McCartney/the Definitive Biography - Hardcover

Salewicz, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312523696 ISBN 13: 9780312523695

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1986

Synopsis

Based on extensive research and primary source information, this biography provides a new perspective on the emergence of the Beatles, on Paul's relationship with John Lennon, and on the mixed results of Paul's solo career

About this title

From Library Journal:

The second successive McCartney biography self-dubbed "definitive." The first, by Chris Welch (Proteus, 1984), was little more than a fanzine treatment. Salewicz's effort, though unauthorized, is a skillfully contrived and narrated improvement. It opens with a fairly thorough scan of McCartney's family and background, enriched with some fresh information based on recent interviews with friends and mentors of his youth. The bulk of the book, of course, deals with the evolution of the Beatles, focusing on the formative (and formidable) role of Paul, from his melodic inspiration to his nagging perfectionism. A lively blend of commentary and quotationssome without attributioncharacterize the text. The book closes with rather skimpy coverage of Paul's post-Beatle career. Though not the final word, this will serve as a fair-handed interim account. Photos not seen. Paul G. Feehan, Univ. of Miami Lib., Coral Gables
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Beginning and ending with memories of Mary McCartney, this adequate but far from definitive biography of her son Paul suggests that her death from cancer in 1956 was the crucial event and inspiration in the life and work of "the most often imitated performer living today." McCartney contributed a high voice and a "sense of sweet, lingering, somehow archetypal melody" to the sound of the Quarrymen, the group he formed in Liverpool with John Lennon and George Harrison. Although Salewicz, a British journalist, suggests that McCartney had a feeling of purpose only when he worked with a team in close harmony, he has become the most successful of the Beatles since the group broke up in 1970. Yet less than 30 pages of this book are given over to the past 15 years. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0312523696
• ISBN 13: 9780312523695
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 263