Derek Taylor, Former Beatles Press Officer, Dead at 65

Derek Taylor, the former press officer and close friend of the Beatles, died Monday at his home in Suffolk, England, after a long bout with cancer. Taylor was 65.

Taylor started his career with the Beatles after seeing them perform at the Manchester Odeon in 1963 and writing a review praising the four lads from Liverpool. He befriended the band's manager Brian Epstein and became his personal assistant. After traveling with the band on their first U.S. tour in 1964, he left the Beatles to become an independent publicist in California, representing the likes of the Byrds, The Beach Boys, and Captain Beefheart. He then co-founded the Monterey International Pop Music Festival in 1967.

The following year, Taylor went back to England to work with the Beatles at their record label, Apple Corps. As the press officer, Taylor became the voice of the band, making sure no one talked to them without talking to him first. After the Beatles broke up, Taylor went on to have a healthy career with Warner Bros. Records throughout the '70s. At the end of that decade, he took off as a writer, penning such books as George Harrison's and Michelle Phillips' biographies, as well as his own, It Was Twenty Years Ago.

In a prepared statement, Paul McCartney said, "He was a beautiful man. It's a time for tears, and words may come later." A private funeral will be held in Suffolk on Friday

Taylor is survived by his wife, Joan, and their six children.

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Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

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