Live From the Sam Houston Coliseum

47 years since these Honeymoon photos

Julian poses for a family snapshot

Going to see how John won the war

"Which one are you again?"

This Bird Has Flown -- A Book Review

I have mentioned on this blog that of all the Beatles' albums, my personal favorite is "Rubber Soul."   And while I do love every single album the Beatles put out, there is just something special about the songs on "Rubber Soul" that I enjoy.  So when I found out through the "Beatles-Book Club" on Facebook that the March book was going to be This Bird Has Flown: The Enduring Beauty of Rubber Soul, Fifty Years On by John Kruth, I was pretty excited to read it.    My 2nd favorite Beatles album is "Revolver," and I read Rob Rodriquez's book; I found it to be enjoyable and educational, and I hoped to have a similar experience with this book.

The first thing I should say is that it took me a full month to read this book. Anyone who knows me, will know right off the bat that there is a problem.  I am a very fast reader and I typically read a  book in 4 days, especially if I really like it.

This book on Rubber Soul examines each song on both the U.S. and the U.K. versions of the album.   Each chapter is about each individual song, and it gives the background of the song and how it was written, how it was recorded, and some information about cover versions of the song.  However, it took a while for the book to dig into those songs.  The background information went way into Bob Dylan, and I read more about Dylan than I ever cared to read.  It was interesting to read about how the name "Rubber Soul" came about and the famous story of how they got the photo taken and the card moved back and elongated their faces, and they wanted it like that.

But by the time we got to the "meat" of the book, I was bored. But I pushed through and kept reading.   I liked reading about the history of the use of  the sitar and how it was used on Norwegian Wood.   The whole chapter on that song was my favorite in the book.

But the rest of the book seemed to wander all over the place.  For example--in the chapter about "Nowhere Man" the author wrote a long thing about John Lennon's father (I guess he was suggesting that Alf was the Nowhere Man?) and then went into how in the 1970s John got kicked out of a bar when he had a tampon strapped to his forehead during a Smother's Brothers performance (wow----that was totally incorrect and what did that have to do with Nowhere Man?)

After a while, I felt like the author, while doing his research on Rubber Soul, was finding all sorts of neat Beatles tidbits and decided to throw them into the book, even though they didn't directly relate to Rubber Soul. I am really not sure why he had a whole section devoted to the Butcher Album.

But what really bothered me, I guess, was that it became obvious that the author disliked George Harrison. He even retold Geoff Emmrick's story about how Paul used to come back and re-record George's guitar parts on certain songs. Now, that story isn't one that anyone but Mr. Emmrick believes, and I just really did not like it being retold in this book.

This Bird Has Flown wasn't a terrible book, but it wasn't the great book that I was really hoping it would be.  You can order it and decide for yourself from Amazon.


 The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this book.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/3T9LjuG

Sean and his Nanny

I am not sure when this photo was taken, but Sean looks to be close to 5 years old.   Who all remembers when little Sean looked like this?

Interesting Boots

What house in George in?   Kinfauns?  Someone else's house?

The driver

At Brian Epstein's memorial service in October of 1967.   Mal looks pretty shocked.

Old pals

George in Japan with a fan in 1991

Kimono John

No one I think is in my tree----oh wait---it's Ringo in my tree!

Piccadilly circa 1964

copyright held by Sara Schmidt.   Do not copy without permission 

I bought this slide of Piccadilly  in London and I think it is so neat to see what it looked like in 1964!  Bonus because you can see that A Hard Day's Night was playing at the London Pavilion.

Happy Times

The history of trading Beatles photos

I recently bought some photographs that were labeled "The Official John Lennon Chapter" on the back of each photo.   This made me think that one major thing that Beatle fans in the 1960's and through the years until today love to see is Beatles photos.    Fans in the 1960's were getting them from teen magazines and in 2016 you are coming to blog such as this one to see Beatles photos.  

This got me wanting to dig a bit deeper into the history of trading Beatles photos among fans.   We know that first Beatle fans to trade pictures were Margaret Hunt and her friends at the Cavern Club as early as 1961.    Margaret was smart enough to go to Mersey Beat and ask to buy photos from the publication of the Beatles.   She would then take the photos and show them to her Beatle friends at the Cavern as well as to John and the other Beatles.     Her friends also would occasionally bring a camera to the Cavern and take photographs.  This wasn't as common as you would think, but it did happen now and again.

As the Beatles' popularity grew and an official fan club started, fans were not only loving the music, but loving the photographs.    Beatle Book Monthly was the best place to find recent and different photographs of the Fab 4.


Here in the United States, the Beatles Fan club was formed in New York and various chapters were started around the country.   All of the fan clubs sold photographs of the Beatles.   If you were a chapter president, you could purchase 40 wallet sized photograph of the Beatles for $1.00!      Fan clubs could also copyright a photo through the fan club and sell it for 20 cents each.   But where did they get these photographs?    I found this interesting information in the ASCP Newsletter #2 of the Official Beatles Fan Club (Jan.1971) written by Joanne Maggio

I MUST have a copy of the photo you are selling on file BEFORE issuing you a copyright card.  This card guarantees you total control over the photo.  Each chapter sells different photos and this is our way to keep order.    If your photo comes from a a private source and you already have the negative and the prints, send me one print with the number of the photo as you will sell it on the back.  If not used by any other chapter, I will send you a copyright card.  It is then, and ONLY then, that you may start to sell the photo.   If the photo you desire is in magazine form and you do not have the negative, send me the magazine print, PLUS a xerox or photocopy of the print.  The copy will remain in temporary filing under a temporary copyright.  Your original pic will be returned to you so that you can get your negative made, plus your prints.  Once the print is back to you, send one to me in the manner described above.  NO COPYRIGHTS are issued on xerox prints, or they will be issued prior to my receiving a final copy.   It does neither of us any good for to send me a print and then ask me to copyright it, and then want the print back.  I'd have nothing here to prove I granted your chapter the copyright and will thereby grant that same copyright to another chapter.  

These xerox copy of photos are pretty band quality, but if that is all you have, then they were awesome.   Here are the John Lennon ones I purchased.

Once the Beatles fan club disbanded, the former fan club presidents used their knowledge of running a fan club and started their own independent fan clubs and sold photos through them.    Many of these disbanded after a few short months, but some such as The Write Thing, The Harrison Alliance, & With a Little Help from My Friends   went well into the 1980's.     These fanzines sold mostly photos that were personally taken by fans.   They sold them for 50 cents each and there were descriptions of the photos in each newsletter.  

Into the 1980's and 1990's the fanzines and other individuals started selling Beatles photos at Beatlefest and other Beatle fan conventions.    This is where I started my obsession with Beatles photos.   By this time, one photo would cost $1.00.   People were also sharing photos with friends through pen pals and in person.  

Then the Internet hit and it was the end of Beatles fan clubs and even the photo sellers at the conventions were sparce.     People, such as myself, were discovering that Beatles photos were to be found on the World Wide Web and if you inserted your floppy disc into the A drive and clicked on the right side of the mouse you could save a Beatles image onto a disc and share it with friends in chat rooms.      Fans were also buying scanners and scanning photos and sharing them with one another.  

Today most fans go to Beatles blogs and sites that post photos and "right click and save" the Beatles photos they like.   Those of us who still purchase Beatles photos use ebay and high end auction houses.    The photos that once sold for 50 cents can go for $20 each on ebay.  

Regardless of the decade, Beatle photos will always remain popular and shockingly---new photos are discovered every day!

McCartney in 3D

Waiting outside EMI

Looking Good

John in Sydney

Happy Easter!

Because it is Easter, i am spending this Sunday with family and not updating the blog.   I hope you all have had a wonderful day!  

Going to work

Just one of the gang

Leaving the Trailer

Alright Chuck---where is this one???    My guess was Atlanta, then I realized that Atlanta is always my go-to answer whenever I am not sure about 1965 concert.   But it is the right suit and cap for that show.

An audience of 2

the Beatles at the Liverpool Empire on  December 7, 1963 (surely this is rehearsal?)

The Center of the circle

This screen cap is a very cute photo of the Lennon family.   I like how they are all wearing white.

John Lennon The Bermuda Tapes Ap: A Review

If you are a John Lennon fan with an ipad and haven't done so already, it is well worth getting the "John Lennon Bermuda Tapes" app.   This interactive app tells the story of John Lennon's  June 1980 sailing trip to Bermuda and how he came to write the songs that appeared on his album, "Double Fantasy."

If you choose the "Tell the Story" portion, then you are part of the action, getting to swipe and move your finger along the screen to allow things to happy while you hear John and other insiders tell the story of sailing to Bermuda.    It moves onto hearing about John discovering the B-52's and how "Rock Lobster" sounded like Yoko and his reaction to the song and interviews with three members of the B-52's are included.    There is a section where you hear John talk about coming up with the name "Double Fantasy" and while he is telling the story, you can "plant" your own flower and take a snapshot of it.

Here is the snap of the flower I made on the ap

But the best part by far is the music of John Lennon.    The app has what looks like cassette tapes of John Lennon's Bermuda demos.  It is sort of neat because the cassette player feature can rewind, fast forward and when you are done listening, you hit "eject."    These songs won't be anything new to Lennon fans.   I heard them on bootlegs many years ago and I am pretty sure most of them have been commercially available.    However, they are still great to hear.   I think my favorite is the demo for "Watching the Wheels" that has Fred Seaman banging on a pot in the background.      There also are the hand-written lyrics to the songs for you to view, which I always love to see.

Overall this is a really amazing app and for $4.99 (all of which goes to a charity that fights hunger) it is well worth getting (if you have an ipad).   My #1 concern with the app is that there will be a day in the future when an ipad app will be obsolete and the interviews and package will be gone forever.  


To purchase "John Lennon the Bermuda Tapes" go to the Apple App Store and search for it.   Enjoy!

A little Grapefruit

Hello Indiana!

Just like his Daddy

Laid-back Richy

Paul through the window

I have shared this photo before, but I found it larger and more complete, so it was well worth sharing again!

A bite of a Beatle

Chrissie and Paul

I want Candy

John loves Yoko

"come on fellows, let me be the real 5th Beatle!"

an interesting view of an interesting day

John and Yoko were married on March 20, 1969 (oops...I am a day late again) and this photo is from that day.   Is that Derek Taylor in the front?   It sure looks like him, but I don't recall anyone from the Beatles camp but Peter Brown being there on their wedding day.

Ringo and Carrie

Life on the road

Two fans, a cow and a gentle giant

Here are those two fans, Linda and Barbara that were able to talk to the Beatles and crew on the set of Magical Mystery tour.    It is always super nice to see a "new" fan photo of Mal Evans!