(photo by Zack Smith)
Bruce Spizer and I have been colleagues now for the better part of two decades. His books are painstakingly researched and beautifully illustrated, providing both an interesting and an enlightening history of the music of The Fab Four.
After publishing detailed reports on the domestic releases of The Beatles, spread out over a variety of labels that first year (it was his Vee Jay book that started it all), and then exclusively through a couple of volumes each pertaining to the releases on Capitol Records and Apple Records, Bruce next branched out into more historical pieces, recounting the excitement of Beatlemania ... 'The Beatles Are Coming!" has always been one of my favorites ... and a "Fan's Perspective" on their landmark "Sgt. Pepper" LP, as well as a volume devoted entirely to The Beatles' White Album, which Bruce and I took a 40 year hindsight look back on in 2008 right here in Forgotten Hits.
http://forgottenhits.com/forgotten_hits_salutes_the_40th_anniversary_of_the_beatles_white_album
Lately, he's been concentrating on specific album releases, with books devoted to dissecting their work. ("Rubber Soul" To "Revolver" ... with "Yesterday ... And Today" thrown in; "Get Back" to "Abbey Road," through his latest, The Beatles "Please Please Me" To "With The Beatles.")
You'll find all of those titles on display (and available to order) here:
Bruce has since connected with PR Guru David Salidor, who suggested that we put together a little something for Forgotten Hits in preparation of the upcoming Fest For Beatles Fans being held in New York City next month ... so naturally, I readily agreed!
This is a VERY special anniversary event, running February 9th - February 11th at the TWA Terminal at JFK, the weekend of the 60th Anniversary of The Beatles' first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." (The Beatles landed in America ... at the newly-christened JFK Airport ... on February 7th, 1964 ... so there are some strong emotional ties to this year's New York Fest.)
Mark Lapidos has been putting on these weekend events for 50 years now ... and Bruce, who has 15 books available on the Fab Four, will be a featured speaker at a discussion along with over 25 other Beatle authors. (I've met up with him at several of these Fests over the years, where he seems to be a real fixture!) Spizer will also speak at a Beatles symposium at Monmouth University in New Jersey on Saturday, February 3rd.
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kk / Forgotten Hits: Hi Bruce ... great to talk with you again. What can you tell us about your upcoming appearances at Monmouth University and in New York City?
Bruce Spizer: This February marks the 60th anniversary of the Beatles arrival in America. I will be a featured speaker at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, for a Beatles symposium: Get Back to 1964 …The Beatles Come to America. The Saturday, February 3rd, event is sponsored by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music. I will also be a featured guest at the Fest for Beatles Fans, which this year shall be held at the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport on Friday, February 9, through Sunday, February 11. In addition to giving a presentation on how Beatlemania exploded in America, I will be on several panels. I’ll also be selling and signing copies of my books, including “The Beatles Are Coming! The Birth of Beatlemania in America” and “The Beatles Please Please Me to With The Beatles.”
kk: This has been a big year in Beatles developments. (As you know, we're celebrating all of 2024 by looking back "60 YEARS AGO TODAY" at all of the events that surrounded The British Invasion.) What are your thoughts on “Now & Then?”
BS: I was very pleased with how it came out. While the song does not rank with Beatles classics such as ‘Strawberry Fields Forever,’ the recording holds its own with the rest of the group’s catalog. The track’s overall sound has a certain finality about it, making it suitable for being what has been called ‘The Last Beatles Song.’ It is great to hear John’s lovely voice supplemented by the instruments and vocals of Paul, George and Ringo. And Peter Jackson’s video of the song turns it into an emotional experience showcasing how much Paul and Ringo, as well as Beatles fans throughout the world, miss John and George.”
kk: The video truly is quite amazing ... and you're right, watching IS an emotional experience. As you and I have discussed many times in the past, The Beatles first record releases in America in 1963 did not do well initially. As Paul McCartney put it, “‘Please Please Me,’ flop. ‘From Me To You,’ flop. ‘She Loves You,’ flop.” Can you speak to this?
BS: After Capitol Records turned down the Beatles, their first two releases were on a gospel/R&B label out of Chicago, Vee-Jay Records, which did not have the resources to properly market the band. Their third release was on a small independent label out of Philadelphia, Swan Records, which once again could not generate interest in the band. But when Capitol signed the Beatles and put forth an elaborate marketing campaign for the group, America was clearly ready for the Beatles. Those “flop” records were re-released by Vee-Jay and Swan, this time getting substantial air play and sales so that the top three singles throughout most of America during early 1964 were Capitol’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” Swan’s “She Loves You” and the Vee-Jay single pairing “Please Please Me” with “From Me To You.”
[Bruce was able to incorporate our definitive research into his "The Beatles Are Coming" book, properly crediting Dick Biondi of WLS Radio right here in Chicago as being the First DJ in America to play a Beatles song. - kk]
http://forgottenhits.com/who_played_the_very_first_beatles_record_in_america
kk: Capitol Records, which was an American subsidiary of EMI, the Beatles British label, turned the Beatles down four times before finally agreeing to release the group’s records in the United States. What happened next?
BS: Capitol put together an elaborate market campaign using the slogan “The Beatles Are Coming!” This was a play on the Revolutionary War cry, “The British Are Coming,” which was appropriate as the British band was about to invade America with its exciting take on rock ’n’ roll music. This marked the first time that a record company directly marketed a recording artist to the public, expanding well beyond the normal practice of the day, which was focusing on radio stations, trade magazines and distributors. Capitol spent $40,000 on its promotional campaign, which in 2024 dollars is about $400,000. But, as Capitol conceded, it wasn’t their marketing that made the Beatles, it was their incredible talent.
kk: The Beatles' first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" was watched by a then-record 73,000 people in the United States. What was the reaction next?
BS: The Beatles February 9, 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show is often mistakenly credited for the start of Beatlemania in America. But that is not the case. By the time the Beatles landed in New York City on February 7, 1964, the nation was already infected with Beatlemania. The group’s songs were getting tremendous radio air play. Their singles and albums were selling tons of copies. They were receiving tremendous coverage by the press. The fact that 73 million people tuned in to see the Beatles on a show that normally drew 20 to 30 million viewers proves that Beatlemania was well in force by that time. But the appearance was extremely significant, for it marked the first time that the nation got to see the Beatles perform and see the audience reaction. There were no video tapes, DVDs, Blu-ray discs or streaming video services back then. And the images of the Beatles and their screaming fans on The Ed Sullivan Show was forever embedded in the minds of those who saw it happen. While the Sullivan Show appearances did not start Beatlemania in America, it provide the explanation point on Beatlemania!
kk: You have 15 Beatle-books out – what’s next for you?
BS: I am currently working on a book called “The Beatles A Hard Day’s Night & More.” In addition to covering the Beatles first film, A Hard Day’s Night, and its soundtrack album from the British, American and Canadian perspective, the book covers all of the Beatles releases and re-releases issued in America between the group’s Ed Sullivan Show appearances and November, 1964. There are chapters on the recording sessions, which break down how the songs were written and recorded. There are dozens of fan recollections from those who experienced the movie and music back in 1964, as well as comments from second and third generation fans on how they were affected by it all. And, to put it all in perspective, there are chapters on the news, other music and films of 1964. The book, which has hundreds of color and original black and white images, will being back wonderful memories and entertainingly explain why 1964 was indeed “The Year of The Beatles.”
kk: Looking forward to reading that one. Thanks again, Bruce, for taking the time to visit with us today. Continued success to you ... and enjoy these upcoming landmark shows ... I wish I could be there!
Be sure to visit Bruce's site and get on his mailing list: www.beatle.net
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MY "A HARD DAY'S NIGHT" SPECIAL MEMORY:
By the time "A Hard Day's Night" came around, I was already a MAJOR Beatles fan ... had been buying up everything I could find and, as you know, the market was flooded with product! America still had a year's worth of catching up to do ... but by the time "A Hard Day's Night" came out, we were finally in "real time" with these releases and events.
I bought the 45 immediately ... in fact, it's still one of my all-time favorite picture sleeves. LOVED both sides of the American release. "I Should Have Known Better" got just as much airplay as the A-Side did here in Chicago ... and it remains a radio staple here today, one year even topping the Memorial Day Top 500 Favorites list on our oldies station here! (I could never understand why they'd release a non-movie track B-Side in Great Britain when this just seemed to be such a perfect pairing.)
Since I already had the single, I held out and bought the rest of the movie soundtrack music on "Something New," which got me several other new Beatles songs as well. (The official United Artists Soundtrack Album just seemed like a waste to me at the time ... what did I want all those instrumentals for??? I wanted BEATLES music!!!)
Anyway, once the movie was coming to our area, I begged and begged my parents to let me go see it ... but my Dad had heard all these horror stories at work and on the radio and in the newspapers about how the theaters were just filled with screaming girls who completely drowned out the motion picture ... and he certainly didn't want to sit thru THAT just to appease his young Beatle-fan son.
So ... believe it or not ... WE saw "A Hard Day's Night" at the DRIVE-IN ... sitting in the comfort of our own, non-screaming station wagon ... and listening to that incredible soundtrack thru a tiny, tinny-sounding little speaker propped up in the front seat window. (It was SO not the way to see this movie!!!)
But the movie was so good ... and so entertaining ... that I was able to overlook this one big disappointment. (Truth be told, even at age ten, I wouldn't have enjoyed sitting there in a theater filled with screaming teenage girls either ... I wanted to watch the movie!!!)
It's a GREAT film vehicle to showcase the band ... and I'll bet I've watched it 200 times since then (but never again at the drive-in!) Still, that experience provides yet another Beatles experience that I'll never forget. (kk)
