I grew up listening to music from the ’50s and ’60s, and the majority of what I listened to was from The Beatles. I can thank my Dad for that! He’s been a huge Beatles fan since they first came out and is still a big fan to this day.  So I went to him to get some book recommendations and compare that to some lists online, and I think I’ve come up with a good lineup for anyone interested in reading more about The Beatles.

The most popular book for people to read is The Beatles Anthology. Written based on oral conversations and stories from Paul, George, and Ringo for the TV documentary The Beatles Anthology as well as excerpts from interviews with John. Their stories are offset with comments from some of their closer associates, and with everything combined makes for one great read. I’ve been able to peruse this massive book and for old and new Beatles fans alike this is definitely a good book to start with. It’s wonderful to read about the story of an music artist in their own words. The Beatles Anthology is also great for all of the pictures, posters and other various memorabilia that are included within the pages.

For those who want to read more on the music, I recommend Tell Me Why by Tim Reily. In this book, Reily goes song by song, album by album and analyzes the music made by The Beatles to show that they are more than just teen idols. Each song is analyzed through lyrics and music composition to bring out the meaning and innovation behind their hit songs. Again another great read, and something a little different to check out. Definitely a great read for those who are into musical nuances.

As a companion to Tell Me Why, there is A Hard Day’s Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song by Steve Turner. In this book, Turner tracks down the real stories behind the songs, like the real Doctor Robert and Bungalow Bill. Turner tracked down and interviewed these subjects as well as people close to The Beatles in order to get the stories behind the songs. Not as in depth of a look as Tell Me Why, but fun to read nonetheless.

Now if you want to focus on a more specific time period, there is Ticket to Ride: Inside the Beatles’ 1964 and 1965 Tours that Changed the World by Larry Kane. A bit more racy, this book is from Larry Kane who reported on these tours. Since he was around the same age as the Beatles during this time, they got along well and the Beatles gave him exclusive and in-depth interviews. Ticket to Ride seems like a great piece of documentation from an interesting point in music history. Beatlemania was quite the phenomenon, and The Beatles are definitely a cornerstone in rock and roll history.

In my searching for good books on the Beatles, I also found this list from Amazon that has the above titles as well as some others that may interest people wanting to learn more about the fab five. It has definitely made me want to borrow The Beatles Anthology from my Dad to peruse again!