In 1964 Robert Whitaker was hired by Brian Epstein to photographe The Beatles. For two years the Epstein followed the bands tour capturing the most intimate and candid images of the fab four.
The photographer passed away last year at age 71. Editors of Life magazine and Time Home Entertainment hopped up lickety split to complete the project they had been working on with Whitaker. The results are greatness.
"We've used many of Bob's seldom or never-seen-before photographs," said Barbara Baker Burrows, director of photography for Life Books in New York. "He tried hard to catalog his work, and on a couple of trips to England I was able to encourage him to dig deeper into his files than he had done before."
"Bob's time with the Beatles was in an era quite unlike today when a photographer is lucky to get a few minutes with a subject," she said. "He also had what Life photographers had – the trust of his subjects, and their respect."
Whitaker was thrilled by the prospect of the 300-page book's publication, Burrows added, and he often said it was what kept him alive.
"Although he didn't live to see the finished publication, I think that he would be pleased," she said.
"They mirrored the times, and helped create the times," said Robert Sullivan, editor of Life Books. "Whether you think that was a service or a disservice to society, it was an extraordinary achievement, especially for what was, at bottom and in the beginning, a pretty gritty rock and roll band."