Kenneth Womack

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Kenneth Womack
Kenneth Womack Abbey Road.jpg
Womack on Abbey Road in 2017
BornJanuary 24, 1966 (1966-01-24) (age 57)
Occupation(s)Author, music historian
SpouseJeanine Womack

Kenneth Womack (born January 24, 1966) is an American writer, literary critic, public speaker, and music historian, particularly focusing on the cultural influence of the Beatles. He is the author of the bestselling Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles and John Lennon, 1980: The Last Days in the Life.

Contents

Life and work

Kenneth Womack was born in Houston, Texas, United States, and is Professor of English and Popular Music at Monmouth University. He is the author of five novels, as well as the author and editor of numerous volumes of literary and cultural criticism.

Womack's multiple books devoted to the Beatles include Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, and the Fab Four (2006; with Todd F. Davis), Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (2007), The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (2009), which was named by The Independent as the 2009 Music Book of the Year, [1] and The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four (2014) and its revised paperback edition (2016). The Beatles Encyclopedia earned numerous awards as a scholarly reference work, while also enjoying acclaim from premier academic journals such as Choice and Popular Music and Society. [2]

In 2017, Womack released the first volume in his full-length biography of Beatles producer Sir George Martin, Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin (The Early Years: 1926-1966), and the second volume, Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin (The Later Years: 1966-2016), in 2018. Womack is the Music Culture writer for Salon and also writes a regular column on the Beatles for CultureSonar entitled Everything Fab Four. His work has appeared in Slate, Billboard, Time, Variety, NBC News, The Guardian, USA Today, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2020, Rolling Stone highlighted Womack's scholarly efforts in shedding new light on the authorship and background of John Lennon's "Grow Old with Me." [3] In October 2020, Womack was featured as a guest commentator on an episode of ABC's 20/20 entitled "John Lennon: His Life, Legacy, Last Days." [4]

In addition, Womack is the author of the award-winning novel John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel (2010), which offers an alternative back-story for the Oklahoma City Bombing through the eyes of John Doe No. 2, the elusive mystery man who was originally identified by the FBI as a participant in the attack. In the novel, John Doe No. 2 spends more than a year in the company of Timothy McVeigh as he plots his calamitous act of domestic terrorism. John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel was the Bronze Award Winner in the ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award competition, as well as a Semi-Finalist for the James Branch Cabell First Novelist Award. [5] Womack's second novel, The Restaurant at the End of the World, provides a fictive re-creation of the last hours in the lives of the staff and visitors to the Windows on the World restaurant complex atop the North Tower of the World Trade Center. In 2013, The Restaurant at the End of the World earned the gold medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards for Best Regional Fiction (Mid-Atlantic). The novel was also a finalist in the 2013 Indie Book Awards and the 2013 Montaigne Medal competition.

Womack's third novel, Playing the Angel, was published in August 2013, and his fourth novel, I Am Lemonade Lucy!, was published in May 2019. Kirkus Reviews lauded I Am Lemonade Lucy!, writing that “Womack has created a fun, fish-out-of-water tale with heavy implications about today’s world. He has carefully drawn, realistic small-town figures—thanks to sharp dialogue from Kip and Ry especially—to show how quickly open minds can close, building to an emotional and incensing conclusion.” [6] Womack's fifth novel, The Time Diaries, was published in 2021. [7]

As literary critic, Womack is the author and editor of several books related to ethical criticism and postmodern humanism, including Postwar Academic Fiction: Satire, Ethics, Community (2001), Mapping the Ethical Turn: A Reader in Ethics, Culture, and Literary Theory (2001; with Todd F. Davis), and Postmodern Humanism in Contemporary Literature and Culture: Reconciling the Void (2006; with Todd F. Davis). Womack's four-volume Books and Beyond: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of New American Reading (2008) was honored in 2009 by the American Library Association with the Outstanding Reference Sources Award. [8]

In addition to serving as founding editor of Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory, Womack is co-editor of the celebrated Year’s Work in English Studies, published annually by Oxford University Press. His work as teacher and writer has earned numerous awards over the years, including Penn State University's Alumni Teaching Fellow Award (2006) and the Kjell Meling Award for Distinction in the Arts and Humanities (2010). [9] In 2013, he was selected to serve as the sixth Penn State University Laureate. [10]

Womack earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. in English from Northern Illinois University. [11] He lives in West Long Branch, New Jersey, with his wife Jeanine. Womack's brother Andrew is co-founder of the online magazine The Morning News .

Books

Fiction

Scholarship

Related Research Articles

<i>The Beatles</i> (album) 1968 studio album by the Beatles

The Beatles, also referred to colloquially as the White Album, is the ninth studio album and only double album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. Featuring a plain white sleeve, the cover contains no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed. This was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band's previous LP Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). The Beatles is recognised for its fragmentary style and diverse range of genres, including folk, country rock, British blues, ska, music hall, proto-metal and the avant-garde. It has since been viewed by some critics as a postmodern work, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Only Sleeping</span> 1966 song by the Beatles

"I'm Only Sleeping" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 studio album Revolver. In the United States and Canada, it was one of the three tracks that Capitol Records cut from the album and instead included on Yesterday and Today, released two months before Revolver. Credited as a Lennon–McCartney song, it was written primarily by John Lennon. The track includes a backwards lead guitar part played by George Harrison, the first time such a technique was used on a pop recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Think for Yourself</span> 1965 song by the Beatles

"Think for Yourself" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album Rubber Soul. It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist, and, together with "If I Needed Someone", marked the start of his emergence as a songwriter beside John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song's lyrics advocate independent thinking and reflect the Beatles' move towards more sophisticated concepts in their writing at this stage of their career. The song has invited interpretation as both a political statement and a love song, as Harrison dismisses a lover or friend in a tone that some commentators liken to Bob Dylan's 1965 single "Positively 4th Street". Among musicologists, the composition has been recognised as adventurous in the degree of tonal ambiguity it employs across parallel major and minor keys and through its suggestion of multiple musical modes.

"Watching Rainbows" is an unreleased song by the Beatles recorded on 14 January 1969 during the Get Back sessions at Twickenham Studios. It features John Lennon on lead vocal and electric piano, Paul McCartney on electric guitar, and Ringo Starr on drums. No bass guitar was present as McCartney was filling in for the absent George Harrison, who had temporarily left the group at that stage of the sessions. The song is played in two chords and has since been compared to "I Am the Walrus" and "I've Got a Feeling" for the similarities in the song's lyrics and structure.

<i>Back in the U.S.</i> 2002 live album by Paul McCartney

Back in the U.S. is a double live album by Paul McCartney from his spring 2002 Driving USA Tour in the US in support of his 2001 release Driving Rain. It was released with an accompanying DVD to commemorate his first set of concerts in almost ten years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Things We Said Today</span> 1964 single by the Beatles

"Things We Said Today" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released in July 1964 as the B-side to the single "A Hard Day's Night" and on their album of the same name, except in North America, where it appeared on the album Something New. The band recorded the song twice for BBC Radio and regularly performed an abbreviated version during their 1964 North American tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Night Before (song)</span> 1965 song by the Beatles

"The Night Before" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 film Help! and soundtrack album of the same name. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Described as a pop rock or rock and roll song, its lyrics reflect on the singer's last night with his lover before being abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Another Girl</span> Song by The Beatles

"Another Girl" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album Help! and included in the film of the same title. The song was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song is addressed to the singer's girlfriend, who is informed that the singer has found "another girl."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tell Me What You See</span> 1965 song by the Beatles

"Tell Me What You See" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that first appeared in 1965 on their album Help! in the United Kingdom and on Beatles VI in the United States. The song is credited to Lennon–McCartney but mainly written by Paul McCartney. Regarding the song's authorship, McCartney said, "I seem to remember it as mine. I would claim it as a 60–40 but it might have been totally me." John Lennon said, in his interviews with Playboy (1980) and Hit Parader (1972), that "Tell Me What You See" was written completely by McCartney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I've Just Seen a Face</span> 1965 song by the Beatles

"I've Just Seen a Face" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in August 1965 on their album Help!, except in North America, where it appeared as the opening track on the December 1965 release Rubber Soul. Written and sung by Paul McCartney, the song is credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song is a cheerful love ballad, its lyrics discussing a love at first sight while conveying an adrenaline rush the singer experiences that makes him both enthusiastic and inarticulate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Cry Instead</span> 1964 single by the Beatles

"I'll Cry Instead" is a song written by John Lennon, and recorded by the English rock band the Beatles for their third studio album, A Hard Day's Night (1964), a part-studio and part-soundtrack album to their film of the same name (1964). In the United States, the song originally appeared in the US version of A Hard Day's Night before it was released as a single backed with "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" along with the US album Something New.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">There's a Place</span> 1963 song by the Beatles

"There's a Place" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their debut album, Please Please Me, released in March 1963. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to McCartney–Lennon. In the United States, the song was released in July 1963 on the group's first US LP, Introducing... The Beatles, later reissued in January 1964 as Beatlemania surged there. It was also issued as a non-album single in the US, in March 1964, as the B-side to "Twist and Shout", reaching number 74 in the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey Bulldog</span> 1969 song by the Beatles

"Hey Bulldog" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles released on their 1969 soundtrack album Yellow Submarine. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written primarily by John Lennon, it was finished in the recording studio by both Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song was recorded during the filming of the "Lady Madonna" promotional film, and, with "Lady Madonna", is one of the few Beatles songs based on a piano riff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Down</span> 1965 single by the Beatles

"I'm Down" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on a non-album single as the B-side to "Help!" in July 1965. The song originated in McCartney's attempt to write a song in the style of Little Richard, whose song "Long Tall Sally" the band regularly covered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's a Woman</span> 1964 single by the Beatles

"She's a Woman" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on a non-album single in November 1964 as the B-side to "I Feel Fine", except in North America, where it also appeared on the album Beatles '65, released in December 1964. Though it was the B-side, it charted in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the Cash Box Top 100. The song originated in McCartney's attempt to write a song in the style of Little Richard. The lyrics include the first reference to drugs in a Beatles song, with the line "turn(s) me on" referring to marijuana.

<i>A Spaniard in the Works</i> 1965 book by John Lennon

A Spaniard in the Works is a nonsense book by English musician John Lennon, first published on 24 June 1965. The book consists of nonsensical stories and drawings similar to the style of his previous book, 1964's In His Own Write. The name is a pun on the expression "a spanner in the works".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas Time (Is Here Again)</span> 1967 song by the Beatles

"Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" is a Christmas song by the English rock band the Beatles, originally recorded for their fifth fan club Christmas record, Christmas Time Is Here Again! (1967). One of the few Beatles songs credited to all four members of the band, it consists of a blues based backing track as well as double-tracked vocals sung by them, George Martin and Victor Spinetti. The lyrics are mostly made up of the song's title refrain, repeated across nine verses.

Hans Ansgar Ostrom is an American professor, writer, editor, and scholar. Ostrom is a professor of African American Studies and English the University of Puget Sound (1983–present), where he teaches courses on African-American literature, creative writing, and poetry as a genre. He is known for his authorship of various books on African-American studies and creative writing, and novels including Three to Get Ready, Honoring Juanita, and Without One, as well as The Coast Starlight: Collected Poems 1976–2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komm, gib mir deine Hand / Sie liebt dich</span> 1964 single by the Beatles

"Komm, gib mir deine Hand" and "Sie liebt dich" are German-language versions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You", respectively, by the English rock band the Beatles. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the original English songs, credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, while Camillo Felgen wrote the translated German lyrics. Felgen is credited under several of his pen names. In places, his translations take major liberties with the original lyrics. Odeon Records released the German versions together as a non-album single in West Germany in March 1964. Swan Records released "Sie liebt dich", along with the original "She Loves You" B-side "I'll Get You", as a single in the United States in May 1964. Capitol included "Komm, gib mir deine Hand" as the closing track of the 1964 North American-only album Something New.

Todd F. Davis is a prize-winning American poet and critic.

References

  1. "Cambridge Companion Beatles :: Twentieth-century and contemporary music". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  2. "Product - The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four - Kenneth Womack". Abc-Clio. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  3. Kreps, Daniel (October 4, 2020). "Music Scholar Finds Forgotten Film That Inspired John Lennon's 'Grow Old With Me'". Rolling Stone.
  4. "IMDb". IMDb . Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  5. "John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel (2010 Foreword INDIES Winner)". Foreword Reviews.
  6. "I Am Lemonade Lucy!". kirkusreviews.com.
  7. "The Time Diaries". eifrigpublishing.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  8. "Product - Books and Beyond: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of New American Reading - Kenneth Womack". Abc-Clio. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  9. Muska, Scott (October 8, 2010). "Womack Receives the Meling Award". The Altoona Mirror. p. A8.
  10. "Womack named 2013-14 Penn State laureate". Penn State News. April 14, 2013.
  11. "Cengage Learning - Gale". Gale.cengage.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2013.

Sources

Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2001.