{"id":18100,"date":"2014-09-04T07:27:27","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T13:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=18100"},"modified":"2014-09-04T07:42:56","modified_gmt":"2014-09-04T13:42:56","slug":"jewish-fifth-beatle-figures-prominently-in-new-book-about-bands-first-u-s-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/jewish-fifth-beatle-figures-prominently-in-new-book-about-bands-first-u-s-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewish &#8216;Fifth Beatle&#8217; figures prominently in new book about band&#8217;s first U.S. tour"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By TOM TUGEND<\/p>\n<p>LOS ANGELES (JTA) &#8212; It was 6 a.m. on Aug. 19, 1964 when the phone rang in the Los Angeles apartment of Ivor Davis, the young West Coast correspondent for London\u2019s Daily Express, circulation 4 million.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18102\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Hard Day's Night set\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18102\" class=\"wp-image-18102 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight-300x243.jpg\" alt=\"26-Hardaysnight\" width=\"300\" height=\"243\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight-300x243.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight-1024x831.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight.jpg 2005w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/243;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18102\" class=\"wp-image-18102 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight-300x243.jpg\" alt=\"26-Hardaysnight\" width=\"300\" height=\"243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight-300x243.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight-1024x831.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/26-Hardaysnight.jpg 2005w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-18102\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Beatles getting haircuts on the set of \u201cA Hard Day\u2019s Night.\u201d (United Artists Pictures)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>On the other end was the paper\u2019s foreign editor, who told Davis to drive to the airport and catch the 11 a.m. flight to San Francisco. His assignment was to cover that evening\u2019s gig at the Cow Palace by a hot British pop group called the Beatles.<\/p>\n<p>For Davis and the band, it would be the start of a hysterical 34-day, 24-city tour across the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had unfettered access to the boys &#8230; I lived and ate with them, played cards and Monopoly until the early hours of the morning,&#8221; Davis recalled. \u201cI was there when they popped pills, talked candidly about their passions \u2026 and how they coped with the revolving door of women that was the inevitable result of their perch as global sex symbols.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It has taken 50 years, but Davis, 76, otherwise a quick and prolific journalist and author, has finally put together the highs and lows of the memorable tour in a lively new book, \u201cThe Beatles and Me.\u201d In it, he writes of the pressure, adulation, booze, drugs and girls in the lives of the group.<\/p>\n<p>Davis, who was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family in East London, devotes considerable space to the influence of the \u201cFifth Beatle,\u201d Brian Samuel Epstein, manager of the Fab Four and a frequent target of the stereotypical Jewish cracks of that time and environment by some of \u201cthe boys.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18105\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Brian Epstein on horse\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/17-Riding-Epstein-Credit-Ron-Joy-Belle-Schwartz-Estate-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18105\" class=\"wp-image-18105 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/17-Riding-Epstein-Credit-Ron-Joy-Belle-Schwartz-Estate-1-300x236.jpg\" alt=\"17-Riding Epstein (Credit Ron Joy-Belle Schwartz Estate 1\" width=\"300\" height=\"236\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/17-Riding-Epstein-Credit-Ron-Joy-Belle-Schwartz-Estate-1-300x236.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/17-Riding-Epstein-Credit-Ron-Joy-Belle-Schwartz-Estate-1-1024x806.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/236;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18105\" class=\"wp-image-18105 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/17-Riding-Epstein-Credit-Ron-Joy-Belle-Schwartz-Estate-1-300x236.jpg\" alt=\"17-Riding Epstein (Credit Ron Joy-Belle Schwartz Estate 1\" width=\"300\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/17-Riding-Epstein-Credit-Ron-Joy-Belle-Schwartz-Estate-1-300x236.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/17-Riding-Epstein-Credit-Ron-Joy-Belle-Schwartz-Estate-1-1024x806.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-18105\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brian Epstein horsing around at his 30th birthday party. (Ron Joy-Belle Schwartz Estate)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Asked why he delayed writing the book for such a long time, Davis told JTA, \u201cI never expected their fame and legacy would last this long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neither did the Beatles themselves. In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Ringo Starr said that John Lennon expected the group\u2019s style and music to endure for about four years, that Paul McCartney planned on a writing career and George Harrison wanted to open a garage. Ringo\u2019s ambition: to run a hair salon.<\/p>\n<p>Davis attributed the instant success and enduring mythology of the Beatles in part to timing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor one, the Beatles came and lifted American spirits depressed by the assassination of President Kennedy,&#8221; he told JTA. &#8220;For another, Lennon and McCartney proved to be really talented composers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems unlikely that Beyonce or Justin Bieber will be remembered this way 50 years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18103\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Beatles pillowfight\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/1-BeatlesPillowFightCredit-Harry-Benson.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18103\" class=\"wp-image-18103 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/1-BeatlesPillowFightCredit-Harry-Benson-300x296.jpg\" alt=\"1-BeatlesPillowFight(Credit Harry Benson)\" width=\"300\" height=\"296\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/1-BeatlesPillowFightCredit-Harry-Benson-300x296.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/1-BeatlesPillowFightCredit-Harry-Benson.jpg 970w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/296;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18103\" class=\"wp-image-18103 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/1-BeatlesPillowFightCredit-Harry-Benson-300x296.jpg\" alt=\"1-BeatlesPillowFight(Credit Harry Benson)\" width=\"300\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/1-BeatlesPillowFightCredit-Harry-Benson-300x296.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/1-BeatlesPillowFightCredit-Harry-Benson.jpg 970w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-18103\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Beatles &#8212; from left, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison &#8212; letting off steam with a pillow fight. (Harry Benson)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Epstein was born in Liverpool on Yom Kippur into a well-to-do merchant family. Without any managerial experience, he more or less appointed himself as manager of the largely unknown band after hearing it play at a local cellar club.<\/p>\n<p>The Beatles took on Epstein partially in the conviction that \u201cJews are good with money,\u201d as McCartney reportedly put it.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his lack of managerial acumen, Epstein, or \u201cEppy,\u201d successfully transformed the stage presence of his charges. The rough working-class lads wearing black leather and performing in the basement of a converted warehouse became nice middle-class chaps clad in neat, dark business suits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEpstein changed the boys into clean-cut lads whom he could take home and introduce to his Yiddishe mamma,\u201d Davis explained in an interview. \u201cIf he were to try the same with the Rolling Stones, they would have burned down the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under the outward appearance of a perfectly groomed, well-spoken and somewhat aloof Englishman, Epstein wrestled with the burden of being closeted as a Jew and gay at a time when engaging in a homosexual act was considered a criminal offense in Britain.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the boys knew all about the skeletons in Epstein\u2019s closet, as illustrated by an exchange during a late-night drink.<\/p>\n<p>Epstein mentioned that he had just finished his (ghost-written) autobiography. Lennon, who enjoyed getting under Epstein\u2019s skin, asked for the book\u2019s title.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Cellarful of Noise,\u201d Epstein replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow about \u2018A Cellarful of Boys,\u2019 &#8221; Lennon countered.<\/p>\n<p>Getting into the spirit, Epstein offered \u201cA Cellarful of Goys,\u201d though he wasn\u2019t sure the Beatles knew the meaning of the term.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, no,\u201d said Lennon, \u201cI\u2019ve got the perfect title &#8212; \u2018Queer Jew.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Lennon was recording \u201cBaby, You\u2019re A Rich Man,\u201d he occasionally switched the lyrics to \u201cBaby, You\u2019re A Rich Jew,\u201d to the anguish of the group&#8217;s producer. At his most provocative, Lennon often addressed Epstein to his face as a \u201crich fag Jew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite such provocations, Davis does not believe that Lennon was an outright anti-Semite.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18104\" style=\"width: 247px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"George Harrison and ghost writer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/10-Georges-ghostwriter300.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18104\" class=\"wp-image-18104 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/10-Georges-ghostwriter300-237x300.jpg\" alt=\"10-George's ghostwriter300\" width=\"237\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/10-Georges-ghostwriter300-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/10-Georges-ghostwriter300-809x1024.jpg 809w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 237px) 100vw, 237px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 237px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 237\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18104\" class=\"wp-image-18104 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/10-Georges-ghostwriter300-237x300.jpg\" alt=\"10-George's ghostwriter300\" width=\"237\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/10-Georges-ghostwriter300-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/10-Georges-ghostwriter300-809x1024.jpg 809w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 237px) 100vw, 237px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-18104\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Author Ivor Davis, standing, doubled as ghostwriter for Beatle George Harrison. (Ron Joy-Belle Schwartz Estate)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cJohn was extraordinarily bright and had a nasty, warped sense of humor,\u201d Davis said. \u201cHe knew how to get a rise out of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Epstein rarely talked to the press and had hardly exchanged a word with Davis during the first four weeks of the national tour. So when the group arrived in New Orleans and checked into a hotel before the performance, Davis was startled when he was summoned to Epstein\u2019s suite.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s Yom Kippur tomorrow,\u201d Epstein informed Davis. \u201c I wonder if you know anyone who could arrange for me to pop in at the local synagogue,\u201d adding quickly, \u201cI won\u2019t be able to stay all day, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Davis called the synagogue, and without mentioning Epstein\u2019s name or who he was scored two free tickets. The noble offer was in vain, since in the end neither Epstein nor Davis showed up for the services.<\/p>\n<p>The Beatles popularity would outlive Epstein; he died in 1967 at 32. The coroner listed the death as accidental and probably caused by prolonged overuse of the sedative carbitrol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Beatles and Me\u201d cites a few other Jewish aspects of the 1964 tour:<\/p>\n<p>* When the band performed in Montreal, a caller to the hotel threatened to \u201ckill the Jew Ringo\u201d \u2013 which he wasn\u2019t, although his father-in-law was.<\/p>\n<p>* At a news conference, a reporter asked the Beatles if they thought Jews played too influential a role in show business. Sensing an obvious provocation, the foursome skipped on to the next question.<\/p>\n<p>* McCartney had an affinity for Jewish wives. His second spouse, Linda Eastman, was Jewish; she died in 1998. His current wife, Nancy Shevell, also is Jewish.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout his far-ranging writing career, Davis, in collaboration with his late wife Sally Ogle Davis, has reported on Hollywood stars, headline trials, natural disasters and politics for the Times of London, Daily Express, New York Times Syndicate and American magazines.<\/p>\n<p>Now living out his golden years in the California beachfront community of Ventura, Davis is now working on two new books \u2014 one about movies, the other a true crime story.<\/p>\n<div style=\"color: #000000;\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Jewish%20%27Fifth%20Beatle%27%20figures%20prominently%20in%20new%20book%20about%20band%27s%20first%20U.S.%20tour\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5012,5961,8790,8795,8788,4964],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18100"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18100"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18107,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18100\/revisions\/18107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}