The blog is designed to feature old and new Beatles-related print material including books, magazines, posters & autographs of people that have a Beatles connection or association. The blog also features books from people that have worked with the solo members of the group after the breakup. Looking forward to seeing you as a subscribing member of the blog and I eagerly anticipate your participation and feedback on the blog!
John “Buzz” Bezzini has one of the world’s largest collections of Beatles books and Beatles-related print material and he will share his thoughts and opinions on some of the more obscure & rare and unusual Beatles titles in addition to the new and forthcoming titles as well!
John taught a course in 1984 called “The Beatles in Retrospect” marking the 20th anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival in America.
John also holds a Master’s Degree in Communication.
Enjoy Buzz’s Beatles Book Blog.
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To show the kindness and wonderful character of Julian Lennon, I had inquired if Julian would like a rare audio copy of his grandfather Freddie singing a song in the Dutch language taken from a rare 45. His early web designer who is now deceased, forwarded my inquiry to Julian personally as to whether he would like a CD copy of his grandfather’s recording that was released to capitalize on his son, John’s, immense fame.
Julian was very interested in acquiring a copy of the song, so I mailed it to him. A couple of months later I received the handwritten thank you note shown above from him. I quickly noticed that Julian had written the note on the 5th of November which is “Guy Fawkes” day in England and the date was famously mentioned by Julian’s dad on his song “Remember.”
Freddie Lennon – In Dutch!
This is the rare recording that I sent to Julian and resulted in the kind note he sent me above. This is the Dutch picture sleeve of the song. Many have heard the English language version of the song, but only a comparative few have heard the Dutch language version. A historical oddity about this recording is that both Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience played on this record. One other oddity is that Life is misspelled as Live on the 45’s sleeve. Freddie actually made an appearance on Dutch TV to lip-sync the number. Too bad a film of that does not exist!
Freddie Lennon My Life and My Home
Julian
This wonderful item in the collection was acquired by me by asking a Brazilian friend of mine, who has since passed on, to attend a Julian photography exhibit in São Paulo. She did, as she was a great Julian fan and she asked Julian if he could inscribe my name on the lyrics of a song he had performed on the radio while on tour in the late 90’s. Although he has never stated directly who the song is about, it is certainly clear who he is referring to. When the item arrived from Brazil, I quickly had the lyrics framed with a white feather to highlight the magical significance of what Julian’s dad told him the white feather might indicate or should be interpreted by his son to mean one day!
Julian Lennon – Loving Is Easy When You Don’t Count The Costs
White Feather Foundation
Julian’s White Feather Foundation has done such superb work in many philanthropic causes around the world. He is to be commended as his activism is supporting the goal to make the world a better place!
This is the picture sleeve that Klaus Voormann used to introduce himself to the Beatles. I have been trying to find this sleeve for many years but it simply is too expensive for me to acquire!
Klaus introduced himself to John Lennon at one of the German clubs where they were playing long hours – The Kaiserkeller – and truly honing their musical craft. To impress John, he showed John a picture sleeve he had recently designed the cover of. The sleeve was “Walk Don’t Run” by the Typhoons.
The song was also a hit for the Ventures. The sleeve is what holds the interest to many collectors as it was one of the first commercial record designs that Klaus Voormann created. When Klaus showed the sleeve to John Lennon, John told Klaus, go see “Stu” (Sutcliffe) as he is the artistic one.” This quote has been relayed by Klaus on several Youtube videos.
Astrid
When Klaus told his friend Astrid about the band and brought her to see them, she met and fell in love with Stu, and also began a time when she photographed the band and took some of the best photos ever of them. Sadly, her romance with Stu was to be short-lived as he died of a cerebral hemorrhage at a very young age. Fate was also to deny Stu the opportunity to see how big his former bandmates were to become in the musical world. Shortly before he died, Stu had left the Beatles to pursue his artistic career.
I have been looking for this picture sleeve for quite some time but unfortunately, it commands some very high prices, and I have had no luck securing a copy for what I deem to be a reasonable figure.
A small sample of the book catalog of A. B. Rhodes. He has published numerous Beatles books and had the great idea of publishing his private collection of newspaper and magazine articles as a series of books through the publisher, Lulu. This page is regularly updated as the collection grows.
In my opinion they serve as excellent time capsules to the Beatles era.
Advertising the Beatles Volume 1
This book is the first volume of a compilation series of one fan’s collection of advertisements promoting anything related to The Beatles. Songs; Albums; Films, the Apple Years and even some of the solo years.
Advertising the Beatles Volume
Advertising the Beatles Volume 2
Advertising The Beatles
The Fabulous Beatles 1964
The Fabulous Beatles 1964
The Fabulous Beatles 1965
The Fabulous Beatles 1965
The Fabulous Beatles 1966
The Fabulous Beatles 1964
The Beatles Rave
The Beatles Rave
The Beatles Rave 1965
The Beatles Rave 66-70
Early Beatles In The News
Early Beatles In The News
Early Beatles In The News 2
Early Beatles In The News 3
Early Beatles In The News 4
Beatles Beat
The Beatles Beat
The Beatles World Scrapbook
The Beatles World Scrapbook
The Beatles World Scrapbook 2
The Beatles World Scrapbook 3
The Beatles in The Mirror – 1964-1965
The Beatles in The Mirror 1964 – 1965
The Beatles in The Mirror 1966 – 1969
Solo Beatles In The Mirror 1970-1974
By A. B. Rhodes
Book Description from Lulu
1970-1974 were the first years of Solo Beatles. After conquering the world through the 1960’s, their fans and the media were waiting to see what the four (now) ex-Beatles, could do as individuals. This book contains newspaper articles, photos, interviews from that time. Taken from one life long fan’s collection, it provides a fascinating insight into the world of music in the 1970’s. The original articles as they appeared all those years ago. A terrific addition to and Beatles fans bookshelf!
Solo Beatles in the Mirror 1970-1974
Solo Beatles in the Mirror – 1975 – 1979
The Beatles Beat 1970-1975
by A.B. Rhodes A well-informed London-based monthly music magazine featuring pop and beat groups of the 1960’s through to rock and progressive groups of the 1970’s and 80’s. Originally christened Beat Monthly it was renamed Beat Instrumental Monthly by issue 18 and then Beat Instrumental magazine from issue 37. It catered for musicians with reviews of musical instruments, guitars, effects, amps, and production equipment along with some great interviews, music news articles, and record album reviews which attracted many non-musicians. This book has been compiled as a reference for all Beatle fans by a lifelong Beatles fan so that fans (past, present, and future) can see how the media reported on John, Paul, George & Ringo back in the 1960s and up to the mid-1970s.
Beatles Beat 1970 – 75
What a fantastic resource these books are! Well done A. B. Rhodes!
The Quarrymen on Doug Chadwick’s Lorry – Copyright Rod Davis/ James Davis
Doug Chadwick – Driver of The Lorry
Doug Chadwick was the driver of the lorry that famously carried John Lennon and the Quarrymen on the day that John met Paul.
Photo by Chris Chadwick of his dad Doug Chadwick, the lorry driver on July 6, 1957. The photo was taken at the Beatles Story in Liverpool!
Doug Chadwick by the display in The Beatles Story
Doug Chadwick’s kind note to me that accompanied the photo.
Letter from Doug Chadwick
It is my understanding that Quarrymen Rod Davis’s dad, James Davis, took the famous photos from July 6, 1957, of the Quarrymen on their way to the Woolton Village Fete! It is amazing that not only are there photos from that day, but a reel-to-reel recording of two of the songs that the Quarrymen played that day also survives!
The Quarrymen on Doug Chadwick’s Lorry – copyright Rod Davis/ James Davis
My signed photo by the photographer that took the original photo, Geoff Rhind. Geoff’s signature is on the border surrounding the photo. Three Quarrymen also signed this photo! This photo was acquired through the kindness of Quarrymen member, Rod Davis!
Quarrymen photo signed by photographer Geoff Rhind, plus Colin Hanton, Rod Davis and Len Garry
Buzz
Discover More About The Quarrymen with Those Famous Photos
Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles – New Fourth Edition (Softback)
New Fourth Edition of Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles, the first book by David Bedford, the definitive book on The Beatles and Liverpool: the stories, the history, the guide.
A FEW BOOKS BY ENGINEERS OR PRODUCERS WHO HAVE STORIES IN THEIR VOLUMES DEALING WITH WORKING WITH RINGO STARR (AKA RICHARD STARKEY)
The above book is by an engineer who worked on both the Ringo LP and the Goodnight Vienna LP
Behind the Board:My Life with Rock and Roll Legends Paperback – August 8, 2014
(Author) Scott Cahill (Author) Galen Senogles CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Chairman at the Board: Recording the Soundtrack of a Generation Hardcover – March 1, 2021
by Bill Schnee
Published by Backbeat (Author)
This engineer worked on the Ringo LP and Ringo mentions him by name in the closing song “You and Me (Babe)” written by George Harrison and Mal Evans. He also engineered Ringo’s Goodnight Vienna album.
Chairman at the Board
The legendary producer Richard Perry who has produced Barbra Streisand, Harry Nillson, Carly Simon and many others. These are his memoirs:
Cloud Nine: Memoirs of a Record Producer Paperback – February 16, 2021
by Richard Perry (Author) Published by Redwood Publishing, LLC
Cloud Nine
This producer also had a legendary career and he was working on a Ringo album when disagreements arose between artist and producer as to whether the material should be issued. This led to a court case where Ringo prevailed and prevented the sessions from being released. Some tracks however have surfaced in the underground circuit like Ringo’s cover of the Billy Swan hit single “I Can Help.” Another highlight is the Ringo Starr/Bob Dylan duet of the song, “Wish I Knew Now, What I Knew Then.”
Hope we get a chance to see these sessions for purchase one day.
Chips Moman: The Record Producer Whose Genius Changed American Music Hardcover – December 10, 2020
by James L. Dickerson (Author) Published by Sartoris Literary Group
A subject matter that seems to have been thoroughly examined in books is the 1968 Beatles’ sojourn to India. Largely influenced by the impact of Eastern culture on Beatle George Harrison, the Beatles became transfixed on learning Transcendental Meditation and the ancient philosophy of Indian culture.
George in particular, through his association with sitar virtuoso, Ravi Shankar, was able to commingle spiritual Indian music, with the realm of pop music.
The Beatles White Album
Not only did their journey to India inspire the writing of nearly all of the songs on the Beatles “White Album” but years after their trip, both John and Paul were to write songs about India in their solo years.
Paul Saltzman
Undoubtedly, the best photographs taken of the Beatles in India were by film producer, Paul Saltzman. The photos were presented in a number of book releases of which a couple are shown here.
The first one is the limited edition published in October of 2006 by Insight Editions-
Signed and numbered Limited Edition, only 1968 copies were issued.
Paul allowed me to purchase copy #1968 which is also the year the pictures were taken and the year of the release of the fabulous “White Album” aka “The Beatles.”
The photos in this book are stunning and may be the best photos of the Beatles taken at a specific location, somewhat akin to the Mad Day Out photo session in London, though the Beatles seem to be more relaxed in the Indian setting.
This hardcover edition was released in Feb of 2018-Has a preface by Tim Wride, an Afterword by Donovan and a Foreword by Pattie Boyd Also published by Inside Editions.
The Beatles in India
The Beatles in Rishikesh
This edition under a different title was published in October of 2000 by Viking Studio.
The Beatles in Rishikesh
This book is more of a history of India and the cover shot was probably used a marketing tool for sales. The book is written by author Sam Miller and is an outstanding historical perspective of a foreigner and how he perceives the beauty and wonder of Indian culture. Published in July of 2015 by Vintage Books.
A Strange Kind of Paradise
With The Beatles, by Lewis Lapham, was published in October of 2005 by Melville House Publishers. I found this book to be very informative and the author delves into the goings-on behind the scenes in this book which may or may not alter your perspectives of what has been written before about the Beatles’ disillusionment when the Beatles left the Maharishi’s camp.
With The Beatles
Dear Prudence
At a Fest for Beatles fans in NY, I was able to meet Mia Farrow’s sister and the lady who was the inspiration for the famous song “Dear Prudence.” I was able to give her as a gift the demo that John had written of the song which she told me she had never heard. She was so kind to sign a copy of her book for me at a later date with some of the lyrics from the song as part of the inscription. A very kind soul was my distinct impression of her.
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; First Edition (June 26, 2015)
Dear Prudence
This book by Nancy Cooke Herrera was one of those books I accidentally stumbled upon at Abe Books, looking for Beatles-related titles. This book was authored by the lady who was the inspiration along with her son for John Lennon’s song “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” featured on the “White Album.” Nancy was the mother of the man who shot the tiger which was detailed in the song. She was also a friend of the reclusive Greta Garbo. I was able to obtain a signed edition of this book. Nancy is now deceased.
Beyond Gurus
This somewhat updated version of the book was published in 2005 by Rupa & Co.
All You Need Is Love
The Maharishi
Author Paul Mason has written two wonderful books about both the Maharishi and the Beatles’ trip to India. The first one is a biography of the Maharishi. Published in 1994, the hardcover edition was published by Element Books.
The Maharishi
This is Paul’s book that is more directed towards the Beatles’ element in India.
Published by Premanand (May 15, 2017). This is a unique book in the Beatles Indian collection. It is a volume that I enjoyed very much.
The Beatles, Drugs, Mysticism & India
Author Susan Shumsky has written two books with the theme of the Maharishi and the Beatles. The first title discusses her many years of interaction with the leader of TM.
The book was published by Skyhorse; First Edition (February 13, 2018)
Maharishi & Me
The Inner Light
Susan’s new release is shown here. I have just begun to read this title published in 2022 by Permuted Press. Interested in learning Susan’s more analytic approach to this subject. Obtain a signed copy of the book from the Fest for Beatles fans.
The Inner Light
I thoroughly enjoyed this relatively obscure account of an actor’s recollections of being there in India in 1968. Many fascinating anecdotes in this one. Judd Linger’s interesting book was independently published in October 2021.
The Beatles: All Too Much
I wanted to discuss one of the many Beatles in India books that has the perspective of a man native to India as he not only discusses the impact that India had on the Beatles but also the impact that the Beatles had on India. I found this book to be very informative and entertaining and reinforced my opinions of how deep the cultural impact of the Beatles truly extended. How the band was able to incorporate stimuli from so many sources, assimilate them, and make them a part of their musical vocabulary.
Thís book was written by Ajoy Bose, published in 2018 by India Viking.
Across the Universe
Another book that deals with the impact of Eastern mysticism on the Beatles
NOTHING IS REAL: WHEN THE BEATLES MET THE EAST By Luca Beatrice
Publisher: Silvana Year of Publication 2017
Nothing Is Real
The subject of The Beatles in India is such an interesting one and a fascinating collection of books help us understand The Beatles more.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: The Biography of the Man Who Gave Transcendental Meditation to the World (2020)
This is an updated version of the earlier book (see above) and includes more information as well as more photographs too.
Maharishi Biography by Paul Mason
The songs inspired in India can sometimes divide Beatles fans. Did you like the Indian influences? Let me know in the comments below.
In Your Mind – The Infinite Universe of Yoko Ono (Signed Hardback)£44.00
Inside Number Three – The Illustrated History of Apple Records
Bill Zygmant – Where Did You Get That Shirt? (Signed Limited Edition)£75.00
Just Like Starting Over: John Lennon and The Quarrymen£15.00
The One After 9:09£2.16
Shoulda Been There (Vol. 1) 1940 – Dec 1961£7.20
Shivering Inside (Vol 2) Dec 1961 – Jan 1963£7.20
She Loves You (Vol. 3) 1963 – 1st March 1964£7.20
