THE BEATLES

The Beatles are among the most influential music artists of the second half of the 20th century, affecting the culture of Britain, America, the post-war baby boom generation, and the entire world, especially during the 1960's and early 1970's. Certainly 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 willingly became spokesmen for their generation. The members of the group were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, all from Liverpool, England. The effect of the Beatles on Western culture ans on the rest of the world, has been phenomenal.

Originally a high energy pop band, with their early singles "Twist and Shout" and "Please Please Me", as the Beatles progressed their style became more sophisticated, influenced in by Bob Dylan and Chuck Berry. Their popularity was aided by their good looks, distinctive personalities, charm, and natural charisma. When seen on the popular Ed Sullivan show, their fan base was obviously huge and above hysteria. This was the beginning of Beatlemania, in which the committed band found itself turned into a worldwide phenomenon with fans who worshiped them, hysterical screaming girls. One of their biggest fans and followers was Frank Sinatra. The band shared mixed feelings of intermittent awe and resentment, as they felt their fans were not really into their music at first, but more into the reaction of mass hysteria.

The Beatles recorded their first full length album, live in the studio, on February 11, 1963 in a 12 hour session. On February 22, 1963 the 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 traveled 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 waiting for their 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, 1964, 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, their first motion picture was released, "A Hard Day's Night". They started filming their second film, "Help" on February 23, 1965 in the Bahamas.

John Lennon met Paul McCartney at a garden party and joined his band, The Quarry Men, Paul then recruited George Harrison. The band briefly split before regrouping. After going through several changes in name and band members, it finally became "the Beatles" under the EMI's Parlophone label. The Beatles' first full-length album, "Please Please Me", was recorded within 12 consecutive hours. In 1964 they held the top five places on Billboard's Top Pop Singles Chart, a feat which has never been repeated.
In 1965, they began experimenting with LSD and were created as Members of the Order of the British Empire. Lennon caused a great backlash against the Beatles the following year, when in an interview he claimed that Christianity was dying. Eventually he apologized after being slammed by the Holy See. That same year the Beatles performed their last concert. Their fortunes took a turn for the worse when their manager, Brian Epstein, passed away, and the band's affairs began to unravel. The various members began to pursue their individual interests and got together less often. 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". Most 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, the band stopped 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 show and they were on the verge of splitting up at the time of their release of the "White Album", with some tracks recorded by the band members individually. Ringo decided to take a two-week holiday in the right in the middle of the recording session.


In 1969, they recorded their last album, "Abbey Road", although, in 1970, various songs recorded earlier, were compiled into "Let It Be". In that same year, the "Paul Is Dead" hoax sprang up. The band officially broke up in 1970, and any hopes of a reunion were crushed when Lennon was murdered in 1980.










DISCOGRAPHY:

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
A Collection of Beatles
Oldies.............................1966
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band.....................1967
Magical Mystery
Tour..............................1967
The White Album........1968
Yellow Submarine.......1969
Abbey Road...................1969
Let It Be.........................1970
The Beatles
1962-1966......................1973
The Beatles
1967-1970......................1973
Rock N' Roll Music.......1976
At The Hollywood
Bowl...............................1977
Love Songs....................1977
Rarities..........................1979
Rock N' Roll Music
Volume One.................1980
Rock N' Roll Music
Volume Two.................1980
The Beatles Box............1980
The Beatles Ballads......1980
Reel Music.....................1982
20 Greatest Hits............1982
Past Masters Volume
One..................................1988
Past Masters Volume
Two.................................1988
Past Masters...................1988
Live at the BBC..............1994
Anthology 1....................1995
Anthology 2...................1996
Anthology 3...................1996
Yellow Submarine Song
Track..............................1999
Beatles 1.........................2000
Let It Be...Naked...........2003
The Capitol Albums
Vol. 1...............................2004
The Capitol Albums
Vol. 2..............................2006
Love...............................2006
The Beatles in
Mono..............................2009