Who Wrote the Beatle Songs?: A History of Lennon-McCartney
SKU: 41248671537

Who Wrote the Beatle Songs?: A History of Lennon-McCartney

Sale price$26.78 Regular price$29.75
Save 10%

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 4 - Jul 9

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

Who Wrote the Beatle Songs?: A History of Lennon-McCartneyWho Wrote the Beatle Songs: A History of Lennon McCartney is a book in the tradition of Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Recording Sessions, Walter Everett's The Beatles as Musicians, Ian MacDonald's Revolution in the Head, and Tim Riley's Tell Me Why it surveys all of the songs by the Beatles. However, unlike those books, Who Wrote the Beatle Songs concentrates solely on songwriting. It also has a strong biographical element: I tell the fascinating story

Who Wrote the Beatle Songs: A History of Lennon-McCartney is a book in the tradition of Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Recording Sessions, Walter Everett's The Beatles as Musicians, Ian MacDonald's Revolution in the Head, and Tim Riley's Tell Me Why --it surveys all of the songs by the Beatles. However, unlike those books, Who Wrote the Beatle Songs concentrates solely on songwriting. It also has a strong biographical element: I tell the fascinating story of John Lennon and Paul McCartney as songwriters.

The Beatles are arguably the most influential group in the history of popular music, and the single most important element in their success was their songwriting. Unlike rock stars such as Elvis, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, they were songwriters first and performers second. They have been widely misunderstood because the history of their songwriting has not been examined carefully. Setting aside the songs of Harrison and Starr at this time, all their songs were attributed to "Lennon-McCartney," which suggests 50-50 songwriting ownership, in the tradition of George and Ira Gershwin. In fact, most of the Beatle songs were dominated by Paul or by John, and some were written entirely by one or the other (such as John's "Across the Universe" or Paul's "Hey Jude").

After the Beatles breakup, Lennon and McCartney have given a number of interviews discussing who wrote which Beatle songs. Unfortunately, these interviews are often contradictory, a natural result of trying to remember events that took place many years (sometimes decades) earlier. John had a tendency to emphasize individual authorship in his interviews, while Paul frequently remembered collaboration (though often "finishing" collaboration, after one writer had substantially begun the song). To evaluate such complex, contradictory evidence, I've tried to use standard historical tools to come to a valid judgment on who wrote each Beatle song.

The result is the first comprehensive, detailed assessment of who wrote the Beatle songs. Every chapter is devoted to a Beatles album, and its attendant singles. I give a careful attribution for every song and tell the story of how it was written. Then I evaluate conflicts or unities in the evidence. So this book is full of great stories--how John wrote "She Said She Said" after he heard Peter Fonda tell of a near-death experience at a party with the Byrds in L.A.; how Paul wrote "Yesterday" in his sleep, then sang it for months with the lyrics "Scrambled eggs--Oh baby, how I love your legs"; how George's mother, Louise French Harrison, filled in a gap in "Piggies" with "What they need's a damn good whacking ".

When this survey is complete, we can draw conclusions about the individual songwriting talents of Paul, John and George, and can reject many widespread stereotypes about them. One clich is that John specialized in rock while Paul produced ballads. Actually, both of them wrote strong rock songs (like Paul's "Helter Skelter") and strong quiet songs (like John's "Goodnight"). Another common misapprehension is that the Beatles' best songs were based on close collaboration; actually, as these two songwriters progressed in maturity they wrote together less. Paradoxically, the songwriting flourished as the collaboration decreased.

John became increasingly interested in lyrics, while Paul was always obsessively devoted to music (though they both wrote great music and lyrics at times). Who Wrote the Beatle Songs will celebrate and give a wealth of insight into the idiosyncratic brilliance of both of the Beatles' two main songwriters.



Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Todd M. Compton
Published: 05/09/2017
ISBN: 9780998899725
Pages: 434
Weight: 1.64lbs
Size: 9.02h x 5.98w x 0.94d
Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 41248671537

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 1380 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
D
Verified Purchase
Dwayne G
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 5
Great Buy
Size: 11.8FT for 55''-65'' TV
Great product , I was not too sure reading some of the reviews but luckily I didn’t have to calibrate mines it was working just right out the box, but it was easier installing than I thought . Just take your time and should be a breeze and well worth it , works way better than I had hoped , lights are extremely bright
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2026
U
Verified Purchase
Unkle Cleo
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Rather pricey.
Excellent vacuum, but I couldn’t justify the price knowing I have another Miele vacuum that works just as well as this one. My current Miele is 27 years old, works perfectly with all attachments, and only cost $20 several years ago. Hard to spend $500 for what I already own. However, if my current one fails, this will be its replacement.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2026
M
Verified Purchase
M. P. Holmes
Phoenix, US
★★★★★ 4
Close to perfect
This model is among Miele's most recent ones, and benefits from a few small but significant improvements on that account. I'd say that all but one of the components are both beautifully made and beautifully conceived. The floor head initially strikes me as problematic, and for exactly the reason that's suggested by a great many customer reviews of Miele floor heads, which is that when attempting to vacuum even low pile carpet there is a dramatic tendency for the head to essentially glue itself to the carpet. The vacuum power needed to be set on the second lowest of four settings to be able to slide the head over the carpet at all, with either of the two settings of the floor head (carpet or bare floor). So it seems to me that Miele still hasn't figured out how to make a single, multi-purpose floor head, or at least one that isn't electrically powered with a motor in the head to rotate a brush. They do also have air-turbine powered head brushes and models with no rotating brush like the one that comes with the Guard M1. Many types in all. The noise level of this model is even lower than I had hoped and this is one feature that has been further improved - excellent. Also, note that you can replace the default exhaust filter with a separately purchased HEPA filter if that's what you want: 99.999% filtration of the bag plus the HEPA exhaust filter rather than 99.99% filtration of the bag plus the standard, thin, provided, cheaper exhaust filter. This could be important for either allergy issues or safety vacuuming where rodents have made a mess, which can be quite dangerous. Best to lightly spray with dilute chlorine bleach first. There are four exhaust filter grades to choose from. The most basic is the supplied one. Miele desperately needs to improve their documentation to help customers figure out all the variables in their very complex system of models and features. I like this machine a lot. I just need to figure out a better way to vacuum flat surfaces (floors) which are both bare and carpeted. We have almost no high pile or shag rugs (one), so I figured this basic head would be a good choice but I'm concerned that I might never choose to use it on our carpets. Not sure yet. Otherwise close to perfection. One other thing: it's too easy to attempt to insert the bag backwards and not realize it! Oh, one other thing - The cover door for the motor protection filter was stuck closed. It's supposed to snap open when pulling on the handle with modest force but a strong pull didn't to do the trick. There's a slight defect in the mold of one of the two parts where the latch functions. I eventually got it open and used a jeweler's file to very slightly take the edge off the stationary part and now it's fine, but a person could break the cover door trying to overpower the latch. This is a factory defect that's tiny but with potentially very large consequences.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2026
S
Verified Purchase
S. McCarty
Draper, US
★★★★★ 5
Excellent fit and value - recommended buy
Size: 3+12+12+2+1 pack
I rarely write reviews, but I'm so impressed by the fit and quality of this set that I made an exception. I'd been running my eufy 11S without brushes, and have been cleaning and reusing the filters for a while now and finally decided to buy replacements. The kit came packed well with everything in order and no damage. I replaced all of the worn parts and installed the brushes and did a test run - everything worked great. I expected some fitment issues because I've seen that with other kits, but I had no issues. The fact that you get multiples of almost everything is icing on the cake. Oh, and I wasn't paid or given anything in exchange for this review, as much as that's worth now, haha. I can recommend getting this kit for your robot vacuum, if it's the right set for your model.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2025
L
Verified Purchase
LGN
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
Good option for an aftermarket replacement solution.
Size: 3+12+12+2+1 pack
I've been very happy with this product. I think it is a good price point for what is included. Everything was a directly compatible and everything fit as you would expect. The filter quality is good and since there are plenty in the kit I find I change the filters more often which is probably a good thing. I recommed.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2025

recommand products