Kenneth Womack's Blog
November 25, 2024
“Beatles �64� and the Fab Four’s Magical Maiden American Voyage
With healthy doses of exuberance and plenty of raucous, good-time rock ‘n� roll, Beatles �64 takes music lovers on a captivating guided tour of the group’s maiden American voyage. Directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese, the film is a much-welcome respite from our beguiling times in much the same way that the […]
October 26, 2023
“Now and Then�: The Final Entry in the Beatles� Extraordinary Songbook
The Beatles� new song, the final entry in their extraordinary songbook, is a thing of beauty. Entitled “Now and Then,� it reminds us, above all else, that the narrative of the Beatles is a love story. And as with the finest romances, it is chockful of buoyant beginnings—think about Beatlemania and the world falling in […]
June 13, 2022
Channel Swimmer!
Had he lived into old age, Beatles roadie Mal Evans would have been 87 now. In August 1963, the 28-year-old giant of a man began the adventure of a lifetime when he joined the British band’s cozy entourage, which included manager Brian Epstein and fellow roadie Neil Aspinall. With the release of their “She Loves You� […]
November 28, 2021
Peter Jackson’s “Get Back� Docuseries Is a Mesmerizing Feast for the Eyes
Peter Jackson’s Get Back is a mesmerizing feast for the eyes, a veritable time machine that transports viewers back to the Beatles� heyday in January 1969. New fans and diehards alike will revel in the carefully restored images of the Fab Four as they bring such classic tunes as “Get Back,� “Don’t Let Me Down,� […]
June 30, 2021
Paul and Linda McCartney’s Ram Still Shines Brightly at 50
It may be an overly lofty thing to say, but Paul McCartney was born to compose popular music. There is no better living document to his gift for concocting pop confections than Ram, his 1971 album with wife Linda. Coming on the heels of his eponymous debut LP with the classic “Maybe I’m Amazed� as […]
December 18, 2020
Everything Fab Four: Reassessing John and Yoko’s “Double Fantasy�
Released on November 17, 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy had scarcely been in stores for three weeks before the former Beatle’s senseless murder on December 8. In spite of the incredible buzz surrounding their first new album release in more than five years, the early reviews were lukewarm, if not outright caustic. Writing in the […]
February 19, 2020
Everything Fab Four: “Maybe I’m Amazed,� Paul McCartney’s Post-Beatles Classic
In the autumn months of 1969, Paul McCartney died. It had been a series of deaths, really. First up were the rumors, invented and spread by DJs and college students, that he had perished in a 1966, automobile accident and that the other Beatles were accomplices in the coverup. The Paul Is Dead hoax would […]
August 22, 2019
Everything Fab Four: The Beatles at Tittenhurst Park
On Friday, August 22nd, 1969, scarcely more than 30 hours since they’d departed EMI Studios after having finally put the Abbey Road album to bed, the Beatles reconvened at Tittenhurst Park, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s estate in rural Sunningdale near Ascot in Berkshire County. They had gathered together that day for a photo session. And while […]
July 16, 2019
Everything Fab Four: Wings Over Europe
On July 9, 1972, Wings embarked upon their first formal concert tour as a working rock ‘n� roll band. The 25-show tour was an auspicious venture for Paul McCartney’s new group in comparison with Wings� February barnstorming jaunt across a smattering of British colleges and universities. By the time that they alighted on their “Wings […]
June 18, 2019
Everything Fab Four: “When I’m Seventy-Seven�
This past Friday night, Paul McCartney’s Freshen Up tour rolled into Arlington, Texas’s Globe Life Park, where the former Beatle performed a 38-song set for nearly three hours before some 50,000 fans. And today�77 years after his mother Mary gave birth to him at Liverpool’s Walton Hospital—McCartney notches yet another milestone as rock’s reigning elder […]
