Seven years ago, Seth Swirsky had a great idea. As I write in today's Wall Street Journal, the songwriter, musician and author decided to make a documentary by doing one simple thing well: Asking people who had interactions with the Beatles to tell him their personal stories.
A self-described Beatlemaniac, Seth went out and bought two video cameras—not knowing a thing about the art of interviewing or how to tape them. Then he set to work, capturing 80 interviews, using 52 in his film—Beatles Stories: A Fab Four Fan's Ultimate Road Trip. [Pictured above: Seth Swirsky and Ringo Starr]
The DVD is out on Tuesday and it's a ton of fun. Each story runs only about a minute and a half and is introduced by a clever title. Best of all, there's a mix of celebrities and ordinary folks. The stars include Brian Wilson, Ben Kingsley, Graham Nash, Art Garfunkel, Henry Winkler and many others to first girlfriends, personal assistants and groupies.
What they all have in common is a breathless sense of disbelief, and each story is better than the one that precedes it. Whether you care for the lads or not, they were larger than life—and the stories both humanize them and offer revealing facts never before captured in print or on film.
JazzWax DVD: Seth Swirsky's Beatles Stories: A Fab Four Fan's Ultimate Road Trip is available here.
JazzWax clip: Here's the trailer for the DVD...
