Beatlemania

My siblings and I were exposed to all kinds of music while we were growing up.  From classical to country, gospel, pop, rock, blues, comedy, and even rap.  Our parents tended to steer us away from hard rock and heavy metal, though.  (Ironically, what we called "hard rock" back then seems mild by today's standards.)  The breadth of artists we listened to is kind of staggering to consider.

Because our dad is a huge fan, the music we heard (probably) the most was by the Beatles.  He owns every Beatles album, many books, all the movies, etc.  We grew up watching their movies, especially Help! (which seemed riotously funny when I was a kid, but a little more eye-roll-inducing now; A Hard Day's Night, however, is still a classic).  I have a particularly strong memory of my parents teaching us kids how to sing harmony with the song "If I Fell."  Most of it is sung in two-part harmony; using it to train our young ears was brilliant.  All of us grew up loving and playing music, unaware (for a while, at least) that our unofficial "training" began at an early age.

I had a high school history teacher named Mr. Browning who was a big fan of the Beach Boys (another group I became familiar with as a kid).  One day, he made a comparison between the Beach Boys and the Beatles that I thought was grossly unfair ("I wanna hold your hand?  What kind of song is that?").  I wish I'd been brave enough to speak up and defend the Beatles ("A romantic song, that's what!  It's better than that baa baa black sheep song by the Beach Boys!").  I've always liked the Beach Boys, but I thought his comparison was simplistic and stupid.

(Years later, I was almost drawn into another debate.  As the music director for our high school theatre program, I occasionally get attention from students based on what kind of t-shirt I'm wearing.  On a day that I was wearing a Beatles shirt, a young snot declared, "The Beatles are overrated!"  I replied, "The Beatles have remained popular for over sixty years, but they're overrated?"  "Yeah!" was all he said.  He was obviously trying to start a debate.  Another student spoke up in my defense and said, "You're entitled to your opinion—even if you're wrong.")          When the Beatles Anthology was released, our family religiously watched the documentary on TV.  I especially remember when the new songs "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" were released.  I'll never forget sitting down with my dad in his music store—me at a keyboard, him with a guitar—and we learned how to play "Free as a Bird" by ear.  The song's chord progression is more complex than it sounds.  And I'll always remember Dad pointing out the layered harmonies sung behind the guitar solo.

Around the time Dad's music store opened, I had become an obsessed fan of Elton John.  I evidently had no idea how this impacted those around me until the day my mom told me a comment made by my dad.  "I used to like Elton John," he said, "until Brian started to play his music all the time."  When she told me that, my initial reaction was, well, how do you think I feel about the Beatles?!  Mom and Dad didn't exactly shove the Beatles down our throats, but their music almost threatened to overwhelm everything else.  An unintentional consequence, obviously.  It's easy to let an interest (or obsession) drive other people crazy, and the apple (get it?) doesn't fall far from the tree.

By the time I left on an LDS mission to Chicago, I was a dyed-in-the-wool Elton John fan (and I still am).  Although we were supposed to stay focused on missionary work, I'm still amazed how much music I was introduced to during my mission.  (The blues is quite popular in the area.)  I heard the Beatles a few times, and it was no big deal.  At the end of my mission, my parents and brothers traveled to pick me up and we spent two weeks on the trip home.  The day after they picked me up, we went to dinner at Fuddruckers.  As we were waiting for our food, the Beatles began to play on the radio.  (I've never been able to remember exactly which song, but I think it was "I'll Be Back.")  I turned to my dad, trying to contain my emotions, and said, "I've missed the Beatles."

Yes.  As much as I thought of myself as a true-blue Elton John fan (which I still am), I had been raised to love the Beatles.  Their music helped shape my dad, and helped shape me, even though I didn't know it until that moment in Fuddruckers.  Ever since then, I've felt some kind of need to "catch up" on my Beatles knowledge, somehow feeling like I'd fallen behind my brothers in that department.  Not only has it strengthened my familial relationships, but it also increased my appreciation for such a seminal rock band.

The first time I got to see Elton John perform in Las Vegas, I was able to travel with my sister, Brooke, and her husband and daughter.  We spent an entire day exploring the Strip, and Brooke and I made sure to hit the Beatles Lounge at the Mirage hotel where the Cirque du Soleil show The Beatles LOVE was in residency.  I bought a souvenir program and took it home to show my dad.  As he looked through it, he said, “I've never wanted to go to Vegas, but now I do."  Not long after that, my parents went to see the show and came home raving about it.  All of us in the family bought the accompanying CD album, but over the years, none of the rest of us went to see the show.  (I went back several years later to see Elton John again, and once again made sure to visit the Beatles store and buy a shirt.)

In the spring of 2024, I read that the Mirage had been bought out and the Beatles LOVE show would be ending in July of that year.  I let my parents know, and they immediately decided to go see the show again.  Once I found out about the show's impending finish, I figured that I had missed out on something special.  (It had been running for eighteen years, which is a record in Vegas.)  To my surprise, Mom and Dad contacted the entire family and invited us to go with them.  Even more surprisingly, all my siblings agreed to go.  Having most of my immediate family planning to attend a Beatles show together felt significant.  ("All together now!")

We convened at the Mirage on June 27, 2024, and went to the most Beatles-tastic show I've ever seen.  It's hard to describe, partly because the show was performed "in the round," which makes every angle unique.  My dad said the show was like sensory overload, but in a good way.  That was an understatement.  For much of the show there was so much happening that you couldn't possibly take it all in.  But it was glorious.  It began with an a cappella rendition of "Because," and then we heard the famous opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night" that began a mashup opening to "Get Back."  By the time "Get Back" started, I was becoming emotional (I suspect other members of my family were as well).  It was one of the most exciting openings to a show that I've ever witnessed.

Parts of the show were appropriately dialed back for the accompanying songs, but the majority was a lollapalooza of visual imagery combined with stunning acrobatics and choreography.  Hearing the new version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at full volume made it even more emotional and poignant.  I remember thinking during the show, THIS is the volume at which the Beatles should be played!  It felt like we were in the studio with them.  And I got emotional again near the end of the show, when they played "Hey Jude" and finished with "All You Need is Love."  The show was magnificent, and my family was there to witness it and celebrate music that we deeply love.  I will never forget it.

One highlight was watching my nephew Dean experience the show.  He was already a big enough Beatles fan to have a genuine interest.  Even with all the razzle-dazzle going on, I kept stealing glances to see the excitement on his face and noticed how he spent portions of the show completely spellbound.  I was already an emotional sap, but I'm sure watching Dean's reactions contributed to my experience.

I was told shortly after the concert that Dean couldn't get enough of the Beatles.  The same was true for me.  For the next few months, I was in hardcore Beatles obsession overdrive.  I bought every Beatles product that caught my interest that I didn't already own and tuned the radio in my car to the Beatles channel, where it stayed for three months.  I was effectively listening to the Beatles every single day.

Just before my family went on our Vegas trip, I was at a theatre staff meeting where the director and choreographer presented me with a Little Golden Book about the Beatles!  Then our prop mistress disappeared for a short while.  When she reappeared, she presented me with a framed picture of the Beatles (which happens to be a family favorite).  She had been cleaning out her house, and once she saw how much I love the Beatles, she decided the picture should go to me.  I think my brain started to shift into "hardcore Beatles obsession overdrive" that very night.

So here I am, an obsessed Beatles fan.  I can't imagine my life without them.  It makes me think of a line from the movie Yesterday: "A world without the Beatles is a world that's infinitely worse."