Over 200 guests attended The Malibu Library Speaker Series last week that featured composer, producer, and Beatles expert Scott Freiman.
The year was 1963, and British rock and roll was booming. Cliff Richard. The Rolling Stones. Frank Ifield. Gerry and the Pacemakers. And, of course, The Beatles….
But not in America.
Despite the best efforts of U.K. labels, managers, and promoters, British artists were largely ignored by their American counterparts. Capitol Records, one of the largest and most successful American labels, was owned by British label EMI, and therefore got first crack at releasing music from their parent label. Although EMI released all of Capitol’s recordings, Capitol refused to return the favor.
The primary culprit in Capitol’s refusal to issue EMI music was Dave Dexter, chief of A&R for Capitol Records. Dexter came from the world of jazz, and he didn’t care much for rock and roll music – especially from Great Britain. When he first heard the Beatles, he couldn’t stand them. In particular, Dexter found John Lennon’s harmonica on “Love Me Do” cringeworthy. With Capitol choosing to ignore the Beatles, EMI was forced into releasing Beatles music in America on smaller independent labels like Vee-Jay and Swan.
Thus begins the story told in Deconstructing A Hard Day’s Night – the extraordinary period in Beatles history spanning from the end of 1963 to the summer of 1964. During these eight months, the group launched the British Invasion that would include not only The Beatles, but The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Who, The Kinks, and so many more great bands. It was during this same period that The Beatles revolutionized movie musicals by creating one of the most celebrated films of all time, A Hard Day’s Night.
Although conquering America was always on the Beatles’ wish list, it was hard to imagine how it might happen. After all, not even British hitmaker Cliff Richard had success in the States. A spark was lit by a teenage girl who saw a news story making fun of The Beatles and a Washington DJ who managed to sneak a copy of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” on the air in December of 1963. The fire was fed by the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, who managed to book the band on The Ed Sullivan Show – a deal he made over a handshake. Eventually, Capitol Records capitulated, agreeing to release “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and their first American album, Meet the Beatles. Ultimately, it was the Beatles’ music and personalities that won over the American audience and led to American Beatlemania.
By April of 1964, The Beatles occupied the top five positions of the Billboard Hot 100 with seven more of their songs in the top 100 (as well as several Beatles-related novelty records by other artists). The song at number one was “Can’t Buy Me Love,” a Lennon-McCartney, blues-inspired rocker with a hooky chorus that begins the song – a suggestion from Beatles producer, George Martin.
“Can’t Buy Me Love” would play during a pivotal moment in their new film A Hard Day’s Night where the Beatles, having burst out of the confined spaces in which they have found themselves during the first half of the film, celebrate their newfound freedom by goofing around in an open field. Dick Lester’s direction, featuring long helicopter shots and handheld close-ups, helped Beatles fans share in the Beatles’ ebullience.
“Can’t Buy Me Love” is one of seven new songs featured in the film, including “I Should Have Known Better,” “And I Love Her,” and the title track. A Hard Day’s Night was the first example of a jukebox musical with all the songs written by two of their stars (and a score written by their producer). Even more remarkable, Lennon and McCartney wrote another six songs to fill out the B-side of their next album, including such classics as “Things We Said Today,” “You Can’t Do That,” and “I’ll Be Back.”
When A Hard Day’s Night was released in July of that year, along with the companion album, The Beatles achieved international super-stardom at a level that had never been seen before. They had conquered America and the silver screen. Their music was being celebrated by fans and critics alike. But there was more to come. Before the year was out, they would write and record “I Feel Fine,” their next #1 single, release a second #1 album, Beatles for Sale, and lay the plans for their second feature film, Help!
Famed “Beatleologist” Scott Freiman
'Oh Darling'—Malibu Celebrates Abbey Road's 50th Anniversary
A full house at City Hall remembers and learns the secrets of Abbey Road from speaker series presenter Scott Freiman.
It was a joy to see Malibu City Hall packed with 200 people for an event unrelated to the Woolsey Fire. The Malibu Speaker Series presentation,“Deconstructing Abbey Road,” last Wednesday evening didn’t have an open seat. The crowd was thirsty for details regarding the iconic Beatles album Abbey Road, the last recorded by the foursome, which is celebrating its 50-year anniversary release this month.
Guest speaker Scott Freiman called himself the world’s third-foremost Beatles expert. (Only Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr could possibly beat him in trivia.) And the evening did start with this trivia question/riddle: How is it that the Beatles never recorded one song at the famous Abbey Road studio? More on that later.
Freiman—who donated half his speaking fee to Armory of Harmony, a nonprofit that collects guns and melts them down into instruments—called Abbey Road an album of contradictions since there was much collaboration among the Liverpool lads even though John Lennon was absent for most of the sessions.
“It’s filled with great emotions for me,” the Beatleologist declared. “It’s got the sadness of the times and with the impending Beatles breakup. It’s got humor with ‘Octopus’ Garden’ and great optimism with ‘Here Comes the Sun.’” He called it “an exquisite album from top to bottom.”
The audience definitely agreed. Freiman carefully deconstructed each song.
While breaking down the George Harrison-penned “Something,” the audience was spellbound. Not a peep, whisper or rustle of noise was made when the gorgeously produced classic recording describing a new love was played over loudspeakers. The audience was simply mesmerized. The first line of the song was borrowed from an early song by James Taylor, who was then signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records label. Freiman noted Taylor was unconcerned about the purloined lyrics, since his song itself ended with the Beatles refrain “I feel fine.” “Something” is one of the most covered songs in the Beatles canon.
While breaking down McCartney’s shouter “Oh! Darling,” Freiman detailed its doo-wop origins while taking cues from Fats Domino and a nonsubtle vocal tribute to Paul favorite Little Richard.
“Because” came about after Lennon heard his wife Yoko Ono playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on the piano, turning it sideways with iconic three-part harmony (itself tripled with overdubs) to craft another enduring classic. For real Beatles nerds, Freiman spent much time playing rarely heard audio of in-studio chatter and isolated tracks. The crowd got an insider’s taste of what is must have been like to be in the studio with the legendary band, including a snippet of Harrison asking the other Beatles for help with lyrics to “Something.” The audience giggled when hearing Lennon’s voice suggest “attracts me like a cauliflower.”
The iconic cover for the album was also discussed. There was talk of calling the platter “Everest” after a cigarette brand and taking a photo of the group on the world’s highest peak. Ringo Starr nixed that and suggested simply taking a picture right outside the studio on Abbey Road. They had only 10 minutes in which street traffic was stopped to get the shot. Freiman noted the poignancy of the photo of Harrison, McCartney, Starr and Lennon walking across Abbey Road as the band finished recording for the final time as a group—walking away from the studio where the magic happened.
Luis Lopez, another Beatles expert in the audience who produces KLOS’s Breakfast with the Beatles, commented, “The music is so accessible. They deal with themes everybody goes through. It’s a packed house tonight for an album that came out 50 years ago. How many other bands will that happen to?”
The second half of Abbey Road concludes with the famous medley of songs and fragments woven together by McCartney and the group’s legendary producer George Martin.
Abbey Road, of course, concludes with the famous couplet, “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make”—or, almost concludes, with “Her Majesty” bursting through after the medley’s end.
Oh, and that riddle. The Beatles made their recordings at EMI studios on Abbey Road. The name was later changed to Abbey Road Studios to honor its fabled history.
Editor's note: The print version misspells Scott Freiman's last name. It has been corrected for this online version.
Scott Freiman says he loves it when he reveals to people “tidbits” about the Beatles “and I hear that gasp from the audience because I’ve told them something they didn’t know.”
The four-part film series “Deconstructing the Beatles” debuts at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at the Imperial Theatre. The series starts with “Revolver,” then picks up again after Masters Week with “Sgt. Pepper,” (April 20) “Rubber Soul,” (April 27) and “The White Album” (May 4.) SPECIAL
With billions of words already written about the Beatles, is there really anything new to say? Well, yes, as it turns out.
Beatles expert Scott Freiman sat down with Garvia Bailey to talk about this week's "Deconstructing the Beatles" shows at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Nearly 51 years to the day after The Beatles changed pop culture forever with its iconic performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Scott Freiman is keeping the Fab Four’s memory alive.
The multimedia presentations “Deconstructing The Beatles” have entertained and edified college and corporate audiences for the last few years, including different programs tackling different albums and eras of the group held in Northeast Ohio.
Now Freiman is back in the Rock Hall City with “Deconstructing Rubber Soul,” “Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper – EXPANDED” and “Glass Onion – EXPANDED” taking place Feb. 13 through Feb. 15 at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Scott Freiman, a composer and producer who started putting together Beatles lectures four years ago as a way to entertain his musician friends, says those same friends pushed him into going public.
Scott Freiman’s Beatles lectures are such a hit that he’s become a regular on the lecture circuit. Freiman, a composer and producer who started putting together Beatles presentations four years ago as a way to entertain his musician friends, says those same friends pushed him into sharing them with the public. In 2013, Freiman lectured in front of some 15,000 people nationwide, including employees of theaters, museums and Pixar. He’s recently expanded his multimedia programs and is taking them on the road. We reached him via phone in Los Angeles.
I invited Scott Freimanto dinner for a few reasons, but mostly because he gets paid to talk about rock ‘n’ roll. Scott, the CEO of a tech startup called Qwire (an intentional misspelling of choir), taught a class at Yale University on the music of the Beatles and lectures widelyon the topic. During a dinner with some 15 tech founders and investors, I asked Scott about the story behind Decca Records turning down the Beatles (an epic miss!) and subsequently overpaying to sign another young rock group.
New York-based composer and producer Scott Freiman, will "deconstruct" an album of the Beatles in a multi-media presentation at the Springfield Jewish Community Center. Freiman’s “Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper” takes place Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
In a two-hour presentation, Freiman will take Beatles' fans through the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. Freiman will use various forms of media, including music, video and photos to give an in-depth look at the Beatles’ creative process.
Beatles inspiration never stops. Their songs and the unique souls that produced them go under Scott Frieman’s unique microscope in his “Deconstructing the Beatles” series.
FabFour Heads who haven’t experienced it yet get another change this Tuesday, June 24th, when he presents “Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper” at the JCC in Manhattan.
The Beatles’ “White Album” can change lives. For me, it was at age 8, when the music maven babysitter brought along her box of cassettes (back then the tape version of “The Beatles” —the album’s official name— wasn’t white and minimalist like its nickname, but black and photo-covered); the 30 wildly diverse songs whirled me around like a weird funhouse ride. Composer Scott Freiman had his own “White Album” moment at age 10. His Partridge Family-loving mind was blown when an uncle lent him a copy of the Beatles’ self-titled double LP with its stark, unforgettable packaging.
Scott Freiman asks his students to "lend me your ears" and he takes them on a trip through Strawberry Fields, down Penny Lane and into Abbey Road.
Scott Freiman's first record was by the Partridge Family. An uncle quickly rectified that, lending the 10-year-old copies of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper and the White Album, and Freiman has been hooked ever since.
Does the world really need yet another perspective on the Fab Four? Judging by the fast success of the multimedia show “Deconstructing the Beatles,” the answer is…YES.
Scott Freiman's personal interest in the Beatles took a very suprising turn. Like a lot of valuable things, “Deconstructing the Beatles” started by accident. But as we’ll see momentarily, Scott Freiman, an NY-based composer, producer and engineer seized the opportunity to take his own curiosity about the music of John, Paul, George and Ringo, and turn it into something much bigger.
Scott Freiman is a Beatles geek. But it's OK. He's highly functioning, he has a day job and he does his best not to haunt old record conventions in search of a "butcher cover" copy of "Yesterday and Today." In fact, Freiman, like many fellow Beatles geeks, has actually turned his fandom into a job of its own, one he loves and does well.