Blackbird [Paperback]

Geoffrey Giuliano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 1997

The most prolific and commercially successful of the Beatles, Paul McCartney has made musical waves for over three decades. His leadership of the Beatles; collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Costello; solo hits, including "Maybe I'm Amazed," "Band on the Run," "Jet," "Silly Love Songs," "No More Lonely Nights," "My Brave Face," and "Put It There"; and many world tours have re-established him to successive generations of listeners. In Blackbird, Beatles insider Geoffrey Giuliano unfolds the whole story of McCartney's contradictory character and colossal talent. Beyond updated appendices and rare photos, this edition includes a substantial new chapter discussing McCartney's recent life. Like no other book, Blackbird presents the real Paul.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans will recoil from Giuliano's disparaging biography of former Beatle, Wings founder and solo musician McCartney. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Though McCartney's legions of fans are always interested in his doings, the immense popularity of the three recent Beatles Anthology collections, the release of a chart-topping solo album, and his knighthood have given Sir Paul his biggest burst of publicity in many years. Giuliano's update of his 1991 original follows McCartney through his first foray into classical music with the Liverpool Oratorio, his work with animal rights, the reunion of the "Threetles" to cut new songs for the Anthology albums, and wife Linda's bout with breast cancer. Also included are excerpts from recent interviews and an updated discography. This may be more popular now than when first released.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Updated edition (August 21, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807815
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807817
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,538,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars MAYBE I'M AMAZED..., August 1, 2001

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Blackbird (Paperback)

at how utterly ATROCIOUS this work is! This is ghastly and appalling and slander, plain and simple. It is bad enough that the author neglects to do his homework. Inaccuracies regarding dates and other documented facts abound; slanderous attacks against Paul McCartney's wife Linda are numerous.

Although I am an inveterate Beatles fan, I do not regard the Beatles as "sacred cows." It isn't so much that the author has thrown negative items into the mix. It is his approach. He appears to be looking for anything he can to smear the McCartneys. This is disgraceful! I am so glad I borrowed this from the library instead of wasting my hard earned money on it.

What this author fails to realize is that Paul and Linda have contributed so much to the world at large. Paul used his artistic talents and natural intelligence and Linda her love for children, animals and environmental issues. They were clearly a rock solid couple and loving parents to their children. Theirs is truly a story of love, commitment and respect for one another.

The author appears to have a real axe to grind and one cannot help but wonder why. He is no "Paperback Writer!"

In the words of Paul McCartney in 1964, "then we will remember things we said today."

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Biased but still interesting., March 3, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackbird (Paperback)

In my opinion, this book is not as bad as many people think it is, although it is certainly not the best. Let's just say, it offers a different angle... The weakness of the book is, of course, that a big part of it is based on interviews with people who felt mistreated and not fully appreciated by McCartney. I also found it annoying that the author took liberty to criticize the musical quality of certain songs and albums that I had always admired. It just reminded me of those lame newspaper columns that show up each time Paul releases a new CD - articles written by those musically challenged grungy "rock experts" who can't stand anything that is NOT neurotic, ugly and angry - in other words, something they could identify with! On the other hand, having been a dedicated fan of the Beatles and Paul McCartney for over 20 years now, I was not at all offended by reading that Paul was not a saint. It wasn't hard for me to imagine. Most talented people have difficult personalities. And, yes, the book does show, no matter what the author's intention was, that Paul McCartney IS an outstanding genius, one of the gratest musicians and songwriters of all time. Somehow, I tend to believe Denny Laine, his ex-wife, and many others, who told Giuliano their bitter stories. Unfortunately, we all hurt people's feelings from time to time, and you can't always please everybody. The problem is that when Giuliano put it all together in one book without even bothering to balance it with any other information, he ended up with a very biased picture. However, any intelligent reader, especially an educated McCartney fan, should have no difficulty seeing the real human being - with all his weaknesses and enormous, extraordinary talents, someone who has his ups and downs, - behind the biased portrait painted by Giuliano. And, from this standpoint, I found the book interesting to read. As for Denny Laine, I'm sure he himself now feels uncomfortable about some bits of his interviews that made it into the book. I don't think he ever fancied himself as the 2nd John Lennon, or something. After all, he is a talented guy and a good musician - otherwise he wouldn't have played with McCartney for more than 8 years! Obviously, he holds a grudge, and, most likely, he has his reasons. But don't judge the guy. It was Guiliano's fault that he practically built a book on those personal comments and called it "The Life and Times of Paul McCartney." (By the way, the edition that I have lists only Giuliano as the author.)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sketchy narrative is mostly quotations, January 27, 2000

By 

Cristian Ciurel (Bucharest, Romania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackbird (Paperback)

The author depends heavily on old interviews (that fans have probably read elsewhere) along with his own interviews with disguntled ex-Wings member Denny Laine and Laine's ex-girlfriend, both of whom obviously have an ax to grind. Their intense dislike of McCartney results in pettiness that is indeed laughable. If you deeply dislike Paul McCartney, you will be pleased with this book; if you are a fan or if you are looking for a factual, objective source of information you should definitely look elsewhere. The losers in McCartney's life get here an opportunity to have a go at him . Most of these were related to the awful Wings business. Furthermore he suggests that the writing partnership of McCartney and Denny Laine will be better appreciated in the future . Is this a joke? There are many other instances of the author crawling . He refers to several minor personalities as gifted , talented etc . This is irritating . Frankly, I believe this book it's a bummer.