 I, Me, Mine book cover | |
| Author | George Harrison |
|---|---|
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | Genesis Publications |
Publication date | August 1980 |
| Media type | Book, audio CD, e-book |
| Pages | 398 (1st ed.) 456 (2002 reprint) 570 (2017 ed.) |
| ISBN | 978-0-671-42787-0 (1st ed.) |
I, Me, Mine is anautobiographic memoir by the English musicianGeorge Harrison, formerly ofThe Beatles. It was published in 1980 as a hand-bound, limited edition book byGenesis Publications, with a mixture of printed text and multi-colour facsimiles of Harrison's handwritten song lyrics. It was limited to 2,000 signed copies, with a foreword and narration byDerek Taylor. The Genesis limited edition sold out soon after publication, and it was subsequently published in hardback and paperback in black ink by W H Allen in London and bySimon & Schuster in New York.[citation needed]
The project marked a departure for Genesis Publications, which had previously focused on facsimile editions of historical nautical journals, includingThe Log of H.M.S. Bounty 1787–1789.[1][2] Brian Roylance, who founded the company in 1974, said of Harrison's memoir: "I saw the song lyrics as important documents – as important as all the other things I was publishing."[1] Genesis subsequently became a leading publisher ofrock music-related illustrated books, including further titles by Harrison and Taylor, as well as books about the Beatles,The Rolling Stones,David Bowie andPink Floyd, among others.[3]
I, Me, Mine was released a few months beforeJohn Lennon'smurder in December 1980. Lennon took offence at Harrison's book, telling interviewerDavid Sheff: "I was hurt by it ... By glaring omission in the book, my influence on his life is absolutely zilch and nil ... I'm not in the book." Harrison does mention Lennon several times, although not as a musical influence, which was the point of Lennon's displeasure.[4]
In December 1987, Harrison was asked about Lennon's comments bySelina Scott on the television showWest 57th Street. He told her: "[Lennon] was annoyed 'cause I didn't say that he'd written one line of this song 'Taxman'. But I also didn't say how I wrote two lines of 'Come Together' or three lines of 'Eleanor Rigby', you know? I wasn't getting into any of that. I think, in the balance, I would have had more things to be niggled with him about than he would have had with me."[4]
In 2002,I, Me, Mine was re-published with a new foreword by Harrison's widow,Olivia. A third version of the book, now containing "59 additional handwritten lyrics and unpublished photographs not found in the original printing", was released in February 2017 to mark what would have been Harrison's 74th birthday.[2][5]
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