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Greg Kihn
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Rubber Soul: A Novel (Dust Bin Bob, 1) Paperback – September 3, 2013

by Greg Kihn (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 246 ratings
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Greg Kihn continues to pioneer the rock-thriller genre with Rubber Soul, a murder mystery and an action-packed ride through Beatlemania, featuring the Beatles themselves. Dust Bin Bob runs a secondhand shop at the Flea Market at Penny Lane. He has an extensive rep of American R&B singles that he gets from merchant marines returning from Baltimore and New York. The action starts when he befriends some blokes by the names of John, Paul, George, and Ringo and becomes their lifelong friend sharing the vinyl that will start a revolution. From then on, it’s a rocket ride from their earliest days in Liverpool to six shows a night in Hamburg to the Cavern Club to full-fledged Beatlemania. Along the way, Dust Bin Bob uncovers a plot by Marcos loyalists to assassinate the Fab Four in Manila after they snub Imelda Marcos, blowing off a reception at the palace and narrowly avoiding an international incident. It all could have happened! 100 percent historically accurate and including previously unpublished information about the Beatles’ early days, Rubber Soul is inspired by Greg Kihn’s radio interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pete Best, Patti Harrison, and Yoko Ono. When he asked where the Beatles got those rare American R&B records that inspired their early music, he got his answer from merchant marines who brought them over from Baltimore to Liverpool. From a serious Beatles fan who has read every word ever written about the group, Rubber Soul is a wild ride through rock ’n’ roll history.
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Dust Bin Bob
  2. Print length
    306 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media
  5. Publication date
    September 3, 2013
  6. Dimensions
    6.09 x 0.77 x 8.96 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1624670946
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1624670947
  9. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In his fifth novel (after Mojo Hand, 1999), veteran rocker Kihn, who had a string of hits in the ’70s and ’80s, continues to spin light mysteries with a musical theme. Ambitious businessman “Dust Bin” Bob Dingle, who runs a secondhand shop on Penny Lane, makes the acquaintance of four Liverpudlians named John, Paul, Ringo, and George. Bob’s stint as a merchant marine with semimonthly ports of call in Baltimore, Maryland, has given him access to a wealth of R & B records, and the Beatles impress Bob with their ability to pick up and flawlessly execute the material after a couple of listens. When they invite him along to their raucous gigs in Hamburg, during which they play for hours at a time, the result is a new burst of growth for the band and their high-energy stage performances. But Bob’s violent stepbrothers have it in for the young musicians, a grudge that culminates in Manila during the height of Beatlemania. Kihn well captures the enthusiasm and joy generated in the early years of the supergroup, and boomers, especially, will enjoy reliving those heady days. --Joanne Wilkinson

Review

""Kihn well captures the enthusiasm and joy generated in the early years of the supergroup, and boomers, especially, will enjoy reliving those heady days."" -- Joanne Wilkinson, " Booklist"

""There's no one more qualified to write a rock-and-roll novel than Greg Kihn. He's the real deal and at his Kihntillating best in this book.""
- Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple


""Rubber Soul is a magical mystery tour de force by Greg Kihn, a rocker who obviously has a way with words as well as music. His imagined story about the Beatles is fast-moving, full of twists and tension, and musical nuggets and insights. Great story-telling set to a Fab-four beat.""
- Ben Fong Torres, former senior editor of "Rolling Stone"


"Kihn well captures the enthusiasm and joy generated in the early years of the supergroup, and boomers, especially, will enjoy reliving those heady days." -- Joanne Wilkinson, " Booklist"

"There's no one more qualified to write a rock-and-roll novel than Greg Kihn. He's the real deal and at his Kihntillating best in this book."
- Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple


"Greg Kihn is the most compelling author who ever had a top five singing career. "Rubber Soul "is a fantastic story by Greg, with an historical back beat. I urge you not to miss this."
- Joan Jett


"Rubber Soul is a magical mystery tour de force by Greg Kihn, a rocker who obviously has a way with words as well as music. His imagined story about the Beatles is fast-moving, full of twists and tension, and musical nuggets and insights. Great story-telling set to a Fab-four beat."
- Ben Fong Torres, former senior editor of "Rolling Stone"


"There's no one more qualified to write a rock-and-roll novel than Greg Kihn. He's the real deal and at his Kihntillating best in this book."
- Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist of Apple


Praise for "Rubber Soul"

"Rubber Soul captures what Rock-n-Roll is all about - and Greg Kihn would certainly know! This nearly-true story of the Beatles is pure magic and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." --Eddie Money

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (September 3, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 306 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1624670946
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1624670947
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.09 x 0.77 x 8.96 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 246 ratings

About the author

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Greg Kihn

Greg Kihn

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NBC called Greg Kihn “Rock’s True Renaissance Man.” His career stretches from the dawn of punk and indie rock to the discos of the 80’s to the glory days of MTV. As a pioneer with the legendary Beserkley Records, he helped write the book on revolutionary west coast rock and roll.

He’s toured the world, had hit records, appeared on Saturday Night Live and American Bandstand, opened for the Rolling Stones, jammed with Bruce Springsteen, won the ASCAP and Midem Awards for his worldwide #1 hit JEOPARDY and THE BREAKUP SONG, was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic, lived the rock star lifestyle to the hilt, won and lost several fortunes, and lived to tell about it. But music is only part of the story.

In the 90’s Greg turned his attention to writing fiction. He published four novels, a handful of short stories in various anthologies, and edited a compilation of original fiction by famous musicians. HORROR SHOW was nominated for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.

It was also in the 90’s that he began his radio career. After a year of seven-midnight, Greg spent sixteen years hosting the top-rated morning show for KFOX radio in San Jose/San Francisco. He also hosted and performed at the annual KIHNCERT at the Shoreline Amphitheater featuring some of the most important bands of our generation.

Greg was inducted into the San Jose Rock Hall Of Fame in 2008 and the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2012.

Greg recently retained the rights to all his old recordings and is currently re-releasing his entire catalogue with the original artwork. The New Yorker recently described Greg’s music as having “a high degree of intelligence and subtlety.” The recent review of the Greg Kihn Band’s Greatest Hits by Apple iTunes called the group “a rock band of genuine consequence.” The band continues to tour with Greg’s son Ry Kihn replacing Joe Satriani on lead guitar.

Greg maintains a strong Internet presence with professional website design and social media managed by Michael Brandvold Marketing. Thousands of fans engage him daily on Facebook and Twitter. Greg also retains a cutting-edge publicist, Christopher Buttner at PrthatRocks.com, the lauded San Francisco based PR agency voted Best Publicist Of The Year by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals.

RUBBER SOUL is Greg’s most recent novel. This completely unique murder mystery features the Beatles as characters in the story. The idea came while interviewing original Beatles drummer Pete Best. Greg asked where the Beatles got those rare American R&B 45’s that constituted their early repertoire. Pete revealed that it was from Merchant Marines who carried the records back to Liverpool from America. That gave him the inspiration for the character “Dust Bin Bob” who befriends the Beatles from their penniless early days to the height of Beatlemania. The story climaxes with an assassination attempt in Manila during their world tour in 1966.

Through interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pete Best, Geoff Emerick (engineer), Alf Bicknell (driver), Yoko Ono and Patti Harrison, Greg got invaluable insights into the inner world of the Beatles. Even though RUBBER SOUL is a work of fiction, it is 100% historically accurate.

After a lifetime of rock & roll, and decades on the road and behind the microphone, no one else but Greg Kihn could have written this story.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
246 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book great and fun, with a believable story and interesting tidbits about the Beatles. They also praise the writing style as very well written and easy to read. Readers also appreciate the great characters. Opinions are mixed on the pacing, with some finding it fast-paced and others saying it's rushed and choppy.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
Entertainment valueStoryWriting styleCharactersPacing
54 customers mention "Entertainment value"54 positive0 negative

Customers find the book great, fun, and believable. They also say it takes them back to a time and place they remember fondly. Readers also appreciate the nostalgia and excitement of the ride.

"...This is a remarkable book. Author Greg Kihn captures so much of The Beatles' history and rise that it feels like an insider's biography of the band...." Read more

"...Rubber Soul is a fun read and a pleasant stroll back in time. Well done, Mr. Kihn!Oh yeah, one more thing...." Read more

"...The author is truly a fan of the band. Enjoyable book." Read more

"...The book is breezy and probably authentic as it cites Peter Best as a source...." Read more

22 customers mention "Story"22 positive0 negative

Customers find the story plausible, believable, and a must read for Beatles fans. They also appreciate the author's creation of a mystery and authentic action. Readers also mention the descriptions are clear and the book relies on historical facts.

"...by Greg Kihn feels like a Beatles biography, but it's a marvelous work of fiction about a man who is friends with the Fab Four, and this book..." Read more

"Nice combination of Beatles fact, myth, and fiction. Recommended to even the most tepid of Beatles fans. The author is truly a fan of the band...." Read more

"...A pity, really.A short, easy and fun read. Recommended." Read more

"...The main character is a good soul and his story is told in an easy, laid back way with his fictitious association with The Beatles credibly written...." Read more

16 customers mention "Writing style"13 positive3 negative

Customers find the writing style very well written, fast paced, and light. They also say it's a fun and light read.

"...Flash forward to 2016, and I'm reading Greg Kihn's eloquently written and delightful novel Rubber Soul and reliving this period again...." Read more

"...An interesting take, well written, on their early career, as told by someone who knew them then (Greg Kihn is a musician of some note himself)." Read more

"...I just thought it would be a fun and light read, and it was definitely light, and I guess occasionally fun...." Read more

"...He uses simple prose much like Ken Follett to great affect. He is to rocking dive bar brawls as Ken Follett is to mid evil pillaging...." Read more

10 customers mention "Characters"7 positive3 negative

Customers find the characters in the book great.

"...The main character is a good soul and his story is told in an easy, laid back way with his fictitious association with The Beatles credibly written...." Read more

"...Bob's character is completely believable & through him I learned a lot about the Beatles & their world...." Read more

"...After that point in the book, the pacing seemed rushed and character development suffered." Read more

"...Dust Bin Bob was a wonderful character, real or not. This was a very great read!" Read more

8 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive4 negative

Customers are mixed about the pacing. Some mention it's a fast paced adventure that they could not put down, while others say it feels rushed and choppy.

"...and loving depictions of what it was like there and then. A quick, and not overly serious read, though dark depictions of Lennon were revealing..." Read more

"...After that point in the book, the pacing seemed rushed and character development suffered." Read more

"...WRONG! It turned out to be a really enjoyable novel that moved along quickly. It felt like I was there, in a really good way...." Read more

"Sorry, but this book just didn't do it for me. It was an amateurish attempt to create a story about a prudish Englishman who had an early encounter..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Daniel
4.0 out of 5 stars Fiction that should be enjoyed by any Beatles fan.
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
This review originally published in [...] Rated 4.0 of 5

I'll start off by admitting that I really enjoyed this book. This semi-biographical mystery appears to follow the early days and rise of the Beatles. The book primarily follows "Dust Bin" Bob who meets John, Paul, Stu Sutcliffe and George before they become the famous Beatles. Given the nickname "Dust Bin" by John Lennon, Bob serves as the boys' 'dealer', supplying them with a vast assortment of Rhythm and Blues record albums, from which the boys add new songs to their performance repertoire. Bob watches in amazement as they listen to a song from an album three or four times and suddenly they can play it as well, if not better than the originals.

While stopping at Bob's house one day to listen to music, the musicians have a run-in with Bob's step-brothers who enjoy picking on Bob. There is a fight, which includes Bob's brother's kicking Stu Sutcliffe in the head which Bob later believes lead to Sutcliffe's brain aneurysm. Of the brothers, one dies and the other is sent to prison. While Bob moves on with his life (wife, family, business) The Beatles are always on his mind and they find ways to stay in touch. As the Beatles grow in fame, essentially becoming prisoners to their own fame, Dust Bin Bob is one of the last ties they have to normalcy and Bob joins them for the end of their last tour.

This is a remarkable book. Author Greg Kihn captures so much of The Beatles' history and rise that it feels like an insider's biography of the band. But at the same time, this really is the story of Dust Bin Bob who happens to be friends with the Fab Four. And it's also a little bit of a mystery, with Bob saving the day in Manilla. The fact that Kihn is able to use a number of true events (Stu Sutcliffe's death at a young age, and the disastrous stop in Manilla among others) and weave them comfortably into this story helps to make it feel so real.

This is a lot like reading the novel versions of <em>Help!</em> or <em>A Hard Days Night</em>, only better.

If you're a Beatles fan or a fan of adventurous fiction, or pop music in fiction, then you really need to read this book. It's just a whole lot of fun. I'm definitely going to look for more Greg Kihn books.

Looking for a good book? <em>Rubber Soul</em> by Greg Kihn feels like a Beatles biography, but it's a marvelous work of fiction about a man who is friends with the Fab Four, and this book should be greatly enjoyed by any Beatles fan.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
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Jeffrey Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars What A Fab Book!
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
It was the summer of 1981, and I was the roadie for a band from Illinois. The band, which was called The Jerks, was comprised of former members of the band Buckacre, which had cut two records with MCA (one of them produced by Glyn Johns). That summer, our touring took us from Illinois to Atlanta; with plenty of time between gigs, a couple of the band members and myself read Philip Norman's Shout, at the time, the definitive biography of The Beatles.Two of the band members had been teenagers when The Beatles came to the US, and our drummer had seen them when they played Chicago. Between their stories of the band and Norman's biography this era came alive for me again (I also remembered watching the band on the Ed Sullivan Show).

Flash forward to 2016, and I'm reading Greg Kihn's eloquently written and delightful novel Rubber Soul and reliving this period again. What a lovely, "fab" little book! The lives of the Beatles come alive page after page as Kihn takes us from their early Liverpool days to the height of Beatlemania. Told through the life of Bobby "Dust Bin" Dingle who meets John, Paul, George, and later, Ringo, the story is just as much about Bobby as it is about the music and cultural scene of the time. This era comes alive with all sorts of nostalgia and musical references. Although this is a work of fiction, many of the events described in this story could have actually happened the way the Kihn describes them.

But there's more! There's also a mysterious death that underpins this light mystery (as the book has been described) which adds some twists and drama to the story that elevates it above just a mere account of Bobby's life and his connection to The Beatles.

Rubber Soul is a fun read and a pleasant stroll back in time. Well done, Mr. Kihn!

Oh yeah, one more thing. That summer of 1981...we were all listening to Greg Kihn's "The Break-up Song!"

Jeffrey Miller,
Ice Cream Headache
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Michael Viola
3.0 out of 5 stars An easy read
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2015
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Nice combination of Beatles fact, myth, and fiction. Recommended to even the most tepid of Beatles fans. The author is truly a fan of the band. Enjoyable book.
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Top reviews from other countries

Bootsy (Shell)
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read for Beatles fans
Reviewed in Canada on December 4, 2014
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This book was surprisingly good. I was not sure what to expect. But being a Beatles fan, it was fun to pick out all the song lyrics and album titles and Beatle references. Though I disagreed with some of Greg Kihn characterization of the Beatles it is, after all, fiction.....and I found it a fun enjoyable read. The ending did seem a tad rushed....but a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
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Bruno Bonini
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining novel
Reviewed in Brazil on November 22, 2014
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For those who love beatles. Great contextualisation of beatlemania years. Takes a little bit to get in action, but worth it.
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JO
5.0 out of 5 stars Irresistible
Reviewed in France on April 15, 2015
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Someone said Greg Kihn is a better writer than a rocker. WRONG. If he was not a real rocker, he would not have been such a terrific storyteller. Fab4 fan or not, just read it.
And there will be soon a new novel coming out. Can't wait.
Thanks pal.
Your old french friend.
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