Given the phenomenal fame and commercial success that the Beatles knew for the entire course of their familiar career, their music per se has received surprisingly little detailed attention. Not all of their cultural influence can be traced to long hair and flashy clothing; the Beatles had numerous fresh ideas about melody, harmony, counterpoint, rhythm, form, colors, and textures. Or consider how much new ground was broken by their lyrics alone--both the themes and imagery of the Beatles' poetry are key parts of what made (and still makes) this group so important, so popular, and so imitated. This book is a comprehensive chronological study of every aspect of the Fab Four's musical life--including full examinations of composition, performance practice, recording, and historical context--during their transcendent late period (1966-1970). Rich, authoritative interpretations are interwoven through a documentary study of many thousands of audio, print, and other sources.

"The Beatles As Musicians is a well-researched, serious-minded scholarly work that stands easily as the best volume of its genre. Students enrolled in music education programs at the university level will benefit tremendously from many of professor Everett's astute observations and advanced theories concerning the music of The Beatles. As a college-level textbook, this book rates an A+."--Goldmine

"Stunning in its thoroughness....An ambitious and serious analytical undertaking, and the only contribution of its kind to date, this book deserves careful attention from all who would include all musics in the 20th-century canon."--Choice

"This is an excellent book that will appeal to musicologists, theorists, and general readers with any interest in the Beatles....Everett has written the most important book on the Beatles to appear so far; it will become an indispensable part of any future work on the group and their music. He nicely and securely balances detailed music-analytical, historical, and biographical information while providing a compelling interpretation of the ways in which the group's music changed and developed."--John Covach, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"Impressive....I've never seen anything like it before....This unique book offers a seamless narrative of the latter half of the Beatles' career as music makers. What is new in these pages is new not only to the literature on the Beatles but to writing about popular music more generally....Everett does many things more effectively than any previous writer on the Beatles....A great book."--Charles Hamm, Dartmouth College

Walter Everett is Associate Professor of Music in Music Theory at the University of Michigan.

Map: The Beatles in London

PRELUDE: One-Way Ticket, Yeah

ONE: Another Kind of Mind There: The Meaning of Within (1966)

INTERLUDE: I Know When It's a Dream

TWO: Yellow Matter Custard, Green Slop Pie (1967)

THREE: So Let It Out and Let It In (1968)

FOUR: Let It Be (1969-1970)

POSTLUDE: Whatever Happened To...?

APPENDIX A: Instruments Played by the Late-Period Beatles

APPENDIX B: Musical Friends of the Late-Period Beatles

Table of Chord Functions

Glossary of Terms

Notes

References

Index of Names and Song Titles

Index