There was a book I read my junior year of high school that changed the way I thought about the Beatles. I had always loved them. Like many people my age, I grew up listening to all of their albums, their influence on my eventually more broad taste in music due, in large part, to the breadth of their songs. And I knew about "Beatlemania"--partially because of my parents telling stories, partially just because pop culture makes it hard not to (at least to an extent). But beyond that, I didn't really know the Beatles.
Ticket to Ride by Larry Kane followed the band through their 1964-1965 first ever American tour in California. He was a reporter who went along the whole time, along with a slew of others. The difference, though, was that he managed to get close to the fab four in a pretty personal way. The book is a record of his own experience as press on the trip, but also as someone who got to know John, Paul, George and Ringo.
I remember my reaction as I read it. All of a sudden, these people who I idolized became, well, people. And because of that, their music became so much more meaningful--not just catchy or deep or happy or sad songs that I loved, but pieces of the Beatles themselves. When music was infused with stories and experiences that happened in real life, it also, in a way, came to life. It's easy, I think, to view musicians as these far-away, untouchable human beings--people we can only get to know through their songs. And while that is definitely sometimes the case, getting to know the Beatles as human beings (albeit incredibly famous ones), allowed me to see their music in a different light.
(Also everyone should read this book--it's really great.)
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