54 pages • 1 hour read
John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs
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Prologue-Chapter 8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes depictions of illness and death and themes of grief and loss.
Prologue Summary
Ian Leslie describes the day that John Lennon was murdered. On December 9, 1980, the press cornered Paul McCartney outside his recording studio and asked for his response. McCartney said Lennon’s murder was “a drag” and moved on (2).
Leslie describes the significant impact the Beatles still have on contemporary culture. Few understood their influence when they emerged in the 1960s, and the literature written on them since doesn’t fully capture their contribution.
Leslie lays out his intentions for the book, which centers on Lennon and McCartney’s relationship as songwriters and friends. Leslie holds that the mainstream narrative about their dynamic is incomplete and doesn’t do their personalities justice. For example, the media cast McCartney’s response to Lennon’s death as cold, but Leslie believes it was more complicated.
Chapter 1 Summary: “Come Go With Me”
Leslie describes McCartney and Lennon’s meeting. (He alternates between using their first and last names). In 1957, John was playing at a church with his group the Quarry Men. Fifteen-year-old Paul was struck by John’s appearance and talent. Leslie holds that they weren’t equals—John was older and had more experience—but they had traumatic childhoods in common.
