A new book, Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other―and the World, written by Jim Windolf, is described as a “dual biography” that examines the ways in which the two subjects—arguably the most important songwriters and recording artists that came out of the ’60s—impacted each other. The hardcover edition of the book will be published on April 14, 2026, by Scribner. It’s available to order in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here. (Audiobook, audio CD and Kindle editions are also being offered.)

“More than a music biography, this is a front-row seat to the forces that shaped an era—an unmissable experience for music lovers, pop-culture buffs, and anyone curious about the magic that happens when legends collide,” says a press release on the title.

Also from the advance advertising copy:

“Persuasive, captivating, and bursting with insight, this dual biography by acclaimed New York Times journalist Jim Windolf dives into the surprisingly supportive, occasionally rivalrous, and always fertile relationship between Bob Dylan and The Beatles, uncovering how they inspired and transformed each other as songwriters, recording artists, and cultural icons.

“From Dylan’s initial dismissal of the Beatles as being for ‘teenyboppers’ to his realization that they were ‘pointing the direction where music had to go’—and from the Beatles’ obsessive spinning of early Dylan records to their impromptu renditions of fifteen Dylan songs during the 1969 Get Back sessions—the book captures the moments that pushed Dylan to ‘go electric’ and inspired the Beatles to deepen their lyrics. Highly entertaining and packed with backstage anecdotes, Where the Music Had to Go is a deep-focus portrait of a heretofore unexamined relationship, one full of camaraderie, competition, and mutual evolution.”

Several advance blurbs praise the book:

“Exquisitely researched, thrilling, and moving…I thought I’d been down every Beatles and Bob Dylan rabbit hole, traveling far into their separate histories—and I consider myself well-versed in their individual influences—but this book was revelatory. Windolf is extraordinarily attentive to the details of the Beatles’ and Dylan’s parallel evolutionary tracks, and he is an impressive harvester of their interactions…I felt as if I were listening for the first time to a riveting story, carefully told in cinematic detail, about the most interesting people on the planet,” said Rosanne Cash, four-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter.

“A revelation. The complementary, at times rivalrous, and always influential relationship among Bob Dylan and the Beatles fueled a musical revolution that transformed popular music into art. With nuance and eagle-eyed research, Jim Windolf offers an unprecedented look at the mechanics of a musical fusion that we’re only just beginning to understand. With wisdom and insight, he brings Dylan and the Beatles’ story vividly to life,” wrote Kenneth Womack, author of Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans.

Related: When Dylan got the Beatles high

Author Windolf is a features editor at The New York Times. He has published articles, reviews, essays and humor pieces in Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, New York magazine, Rolling Stone and other publications.