THE BEATLES IMAGE: MASS MARKETING 1960s BRITISH AND AMERICAN MUSIC AND CULTURE, OR BEING A SHORT THESIS ON THE DUBIOUS PACKAGE OF THE BEATLES by Richard D Driver, Bachelor of Arts A Thesis In HISTORY Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved Aliza S Wong Randy McBee John Borrelli Dean of the Graduate School May, 2007 Copyright 2007, Richard Driver Texas Tech University, Richard D Driver, May 2007 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work could not have been possible without the encouragement and guidance of a number of individuals, as well as countless persons who pulled books, worked through interlibrary loans, and simply listened to me talk about it. Without the guidance, tolerance, insight, time, and encouragement of my committee, Aliza S Wong and Randy McBee, this thesis would have remained nothing more than a passing thought. Aliza, more than any other professor has been there for me since this project truly began over two years ago. It was her initial push for me to write about something I loved that drove me to attend Graduate school and then build upon what I had done previously with The Beatles “image.” Dr. McBee provided excellent guidance into understanding many of the post-war American facets of this work, not simply those related to The Beatles or music in general. Additional thanks are reserved for Dr. Julie Willett for her class on sexuality and gender where new methods and modes of historical thought were founded in this work. Finally, this thesis would have been impossible had I not been accepted into and granted a teaching position in the History Department at Texas Tech University, and it is to the entire department that I owe my greatest thanks. In addition, this work could not have been successful without the questioning and positive support that I gained from family and friends. Jean and Rachel, my mother and sister respectively, provided beneficial and uplifting beacons of support. My mother provided a number of support tools (most importantly, financial) and she convinced me to go on with my education, making sure I aspired to become the person she knows I am. My sister was a quick supporter and eager reader for the earliest plans of this project. She ii Texas Tech University, Richard D Driver, May 2007 pushed me to get to work and finish it so she could read something both academic and entertaining. Our family friend David truly deserves some form of reprimand for the countless times he bullied me about writing on The Beatles, but in reality he deserves praise for providing a source of encouragement where one had been lost. It is truly without the support of a fellow scholar and academic that the drive to create, craft, and hone this work would have been impossible. I could not have persevered and produced this work without support from Krystal Humphreys. She showed me how to reconfigure some ideas while simplifying others. I only hope that I have provided something in return for her and the work she has produced. Central to this work and the interest I have in The Beatles (and so much more music) is my father’s love of music. Without a man as interested in music and as inspirational (and influential) as he was I would never have found The Beatles and created such a strong connection to their history and their music. Richard L Driver II was an inspiration in all aspects of the word, and with this work I hope I have produced a historical study that he would have enjoyed and asked me about. Above all, I am happy to continue his musical interests in a way that is unique between us and in our family. iii Texas Tech University, Richard D Driver, May 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT v I. INTRODUCTION – THE BEATLES IMAGE: MASS MARKETING 1960S BRITISH AND AMERICAN MUSIC AND CULTURE 1 The Beatles in Memory 7 The Beatles and Nostalgia 12 And in the end… 16 II. NOSTALGIA AND THE MASS CONSUMPTION OF MUSIC 18 Post-war Youth Cultures 20 That ‘50s “Craze” 23 Beatlemania: That ‘60s Craze 28 Beatlemania: Take Two (or Three, or Four) 34 Nostalgia in Retrospect 39 III. THE CREATION OF THE BEATLES IMAGE, 1960-1963 41 The First Names 44 The Beatles in Hamburg 47 Enter Brian Epstein, or Mr. X 50 The Duke of Edinburgh 57 IV. MASS MARKETING THE PACKAGE, 1963-1967 64 Beatlemania and Television in Britain 65 Beatlemania Conquers America via Television 68 Beatlemania and Gender 74 Beatlemania in Film 78 The Honeymoon is Over 83 V. THE BEATLES IN POPULAR MEMORY 87 The Beatles and the 1990s 92 The Biographies of The Beatles 98 The Package Returns 107 VI. CONCLUSION – IN THE END… ALL A PACKAGE NEEDS IS LOVE 112 Nostalgic Love 116 BIBLIOGRAPHY 121 APPENDIX 133 The Beatles Discography 133 iv Texas Tech University, Richard D Driver, May 2007 ABSTRACT The Beatles Image: Mass Marketing 1960s British and American Music and Culture is a thesis that discusses the creation of The Beatles, their image and how we as a culture remember their career and the 1960s. It utilizes serious historical work on various aspects of music and youth culture from the 1950s and 1960s, in addition to theoretical frameworks about memory. The thesis illustrates how a specific image and marketing campaign can create a package around a product, or musical act in this case. The Beatles “package” as it is referred to, engulfed an entire generation and redefined certain aspects of how we perceive and listen to music and the musicians producing it. The thesis begins with a discussion of nostalgia, defining and separating it from conceptions and ideas of “retro,” or retrospective. This discussion morphs into various aspects of The Beatles career as well as other musical acts outside the 1960s to demonstrate how a singular act or time period can be emulated and re-envisioned later. The story of The Beatles and the men responsible for their image and package creation is then told, reflecting on both the individual aspects in the lives of Brian Epstein and George Martin, but also how The Beatles as a group were responsible for their cohesiveness and “group-ness” before either of those individuals entered the picture. Finally, the discussion addresses the package specifically and how it was successful: from the utilization of technology to the psychological effects of fame and popularity. In the end, memory addressed how our culture chooses to remember The Beatles and the 1960s, from nostalgic and “retro” thoughts to musical success and levels of popularity in comparison to more recent musical acts and phenomena. v Texas Tech University, Richard D Driver, May 2007 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION – THE BEATLES IMAGE: MASS MARKETING 1960S BRITISH AND AMERICAN MUSIC AND CULTURE A study of The Beatles should not immediately start by referring to the amount of time that has passed since the band stopped recording in 1970. The very fact that after thirty-seven years we are still discussing the importance of the end of The Beatles recording is monumental. The flip-side is that by remarking about the amount of time that has passed acts as though The Beatles are not supposed to matter any more. What it really does and this is quite significant, is point out just how much they still matter as an entity and how fresh they remain despite the aging of time. In the twenty-first century, it is easy to make The Beatles story into one of the great stories of the past century. However, that story is only great because we remember it because we are not so far removed from it and the generation that grew up with The Beatles is still with us. That generation and other individuals from the 1960s provide the material that tells the story. From that story, we know that The Beatles changed everything from the levels of success a pop act could attain to the innovations in technology they spearheaded with their music, and all in one monumental decade.1 While that is certainly placing too much credit on four young men from a seaport in northern England, they did play a pivotal role in a revolutionary decade. This is not another biography of The Beatles, but their career is pivotal to the discussion that will unfold in the following pages. And the truth behind the question “Why on earth would anyone need another book about the Beatles?,” will reveal that The 1 Technically, The Beatles only recorded for eight years at Abbey Road Studios: June 1962 to January 1970. 1 Texas Tech University, Richard D Driver, May 2007 Beatles are a story for all to remember and a never-ending source for continued thought and discussion.2 Remembering and the collective memory that exists for The Beatles is a key facet of the study presented here, because the generation that experienced The Beatles and the 1960s will not be able to share that experience with successive generations that learn about and incorporate those ideas into their own lives. The collective memory of The Beatles is not rooted in the people of the 1960s, but in the people of the 1960s and beyond. The key texts to understanding how The Beatles have been seen for the last thirty-seven years, are the literature written about The Beatles since their break-up in 1970. Out of these texts and the discussion derived from their content, this study will illuminate how The Beatles image became a package marketed over and over again, first by their managers, producers and the record industry, and later by the separate members of the band following their 1970 break-up.