The Beatles
The Beatles have been the most influential popular music artists to date,
affecting the culture of Britain and America and the postwar baby boom
generation, and the entire English-speaking world, especially during the
1960s and early 1970s. Unarguably they're the most successful, with global
sales reaching past 1.2 thousand million records sold as of 2003. Their
influences on popular culture extended far beyond their roles as recording
artists, as they branched out into film and even semi-willingly became
spokesmen for their generation. The members of the group were John Lennon,
Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), all from
Liverpool, England. The effect of the Beatles on Western culture (and by
extension) on the rest of the world has been immeasurable.
Originally a high-energy pop band (typified by the early singles "Twist and
Shout" and "Please Please Me"), as the Beatles progressed their style became
more sophisticated, influenced in equal measure by Bob Dylan and Chuck
Berry. Their popularity was also aided by their attractive looks,
distinctive personalities, and natural charisma; particularly on television
where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and others.
This was the beginning of Beatlemania in which the committed pop-music band
found itself turned into a worldwide phenomenon with worshipful fans,
hysterical adulation, and denunciations by such as Frank Sinatra. None of
this had much to do with music and was regarded by the band members with
intermittent awe and resentment.
History
Lennon met McCartney on July 6, 1957 at St. Peter's Church garden fete.
Lennon was in a skiffle group called The Quarry Men who were performing at
the event. McCartney joined the band, and brought Harrison along soon after.
In 1958, The Quarry Men recorded a demo of two songs; the first was an
original Harrison/McCartney tune called "In spite of all the danger"; the
other was a cover of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day". A number of songs
that were later recorded for Beatles records, were originally written at
this time including "I'll Follow The Sun", "Michelle", "When I'm 64", and
"One After 909".
When the Quarry Men changed their name to the Beatles in 1960 (briefly known
as The Fabulous Silver Beetles), Pete Best was drummer for the band and
Stuart Sutcliffe was the band's bass player. Sutcliffe decided against
continuing to perform with the band and remained in Hamburg in the Spring of
1961. McCartney, who had been playing guitar, replaced him on bass.
The name was a tribute to Holly's band, The Crickets combined with beat
music, a common British term for rock and roll at the time. In another
tribute, they had sometimes called themselves the Foreverly Brothers.
In the early days, the Beatles composed and rehearsed their songs at 20
Forthlin Road, Liverpool, the home of Paul McCartney, and now a National
Trust property open to the public.
On December 10, 1961, Brian Epstein agreed to become the band's manager,
after receiving requests for the band's music two months earlier in his
record store and watching them perform at the legendary Cavern Club. Epstein
arranged for the Beatles to audition for Decca Records on January 1, 1962.
Decca, in one of the most embarrassing business decisions in music history,
rejected the band, on the grounds that guitar music was "on the way out".
The Beatles then signed with EMI's Parlophone label in early 1962. George
Martin, who was at first unimpressed by the band's demos, fell in love with
the band when he met them in person. Not only did he feel as though they had
musical talent, but he felt that their wit and humor made them extremely
"likeable." He did have a problem with Best however, whom he criticized for
not be able to keep time. The Beatles let Best go, and immediately asked
Starr, whom they had met and even performed with previously, to join the
band permanently. Martin, unaware of this personnel change, hired session
drummer Andy White to play drums on the Beatles' first studio session on
September 11, 1962.
The Beatlemania Years
The Beatles recorded their first full length album, live in the studio, on
February 11, 1963 in one 12 hour session. On February 22, 1963 the Beatles'
second single, "Please Please Me" went straight to No. 1. Meet the Beatles,
the first Beatles album in the United States, was released on January 20,
1964. On February 7, 1964 The Beatles travelled to New York for a number of
U.S. television appearances and performances. Upon arriving at JFK airport,
The Beatles noticed thousands of kids screaming and awaiting the plane's
arrival. They assumed that there must have been someone important on the
plane with them and were a bit shocked to learn that the crowds were
actually there for them.
On February 9, 1964 The Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show for the
first time. To this day it remains one of the highest rated television
programs of all time, with 73 million people tuning in. The Beatles made
four more live appearances on the show in months to come. Two days later, on
February 11 in the Washington, DC Coliseum, The Beatles made their first
live stage appearance in the United States.
On April 4, 1964, The Beatles set a record that has yet to be broken when
they occupied all five top positions on Billboard's Top Pop Singles chart.
Their single "Can't Buy Me Love" was at number one. In August of that year,
The Beatles' first motion picture was released, A Hard Day's Night. They
started filming their second film, Help! on February 23, 1965 in the Bahamas.
The psychedelic years
In early 1965, Lennon and Harrison were dosed with LSD by their dentist. In
the ensuing years, the Beatles met with psychedelic counterculture icon
Timothy Leary, experimented extensively with LSD and released two heavily
LSD-influenced albums, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
On June 12, 1965, The Beatles were individually awarded the order of Member
of the British Empire (MBE) by the Queen. Since it was unusual for rock
stars to receive the MBE, some previous recipients complained and protested,
and a small number went so far as to return their own honours, complaining
they had been "devalued". (Some had received the award for military
heroism.) Lennon would return his own in 1969 with the note
"Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE in protest against Britain's
involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America
in Vietnam and against "Cold Turkey" slipping down in the Charts.
"With love,
"John Lennon"
On August 15, 1965, The Beatles started their second North American tour at
Shea Stadium, which was the first rock concert to be held in a venue that
size. The concert also set new world records for attendance (55,600+) and
for revenue.
On March 4, 1966, in an interview for the London Evening Standard with
Maureen Cleave, John Lennon made the following statement:
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with
that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than
Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or
Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and
ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
The statement, was part of a two page interview and went virtually unnoticed
in Britain. In July of that year, Lennon's words were reprinted in the
United States fan magazine Datebook leading to a backlash by conservative
religious groups mainly in the rural South and Midwest states. Radio
stations banned the group's recordings, and their albums and other products
were burned and destroyed. Spain and the Vatican denounced Lennon's words
and South Africa banned Beatles music from the radio. On August 11, 1966
Lennon held a press conference in Chicago in order to address the growing
furor. He told reporters:
"I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I
would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not
anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I was not knocking it. I was
not saying we are greater or better."
On June 5, 1966, The Beatles returned to The Ed Sullivan Show, this time
with a taped appearance, where they introduced their two new music videos,
"Rain" and "Paperback Writer". In later years, The Beatles would appear on
the show to introduce more music videos for the songs "Hello Goodbye",
"Penny Lane", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Two Of Us", and "Let It Be".
On July 2, 1966, The Beatles became the first musical group to perform at
the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The performance ignited a lot of protest
from local citizens who felt that it was inappropriate for a rock and roll
band to play at Budokan.
By the end of July, the band headed to the Philippines for a series of
shows. The Beatles, while relaxing in their hotel room, read in the
newspaper that they would visit the Malacanang Palace of President Ferdinand
Marcos. This came as news to the Beatles, who were tired from the tour and
didn't plan on using their one day off to visit the President. They spent a
relaxing evening in the hotel, and awoke the next morning to death threats
and newspaper headlines like "Imelda stood up!" and "The Beatles snub the
First Lady!". Epstein attempted to make a televised apology for the
incident, but none of the local stations would air it. The following day,
armed guards attempted to keep the band from leaving the country until they
paid a fee of some kind. The Beatles, who hadn't been paid for their shows
in the country, paid out of their own pockets. The Beatles literally had to
fight their way to the airplane. Decades later with the fall of the Marcos
regime, the members of the band took some pride that they stood up to the
Marcos' in some small way.
Events like in the Phillipines, added to the fact that the fans screamed so
loud at their concerts that they couldn't even hear themselves perform, led
to the band deciding to quit touring altogether. The band performed their
last concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.
The Studio Years
With the distractions of touring behind them, The Beatles began recording
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on November 24, 1966. The album took
so much time to record (for a Beatles record anyway) that the press started
to suggest that the Beatles had "lost it" and had run out of creativity.
On June 25, 1967 The Beatles performed "All You Need Is Love" for the Our
World television special. It was the first television special to air
worldwide. Singing backup for the Beatles were a number of artists including
Eric Clapton, and members of the Rolling Stones and The Who.
Manager Brian Epstein died of a drug overdose on August 27, 1967, while the
Beatles were in Bangor, Wales, attending a weekend conference given by the
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The death was officially ruled accidental, although
it has often been speculated that it was a suicide. Epstein had managed
every aspect of the Beatles' career, and his absence was immediately
noticeable. The Beatles' business affairs began to unravel.
In January 1968, The Beatles launched Apple Corps., a disastrously
mismanaged entertainment company that included a recording studio, a record
label (Apple Records), a film division and clothing store. In addition to
Beatles records, Apple released albums by James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, Billy
Preston, Badfinger, Ravi Shankar and other artists.
Towards the end of the 1960s, members of the band began to pursue their own
musical interests and were writing together less and less. This became more
and more obvious on releases like 1968's The Beatles (a.k.a. the "white
album"), and Let It Be. The Beatles was largely written during the band's
visit to India, where they had several meetings with the Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi. With the exception of Harrison, the Beatles eventually rejected what
they were hearing from The Maharishi - even occasionally writing songs that
made fun of him (like "Sexy Sadie", originally titled "Maharishi", and a
number of unreleased songs from the Let It Be sessions).
In January of 1969, The Beatles began rehearsals for a new album project (at
the time entitled Get Back). The rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios and
recording sessions at Apple Studios were filmed for what would eventually
become the Let It Be movie. Many ideas had been thrown around for the Get
Back album, including the idea of recording it live during a surprise
concert performance on top of a submarine, in an amphitheatre, or in a dance
hall. None of these happened, but they did end the project with a live
performance on top of the Apple Corps. building in London, which was cut
short when a local bank manager called the police to complain about the
noise. This impromptu concert, held on January 30, 1969, was to be the
Beatles' last public performance. Eventually the band gave up on the project
and turned the results of the sessions over to producer Phil Spector. The
Beatles professed themselves happy with Spector's re-working of the
recordings to make a releasable album; Paul McCartney later indicated he was
not happy because Spector had added things like an orchestra and a choir to
the stripped-down performances (although he signed the release authorisation
at the time). The original intent of the record had been to bring the band
full circle, and record what was essentially a live studio performance -
just as their first album had been.
The Beatles began recording their final album in July of 1969, entitled
Abbey Road which proved to be a relatively smooth and peaceful production of
the acclaimed album. Lennon announced to the other Beatles that he was
leaving the band soon after that album's release but was persuaded to remain
quiet in public.
In September of 1969, Russell Gibb, a radio DJ in Detroit, Michigan,
announced that Paul McCartney was dead. Other DJs, television news
reporters, newspapers and magazines picked up on the story and began to look
for clues. This snowballed into what is commonly referred to today as the
Paul Is Dead hoax. People that believed the rumors, claimed that McCartney
had died in a car accident and was replaced by a look-alike named William
Campbell. Numerous clues were supposedly hidden in album artwork and lyrics.
One such clue apparently was the cover of the album Abbey Road in which Paul
held a cigarette with his right hand. Paul is left handed.
The band officially broke up in 1970. The last Beatles studio session that
included all four band members took place on August 20, 1969. The final
Beatles session was on January 4, 1970.
EMI released Let It Be in May of 1970.
After the Breakup
On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed in front of his New
York City apartment. His death was mourned by millions of fans around the world.
Singer Michael Jackson bought the publishing rights for most of the Beatles'
music, on August 10, 1985, for $47 million. McCartney, who had been
attempting to purchase the rights himself, had told Jackson that he should
get into publishing. McCartney did not expect Jackson to purchase the
Beatles music. "I wrote a couple of letters and I said, Michael, don't you
think that - even if I was just a writer on the payroll - after 30 years of
being reasonably successful to this company that you now own, don't you
think I could have a raise?" said McCartney. "And he said 'Oh Paul, that's
just business'. He won't even answer my letters, so we haven't talked and we
don't have that great a relationship. The trouble is I wrote those songs for
nothing and buying them back at these phenomenal sums... I just can't do
it." This is an example of how future royalties of an entertainment work are
difficult to value and how creators should be cautious in making business decisions.
In 1988, The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Both
Lennon and McCartney were also inducted separately in later years.
On November 30, 1994, Apple Records released a 2 CD collection of early
Beatles performances on the BBC, entitled Live At The BBC.
In February of 1994, the three surviving Beatles reunited to record
additional music to a few of Lennon's old unfinished demos, with Jeff Lynne
producing. The first new song, "Free As A Bird", premiered November 19, 1995
as part of The Beatles Anthology series of television specials on the ABC
network in the US and ITV in the UK. The song was also included on a CD with
the same title, which was released on November 21, 1995. The following year,
a second "new" track was released, entitled "Real Love", on March 4, 1996.
That song was also included on the second Anthology collection which was
released on March 18, 1996. A third Anthology collection followed on October
12, 1996, but did not include any new material. At least one other song,
entitled "Now And Then", was worked on during these sessions, but remains unreleased.
In 2000, The Beatles released a best of collection, entitled "1". The CD
included 27 number one hits by the band and, within five weeks, became the
best selling album of the year. Later that year, The Beatles released the
Anthology book, which included interviews with all four band members and
others involved, plus rare photos. The book went straight to the top of the
New York Times bestsellers list.
George Harrison fought a long battle with lung cancer throughout the 1990s,
finally succumbing and passing away on November 29, 2001.
In 2002, the Let It Be film was being prepared for release on DVD sometime
in 2003. It is expected that the DVD will include additional footage, not
seen in the original film. In addition, McCartney has begun to compile a new
soundtrack album that is closer to what he had originally intended for the
project. That collection will also be released sometime in 2003.
In January, 2003, following an investigation by The International Federation
of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England
and the Netherlands recovered nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes,
recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people were arrested. The tapes
have been used for bootleg releases for years.
In March, 2003, the Anthology television series was released on DVD with
additional bonus material.
Several individuals who played an important role in the history or promotion
of the band have at various times been called, or called themselves, the
"fifth Beatle".
The following individuals were real members of the band before the Beatles
achieved international success:
* Pete Best - Their drummer before being replaced by Ringo Starr.
* Stuart Sutcliffe - A bassist (apparently very shy) who left the group
in Hamburg for the love of Astrid Kirchherr and died from a brain
hemorrhage on April 10, 1962 . His life, and his friendship with John
Lennon, was fictionalized in the 1993 movie Backbeat.
* Chas Newby - bassist in Germany, 1960. Left the band to return to
college.
* Tommy Moore - drummer for the Silver Beetles for one month in 1960.
Quit the band, claiming to have had "just about enough of Lennon".
* Norman Chapman - drummer for the Silver Beetles for a few weeks in
1960. Left when conscripted into the Army for two years service in
Kenya and Kuwait.
The following individuals have played a role in the studio when Beatles
records were recorded:
* George Martin - Their producer, who translated their musical ideas into
studio productions, and also did some piano work on, for example "In My
Life"
* Jeff Lynne - producer for The Beatles Anthology and 1994-1995 sessions
* Geoff Emerick - studio engineer
* Mal Evans - roadie and assistant
* Neil Aspinall - assistant, road manager
* Andy White - drummer on the Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do"
* Billy Preston - Organist on "Let It Be", electric piano player on "Get
Back" and "Don't Let Me Down", first met them in their Hamburg days
while touring with Little Richard
* Eric Clapton - Lead guitarist on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
* Alan Civil - French horn soloist on "For No One"
* David Mason - piccolo trumpet soloist on "Penny Lane"
Others have been associated with the Beatles in several ways. These include:
* Allan Williams - original manager
* Brian Epstein - The manager who took them from Hamburg to the world
stage
* Tony Barrow - press officer 1963-1968
* Derek Taylor - assistant to Brian Epstein, press officer 1968-1971
* Alf Bicknell - Chauffeur until 1966, body guard
* Murray the K - A disc jockey in New York, the first to claim to be the
fifth Beatle
* Dick James - publisher
* Magic Alex - head of Apple electronics
* Klaus Voormann - German bassist and artist; a friend of Stu Sutcliffe's
girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr member of the Plastic Ono Band, drew the
cover for Revolver.
* Jimmy Nicol - temporary drummer on the Beatles' 1964 overseas tour
* Roy Orbison - In 1963 the American rock and roll star headlined a
European tour with the Beatles. Recognizing their unique sound and
extraordinary talent, and the reaction of the crowds to their
performances, Orbison was instrumental in encouraging the fledgling
group to come to the United States.
Studio Style Evolution
By 1966 the influence of the peace movement, psychedelic drugs and the
studio technique of producer George Martin resulted in the albums Revolver
and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, still widely regarded as
classics. Particularly notable, along with the use of studio tricks such as
sound processing, unconventional microphone placements, and vari-speed
recording, was the Beatles' use of unconventional instruments for pop music,
including string and brass elements, Indian instruments such as the sitar,
and early electronic instruments. At the height of their fame in the
mid-sixties, bolstered by the two films Help! and A Hard Day's Night, the
band discontinued touring. The increasingly sophisticated arrangements of
their songs were difficult to perform in front of thousands of screaming
fans who typically made such noise that the music could not be heard anyway.
By then, the stress of their fame was beginning to tell and the band was on
the verge of splitting at the time of the release of The Beatles (the "white
album"), with some tracks recorded by the band members individually, and
Starr taking a two-week holiday in the middle of the recording session. By
1970 the band had split, with each of the members going on to solo careers
with varying degrees of success.
In the Movies
The Beatles also had a limited film career, beginning with A Hard Day's
Night (1964). Directed by the up and coming American Richard Lester, it was
a gritty black-and-white documentary-like account of a short period in the
life of a rock-and-roll band. In 1965 came Help!, a Technicolor extravaganza
shot in exotic locations with a thin, if not almost transparent plot
regarding Ringo's finger! The critically slammed Magical Mystery Tour (the
concept of which was adapted from Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters
LSD-orientated bus tour of the USA) was aired on British television in 1967,
but is now considered a cult classic.
The animated Yellow Submarine followed shortly after, but had little input
from the Beatles themselves (for instance, the voices of the characters in
the movie were not those of the Beatles). However, it was acclaimed for its
boldly innovative graphic style and clever humour as well as the soundtrack.
It did much to restore the reputation of the group for appearing in superior
film musicals.
Finally, the documentary of a band in terminal decline, Let It Be was shot
over an extended period in 1969; the music from this formed the album of the
same name, which although recorded before Abbey Road, was (after much
contractual to-ing and fro-ing) their final release.
Achievements
Throughout their relatively short time recording and performing together,
The Beatles set a number of world records - most of which have yet to be
broken. The following is a partial list.
* The Beatles are the best selling musical group of all time, estimated
by EMI to be over one billion discs and tapes sold worldwide.
* The most multi-platinum selling albums for any artist or musical group
(13 in the U.S. alone)
* The Beatles have had more number one singles than any other artist or
musical group (22 in the U.S. alone). Ironically, the Beatles could
easily have had even more number ones, because they were often
competing with their own singles. For example, The Beatles' "Penny
Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were released as a "double A"
sided single, which caused sales and airplay to be divided between the
two songs instead of being counted collectively. Even so, they reached
number two with the singles.
* The most successful first week of sales for a double album (The Beatles
Anthology Volume 1), which sold 855,473 copies in the U.S. from
November 21 to November 28, 1995).
* In terms of charting positions, Lennon and McCartney are the most
successful songwriters in history, with 32 number one singles in the
U.S. for McCartney, and 26 for Lennon (23 of which were written
together). Lennon was responsible for 29 number one singles in the
U.K., and McCartney was responsible for 28 (25 of which were written
together).
* During the week of April 4, 1964, The Beatles held the top 5 positions
on the Billboard singles chart. No one had ever done anything like this
before, and it is doubtful that the conditions will ever exist for
anyone to do it again. The songs were "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and
Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please
Me".
* The next week, April 11, 1964, the Beatles held 14 positions on the
Billboard Hot 100. Before the Beatles, the highest number of concurrent
singles by one artist on the Hot 100 was nine (by Elvis Presley,
December 19, 1956).
* The Beatles are the only artist to have back-to-back-to-back number one
singles on Billboard's Hot 100. Boyz II Men and Elvis Presley have
succeeded themselves on the chart, but the Beatles are the only artist
to three-peat.
* The Beatles' "Yesterday" is the most covered song in history, appearing
in the Guinness Book of Records with over 3000 recorded versions.
* The Beatles had the fastest selling single of all time with "I Want To
Hold Your Hand". The song sold 250,000 units within 3 days in the U.S.,
one million in 2 weeks. (10,000 copies per hour in New York City alone
for the first 20 days)
* The largest number of advance orders for a single, at 2.1 million
copies in the U.S. for "Can't Buy Me Love"
* With their performance at Shea Stadium in 1965, The Beatles set new
world records for concert attendance (55,600+) and revenue.
* The Beatles broke television ratings records in the U.S. with their
first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
* On June 12, 1965, The Beatles were awarded the order of Member of the
British Empire (MBE) by the Queen.
* On July 2, 1966, The Beatles became the first musical group to perform
at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo.
The Music
Unlike their contemporaries the Rolling Stones, the Beatles were not much
influenced by blues. Though they drew inspiration from an eclectic variety
of sources, their home idiom was closer to pop music. A significant and
acknowledged musical influence was the Beach Boys, who were in turn spurred
on by the work of the Beatles. The song Back in the USSR contains an overt
allusion to the Beach Boys, but many other songs exhibit the kind of
attention to vocal harmony for which the Beach Boys are also famous.
In their later music the pace of the songs tends to be moderate, with more
of the interest usually (but not always) coming from the melody and the
orchestration than the rhythm. Penny Lane is a good example of this style;
it is a song you might emulate if you wanted to create a recognizably
"Beatlesque" sound. Their earlier songs were often a bit faster paced.
Throughout their career, their songs were rarely riff-driven.
Song Influences
As stated above, a lot of Beatles songs had some psychedelia in them
("Yellow Submarine", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", " I am the Walrus")
but these also link to The Goon Show and the work of Lewis Carroll and
Edward Lear. Both "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Field(s)" are places in
Liverpool, but the song In My Life also invokes such ideas. The song "Being
For the Benefit of Mr Kite" is based on a Music Hall poster and the song
"All Together Now" "One, two, three, four," is based around children's rhymmes.
