In Part 1 of 3, famed Beatles historian David Bedford joins us to talk about growing up in Liverpool, Liverpool history and how he became a Beatles historian. Topics in Part 1 include:

• Introduction to the Episode and to David
• The Beatles history that has surrounded David wherever he's lived in Liverpool
• David's earliest Beatles-related memories
• David's beginnings in Beatles-related writing
• David's books Liddypool: Birthplace of the Beatles and The Fab One Hundred and Four
• Liverpool's history as a seaport and its fate in World War II
• The rise of Beatles tourism in Liverpool
• Liverpool clubs the Cavern, the Jacaranda and the Casbah

Be sure to subscribe so you'll be notified when Parts 2 and 3 are posted.

You can check out what David's up to at https://davidabedford.com and you can find his books there as well as at https://beatlesbookstore.com, where you'll find all kinds of writings about the Beatles from over 20 different authors. You can also find David's books on amazon.com and pretty much wherever books are sold.

You can follow David on X at @Liddypooldave.

Thanks for listening!

Rachel Rosenman joins me in a discussion about her musical upbringing, doctoral studies, some of her favorite artists, and some of our favorite "novelty" songs. We touch on:

• Seattle and its musical heritage
• Rachel's family and musical background
• Rachel's doctoral work in turn-of-the-20th-century French music
• "Art music" vs. "Popular" music
• Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Cocteau Twins
• Mort Garson's "Plantasia"
• Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree"
• "Birdhouse In Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants
• "Generic Up-Tempo Folk Song" by The Limeliters
• "Paul Cézanne" by Five Chinese Brothers

In Part 2 of 3, I continue my conversation with famed Beatles historian David Bedford. Topics this time include:

• The Skiffle craze and its influence in England
• Evolution of the Quarrymen into a Rock and Roll Group
• How the Quarrymen became Beatles with an A
• The Saga of the Beatles tour of Scotland backing Johnny Gentle
• The first trip to Hamburg, with Pete Best
• The popularity of jazz and efforts to protect it in the UK
• How Liverpudlians could hear American music
• The influence of Black musicians in Liverpool on the Beatles
• Why was it so hard to find drummers and bass players?
• How Stuart joined the band on bass
• How the Beatles were greater than the sum of their parts

Be sure to subscribe so you'll be notified when Part 2 of my interview with David is posted. And please give us a thumbs up and leave a comment if you'd like.

You can check out what David's up to at https://davidabedford.com and you can find his books there as well as at https://beatlesbookstore.com, where you'll find all kinds of writings about the Beatles from over 20 different authors. You can also find David's books on amazon.com and pretty much wherever books are sold. You can follow David on X at @Liddypooldave. Thanks for listening!