Inspired by the "From You To Us" letters section in the UK's New Music Express publication, The Beatles' 1963 single From Me To You topped the Record Retailer chart - which later became the Official UK Singles Chart. It marked the start of The Beatles' chart-topping superstardom. The Beatles scored 56 UK Top 75 hit singles between 1962 and 2010, including 17 number ones, which spent a total of 65 weeks at the top spot. Moreover, the group achieved 55 UK Top 75 albums between 1963 and 2016, including 15 number ones, which spent a whopping total of 174 weeks at the top spot. Over in the States, The Fab Four achieved 19 US#1 albums and sold a reported staggering 1.6-billion singles, including 20 #1's!

An NPR Best Book of the Year • Winner of the Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism “This is the best book about the Beatles ever written” —Mashable Rob Sheffield, the Rolling Stone columnist and bestselling author of Love Is a Mix Tape offers an entertaining, unconventional look at the most popular band in history, the Beatles, exploring what they mean today and why they still matter so intensely to a generation that has never known a world without them. Dreaming the Beatles is not another biography of the Beatles, or a song-by-song analysis of the best of John and Paul. It isn’t another exposé about how they broke up. It isn’t a history of their gigs or their gear. It is a collection of essays telling the story of what this ubiquitous band means to a generation who grew up with the Beatles music on their parents’ stereos and their faces on T-shirts. What do the Beatles mean today? Why are they more famous and beloved now than ever? And why do they still matter so much to us, nearly fifty years after they broke up? As he did in his previous books, Love is a Mix Tape, Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, and Turn Around Bright Eyes, Sheffield focuses on the emotional connections we make to music. This time, he focuses on the biggest pop culture phenomenon of all time—The Beatles. In his singular voice, he explores what the Beatles mean today, to fans who have learned to love them on their own terms and not just for the sake of nostalgia. Dreaming the Beatles tells the story of how four lads from Liverpool became the world’s biggest pop group, then broke up—but then somehow just kept getting bigger. At this point, their music doesn’t belong to the past—it belongs to right now. This book is a celebration of that music, showing why the Beatles remain the world’s favorite thing—and how they invented the future we’re all living in today.

Meat Loaf, the larger-than-life rock icon, starred in the biggest cult film of all-time, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, before releasing one of the best-selling albums of all-time, Bat Out Of Hell, and some of the most celebrated and successful singles in music history, such as I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad and Paradise By The Dashboard Light. The Grammy Award-winning singer has released an impressive eleven UK Top 10 studio albums, including the #1 releases Dead Ringer and Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and his latest offering, 2016's Braver Than We Are. Meat Loaf's epic collaborations with songwriter Jim Steinman are legendary, as are his striking album covers, wide-ranging operatic voice, female duet partners, signature red handkerchief and theatrical live performances. In 2016, he was presented with the Q Hero Award; to many that have had a hand in helping him sell near 100-million records, he is exactly that – a musical hero. CONTENTS Introduction From Marvin To Eddie Making Bat Out Of Hell Unleashing Bat Out Of Hell Dead Ringer Midnight At the Lost And Found Bad Attitude Blind Before I Stop Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell Welcome To The Nightmare Couldn't Have Said It Better Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose Hang Cool Teddy Bear Hell in a Handbasket Braver Than We Are Meat Loaf Albums I) Studio Albums II) Live Albums III) Compilation Albums Meat Loaf Singles Meat Loaf Tours Meat Loaf Music Videos Meat Loaf Films Meat Loaf Awards

The second book of two, Sound Pictures traces the story of George Martin and the Beatles' incredible artistic trajectory after reaching the creative heights of Rubber Soul. As the bandmates engage in brash experimentation both inside and outside of the studio, creating such masterworks as Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (The White Album), and Abbey Road, the internal stakes and interpersonal challenges become ever greater. During his post-Beatles years, Martin attempts to discover new vistas of sound recording with a host of acts, including Jeff Beck, America, Cheap Trick, Paul McCartney, and Elton John. Eventually, though, all roads lead Martin back to the Beatles.

One of the most important documentaries on rock music ever published, this is EMI Records' official diary-format history of every Beatles recording session. Now in paperback. Researched from hundreds of unreleased Abbey Road archive tapes, featuring thousands of previously unpublished studio documents and interviews with many of the key recording personnel. The book is filled with over 350 color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations, including rare photos by Linda McCartney and the first facsimile reproductions of Abbey Road recording sheets, tape boxes, album sleeve roughs, memos, contracts, press releases and much more.

A complete and fascinating chronicle of Beatles music and history, Beatlesongs details the growth, evolution, and dissolution of the most influential group of out time. Drawing together information from sources that include interviews, insider accounts, magazines, and news wire services, this is a complete profile of every Beatles song ever written -- from recording details such as who played which instruments and sang what harmonies to how each song fared on the charts and how other musicians and critics felt about it. Chronologically arranged by U.K. release date, Beatlesongs nails down dates, places, participants, and other intriguing facts in a truly remarkable portrait of the Liverpudlian legends. Behind each song is a story -- like Paul's criticism of George's guitar playing during the Rubber Soul sessions, John's acid trip during the Sgt. Pepper's session, and the selection process for the Revolver album cover. And carefully examined along the way are the Beatles' evolving musical talents, their stormy private lives, and their successful -- and unsuccessful -- collaborations. Beatlesongs is truly an inside look at the Fab Four and a treasure for all their fans.