Something About the Beatles

This special episode is, in effect, a part two of episode 308 (The Politics of Beatles), again with Candy Leonard, as an examination of the decision made by Universal Music Group (with the tacit approval - if not agreement - of the Lennon estate) to reissue the 1972 John and Yoko album, Some Time In New York City, as a background component of the Power To The People set, showcasing the pair of One...

Ribbons of Rust: The Beatles' Recording History in Context is this first installment of a multi-volume series, building out the history of everything The Beatles did in the recording studio to reveal the influences around them and the world they created in. I (Robert Rodriguez)  am the author of or contributor to over half a dozen Beatles books, while Jerry Hammack is the creator of the five-volum...

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 be...

Director Alan G. Parker's newest film is a personal expression of gratitude toward John Lennon for being a figure that helped him through some difficult years when he was growing up. Borrowed Time: Lennon's Last Decade includes interviews with dozens of figures who knew him; everyone from Aunt Mimi (archival footage) to journalists like Ray Connolly, Chris Charlesworth, and Anthony DeCurtis, plus...

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 L...

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 recordin...

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 f...

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...

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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...

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...

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...

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 im...

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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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 per...

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 b...

Staten Island is known as the mystifying borough, and it is home to numerous ghosts and eerie tales. The Alice Austin House was once home to a pioneering photographer, but ghostly images of a different sort now appear among the beams. The Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp holds tales of supernatural echoes, while over at the Old Bermuda Inn, the specter of Martha Mersereau, waiting for the return of h...

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 t...

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 satb2010@gmail.com Newsletter list to enter the giveaway of the vinyl Beatles '64 Mono Capitol albums. About "(Wild) Honey Pie" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Viewed at one level, Paul's 1980's career was bookended by the album triumphs of Tug of War and Flowers In The Dirt. But that would be to overlook the January 1980 Tokyo drug bust, the dissolution of Wings, John's murder, and then a period that may best be described as uneven: duets (of varying quality), the diminishing returns of Pipes of Peace, the lambasting that Give My Regards To Broad Street...

An essential component of The Beatles' appeal was their sense of humour, showcased not only in their two feature films (A Hard Day's Night, Help!) but also their TV appearances, interviews and even their music. TV comedy writer (Late Night with David Letterman, The Simpsons) Jeff Martin returns to the show to discuss how this facet of their talents was not only exceptionally developed, but also an...

In the 44 years since John Lennon's death, the trauma of that night is still as raw, so much so that, for most people, the facts of what went down are far too painful still to examine closely. But when one does, as returning guest David Whelan has, they depict sometihng far more disturbing and sinister than the story we thought we knew. Whelan's research was presented in his book, Mind Games: The...

In 2023, I hosted writer James Campion with Jeff Martin for a discussion of The Beatles' 1968 mega-hit and Apple Records debut. This time, we're drilling down deep for an analysis of the song's composition (as well as possible sources of inspiration) with the musicologists of RPM School: Walter Everett (author of volumes one and two of The Beatles As Musicians) plus working musicians and recording...

With The Beatles' film debut turning 60 this summer, the time was right for a deep dive into the cultural and cinematic significance of it all. Joining the conversation are two new guests: Sarah Pleydell and Moya Luckett. Both were born in the UK, one's a first-gen fan, and both are authors and academics with cred particularly suited to the topic. Rounding out the talk are our three fave 1st-gen f...