Sources: The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four
The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four. By Kenneth Womack. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2014. 2 vols. Acid free $189 (ISBN 978-0-313-39171-2). E-book available (978-0-313-39172-9), call for pricing.
As every Beatlemaniac knows, there is an abundance of information out there about those wacky lads from Liverpool. However, this reverently researched two-volume set by Penn State University Laureate and professor of English and integrative arts Kenneth Womack offers a scholarly and organized yet readable approach to the history of the Beatles, from each member’s very early years to post-Beatles to present day.
Main entries are in alphabetical order and include biographical information, songs, albums, films, television and video, art, books, business ventures, musical styles, performances and recordings, geographical locations, and other important concepts and historical events, with further reading at the end of each entry. Quotes from interviews and other sources make the entries come alive. Any quotes cited are included in each entry’s further reading list, which saves the reader from having to flip to the extensive list of “Recommended Resources” provided near the end of volume 2.
Biographical entries are provided for each Beatle and his family as well as the many other people who surrounded them and influenced their lives and music, such as Brian Epstein, George Martin, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Phil Spector, and Eric Clapton. The entry for photographer Astrid Kirchherr, for example, tells the story of the origin of the mop-top hairstyle (506).
Song entries are provided for every important recording, from “Bad Boy” to the “Ballad of John and Yoko,” and include applicable information on authorship and background, recording sessions, personnel (including vocals and instrumentation), chart performance, legacy and influence, controversy, and album appearances. For example, did you know that Paul McCartney was inspired to write the song “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?” after seeing monkeys copulating at the estate of Maharishi (993)? Or that John Lennon wrote “Mean Mr. Mustard” after reading a newspaper article about a “mean guy who hid his five-pound notes, not up his nose but somewhere else. No, it had nothing to do with cocaine” (634).
Album entries include dates, record label, background and recording sessions, track listing, cover artwork, reviews, chart performance, and legacy and influence. Geographic entries describe the significance of places such as “Shea Stadium (New York)” and “Strawberry Field (Liverpool).” There are entries for key controversies and concepts such as “The Beatles Are Bigger than Jesus Christ” and the “‘Paul is Dead’ Hoax.” With regard to the latter, I had never before encountered such a complete list of “clues” (715).
The entry for “Tours, 1960–1966” is lengthy and fascinating, containing background information for each tour, dates and locations, and standard set lists. A limited number of black and white photographs are interspersed throughout the text entries. Many photos are familiar ones (mostly licensed from AP, Corbis, and Getty) with a few rarities among them. I would recommend other sources for color or glossy photographs or detailed album artwork.
Other features include an alphabetical list of entries at the beginning of each volume, along with an organized guide to related topics. Included at the end of volume 2 is a discography in chronological order along with a complete index. The volumes could use just a few “See” references, such as a “White Album” entry for “The Beatles (The White Album) (LP).”
This encyclopedia would be an invaluable resource for public libraries, undergraduate academic libraries, and specialized music or performing arts libraries. It would also make a thoughtful gift for any Beatles fan.—Cindy Kristof, Head of Copyright and Document Services, Kent State University Libraries, Kent, Ohio