The Beatles. Then. Now. Forever. No other band has sustained their popularity the way the Beatles have, decade after decade. With each decade, new fans are attracted to the Beatles. Their massive, worldwide audience is composed of multiple generations—grandparents, parents, and their children who love the Beatles. The band’s popularity today is greater than what it was when the Beatles were together in the 1960s. Why? Because the Beatles were a unique combination of four distinct, multitalented musicians. John. Paul. George. Ringo. If it had been John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Charlie Watts, I’m sure they would have sounded very good, but they would not, could not be the Beatles. The Beatles were in the right place at the right time, when rock and roll wasn’t rolling that much and songs in the United States about cars and surfing were losing their luster.
Like most teenagers in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Beatles listened to the hits of the day by Lonnie Donegan, Cliff Richard, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and many others. They learned how to play the hit songs by those recording artists and played wherever they could to get in front of an audience. The audience was important; it gave the Beatles the attention and recognition that fueled their rock-and-roll ambitions. They developed a new sound as a result of working endless hours at clubs in Hamburg, Germany, where they honed their musical skills. And when they sang, their singing voices sounded different from other bands; you could hear their Liverpudlian accents. Once Brian Epstein became their manager, the Beatles’ appearance changed from looking like tough guys in leather outfits to wearing matching collarless suit jackets. Brian was a persistent manager who refused to take no for an answer and was not discouraged when every record label in London turned down the Beatles—except for one. It was George Martin at EMI’s Parlophone label who, upon hearing the Beatles for the first time, detected something special about these four lads from Liverpool. The Beatles were charming, witty, hardworking musicians who were driven by the same dream—to make it to the big time with hit records. Together, John, Paul, George, Ringo, Brian Epstein, and George Martin were the hugely successful winning combination that made the Beatles eternal superstars.
In this book, you will find out how the final formation of the Beatles happened, what their influences were, and how they conquered America. You will experience their staggering U.S. concert tour schedules, their unparalleled recording history, and their varied movies, and you will discover why the Beatles ultimately had to break up. The focus of this book is primarily on the English language singles and albums that were released in the United States from 1964 to 1970. I do reference a few solo Beatles recordings as the subject matter relates to the history in certain chapters. I do not write about the Hey Jude album because it contains only previously released singles, nor do I write about compilation albums that were released after the Beatles split up. Additionally, I do not cover the predominately spoken word album, The Beatles Story. Time-capsule vignettes will enable you to time travel and get a feel for what it was like to experience the Beatles when they were together. At the end of each chapter, you will find “Suggested Listening,” a list of songs that represent a sampling of what the chapter has explored. If you want to experience the remarkable evolutionary arc of Beatles songs and how they mixed musical genres and created new ones, it’s best to listen to all of their songs.
How does one experience the amazing magnitude of the Beatles’ songs? By listening to their music and lyrics, many times over. Because there is so much going on musically and lyrically, it’s impossible to thoroughly understand their songs after hearing them only once. Multiple listenings will help you comprehend their wide range of songs. With this book, I will take you on the Beatles’ evolving musical journey with songs that more than likely will resonate with you for the rest of your life.