Larry Kane

Larry Kane was a -- by comparison -- near prudish spectator to The Beatles' '64 - '65 U.S. tours. So, nothing really salacious here, but a sober look at "the boys" encountering hysterical fans and immense fame. Highlights include tales of creatively determined young girls wanting to meet the group; multiple times in purloined housekeeping uniforms. There is a shifting view of John Lennon from an impolitic young man of crude outbursts to a deeper, more nuanced appreciation of the effective show more leader of the group encroaching on Brian Epstein's managerial realm. Oh yeah, and Epstein makes a pass at Kane who was only on the first tour because of Epstein's misjudged understanding of his position in radio.

As a bonus, there is about an hour of archive audio interviews done then by Kane. Some of them are in collage form that could fit right at the end of "Revolution 9." show less

I thoroughly enjoyed this early history of the pre-famous Beatles, and would recommend it to anyone who was/is a fan or is just interested in the rise of the biggest phenomenon in the history of popular music and culture. At 21, reporter Larry Kane (familiar to those of us in Philadelphia for his years as an evening news anchor) got to travel with the Beatles during their first US tour in 1964. He also traveled with them on their 1965 and part of the 1966 US tours, where he had the show more opportunity to extensively interview them as well as well as many of the entourage that accompanied them. His other books about the Beatles are "Ticket to Ride" (2003) and "Lennon Revealed" (2005). show less

I love the Beatles and loved hearing all about them and listening to the interviews on the CD included with this book. That said, I think Larry Kane's narration was a bit stilted, as if he was writing an essay, not telling a story. Maybe it was Kane's broadcasting/journalist career showing through here, but his writing style was disappointing. Still, with a subject as interesting as the Beatles it's hard to go wrong. I really appreciated the first-hand accounts of this important event and show more enjoyed learning more about what John, Paul, George, and Ringo were really like. show less

When lions roam the earth, jackals follow. To quote Charles Ottley Groom Napier: "Where the British lion roams, from the Hindoo Kush, to Cape Comorin, where he marches to the field with his trumpet [or 12-string Rickenbacker] roar, there the jackals, or native Allies howl." Now jackals are not bad, by any means, at least not necessarily. Some appear to be quite affable, in fact. "Nice working with you, Larry," said Paul McCartney, and this sentiment (in fact these very words) were echoed, show more numerous times, by John, George and Ringo. This line will probably be carved Larry Kane's tombstone. show less