The Beatles

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The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool, UK. They were arguably one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, selling over a billion records.[Citation Needed] The Beatles played and recorded many genres of rock and roll, from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock.

The four Beatles were John Lennon (1940-1980), George Harrison (1943-2001), Paul McCartney (1942- ), and Ringo Starr (1940- ). Most of the Beatles' songs were co-written by Lennon and McCartney. In the latter half of the 1960s the majority of their songs were written individually, but retained the "Lennon/McCartney" writing credit. George Harrison's songs became more prominent on the albums following Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The Lennon/McCartney ballads often displayed a personal vulnerability which was extraordinarily appealing to young teenage girls. For example, "Help" contrasts a man's younger macho attitude ( "I never needed anyone's help in any way") with a more grown-up attitude ("I changed my mind, I'll open up the door. Help me if you can.") This echoes Steven Covey's recommendation to move from independence to interdependence.

Having evolved from the high school band known as The Quarrymen, around 1962 the Beatles began playing in Hamburg, Germany, and became very popular there. A year later, thanks to underground radio, they were the biggest band in their native land of the UK. In 1964, the Beatles made their historic trip to the United States to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. To date, this performance is one of the highest-rated television events in history.

As the years passed, the Beatles' sound grew. From an old-fashioned rock and roll sound similar to the Beach Boys and Carl Perkins, the band put out a much more mature sound on Revolver. They even experimented with folk on Rubber Soul. In 1967, the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band changed music as we know it forever. The psychedelic sound reflected what was going on in the world at that time and also displayed brilliant use of new technologies (such as stereo sound.)

With the (The Beatles (the "White Album"), the Beatles had evolved into hard rockers. The songs had become more personal, and the band was beginning to fall apart. Prior to Lennon hooking up with Yoko Ono, the lads had agreed that only the four of them would be in the recording studio (no lady friends of any type).[1] Also, creative differences were creating tension among the Fab Four.

Their next project, originally to be titled "Get Back" and intended to "get them back" to recording songs the way they had in the earlier years and also to become a filmed documentary, exposed all the personal chafing and difficulties they were having. The project was shelved since none of them wanted to deal with it.

At this point, although the public did not know it, the band had virtually broken up. However, with McCartney's urging, they assembled in the studio one more time and gave their fans what was to be their swan song, the splendid Abbey Road. The "Get Back" tapes and film were handed over to Phil Spector to do something with them, and he produced the album that was released as Let It Be, in conjunction with the release of the film, which was more a documentary of a band breaking up than one writing and recording new music in their studio.

It wasn't long before the lawsuits to dissolve the partnership were flying, and the band members were releasing solo albums.[2]

In 2006, Cirque du Soleil opened a Beatle-themed show in Las Vegas, the aptly-titled Love. The show has been an outstanding success, and so has the album put out of the same name, featuring new remixes of Beatles songs by Beatles producer George Martin and his son Giles. The album also features previously unreleased versions of Beatles classics such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Strawberry Fields Forever".

The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. As solo artists, all but Ringo have been inducted (Lennon in 1994, McCartney in 1999 and Harrison in 2004).

In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Beatles #1 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[3]

The two surviving Beatles are Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney. Both Ringo and Paul have their own side projects.

References

  1. When John brought Yoko in to work on songs and insisted that she be treated as an equal, the others resisted the idea, and John and Yoko got the cold shoulder for the rest of the sessions. [1]
  2. Although Lennon had made a few solo projects before the breakup, and Harrison one, they did not receive widespread notice.
  3. [2]

External links

The Beatles
John LennonPaul McCartneyGeorge HarrisonRingo Starr
Pete Best • Stuart Sutcliffe
Discography (Early)
Please Please Me (1963) / With The Beatles (1963) / A Hard Day's Night (1964) / Beatles for Sale (1964) / Help! (1965) / Rubber Soul (1965) / Revolver (1966)
Discography (Late)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) / Magical Mystery Tour (U.S.-1967/UK-1976) / The Beatles (album) (1968) / Yellow Submarine (1969) / Abbey Road (1969) / Let It Be (1970)
Filmography
A Hard Day's Night (1964) • Help! (1965) • Magical Mystery Tour (1967) • Yellow Submarine (1968) • Let It Be (1970)
http://www.beatles.com