It’s been real hard to escape the promos. Award-winning movie director Peter Jackson, famed for the Lord of the Rings films and other fare, got the go-ahead to edit the unused footage for that dreadful 1970 Beatles documentary film, Let It Be. Featuring the Fab Four attempting to record a new album and stage their first live concert in three years, the original was dreary and depressing. Yes, I saw it — once!
Now I remember how it all seemed at the time. I was working as the head of the news department of a local radio station in the Philadelphia suburbs. Before my hourly newscasts, I’d run over to the wire service teletype machine — just as you see chugging away in the movies — to check on the the state and national stories.
As most of you know, I’ve been a fan of The Beatles since 1965, when I came to realize their talents were awesome, far beyond the image conveyed in “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” So I wasn’t terribly pleased to see the story, quoting a press release from Paul McCartney.