#191 – Maggie Mae with Bruce Spizer (Beatles historian and author)

At the onset of the Get Back/Let It Be project, John had a dilemma: he was short on songs. Paul and George had them falling out of their back pockets, but John was…going through some things, and didn’t have a ton of material. He looked to the past, as the rest did, to old Lennon/McCartney tunes, rock & roll standards, covers, and old folk songs, like “Maggie Mae,” a tale-as-old-as-time story about a prostitute robbing her…John. This tune, with’s it’s equally odd history, shows up between takes of “Two of Us,” a light-hearted jaunt through songs they knew back when, relieving tension, and providing that “fly-on-the-wall” perspective that was the impetus behind the project. It’s an enjoyable, if somewhat perplexing inclusion in the catalog.

To somehow get an episode’s worth of discussion on this track, we called the man who wrote the book on these sessions…literally. Bruce Spizer has written 10 books on the Beatles, examining everything from their releases on obscure independent record labels to band and solo releases on their own Apple Records, deep dives on their conquering of America, to in-depth analyses on Sgt. Pepper, The White Album, and now, Let It Be. He was the infuriating brain behind the questions on the Beatles’ Trivial Pursuit game (10 points if you know what Jet Clipper Defiance is without Googling), and he’s a regular speaker at Beatles conventions and events around the world. In addition to the odd history of “Maggie Mae,” we touch on growing up as a 1st generation fan, what it takes to write some of the best Beatles books, the twists and turns of the Get Back/Let It Be project, and getting past book-burnout courtesy of an ex-Wings member. Bruce’s new book, “The Beatles Finally Let It Be,” is available now! You can get it (autographed and with a SLEW of extra goodies – all of which he outlines in the episode) at his website, Beatle.net. Get it now and you’ll be able to get the addendum accompanying the release of the Peter Jackson “Get Back” film next year! We also highly recommend his other books if you’re looking for informative deep dives on Beatles topics, packaged in wonderful coffee-table books. Be sure to follow along, leave your comments, and join in on the discussion on the rankings at Facebook (facebook.com/rankingthebeatles) and on Instagram @rankingthebeatles. Enjoying the show and want to show your support? Check out https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support!