Elissa C
The Beatles: An Influence On History
Who were The Beatles? Nearly everyone knows the name, but most of the 21st century’s generation aren’t sure of their significance to modern culture. The Beatles were, in fact, a revolutionary band that completely changed how people saw music. They are considered one of the greatest and most influential groups of their era by many music critics today. No other band could recreate what they did, nor have the major effects on music that they had. The Beatles were truly one-of-a-kind.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 (Unterberger). Their members changed in the beginning, but the most well-known and remarkable line-up consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. When they first hit number one, Harrison was 20, McCartney 21, Lennon 22, and Starr was 23 (Harrison, McCartney, Starkey, & Lennon 32). In 1964, most of Britain knew who The Beatles were. The group’s music was elaborate and exciting. As singers, Lennon and McCartney were among the best and most expressive vocalists in rock. When The Beatles were performing, they were comical and photogenic; when they withdrew to the recording studio, they became creative, producing inventive music. Every song had a part for each member to play; Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison on the guitar or singing, and Starr on the drums (Edgers 13). Because of their originality and ability to work together so well, The Beatles were established as the most popular rock act ever seen in England.
The impact The Beatles had on the international mass population lasted from their time to ours. Many different things that exist in modern culture were affected, or even invented, by The Beatles. They developed the promotional music video because they were tired of playing live all the time. “So, uh, in a way, I guess we invented MTV,” Harrison stated in an interview (Harrison, McCartney, Starkey, & Lennon 127). They were also the first to create a concept album, which is when an album’s songs all contribute to one overall theme or story (“The Beatles Biography”). The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a concept album. Their concert at Shea Stadium in 1965 inspired a lot of people and also showed that outdoor concerts on a large scale could be successful. “Over 55,000 people saw The Beatles at Shea Stadium. We took $304,000, the greatest gross ever in the history of show business,” promoter Sid Bernstein said (Unterberger). They were the earliest band to use electric keyboards and synthesizers in their music, including a mellotron as featured in their song, “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Miles 13). The Beatles were pioneers in music, and many techniques that are used today were first put in to practice by them.
The Beatles were unlike any other band in many different ways. Over the ten years that they were together, their music and appearance completely changed. In their early years, The Beatles’ songs were straightforward tunes with simple lyrics. Their hair was medium-length, styled in what reporters at the time called ‘mop tops’. They wore ties and collarless suit jackets (Edger 1). The Beatles were constantly touring all over the world. “Oh sure. I dug the fame, the power, the money, and playing to big crowds,” Lennon said about their first years of touring (Harrison, McCartney, Starkey, & Lennon 183). But they stopped performing live in 1966, as “Nobody was listening at the shows. The road was getting pretty boring, and it was obvious to us that touring was going to end soon.” After that, The Beatles recorded more complex songs that were nearly impossible to play outside the studio (“The Beatles”). Their style changed, and they began to write lyrics that were much more intelligent and had different meanings than their earlier songs. The Beatles changed along with the rest of the world. They let their hair and beards grow out and they wore brighter colors (Schaffner 31). To express their feelings about the Vietnam War, they recorded the song “Revolution,” which protested the war, saying that people are pushing for change in the world, but some are trying to change it violently when they should be taking peaceful actions instead (“Revolution by The Beatles”). There was a lot of political controversy about the song; many people were interpreting it the wrong way. The Beatles broke up in 1970, each following their own solo career (“Peter Doggett Interview”). John Lennon was assassinated in 1980 after many years of peaceful protesting. George Harrison died of cancer in 2001, his last words being, “Love one another.” (Friede, Titone, & Weiner 41). The Beatles progressed greatly from crowd-pleasing love songs to meaningful lyrics that expressed many people’s feelings about current events at the time. “Inspiring” is a good word to describe The Beatles.
From 1960 to 1970, The Beatles became pioneers in music. Their supremacy as rock legends remains unchallenged to this day, as no one could copy what they did. The Beatles collected everything that was good about rock & roll and turned it into something even more exciting. Although popular music has changed considerably since The Beatles’ break-up, their music continues to inspire new generations of listeners today.
Works Cited
The Beatles Biography
<rockhall.com/inductees/the-beatles/bio>
Unterberger, Richie. Artist Biography
<www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beatles>
The Beatles
<www.imdb.com/name/nm1397313>
Revolution by The Beatles
<www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=142>
Peter Doggett Interview
< https://www.oomska.co.uk/peter-doggett-interview/>
Edgers, Geoff. Who Were The Beatles? New York: Penguin Group, 2006.
Miles. Beatles in Their Own Words. New York: Quick Fox, 1978.
Harrison, George, Paul McCartney, Richard Starkey, and Yoko Ono Lennon. The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000.
Friede, Goldie, Robin Titone, and Sue Weiner. The Beatles: A to Z. New York: Methuen, Inc, 1980.
Schaffner, Nicholas. The Beatles Forever. Harrisburg: Cameron House, 1977.
The Beatles: An Influence On History
Who were The Beatles? Nearly everyone knows the name, but most of the 21st century’s generation aren’t sure of their significance to modern culture. The Beatles were, in fact, a revolutionary band that completely changed how people saw music. They are considered one of the greatest and most influential groups of their era by many music critics today. No other band could recreate what they did, nor have the major effects on music that they had. The Beatles were truly one-of-a-kind.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 (Unterberger). Their members changed in the beginning, but the most well-known and remarkable line-up consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. When they first hit number one, Harrison was 20, McCartney 21, Lennon 22, and Starr was 23 (Harrison, McCartney, Starkey, & Lennon 32). In 1964, most of Britain knew who The Beatles were. The group’s music was elaborate and exciting. As singers, Lennon and McCartney were among the best and most expressive vocalists in rock. When The Beatles were performing, they were comical and photogenic; when they withdrew to the recording studio, they became creative, producing inventive music. Every song had a part for each member to play; Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison on the guitar or singing, and Starr on the drums (Edgers 13). Because of their originality and ability to work together so well, The Beatles were established as the most popular rock act ever seen in England.
The impact The Beatles had on the international mass population lasted from their time to ours. Many different things that exist in modern culture were affected, or even invented, by The Beatles. They developed the promotional music video because they were tired of playing live all the time. “So, uh, in a way, I guess we invented MTV,” Harrison stated in an interview (Harrison, McCartney, Starkey, & Lennon 127). They were also the first to create a concept album, which is when an album’s songs all contribute to one overall theme or story (“The Beatles Biography”). The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a concept album. Their concert at Shea Stadium in 1965 inspired a lot of people and also showed that outdoor concerts on a large scale could be successful. “Over 55,000 people saw The Beatles at Shea Stadium. We took $304,000, the greatest gross ever in the history of show business,” promoter Sid Bernstein said (Unterberger). They were the earliest band to use electric keyboards and synthesizers in their music, including a mellotron as featured in their song, “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Miles 13). The Beatles were pioneers in music, and many techniques that are used today were first put in to practice by them.
The Beatles were unlike any other band in many different ways. Over the ten years that they were together, their music and appearance completely changed. In their early years, The Beatles’ songs were straightforward tunes with simple lyrics. Their hair was medium-length, styled in what reporters at the time called ‘mop tops’. They wore ties and collarless suit jackets (Edger 1). The Beatles were constantly touring all over the world. “Oh sure. I dug the fame, the power, the money, and playing to big crowds,” Lennon said about their first years of touring (Harrison, McCartney, Starkey, & Lennon 183). But they stopped performing live in 1966, as “Nobody was listening at the shows. The road was getting pretty boring, and it was obvious to us that touring was going to end soon.” After that, The Beatles recorded more complex songs that were nearly impossible to play outside the studio (“The Beatles”). Their style changed, and they began to write lyrics that were much more intelligent and had different meanings than their earlier songs. The Beatles changed along with the rest of the world. They let their hair and beards grow out and they wore brighter colors (Schaffner 31). To express their feelings about the Vietnam War, they recorded the song “Revolution,” which protested the war, saying that people are pushing for change in the world, but some are trying to change it violently when they should be taking peaceful actions instead (“Revolution by The Beatles”). There was a lot of political controversy about the song; many people were interpreting it the wrong way. The Beatles broke up in 1970, each following their own solo career (“Peter Doggett Interview”). John Lennon was assassinated in 1980 after many years of peaceful protesting. George Harrison died of cancer in 2001, his last words being, “Love one another.” (Friede, Titone, & Weiner 41). The Beatles progressed greatly from crowd-pleasing love songs to meaningful lyrics that expressed many people’s feelings about current events at the time. “Inspiring” is a good word to describe The Beatles.
From 1960 to 1970, The Beatles became pioneers in music. Their supremacy as rock legends remains unchallenged to this day, as no one could copy what they did. The Beatles collected everything that was good about rock & roll and turned it into something even more exciting. Although popular music has changed considerably since The Beatles’ break-up, their music continues to inspire new generations of listeners today.
Works Cited
The Beatles Biography
<rockhall.com/inductees/the-beatles/bio>
Unterberger, Richie. Artist Biography
<www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beatles>
The Beatles
<www.imdb.com/name/nm1397313>
Revolution by The Beatles
<www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=142>
Peter Doggett Interview
< https://www.oomska.co.uk/peter-doggett-interview/>
Edgers, Geoff. Who Were The Beatles? New York: Penguin Group, 2006.
Miles. Beatles in Their Own Words. New York: Quick Fox, 1978.
Harrison, George, Paul McCartney, Richard Starkey, and Yoko Ono Lennon. The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000.
Friede, Goldie, Robin Titone, and Sue Weiner. The Beatles: A to Z. New York: Methuen, Inc, 1980.
Schaffner, Nicholas. The Beatles Forever. Harrisburg: Cameron House, 1977.