A PROJECT OF THIS MAGNITUDE could never come to fruition without the encouragement and support of a host of friends and colleagues. I owe special debts of thanks to Patrick Alexander, William Baker, Brian Black, Amanda Brockriede, Eileen Chapman, John Christopher, Lynne Clay, James Collins, Todd Davis, Chris DeRosa, Phil Dunn, Jackie Edmondson, Furg, Daphne Keller, Michele Kennedy, Laura Moriarty, Nancy Mezey, Jacob Michael, Nicolle Parsons-Pollard, Vaune Peck, Judy Ramos, Joe Rapolla, George and Kathy Severini, Michael Thomas, Rich Veit, and Kurt Wagner.
A number of Beatles specialists and music scholars have shared their time and expertise on behalf of this project, including Jim Berkenstadt, Adrian Brown, Walter Everett, Larry Feibel, Michael Frontani, Laurence Juber, Katie Kapurch, Jude Southerland Kessler, Allan Kozinn, Howard Kramer, Jason Kruppa, Richard Langham, Mark Lapidos, Spencer Leigh, Staffan Olander, Kit O’Toole, Tim Riley, Robert Rodriguez, and Bob Santelli. I am especially grateful to Mark Lewisohn, whose groundbreaking work and painstaking scholarship continue to benefit music historians around the world. This book simply would not have been possible without his lifelong devotion to getting the Beatles’ story right.
I am thankful for the steadfast encouragement of my extraordinary agent, Isabel Atherton; my indefatigable publicist, Nicole Michael; and Yuval Taylor, senior editor at Chicago Review Press. My deepest thanks are due to Gregory Paul Martin, a true artist in his own right, for generously sharing his memories and family photographs. With his wife, Cherie Rose, Gregory has been invaluable to this project.
Finally, I am thankful, as always, for the love and support of my family—Fred, Jennifer, Andy, Becca, Peter, Tori, Josh, Ryan, Chelsea, Emma, Landon, Justin, and Mellissa—and especially to my wife, Jeanine, who makes all things possible.