Review
"This fun and insightful study of pop music fandom is recommended both to older Beatlemaniacs who were there and to younger fans who want to know what it was like to be a part of the phenomenon.” Library Journal
A must-have for Beatles fans looking for new insight . . . Leonard uncovers fresh ideas [that] . . . six decades of Beatles literature passed over by shifting attention from the Beatles’ personal and professional lives to their fans’ stories. . . . Leonard’s ability to mesh both a strong narrative style and her research adds concrete scenes readers can enjoy and picture throughout the book.” Payton Davis, thespectrum.com
A book like no other . . . Highly recommended to anyone who was alive when the Beatles rocked our world, or for those who came later that want to visit Beatle magic for the first time.” Lauren Passarelli, guitar professor and Beatles expert, Berklee College of Music
Explores a vital, yet overlooked aspect of the Beatles’ phenomenon, and the many quotes from fans provide invaluable perspective on the band’s impact on US teens during the sixties.” The Glass Onion Beatles Journal
For once, a book about the Beatles that differs . . . from the ones that have gone before. Beatleness is a look at the meaning of the Beatles to the first generation’ . . . Told through numerous perspectives, it traces the five-year journey of these fans along with the Beatles from their debut, their progression and their end in May 1970. . . . A worthwhile and deeply interesting read . . . Highly recommended.” Rob Ross, Popdose
Candy Leonard explores new ground in this glorious examination of how the four lads from Liverpool changed our lives. Beatleness is the story of you, me, and millions of other baby boomers that grew up loving the Beatles.” Chachi Loprete, host of Breakfast with The Beatles, WZLX Radio, Boston
A fascinating study of the Beatles’ resounding impact upon late-twentieth-century American culture. . . . While hundreds of Beatles books stake claims about being the definitive work, Leonard’s Beatleness finally gets to the heart of the matter, offering readers new insights into the unusual and lasting nature of Beatles fandom.” Kenneth Womack, author of Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles and The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four
As a college-level Beatles instructor, I find Dr. Leonard’s work accessible to students new to the fields of sociology and critical cultural studies. This text puts the popular’ back in popular culture studies. What Howard Zinn accomplished in A Peoples History of the United States, Dr. Leonard achieves in Beatleness, a true People’s History of The Beatles.” David Gallant, Suffolk University, Boston
There have been many books through the years about the Beatles, but Candy Leonard’s Beatleness stands out. It’s a wonderful analysis of the Beatles and Beatlemania that will make Beatle fans smile because they can relate to it and see themselves in it. There have been many attempts over the years to describe how the Beatles affected their fans and the world. Pick up Beatleness and discover the Beatles all over again.” Steve Marinucci, Beatles Examiner
Unique among Beatle booksand I’ve read just about all of themBeatleness is a heartfelt exploration of the relationship between the lads from Liverpool and first-generation fans, showing how that relationship changed all of us. You will find yourself in these pages, and you will love what you read.” Jude Southerland Kessler, author of The John Lennon Series
Leonard manages to find a new angle of approach to the study of the Beatles. . . . A welcome . . . sociocultural study for the Beatlemaniac bookworm.” Kirkus Reviews
Candy Leonard’s focus on the way the Beatles’ fans saw themparticularly as they changed, musically and otherwise, during the 1960sis both innovative and revealing, and adds a new dimension to how we think of the Beatles and their accomplishments.”Allan Kozinn, former New York Times music critic and author of The Beatles: From the Cavern to the Rooftop
Beatlemania was a singular force in the history of the world, and it has never been capably explained in all of its dimensions. But Candy Leonard’s Beatleness gets us a little bit closer. This is a soulfully written, genre-defying book that should be of interest to Beatles fans and cultural historians alike.” John McMillian, author of Beatles vs. Stones
A new book that’s bound to give even a modest fan a unique look at how the Beatles forever changed the world of music.” US Airways Magazine
Beatleness demonstrates that the Beatles are an important part of who we are as baby boomers.” Paul Briand, Baby Boomer Examiner
Beatleness taps into our generation’s collective memory and evokes the sixties through our personal relationship with the Beatles. The Beatles were our troubadours who helped us make sense of a turbulent era, and Beatleness shows us how. . . . For those who want to see how the Beatles helped define a generation, this is the book to read.” Leonard Steinhorn, and author of The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy
Candy Leonard’s evocative book is filled with striking insights into the experiences and sensibilities of the young who plunged into Beatlemania, and contributes much to a composite portrait of the sixties as they were lived.” Todd Gitlin, author of The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage
An accessible read and an often fascinating journey of how one generation has incorporated the Beatles’ music into their lives. . . . Fills a knowledge gap in the band’s vast history . . . First generation fans will appreciate this look back at a particular time in music history, while subsequent generations will enjoy learning why the band still plays a significant part in music and general history.” Kit O’Toole, author of Songs We Were Singing: Guided Tours Through the Beatles’ Lesser-Known Tracks
Leonard connects Beatles fans’ experiences with the tumult of the times, creating a rich and insightful study of what truly has to be one of the most significant phenomena of the twentieth century.” William Routhier, Boston Music Examiner
With the sheer number of Beatles-related books available, it seems a fool’s errand to try to write one that offers a fresh perspective. Leonard’s Beatleness, however, does just that, because she goes straight to a vital (and largely ignored) Fab Four source: the fans. . . . She builds a three-dimensional, completely human tale, the likes of which has never before been tackled by a Beatles author.” Allison Johnelle Boron, Goldmine
In producing Breakfast With The Beatles for 25 years, one of my greatest ongoing challenges is trying to describe what it was like when Beatlemania was actually happening. For first-generation and new fans alike, Candy Leonard’s Beatleness is the go-to source for exactly that. It goes way beyond the simple chronology of events, explaining why we felt the way we did about The Beatles and their music, and why they were so important to us. In telling the story this way, Beatleness provides a clearer picture of how they changed the world.” Dennis Mitchell, producer/host of the globally syndicated, award-winning Dennis Mitchell’s Breakfast With The Beatles
Candy Leonard was possessed’ when she first heard the Beatles, and Beatleness is her story and ours. It’s breezy, smart and openhearted, and everyone who grew up with the bandor wants to know what that was likewill appreciate its insights and feel its emotional impact.” Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor, Rolling Stone
Very impressive. Beatleness not only describes what it was like to be a hardcore fan from the beginning (like me), but explains it in a historical and personal context. For forty years of The FEST we’ve been celebrating our love for the Beatles with thousands of fans. Now we have a word for it.” Mark Lapidos, president, Mark Lapidos Productions and founder, The Fest for Beatles Fans
A very intelligent and well-researched book on a phenomenon that has reached the half-century mark and is still evolving.” Dave Schwensen, author of The Beatles at Shea Stadium and The Beatles in Cleveland
From ex-employees to ex-lovers, we’ve seemingly heard from everyone associated with the Beatles. Beatleness finally lets us hear from another group: the fans whose lives were forever altered by rock’s greatest band. These are vivid snapshots of people who rode the waveand suffered through the crashof Beatlemania as much as anyone who worked for the band.”David Browne, author of Fire and Rain: The Beatles,Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970
I love this book! The beautifully written Beatleness will not only bring to life all the excitement for those that weren’t living yet during the Beatle years, it will cause major goosebumps, all over again, to those who were there. It’s an incredibly hip and astute account of all the Beatles’ major happenings that affected so many people around the world who were riveted to their every move. I can’t wait to read it again!”Will Lee, Grammy Awardwinning bass player and studio musician, Late Show with David Letterman and Fab Faux
About the Author
Candy Leonard is a sociologist, first-generation Beatles fan, and Beatles scholar. She has spent years studying the effects of popular culture on human development, gender relations, and family life and is a qualitative research consultant to the health-care and entertainment industries, with a focus on baby boomer issues. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
