I’m still working on the manuscript, but I just got the proof for the cover for my upcoming book about Southern music, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. The book, “LARGE TIME: On the Southern Music Beat, 1976-1986,” includes stories about Elvis, the Allman Brothers, James Brown, R.E.M., Dolly Parton, Isaac Hayes, Atlanta Rhythm Section, the Commodores, Jimmy Buffett, Willie Nelson, Joe South, Roy Orbison, the Brains, Chet Atkins, Charlie Daniels, the B-52’s, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lionel Richie, Chet Atkins, Kenny Rogers, Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, the Dregs ..read more

As many of you know, I spent a good portion of my career covering entertainment, and during that time I was fortunate enough to interview many talented performers, including three Beatles (George, Paul and Ringo), a bunch of movie and TV stars and just about a generation’s worth of the top performers in various popular music genres. I have told many of the Beatles-related stories in Beatlefan magazine through the years. But I have a lot of other tales from my years on the entertainment beat. Some of the stories about Southern music stars I interviewed (ranging from rock and new wave ..read more

Sixty years ago today, Capitol Records issued the “Meet The Beatles!” album, which was the American version of the “With The Beatles” LP that had been issued the previous November in the U.K. I actually didn’t get to listen to “Meet The Beatles!” until I received it as a gift from my parents that Easter, which was on March 29 that year. (Yes, my brothers and I actually got Easter presents from our parents!) I was impressed right away with the cover, which was a moody, magnificent masterpiece, with that unforgettable portrait of the Fab Four printed in a bluish black ink. I remember my brother ..read more

A review of Philip Norman’s “George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle” by Senior Editor Brad Hundt appears in Beatlefan #265. Hundt found the book to be “eminently readable,” but also a “by-the-numbers biography” and concluded: “Everyone who already is familiar with Harrison safely can take a pass on it.” Below is a mixed — but somewhat more enthusiastic — appraisal of Norman’s book. … How swell at last to have a major biography of that most aloof of all rock stars, George Harrison, by respected pop music historian Philip Norman, and how sobering to learn that the reclusive rocker’s feet were al ..read more

Beatlefan first was published just before Christmas in 1978, so we’re marking its 45th anniversary. Through various landmark anniversaries in the past, Executive Editor Al Sussman, our original New York correspondent, has interviewed Bill and Leslie King about how the publication came to be and their adventures through the years. Here’s a new conversation to mark the magazine’s 45th birthday. … The first issue of Beatlefan had an interview with former Wings drummer Joe English. Did the interviews in those very early days come about through your “day job” covering music at The Atlanta Constit ..read more

Denny Laine with Paul and Linda McCartney in Wings. “Wings Over the World.” That was the proclamation I quite thoughtfully had inscribed beneath my high school graduation yearbook photo. Because “Wings Over America” seemed a bit understated for how I truly felt about that band during those musically formative years. “Wings Over America,” the classic live album from Wings’ 1976 tour, was released midway through my freshman year of high school, and when I graduated in June 1980, it was “Coming Up” — specifically the “Live at Glasgow” version — that sat atop the chart. And, yes, I know that, howe ..read more

Reunited in the “Now and Then” music video. We asked some of our Beatlefan staff members and regular contributors to share their thoughts on The Beatles’ “Now and Then.” In 1996, nearly a year after the rollout of “The Beatles Anthology” project, which included the release of the three “Anthology” CD sets and the VHS expanded version of the original “Anthology” documentary, I wrote a piece for Beatlefan in which I noted how enjoyable the whole process, covering nearly a year, had been. I especially enjoyed the communal feeling of the broadcast of the first installment of the documentary and, a ..read more

My introduction to Disney came via Davy Crockett when I was 3 years old. I’ve been Disney fan since I donned a Davy Crockett buckskin jacket and coonskin cap when I was 3 years old, and I’ve been a fan of The Beatles since February, 1964. It’s amazing to me, though, the number of times those two interests have crossed paths, starting out with those three nights when the Fabs first appeared on CBS’ “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Those also were the same nights that “The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh,” starring Patrick McGoohan, aired on “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” on NBC. It took an awful lot ..read more

I just finished watching “Now And Then — The Last Beatles Song” documentary film, written and directed by Oliver Murray and produced by Jonathan Clyde of Apple Corps. I then then immediately watched it again. (It’s only 12 minutes long.) The film features the voices of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr telling the story from 2023, along with comments from George Harrison back in 1995 and new commentary from John Lennon’s son Sean.   Using a mixture of vintage Beatles footage and footage shot of Paul, Ringo and George together during the Threetles sessions in the mid-1990s, it tells the ..read more

As the fall quarter of my final year at the University of Georgia got underway in 1973, I was on the staff of The Red & Black, the student daily newspaper. I was the co-news editor that fall, but still found time to write columns and some music coverage, including a review of the recent album from George Harrison. It’s generally a positive review, though I seem to have been a bit put off by some of George’s rather nasal singing. I also wasn’t a fan of anything smacking of Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” production style. Anyway, here’s my 1973 review of “Living in the Material World.” … Fr ..read more