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List Price: $10.95 | | Publisher: Outskirts Press
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Editorial Review:
A Capitol Juggling Act
That Turned Out Right
How Capitol Got The Beatles: and Then What Happened Reviews:
behind-the-scenes knowledge with fans 
2009-05-02 - Lawyer Charles Tillinghast knew the Beatles well. He shares behind-the-scenes knowledge with fans. Much Of Tillinghast's book is spent revealing the history behind Capitol Records. He discusses different executives and tidbits concerning their lives. Capitol Record was the envy of other record companies when they signed Frank Sinatra. EMI, Capitol's parent company, was determined to promote the foursome. Livingston, Capitol's President, was not impressed with their recording of "Please Love Me, Do." He classified it as a "dog." EMI next approached Vee Jay. They recorded a song by Lennon and McCarty that would quickly rise up the charts, "I Want to Hold Your Hand." That song got CRC's attention. Much of How Capitol Got The Beatles and Then What Happened is contracts and other legal matters. The best part of this book is the discussion of Lennon and McCarty's ambitions. He openly discusses the discord between the four. He considers Lennon the most disruptive and Starr the least. Starr is described as gentle. I also enjoyed the discussion of the women in John and Paul's life and the effect they had on the discord.
I enjoyed this book. I was in the fourth grade when the Beatles made their début on the Ed Sullivan show. I still remember how all the girls on the playground ooohed and ahhhed over the talented British celebrities. We sang their songs and tried to decide which one was the best looking or the most talented. I enjoyed the insights into the life of the Beatles. Pictures would have been a great addition. How Capitol Got The Beatles and Then What Happened is well written, and diehard Beatles fans will enjoy knowing the inside story. Tillinghast shares his vast knowledge and experiences with readers. He was there for the rise of the Fab Four. He knew them well and dealt with them on a day to day basis. Well done, Mr. Tillinghast.
Capitol Wins the Beatles! 
2009-03-05 - We learn in "How Capitol Got the Beatles" that Electric & Musical Industries, Ltd. (later "EMI"), owned Capitol in 1962, a relationship giving Capitol first shot at the Beatles. After hearing their dubs, Capitol's A&R chief didn't think the sound better than many other groups--rejected. Maybe it was the song--"Please Love Me, Do,"--hardly a smash in the UK, nor in the US, released by VeeJay Records. In the fall of '62 EMI released the group's "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," an original work by Lenon and McCartney. It took off. Its hit status was so impressive the group's manager, Brian Epstein, was able to arrange the artists' appearance on at least 2 performances of the "Ed Sullivan" show--truly a coup--as part of an American tour.
In Hollywood, Capitol's (circular) halls must have been alive with comings and goings of execs in shock; "what happened?" and "What can we do?" Well, somebody did something--the mystery is who, and what. Capitol released its edition of the smash UK single, and it was a like smash in the US, the group now on the Capitol label.
1967 saw the end of the group's contract with EMI, as well as the sudden August death of Epstein, the Beatles' genius manager. At the top of their career, the artists were open to making new contracts with Capitol as well as EMI. Negotiations with Alan Klein, Epstein's successor, were tough but successful in keeping Capitol and the group together.
Extraneous record industry developments sharply impacted the company's relations with the artists, described in this book available from Amazon for $10.95.
Interesting and Fun Reading
2008-11-25 - What a great find. While this is a short book (94 pages), it is full of interesting facts, information, events and stories, previously untold, about the early days of the Beatles in the U.S.; how their recording contracts with Capitol came about; and the relationship that developed over the period of the group's great success as recording artists. This is from an insider, Charles Tillinghast, at the time an attorney with Capitol Records, who was actually there and involved in all the negotiations and dealings and other goings on. The author's descriptions of the various characters involved - business executives, lawyers, agents, managers, etc. - was fascinating to me, and worth the price of the book alone. Historical information is provided about Capitol Records and the Beatles themselves, which is helpful in placing it all in context.
Tillinghast also does a great job of explaining the workings and financial aspects of the record business that is easily understood.
The entire story is told with wit and humor, and is a fun read. Should be of interest to any fan or student of the Beatles, or of the record business itself. I highly recommend this book.
Great Book on The Beatles from Record Label Insider
2008-11-13 - Even though I was born several years after The Beatles disbanded in 1970, I grew up listening to their music. Like many other kids of my generation, my parents were fans of the Fab Four. When I became a teenager, I took it upon myself to learn the entire catalog. I also read all of the books and watched all of the documentaries I could find about this peerless group. I found that nearly every aspect of the Beatles phenomenon has been captured in great detail. From the controversy over who really should be considered the "fifth Beatle" to the members' tragic childhoods to the influence of Eastern philosophy on their later works, you can find perspectives from multiple sources. However, in his new release How Capitol Got the Beatles, attorney and author Charles Tillinghast offers a new lens through which to study these four musicians and the impact they created.
Tillinghast worked for fifteen years as the head of the Law Department with Capitol Records, including most of the period during which The Beatles were associated with the label. In this position, he worked with many of the players whose names were never in lights but who, nonetheless, were pivotal to The Beatles' success. He uses his experience to share with the readers his opinion concerning several topics of controversy. He dissects the stories of three individuals who claim to have been responsible for the signing of The Beatles. With an obvious legal flair, he pokes holes in the evidence for two accounts and provides his support for the third. He details audits of the group and Capitol Records. In doing so, he reveals the possibility that EMI, the British parent company of Capitol, may have been double-dipping when receiving their percentage of earnings and explains the painful process through which every item of merchandise was vetted for its royalty value. In chapters that will be of greatest interest to those who enjoy thinking about the human dynamics at play, Tillinghast discusses his thoughts on the infamous as well as, until now, hidden squabbles both among members of the group and between friends and family who became involved in the business. If you want to get inside the head of a person who has "been there and seen that" concerning this worldwide phenomenon, How Capitol Got the Beatles will be of interest to you.
Although Tillinghast could use the skills he learned during his education at Harvard Law School to write a book thick with legal language that makes a reader's head spin, he keeps his content accessible to all readers. Each chapter is short and covers a very specific topic. He alternates between subjects that are steeped in financial and contractual details with segments that focus on the personalities involved. For example, readers will encounter a chapter about the negotiations that occurred following the death of The Beatles' first manager, Brian Epstein. The vacuum created by the loss of Epstein left confusion over who would speak for The Beatles and how the new representative would expect talks to proceed. Would The Beatles work with EMI, go directly to the people at Capitol, or would an altogether different path now be pursued? The next chapter gets more personal when Paul McCartney decides to break with new management and hire his father-in-law, Lee Eastman. The readers will learn of the distrust and animosity that this move created with the other members of the group. By expertly maintaining this balancing act of providing his first-hand legal insight while also appealing to our desire to learn more about the people behind The Beatles' machine, Tillinghast succeeds in producing an informative and entertaining read.
At only ninety-four pages, How Capitol Got the Beatles is a quick read that is packed with great information. I see this book as being particularly appealing to two groups of people. First, fans of The Beatles and their music will love this unique look at how the band started their recording career and how they chose the confidants who would come along for the ride. This book also is important for those who are currently involved, or hope to have a future, in the music industry. They will learn the legal implications of sending free records to DJs, the reasons that a major record label signs or rejects a group, and the decisions that need to be made concerning contracts. I fit into the "Beatles fan" category and highly recommend Tillinghast's work to anyone who shares this designation with me. You will not be disappointed in this opportunity to learn more about the Fab Four and the evolution of their life in the music business.
Charles Tillinghast. How Capitol Got the Beatles and then what happened
2008-10-25 - Charles Tillinghast's book will be of interest to both Beatles fans and, perhaps moreso, to those who have some degree of fascination with the interworkings of the record industry. Tillinghast was an attorney with Capitol Records from 1965 until 1980, much of that time as head of the Law Department. The book is a very readable chronicle of the relationship between the Beatles and Capitol Records, written by a witness to that relationship. There are 16 short chapters and an Appendix that lists all the Beatles record albums released by Capitol Records. A glossary of names would have been helpful -- maybe in a 2nd edition? -- in keeping the "cast of characters" in mind. Some of them are "characters" indeed. By the way, it appears evident that the record industry is a "man's world" although the roles of Yoko Ono and Linda Eastman McCartney are not insignificent.
A central theme of the book is money: recording contracts and copyrights, record promotions, stock options. Conflict is another important component: inhouse conflict at Capitol Records, and inhouse conflict among the "fabulous four," especially John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Tillinghast's writing style is clear as a bell and interspersed with an engaging "lightness" and frequent humor.
Highly recommended!
