THE BEATLES, CONT.

What history was Robert Hilburn remembering when he came to the conclusion that “even parents” liked the Beatles (Cover Story, Nov. 12)?

I don’t know what planet he was on in 1964, but no parent I knew found the Fab Four “downright wholesome.” At best, they thought the Beatles were smart-mouthed hooligans desperately in need of haircuts--at worst, they saw them as the poster boys for the societal decay that would result from rock ‘n’ roll. Isn’t that why we liked them so much?

ART VERITY

Van Nuys

*

Hilburn’s piece was as lightweight as a Neil Diamond song. “America’s love affair with the Beatles began as pure puppy love” and “the Beatles were fresh, fun and fabulous”--this is incisive commentary? Sounds like wretched ad copy.

JOY A. CHUCK

Los Angeles

*

Until I read in David Gritten’s Beatles update that a helter skelter is “a slide-like British carnival ride,” I--like most Americans--assumed helter-skelter was a synonym for chaotic or in disarray . Boy, Charles Manson must be feeling like a real jerk!

ETHLIE ANN VARE

Beverly Hills