Audiobooks by Kenneth Womack

Living the Beatles Legend: On the Road with the Fab Four – The Mal Evans Story

The first full-length biography of Mal Evans, the Beatles’ beloved roadie, assistant, confidant and friend A towering figure in horn-rimmed glasses, Malcolm ‘Mal’ Evans was an invaluable member of the Beatles’ inner circle. Serving as their long-time roadie, personal assistant and protector, he was a sometime lyricist, occasional performer and regular fixer at the height of the group’s fame and beyond. But Mal’s dedication to his beloved ‘boys’ and his own desire for stardom took its toll, leading to the dissolution of his marriage and his untimely death in January 1976. Until now, Mal’s extraordinary life has remained shrouded in mystery. Drawing on hundreds of exclusive interviews and with full access to Mal’s unpublished archives – including his personal diaries, manuscripts and memorabilia – renowned Beatles scholar Kenneth Womack paints the first complete portrait of this complicated figure at the heart of the Beatles’ story. Living the Beatles Legend is a fascinating but ultimately tragic tale about life at the edges of superstardom.

Kenneth Womack (Author), Kenneth Womack (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fandom and The Beatles: The Act You've Known for All These Years

Kenneth Womack, Kit O'toole (Author), Emily Sutton-Smith, Michael Butler Murray (Narrator)

Audiobook

All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs

George Harrison and Eric Clapton shared a legendary and tumultuous friendship that shaped not only their respective lives and careers but the shifting face of rock itself in the early 1970s. All Things Must Pass Away traces that friendship from its earliest roots in 1964, when Beatles-averse blues-rocker Eric met George backstage at the Hammersmith Odeon, through the messy trials of Clapton's affair with Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd, to the turn of the century, as the two elder statesmen of rock traded honors during Harrison's final days. But at the heart of the story are the November 1970 releases of All Things Must Pass, Harrison's powerful emancipatory statement in the wake of the Beatles' dissolution, and Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Clapton's impassioned reimagining of his art via Derek and the Dominos. Authors Womak and Kruppa interrogate these two iconic albums, from inspiration to studio sessions to legacies, and unearth new perspectives on Harrison and Clapton and they way their musicianship and songwriting advanced rock 'n' roll from a windswept 1960s idealism into the wild and expansive new reality of the 1970s. Drawing on a mountain of archival material and featuring new research, All Things Must Pass Away sweeps aside the myths in favor of a richly detailed exploration of these two remarkable albums and the men who made them.

Jason Kruppa, Kenneth Womack (Author), Paul Woodson (Narrator)

Audiobook

John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life

The story of the legendary musician's incredible last year. John Lennon 1980 traces the powerful, life-affirming story of the former Beatle's remarkable comeback after five years of self-imposed retirement. Lennon's final pivotal year would climax in several moments of creative triumph as he rediscovered his artistic self in dramatic fashion. With the bravura release of the Double Fantasy album with wife Yoko Ono, he was poised and ready for an even brighter future only to be wrenched from the world by an assassin's bullets. John Lennon 1980 isn't about how the gifted songwriter died; but rather, about how he lived.

Kenneth Womack (Author), Paul Woodson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles

In Solid State, Kenneth Womack offers the most definitive account of the conception, recording, mixing, and reception of Abbey Road. In February 1969, the Beatles began working on what became their final album together. Abbey Road introduced a number of new techniques and technologies to the Beatles' sound and included "Come Together," "Something," and "Here Comes the Sun," which all emerged as classics. Womack's colorful retelling of how this landmark album was written and recorded is a treat for fans of the Beatles. Solid State takes listeners back to 1969 and into EMI's Abbey Road Studios, which boasted an advanced solid state transistor mixing desk. Womack focuses on the dynamics between John, Paul, George, and Ringo and producer George Martin and his team of engineers, who for the most part set aside the tensions and conflicts that had arisen on previous albums to create a work with an innovative (and among some fans and critics, controversial) studio-bound sound that prominently included the new Moog synthesizer, among other novelties. As Womack shows, Abbey Road was the culmination of the instrumental skills, recording equipment, and artistic vision that the band and George Martin had developed since their early days in the same studio seven years before. A testament to the group's creativity and their producer's ingenuity, Solid State is required reading for all fans of the Beatles and the rock 'n' roll.

Kenneth Womack (Author), William Hughes (Narrator)

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Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin, The Later Years, 1966-2016

Sound Pictures traces the story of the Beatles' breathtaking artistic trajectory after reaching the creative heights of Rubber Soul. As the bandmates engage in brash experimentation both inside and outside the studio, Martin toils along with manager Brian Epstein to consolidate the Beatles' fame in the face of growing sociocultural pressures, including the crisis associated with the "Beatles are more popular than Jesus" scandal. Meanwhile, he also struggles to make his way as an independent producer in the highly competitive world of mid-1960s rock 'n' roll. As Martin and the Beatles create one landmark album after another, including such masterworks as Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (The White Album), and Abbey Road, the internal stakes and interpersonal challenges become ever greater. During his post-Beatles years, Martin attempts to discover new vistas of sound recording with a host of acts, including Jeff Beck, America, Cheap Trick, Paul McCartney, and Elton John, his creative breakthroughs followed by unprecedented commercial success. Eventually, though, all roads bring Martin back to the Beatles, as the group seeks out new ways to memorialize their achievement under the supervision of the man who has come to be known as Sir George.

Kenneth Womack (Author), Paul Woodson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin, The Early Years, 1926-1966

Maximum Volume offers a glimpse into the mind, the music, and the man behind the sound of the Beatles. George Martin's working-class childhood and musical influences profoundly shaped his early career in the BBC's Classical Music department and as head of the EMI Group's Parlophone Records. Out of them flowed the genius behind his seven years producing the Beatles' incredible body of work, including such albums as Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road. The first book of two, Maximum Volume traces Martin's early years as a scratch pianist, his life in the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War, and his groundbreaking work as the head of Parlophone Records, when Martin saved the company from ruin after making his name as a producer of comedy recordings. In its most dramatic moments, Maximum Volume narrates the story of Martin's unlikely discovery of the Beatles and his painstaking efforts to prepare their newfangled sound for the British music marketplace. As the story unfolds, Martin and the band craft numerous number-one hits, progressing toward the landmark album Rubber Soul-all of which bear Martin's unmistakable musical signature.

Kenneth Womack (Author), Paul Woodson (Narrator)

Audiobook