Beatles Stories

Eight years ago, Long Island songwriter-turned-filmmaker Seth Swirsky set out to interview people who encountered the Beatles (individually or collectively). This utterly delightful documentary is comprised of short recollections, the majority conducted in person, although some are by phone, and a handful stem from meetings that transpired after the band broke up. Regardless of circumstance and context, nearly everyone recalls their Beatles experience with the kind of joy, reverence, and awe generally reserved for living deities. Singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon, an opening act on the band's first U.S. tour, talks about playing Monopoly with George Harrison, while Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues recalls having to teach George the chords to “I'm Only Sleeping,” a track from Revolver. Beach Boy Brian Wilson remembers Paul McCartney playing “She's Leaving Home” before it was recorded for Sgt. Pepper. Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley describes writing and performing songs for a musical directed by Beatles manager Brian Epstein, and then meeting John Lennon and Ringo Starr after the show, while former football star/broadcaster Frank Gifford recollects an encounter between Lennon and Ronald Reagan in the Monday Night Football booth. Not all of the reminiscences come from celebrities; others include the equipment manager for the Minnesota Twins, who received an autographed baseball when the Fab Four performed at Minneapolis' Metropolitan Stadium; Nancy Andrews, a former Starr girlfriend, who relates how he proposed to her in a Beverly Hills jewelry store (that union didn't happen); and an astronomer who got a letter from Ringo, thanking him for naming an asteroid after the drummer. While there is no original Beatles music heard, there are many heretofore unseen photos and video—including a brief clip of John delivering a very Lennon-esque weather report on a Philadelphia TV station in the 1970s. A must-see for Fab fans, this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)