Tag Archives: Ed Sullivan

October 8, 2020 · 10:09 am

Book Review: “My Private Lennon” by Sibbie O’Sullivan

I need to be honest, I really wasn’t expecting much when I bought a copy of My Private Lennon: Explorations from a Fan Who Never Screamed by Sibbie O’Sullivan. I believe the book came up as a recommendation on Amazon while I was perusing other books. “Another fan book…”, I thought. But, it was only 165 pages long and was published February 17, 2020, making it current. Why not…I need to start reading and reviewing more books.

Reading this wasn’t like reading just another fan book. Yes, she and her friends talked endlessly about the Beatles. Yes, she had teen magazines about the Fab Four. And yes, she did see the Beatles during a dress rehearsal at the Ed Sullivan theater in August 1965, an event she has barely any memory of except for the photo she took of John Lennon on stage. And YES, this book is so much more than just another fan book.

Sibbie O’Sullivan weaves her personal life in with the stories of the Beatles, their wives and their own personal life choices. And she does it in a brutally honest way. She tells stories of the innocence of being a teenager to becoming sexually promiscuous, a shotgun wedding, divorce, friends, family, etc. She ties her stories in with the feelings of Cynthia, John & Yoko, but in a way to show how she can relate to what they must have been feeling at the time. Her stories are told so much deeper, more emotional and grown-up than other Beatle fan books that’s I’ve read. Honestly, and maybe it’s the voyeur in me, but I couldn’t put this books down. I even believe that if she had left the Beatles out of it, it still would be a great read. By the time I finish, I thought, “I hope she feels better now”. It’s a beautifully written memoir. And for that reason…

I rate this book, 4 out of 4 Beetles!

Old Beatles News: On The Skids

Last week, I got wrapped up scanning old newspapers online trying to research a topic about The Beatles for some future use. I don’t know what I’ll do with the information I’ve collected on the topic I chose, but it’s now stashed away in a folder should I ever need it.

While perusing, I came across this wickedly funny article that appeared in the Editorial section of The Post Star in Glen Falls, NY on September 10, 1964. I clipped it and saved it to share with you all…

It’s kind of hard to imagine that anyone in the U.S. hadn’t heard the Beatles music by September 10th of that year considering that The Beatles had already made two visits to America and had toured 25 cities from February 9-16 and August 19-September 20. And let’s not forget that they had already appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show four times. From 1962-63, The Ed Sullivan Show averaged over 12 million viewers and over 14 million in from 1963-64 (there were just 51 million TVs in the U.S.).

The worry over the Rolling Stones was a little premature, I think. It was in July 1964 that the Rolling Stones scored their first #1 song in the U.K. (It’s All Over Now), but they wouldn’t make it to #1 in the U.S. until 11 months later. In June of 1965, that the Stones hit number one with Satisfaction on the U.S. charts. And truth be told, the Stones were from the upper-crust of London, while the clean cut Beatles heralded from the lower-middle class of Liverpool. Obviously, you couldn’t judge a bad boy musician by the length of his hair…just look at Beethoven or Liszt!

And let’s not even get into trying to compare The Kinks to the Fab Four! I’m just not even going to try to go there…

Anyway…enjoy the article! I hope you get a couple of laughs out of it. I know I did.

Until next time…

5 Comments

Filed under Old News

Tagged as beatles, Beatniks, Ed Sullivan, Glen Falls, NY, Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Post Star

August 30, 2015 · 7:00 am

Book Review: “It’s Sid Bernstein Calling” by Sid Bernstein

Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the fact that I started reading this book this week became really surreal when I realized, it’s been two years this week since Sid departed this earth. And throughout this week, while reading It’s Sid Bernstein Calling, there have been a lot of other coincidences too. Just as I put the book down for a moment, something will come on TV or someone will bring up a topic that I just read about in this book. Makes me think Sid’s still with us.

What a wonderful man Sid was. I had the pleasure of meeting him twice in my lifetime and he was a joy to be around. And I attended the memorial tribute they had for him in NYC where I ran into the lovely May Pang while standing in line.

May and I at Sid Bernstein tribute show Feb. 2014

Once again, I digress.

This book was a real surprise to me. I had no idea what an incredible man Sid Bernstein was beyond his dealings with bring the Beatles to America and a few other various artists. Sid Bernstein was in WW1…in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He started managing musicians when he was just 14 years old and never stopped. And this book is written, just as if Sid were sitting in front of you, modestly telling it to you himself. Not only did he represent some of the biggest names in show business, he rejected some of the biggest names in show business (Barbra Streisand!).

Sid’s book is out of print, but you can still buy new and used copies at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Half.com.

I rate this book: 4 out of 4 Beetles!

Book Review: “Can’t Buy Me Love” by Dan McNeil

Can’t Buy Me Love

I discovered this book after the author Dan McNeil followed me on Twitter. There is a picture of the book-cover in his Twitter banner. After looking up the synopsis on Amazon, I thought it sounded interesting enough to download the eBook and give it a read.

This story is based in early 1964, just as the Beatles were about to invade America. It follows the premise that there were no crimes committed in New York City the night the Beatles appeared for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show on February 7, 1964.

The main characters in this book are four adorable, lovable and awkward ex-bank robbers that will keep you entertained throughout this book. McNeil takes you step by step through their plans to pull off one more bank robbery, while injecting humor, sex and touching moments into his story. And though this is one more Fab Four fan fiction book, he stays pretty damn true to the story of John, Paul, George and Ringo’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan show while still mixing them into the antics.

You will laugh. You will have a tears in your eyes. You will enjoy this light read.

Available for $2.99 as an ebook at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles!

1 Comment

Filed under Beatles books, Fan Fiction

Tagged as beatles, beatles books., books, Can't Buy Me Love, Ed Sullivan, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, reviews, Ringo Starr

January 5, 2014 · 11:16 am

Johnny come lately, the new kid in town…

“Everybody’s talking
There’s a new kid in town
People started walking
There’s a new kid in town” – Eagles

With the approach of the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles coming to the United States, it seems that new events, festivals and conferences are popping up everywhere to celebrate the occasion. And though the Fest for Beatles Fans is the biggest fest around, some of the others aren’t to shabby!

One of the biggest events will be at Penn State University in Altoona, PA on the weekend of February 7-9, 2014 and is called ‘It was 50 Years Ago Today: An International Beatles Celebration.’ This three day event isn’t a festival. It’s a conference. According to their website, “In addition to panels and presentations, the conference will include film screenings, musical performances, art and photography exhibits, and keynote addresses by leading Beatles critics and musicologists.”

The director of this event is Dr. Kenneth Womack, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at PSU Altoona, and the author of: Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles, The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles, Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, And the Fab Four and the soon to be released The Beatles Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: Everything Fab Four.

A few of the respected 50+ experts set to appear at this conference are:

Mark Lewisohn – regarded as one of the world’s leading Beatles authorities, Mark is the author of the NY Times bestseller Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years, Volume 1.

Andy Babiuk – the foremost authority on the equipment used to create the Beatles’ music and the author of Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four’s Instruments from Stage to Studio. Andy is also a staff consultant to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.

Walter Everett – the author of the Beatles As Musicians book series, Mr. Everett is also a member of the School of Music faculty at the University of Michigan and the author of The Foundations of Rock.

Jude Southerland Kessler – a Beatles expert, author and host of her own radio show, Ms. Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series. She has spent nearly 30 years researching John Lennon and the Beatles for her 9 book series., making her a leading expert on the topic of the Fab Four.

Dr. Kit O’Toole – For over 19 years, Dr. O’Toole has written music, concert, and book reviews, interviews, popular culture essays, and technology “how to” articles. Her work has appeared at: Blogcritics.org, Something Else Reviews, Blinded by Sound, Cinema Sentries, Seattle PI and Beatlefan magazine.

This is definitely set to be one of the most intellectual of all the Beatles events to be held in 2014! And what’s cool about their registration is that you not only can you sign up for which days you would like to attend, you can add your meals and accommodations to your package as you like!

For more information on this conference, along with a schedule of events & presenters, and registration, check out their website: http://www.altoona.psu.edu/beatles.

Book Review: A Date With A Beatle by Judith Kristen

A Date With A Beatle by Judith Kristen

This was my second attempt at reading A Date With A Beatle. I had bought the book at the Fest for Beatles Fans in NJ in 2010. The first time through, I managed to get to page 61 of this 171 page book about a young girl’s attempt to meet George Harrison. I’ll give my first impression report and in the end…I’ll give my overall impression after actually finishing this book.

I picked up this book after meetin Judith Kristen and her husband at The Fest. Knowing that the first editions of Jude Southerland Kessler‘s self-published novel on John Lennon now sell for up to $1000, I figured I’d pick up a 1st edition copy of ‘A Date With A Beatle‘ as an investment. After reading the first 19 very short chapters of this book, I just cringed. Something just didn’t sit right with me about how a woman could remember such detail after 45 years. It was then I saw in the front of the book, “This book is partially fictionalized”. Then it made sense to me that I wasn’t quite sure how much was made up and I felt duped! I put the book down for over a year.

Last week, I decided to pick this book up again and finally review it, knowing full well that this could turn out really bad for any future dealings with Ms. Kristen or her husband since we’ve been known to be seen in the came circles.

Once again…I struggled. After only 1o chapters, I felt like this was work, but I championed on…determined to finish and review it. I tried to anaylize why I was struggling with the way the story was being presented and then it hit me that Judith Kristen is also a children’s book author and I believe that in her own way…she dumbed down this book a bit much. Or maybe it’s the attempt to write it in her voice as it was when she was 16. Or maybe it was the over-the-top conversations between her and her friends and police officers. Finally, I can say I finished it.

I can honestly say that by the her last attempt to meet George Harrison in the story in this book, she had me hooked. The ending is whitty and will make you smile. I am glad I read it…and the latest edition has a beautiful new cover from Beatles artist Eric Cash. I’ve also read that Ms. Kristen has been invited to Beatles Week in Liverpool later this month and then will start a book tour of German where her book has now been published in German. Best of luck to her!

You can buy her book on Amazon.

I can believe I’m about to say this….but…

I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles

10 Comments

Filed under Beatles books, Beatles-freak, George Harrison, music, reviews

Tagged as Beatle concerts, beatles, beatles books., Beatles Fan, beatles reviews, books, Ed Sullivan, George Harrison, Judith Kristen