If a band’s been together for a decade, there are undoubtedly stories both true and exaggerated, offbeat legends and lies, and obscure or bizarre tales swirling around their history and music.
If their popularity in the culture continues for decades after they hit their last note, those only grow. And if they’re the friggin’ Beatles…well, that just amplifies everything.
The Beatles Bookshelf, of course, is already stuffed and groaning with hundreds of titles. But author Doug Wolfberg’s expertly researched and entertaining entry features a unique view through the Lads from Liverpool’s prism in The Beatles: Fab But True—Remarkable Stories Revealed (208 pp., $29.99, Schiffer Publishing).
Some of the stories seem too fantastical to be true, but they are. Like how a desperate (but winning) racing bet by pre-Ringo drummer Pete Best’s mother Mona on a horse named “Never Say Die” with 33-to-1 odds led to the opening of crucial venue in the band’s formative years.
Some of the tales go super, super deep into Beatles history, bringing forth fairly obscure individuals. Drum City store owner Ivor Arbiter really wanted to sell manager Brian Epstein a new Ludwig drum kit for Ringo.
To sweeten the deal, he hastily scribbled a logo for the band that was painted in the kit (and several later kits) by Eddie Stokes, who earned about five pounds for each job. That logo has since become one of the most famous in music history. But wasn’t trademarked by the Beatles management until 1990!
The Rolling Stones, mobbed up record exec Morris Levy, “temporary” Beatle Jimmie Nichol (who filled in for an ailing Ringo, playing 10 overseas shows in 11 days during 1964), and Eleanor Rigby (in both real-life and imaginative forms) all appear.
As do faithful roadie/personal assistant Mal Evans and electronics charlatan Magic Alex. Topics include band tales involving music merchandising, audience racial segregation, and legal issues. Some stories have endings more tragic that Fab.
Wolfberg’s attention to detail is superb and exacting. He notes that of the 13 tracks that appeared on John Lennon’s 1975 Rock ‘n’ Roll album (itself the lead in a wild tale), four were from the original “alcohol and cocaine-fueled” Phil Spector sessions and nine from the subsequent ones.
And each chapter has a “Postscript” that brings its events and participants up to date or in historical perspective. Wolfberg’s generous selection of photos amplify and add context to the individual chapters.
In his intro, Wolfberg says that he hopes this provides something for the Beatles Newcomer, Casual Fan, and Hardcore Beatleholic. He had more than succeeded on all three levels with this very welcome addition to the Beatles Bookshelf.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
