The Beatles: Why John Lennon said their success had nothing to do with talent
The Beatles are often hailed as geniuses of pop, but John Lennon shrugged off grandiose claims about his talent.
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The Beatles were legends in their own lifetime.
Countless books were written about the band in the decade they were together. Many more have been written in the 55 years since the breakup.
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Arguably the best is Hunter Davies's The Beatles: The Authorised Biography.
The only authorised account of the band written while they were a going concern, Davies published the book in 1968 having spent 18 months with the group, speaking extensively with the band themselves as well as thei friends, family and associates.
While the book is the origin of many of the now-canonical stories about The Beatles, it's written with a rare mix of respect and distance that, together with its contemporaneous nature, sets it apart from most other biographies.
So many Beatles bios focus on the musical genius of the Fab Four, painting the group – and especially John Lennon and Paul McCartney – as uniquely talented figures magically spinning gold from straw like a pair of pop Rapunzels.
John and George in a rare moment of calm during The Beatles’ first visit to America. Davies doesn't go in for any of this mythmaking.
Source: goldradio.com/Mayer Nissim
