzes the film through the prism of (secondary) source material, and brings into focus how the work should be viewed by fans of a more serious scholarly bent. 

273: My Private Lennon with Sibbie O’Sullivan   We have discussed the insights of 1st gen fans who, frankly, were screamers in the presence of The Beatles (Debbie Gendler, author of this upcoming memoir and Carol Tyler, author of this one); see thisfor a detailed discussion.     Then there’s Sibbie O’Sullivan – a high schooler when Deb and Carol were middle-schoolers. She too was swept up in the wave of mania in her native Maryland; like Deb, she witnessed an in-person Ed Sullivan Show taping, but unlike many girls, she did not scream. Her book, My Private Lennon: Explorations From A Fan Who Never Screamed, offers a series of essays, rich with insight and perceptive observations about her very personal fandom and what The Beatles meant to her, then and now. Leading the discussion is Dr. Allison Bumsted, who is cultivating a specialty in examinations of Beatles fandom.      An essay by Sibbie here.    Allison’s review of Sibbie’s book here. 

294: White Album Olympiad with Gary Wenstrup   The Olympiad series picks up again, with music scholar Gary Wenstrup on board, picking up where we left off at episode 276, the Filmtrack Olympiad. Be sure to add your name to the [email protected] Newsletter list to enter the giveaway of the vinyl Beatles ’64 Mono Capitol albums. About “(Wild) Honey Pie”

295: Beatles ’64 with David Tedeschi and Margaret Bodde   Many of you have by now seen the new doc, re-presenting the February 1964 footage of The Beatles’ two-week jaunt in NYC, Washington and Miami, shot by Albert and David Maysles. As you know, producer Martin Scorsese has a history of music documentaries (including Living on the Material World) but this one is directed by his associate, David Tedeschi and produced by Margaret Bodde, who have worked together many times on on many music films. I got a chance to talk with them about the making of this one and the intent behind it.  

297: All I want Is The Truth with David Whelan and Robert Rosen   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 this time of year, by all means check out episode 298…..

298: May the Second – The Found Weekend with May Pang   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 photos she took fifty years ago. In this conversation, we discuss a number of topics outside the doc, including Allan Klein, Dick Cavett, the Imagine film (1972), Badfinger, 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).  

303: John and Paul – A Love Story in Songs with Ian Leslie   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.  

304: Badfinger’s Head First with Bob Jackson   Beatle proteges Badfinger were an Apple band that simultaneously produced some of the finest pop/rock of their era while beset by management malfeasance leading directly to their decimation by suicide. It was fifty years ago that Pete Ham, their songwriter responsible for “No Matter What,” “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue” and co-writer with Tommy Evans of “Without You” took his life at 27. Only a few months before, he and the band recorded one final album (at Apple Studios), Head First. Multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Bob Jackson, the group’s newest addition, was fully on board with the project, which went unreleased at the time but through his determination, was tracked down and fully realized in late 2024.

305: Contentious Credits with Marcus Phelan and Andrew Shakespeare   In recent years, the quality of Beatles scholarship has risen considerably, and the old days of accepting and repeating any old data (even coming from sources that should be credible) – without examining it deeper to see if it really stands up – are long gone. With The Beatles, music is always at the heart of their story, and in particular, what they did in the studio. Examining how their recordings were produced tells us a ton about how the group operated, and therefore getting it right is pretty important to understanding what we’re hearing. My two guests – Marcus Phelan and Andrew Shakespeare – are 2nd-gen fans, hailing from Australia. Both are musicians who’ve been playing for decades and have been studying The Beatles’ music for just about as long. We selected a group of songs that have been disputed as to who is playing what and how the recordings were constructed for this first installment of Contentious Credits. Songs: “Every Little Thing” “I’m Looking Through You” “Fixing A Hole” “It’s All Too Much” “Hey Bulldog” “Dear Prudence” “Helter Skelter” “Old Brown Shoe” “Come Together”

306: Beatles Olympiad – Glyn Johns’ Get Back with Gary Wenstrup   In late May 1969, producer Glyn Johns turned in a draft album, culled from hours of tape recorded in January 1969 during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. His work reflected the original concept: catching The Beatles as they really were in the studio, with off-the-cuff performances of oldies, warm-ups, false starts and blown takes. It would have made for a fine tie-in with the original cut of the Let It Be film, but ultimately, the group rejected the idea, instead moving back to their established productions values, with Abbey Road being the result. The tapes, handed off to Phil Spector, emerged in May 1970 with a new tie-in: the group’s break-up. Let It Be, the album, drew the worst reviews of their career, being a neither fish-nor-fowl collection of tunes bearing Spector’s worst impulses (choirs and lush orchestration) alongside vestiges of the original concept (studio chat and tossed off improvisations). In this episode, Robert and Olympiad partner Gary Wenstrup re-imagine the group’s history – what if Get Back HAD been accepted and released in spring 1969, the missing link between the “White Album” and Abbey Road? You can read Glyn’s account of things here https://people.com/music/long-winding… and hear the actual work here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jwl7… The artwork with track listing is here: https://images.genius.com/6b19f1c8e7b… www.somethingaboutthebeatles.com

307: Borrowed Time with Alan G. Parker   Alan G. Parker is a filmmaker and author renowned for his works centered on the UK punk scene, and he joins us today to unpack his latest documentary, Borrowed Time: Lennon’s Last Decade. We begin with Alan’s insights and inspirations for the film before learning about his background and how he became a die-hard Beatles fan. Then, we examine the short and long versions of Borrowed Time, other similar works, and how their Lennon portrayals influenced Alan’s depiction, how he found the right people to interview for the film, and the limitations and restrictions he faced making an unsanctioned documentary. We also learn how Alan gathered an abundance of never-seen-before Beatles footage, the Beatles stories he’s yet to share with the rest of us, how John Lennon’s persona meshed with the UK punk scene, and how Borrowed Time complements other Beatles films like One to One and The U.S. vs. John Lennon. To end, Alan details the journalistic differences between the UK and American media and how these discrepancies influenced John’s story and public image, the most accurate portrayals of Lennon’s depression, how John’s death affected younger Alan, and why and how his Beatles fandom never wavered even after the death of John Lennon.

308: The Politics of Beatles with Candy Leonard.    In 2014, sociologist Candy Leonard published Beatleness: How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade The World. It was a groundbreaking work, representing a serious exploration into the phenomenon of fandom and the reciprocal relationship between artist and audience, and the impact that all of it had on lives – and the world – that reverberates ever onward even today, sixty years on.  Candy has twice been a guest on the show (155: 1968 and 180: “…I buried Paul…”) but for this conversation, we focused on the politics of Beatles: not their personal convictions per se but what they meant fresh out of the gate – what they represented and how they were received by fans and the establishment alike.    In this talk, we covered hair (as a statement) – drugs – evolution – One to One – Beatles ’64 – feminism – Taylor Swift – The Monkees.   Check out Candy’s site for her essays and more (https://www.candyleonard.com/beatleness ). 

309: Some Fun Tonight with Chuck Gunderson    We are now sixty years on from the crest of The Beatles’ touring years, if you figure the August 15, 1965 Shea Stadium show that kicked off their second North American tour as “the top of the mountain,” as John Lennon once did.  Therefore, who better to talk about those three intense years and shows than Chuck Gunderson, author of Some Fun Tonight: The Backstage Story of How The Beatles Rocked America? It was published in 2014 in two slipcased volumes, richly illustrated with many never-before-seen photos of The Fabs onstage, as well as behind the scenes and of period ephemera. Chuck is the expert on those shows, and in this conversation – taped live in front of an audience at the 2025 Rosemont Fest For Beatles Fans – we convened to discuss Shea, Margies Candies, the Chicago mob, segregation, and how Brian handled the demands of sailing into uncharted waters.  Check out the book here: https://www.somefuntonight.com/

310: The Beatles’ Legacy with Sean Murphy    Why are we still talking about these guys? Does a band that stopped recording together over half a century ago have any relevance in the 21st century? Have we reached the bottom of the barrel yet in terms of exploring every aspect of their story? If you answered yes and no respectively to the last two questions, press on, because in this conversation with author Sean Murphy, we dive into the continued appeal and inspiration that The Beatles gave us, as potent in 2025 as it was in the ’60s. Check out Sean’s work here:  Twitter & Insta = bullmurph  FB = ⁠  / authorseanmurphy  ⁠  LinkedIn = ⁠  / sean-murphy-4986b41  ⁠  Substack = seanmurphy.live / ⁠https://murphlaw.substack.com Check out MY talk on HIS show here:https://murphlaw.substack.com/p/season-4-ep-6-robert-rodriguez-the Sean’s online Beatle writings: 

311: Dear Beatle People with Sara Schmidt and Allison Bumsted    Most Beatles fans are generally familiar with the story of their UK fan club, managed by Freda Kelly and depicted throughout the 2013 documentary, Good Ol’ Freda. But the story of their North American fan clubs is, if anything, even more fascinating: their set-up was treated nearly as an afterthought upon the group’s 1964 arrival here, and as they fumbled their way forward, hundreds of unofficial Beatles fan clubs sprang up, many of them doing a far better job of creating community and supporting the band than the official one did. (And then there were the sub-groups set up to police the other fans and protect The Beatles from their out-of-control fervor.) Beatles historian Sara Schmidt has chronicled this heretofore untold history in her book, Dear Beatle People: The Story of The Beatles North American Fan Club. Rich with tons of ephemera, photos and correspondence, Sara brings to life the immediacy of ’60s American fandom and the unsuspected drama that went along with it. She spoke with hundreds of 1st-gen fans, collecting and preserving their stories of encounters with The Beatles, as well as the stories around the regional clubs around the country that weren’t just limited to “Beatles.” (There were, for instance, associated clubs for Beatle wives, actor Victor Spinetti, and a Beatle sister.)  Beatles fandom is an area of study only recently starting to get its due as an illuminating aspect of the phenomena. Joining Sara and I for the talk is rock scholar Allison Bumsted (TeenSet, Teen Fan Magazines and Rock Journalism) as we discuss the history of American Beatles fans in their efforts to put their devotion to purpose. Be sure to also check out Sara’s Beatle photo blog, https://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/

312: Contentious Credits 2 – This Time It’s Personal   Back in May 2025, two hardcore Beatle historians haling from down under came on the show for an analysis of the conventional wisdom regarding Beatles instrumental credits and how, in certain instances, it was found to be lacking.  They’re back again, and this time we examine:  “Long Tall Sally”  “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party” “Michelle” “We Can Work It Out”“Paperback Writer”/”Rain”“Sgt. Pepper (reprise)” “Piggies” “Don’t Pass Me By”  “Not Guilty”  Marcus Phelan and Andrew Shakespeare have been studying the recordings for decades, as fans and as musicians themselves. The sources critiqued include:  Ian McDonald’s Revolution in the Head Mark Lewisohn’s The Beatles Recording Sessions Kevin Howlett’s liner notes to The Beatles special deluxe editions The public pronouncements of Giles Martin 

313: The Iveys with Ron Griffiths   The story of Badfinger is bookended with The Iveys as prequel and the Head First album on the other end, months before the tragic suicide of Pete Ham. We explored the latter with Bob Jackson earlier this year but this time it’s the pre-history we examine, with Ron Griffiths, bassist and vocalist. He was recruited by Pete Ham and in turn was responsible for the addition of drummer Mike Gibbins. Tom Evans joined in 1967 and within a year, they were signed to Apple.  Ron was there as a witness to the band’s development, and interactions with Ray Davies of The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beatles’ Mal Evans, who led them to the start-up label. It was directly because of Ron that Paul offered them “Come and Get It” as what became the first Badfinger single and a worldwide smash, but Griffiths did not make the transition to Badfinger. He remains a lucid witness to their history even after being sidelined, and his connections remain to the present day and performances with Bob Jackson and the current Iveys reissue program. Tune in and hear his unique perspective on the triumphs and tragedies of this mightily talented band.  Read the Disc article that led Paul McCartney to offer “Come and Get It” after reading what Ron had to say here.   The Iveys PR from Apple. Episode playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWJwXBl8_fsfzV0dB-9cLPbUZC9_Js0rD&si=Oh_KxNaVUZJn5qK9

314: Anthology 4 and The Beatles’ SDEs – A Critique   Thirty years after the first Anthology collection was released, several years after the Special Deluxe Edition (SDEs) series commemorating individual albums became a thing, and on the eve of an unexpected 4th Anthology series installment, we take stock. Are The Beatles (or Apple or otherwise those overseeing these re-packages) doing as good a job as they can be? There are plenty voices in the world of Beatle “authorities” that insist that we should be grateful for anything we are given – they don’t owe us anything. But at SATB, we take a different position: no one is above criticism and that once upon a time, The Beatles were simultaneously the cutting edge and the gold standard in what they produced. Those days are long gone and we now find ourselves in a world where many an artist with a fraction of their following is showing how it’s done.  So in the name of hashing this out, I invited a couple of returning guests who are the world authorities on what exists in the vaults, on tape: Beatles scholars Doug Sulpy and Chip Madinger. Between the two of them, they have been going deep for years on the contents of the proverbial Beatle (and solo) vaults and are therefore in position to not only suggest where things could be done better but what kind of material is sitting around, awaiting the day the official curators deem it time to go public with these treasures. Hopefully, some of us are still around.  You can find Dougs writings (books like Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image and informational newsletters) at dougsulpy.com  Chip Madinger’s works (which include Eight Arms To Hold You and Lennonology: Strange Days Indeed – A Scrapbook of Madness) can be found at lennonology.com     

315: Beatles Bass – An Appreciation with Arion Salazar and Rob Collier   Rob has dug deeper into the magic of Macca’s bass lines than anyone and has the website and videos to prove it. We went down the rabbit hole of influences and evolution.  Also on board: bassist Arion Salazar, musician extraordinaire and Beatles geek.  Be sure to check out Rob’s site and YouTube channel. (And look for Arion’s fab Beatles tributes while you’re at it.)