Turn Me On, Dead Man (Hardcover)

Paul McCartney Was Alive... But Would Anyone Believe It? In the fall of 1969, a rumor swept across college campuses and airwaves: Paul McCartney of the Beatles had died in a car crash, and the surviving band members had replaced him with a double. Students and disc jockeys poured over album covers and songs claiming to uncover hidden clues. Headlines, radio shows, and late-night debates turned the rumor into a cultural phenomenon. Turn Me On, Dead Man tells the story of how the “Paul-Is-Dead” hoax spread and why so many people believed it. From a phone call to a Detroit radio station, to a satirical review in The Michigan Daily that became front-page news, the book traces the rumor’s rapid rise. With careful research and rare material from newspapers, radio transcripts, and firsthand accounts, Andru J. Reeve reconstructs how a six-week frenzy convinced thousands that the Beatles were sending secret messages about their fallen bandmate. More than a simple catalog of supposed “clues,” th