''Apple to the Core: The Unmaking of the Beatles'' is a book by
Peter McCabe
Peter McCabe (born Peter Henry McCabe; 7 November 1945 – April 1998) was an English author and music journalist, who wrote in a variety of genres. He was an editor at ''Rolling Stone'' and '' Oui'' magazine, and is the former editor-in-chief of ...
and Robert D. Schonfeld, first published in the United States by
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.
History
Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing ...
in 1972. Released two years after the
break-up
A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...
of the English band
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
, the book covers the business aspect of the group's career, particularly the problems that befell their
Apple Corps
Apple Corps Limited (informally known as Apple) is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in London in January 1968 by the members of the Beatles to replace their earlier company (Beatles Ltd.) and to form a conglomerate. Its name (pron ...
enterprise.
Book content
In February 1972, before the book's publication, McCabe wrote an article for ''
New York'' magazine in which he accused Apple's business manager,
Allen Klein
Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased profits ...
, of withholding funds raised for
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
via former Beatle
George Harrison's triple live album ''
The Concert for Bangladesh
The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were he ...
'',
and for having been responsible for delaying the album's release.
The claims led to Klein filing a $150 million libel suit against McCabe and ''New York'' in the
State Supreme Court
In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...
, although Klein subsequently withdrew the suit.
''Apple to the Core'' similarly presents "a dim view" of Klein, according to author and music critic Chris Ingham, who adds of the book's content: "It takes the view that
he Beatles
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...
were mismanaged from the start; that
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967.
Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...
, though enthusiastic and gifted, was erratic and effectively out of his depth from the beginning."
McCabe and Schonfeld's book was among the first works dedicated to the Beatles that cast a dispassionate or critical eye on the band.
Other such titles included
Richard DiLello's account of working at Apple, ''
The Longest Cocktail Party'' (1972), and musicologist
Wilfrid Mellers
Wilfrid Howard Mellers (26 April 1914 – 17 May 2008) was an English music critic, musicologist and composer.
Early life
Born in Leamington, Warwickshire, Mellers was educated at the local Leamington College and later won a scholarship to Dow ...
' study of the group's recordings, ''Twilight of the Gods: The Beatles in Retrospect'' (1973).
Publication and reception
''Apple to the Core'' was published by
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.
History
Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing ...
in the United States in 1972.
Late that same year, it was published by Brian & O'Keefe in Britain, where it received an unfavourable review in the ''
Times
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems.
Time or times may also refer to:
Temporal measurement
* Time in physics, defined by its measurement
* Time standard, civil time speci ...
'' newspaper. In ''
Let It Rock'' magazine,
Phil Hardy
Philip Hardy (born 9 April 1973) is an English-born former Ireland under-21 footballer who played as a left-back. With Welsh club Wrexham from 1990 to 2001, he played more than 450 games under manager Brian Flynn. He was named on the PFA ...
wrote that the authors had failed to assemble a convincing or informative narrative and had instead resorted to portraying Epstein as their "hero", at the obvious expense of Klein and the
Eastman family. Hardy concluded that the book was "a failure", although he acknowledged that "if only because it sees beyond the stars in most people's skies, with
ichael Wale's''Vox Pop'', another flawed book, it marks a hopeful new starting point for rock writing."
Writing in 1977, Beatles biographer
Nicholas Schaffner
Nicholas Schaffner (January 28, 1953 – August 28, 1991) was an American non-fiction author, journalist, and singer-songwriter.
Biography
Schaffner was born in Manhattan to John V. Schaffner (1913–1983), a literary agent whose clients include ...
described ''Apple to the Core'' as "
irreverent but definitive unraveling of the web of financial intrigue that destroyed the Beatles".
In his overview of the most notable books about the band, for
Rough Guides
Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on custome ...
, Chris Ingham says that while it has long been out of print, it is a title "worth seeking out".
References
{{The Beatles literature
1972 non-fiction books
Apple Corps
Books about the Beatles
Pocket Books books