Gary Burr’s love for the Beatles and their music comes through loud and clear in his new book, Reunion. I have a feeling his yearning for a happier ending to their story than the one we actually got is resonating with a whole lot of people these days.
In his best-seller, Gary imagines what might’ve happened if John Lennon had not been shot, and they’d lived long enough to reconcile their differences and show up for Paul when Linda died.
I suspect Gary’s time spent playing in Ringo’s All-Star band gave him the advantage of knowing the lads firsthand, experiencing their senses of humor for himself; and even having had a taste of their angst from time to time brings color and authenticity to their dialogue in his book.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable book for those who loved the Beatles the way we did back in the day, and even continue loving them on into our own day. Something about their magic imbues this book with just enough Beatle-ness to make Gary’s rock ‘n’ roll fairytale nostalgia trip take us back in time, and really entertain, if only for a moment, the “what if?” of the book’s premise. And In that moment, like the memory of a first kiss, the joy of their music came back to me in full color. “There are places I remember all my life, though some have changed… In my life, I’ve loved them all.”
Thank you, Gary, for reminding me of one of the sweetest times of my life, and of the possibilities of reconciliation and Reunion. Available on Amazon.com
PS. Hopefully you’ll remember Gary Burr as a member of my band, Blue Sky Riders (along with Georgia Middleman).
