Hello all;
Welcome to the second half year of the SATB Newsletter. I first want to thank everyone who has reached out with their response to episode 304, my conversation with Bob Jackson of Badfinger – it really seems to have touched a nerve with people on many levels, but as I’ve noted before: the show is as good as its guests, and he was absolutely terrific. Their story is so compelling and ultimately at once sad and enraging over their ill-treatment and the utter lack of justice. A few documentaries have been made, but one day the time will be right for a dramatic depiction of their story – all the material is there already.
On the subject of dramatic tellings of true history, the writers of the Sam Mendes “four film cinematic event” (their description) were announced this week, and they are, predictably, no slouches. You can read about their work in the link above, but perhaps what was even more noteworthy was the reaction to the news, specifically this article in what is, to be sure, not a particularly highly-regarded news platform. The writer has a valid point in asserting that, for far too long, Beatles history (and indeed, rock history) has been presented through the voice of white male writers – now this in and of itself may not be problematic per se, so long as the viewpoints of other perspectives are investigated, presented and honored, and that those “other” (non-male, non white) voices are validated as legitimate rather than, what has been the case far too often and far too long, marginalized and depicted as silly, unserious and reduced to the “soft bigotry of low expectations.”
I am going to presume that the writer of the Independent article, as a woman herself, had sincere intentions at making a valid point on a sensitive issue. Here at SATB, I have strived to help remedy decades of a warped perspective by availing the platform for as much diversity as I can, especially inclusive of women scholars. But my take is that she tripped over her own message in her depiction of SATB guest (and friend) Christine Feldman-Barrett, suggesting that her scholarship was limited to the scope of her singular book, namely “women-and-the-Beatles,” as if one simply leaped into that niche without first earning cred as a scholar of rock AND Beatles. (I suppose by this criteria, I am only qualified to write about the 1950s if this, this and this is anything to go by.) Further, the Erin Thorkelson Webers and Candy Leonards of the world (to name but two) must have been astonished to learn that the only academic Beatles work by a female this author could bring to mind was Christine’s.
Good on Christine – it’s a top notch work – but I suppose it illustrates what all these worthy women adding mightily to the conversation and study (you know their names just by listening to this podcast: Debbie Gendler – Carol Tyler – Sibbie O’Sullivan – Allison Bumsted, et al and coming soon Katie Kapurch, Sara Schmidt and Beth Easton) are up against: a world where not even women journalists who you would think would take a moment to familiarize themselves with what’s out there already are in effect perpetuating the issue.
RE her prediction that the scripts for these four films will simply tow the establishment line by repeating the white male perspective on Beatles history: we don’t know that, but we do know that Jann Wenner, perhaps the single most influential rock journalism figure of the era in imposing a limited paradigm (which lives on in the “hall of fame” he architected), paid a price when called out on this in the 21st century. If the Mendes writers are at all paying attention, they will take heed and at the very least, invite female researchers into the mix. That’s half their audience, after all.
Back to the past: the last couple of newsletters were living in 1975 to a large degree, but I thought I would fast-forward this one five years, to a mere 45 years ago and specifically, May 17, 1980. This was the day when Saturday Night Live aired an episode featuring a running gag, building to an interview with Paul (and Linda). The occasion was the release of the “Coming Up” video from McCartney II, but contextually, it was on the heels of his January 1980 Japanese drug bust, hence the joke. I always feel that to get the real feel of the times, it’s best to see things like this in full context: the guest that night was Steve Martin, and the would-be interviewer is “Father Guido Sarducci,” Vatican correspondent, played by Don Novello. Here’s the show and if you want to follow along with some annotation, here’s a transcript.
This past week was the anniversary of the famous Lorne Michaels offer of $3000 for The Beatles to reunite on the show, watched in real time by John and Paul at the Dakota (though in recent years, Paul – ever the revisionist – is lately claiming that he wasn’t there and that John merely told him about the offer later. His latter-day denial doesn’t hold water for reasons I have enumerated on social media). In any event, I thought that for anyone interested, seeing the entirety of the show as they experienced it would be fun, so picture John and Paul watching this , a show that begins with host Raquel Welch (who’d starred alongside Ringo in The Magic Christian seven years earlier) duetting with Joe Cocker (via John Belushi). The Lorne Michaels segment comes at around the 42:30 mark, just after a musical performance by a contemporary of theirs, John Sebastian, who was on his way to scoring a US number one single with his Welcome Back, Kotter theme. It would’ve been interesting to have seen their reaction to Sebastian and the song, no less than their reaction to what came next…
(Here’s a transcript to that episode.) History records that the McCartneys took their leave when the show ended and when John and Yoko began watching a broadcast of 1960’s The Time Machine. (A personal favorite film of mine as if you cared.)
To circle back to the upcoming Mendes film for a moment: actor Barry Keoghan gave an interview in the past week, talking about his meeting Ringo, whom he will be playing. In case his name or work are unfamiliar, he was in a couple of recent films you may have seen (The Banshees of Inisherin and Saltburn) and acquitted himself well. I at least can see where he nails a Ringo-like level of pathos that will doubtless come in handy.
On May 12, 2020 we said goodbye to Astrid Kirchherr; on May 20, she would have turned 87. For anyone who ever met her, you never forgot the experience, but certainly her memory is a long time from fading for as long as we will be talking about and studying The Beatles. Astrid is one of those singular people who were drawn to their inner circle, and proved worthy of that friendship with their own gifts; in her case, capturing their magic well before the rest of the world caught on. For that, we raise a glass in her memory.
I am a bit behind in updating the website with the most recent newsletters, as my tech fell ill and likely isn’t getting back to work, but I am expecting to this week sometime. And as for the eternal Spotify issue, the ball is in their court – I’ve jumped through all the necessary hoops in recent weeks, and just so you know, I was told this week that there is a “glitch” on their end. Such is the world these days.