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The Beatles
The Beatles were the most prolific, respected and innovative rock 'n' roll
band of all time. One could argue that The Beatles were the best band of all
time. With their unique Everly-Brothers-like harmonies and a mixture of folk,
pop, blues, and rock 'n' roll, the Beatles defined music and raised the bar, so
to speak, for all singers and songwriters.
Their influence and contributions to pop music cannot be measured in pure
record sales because there is no comparison. From their early days as the
Quarrymen, when John, Paul and George were just teenagers, to the early days as
The Silver Beatles (later dropping the Silver from their name), music fans in
Liverpool were enthralled and mesmerized by the "Fab Four." In the early
sixties, with their constant "gigs" at the legendary Cavern Club and their
engagements in Hamburg in 1961, the local music scenes were abuzz and the
Beatles caught the attention of a local record store manager, Brian Epstein,
who went on to manage the group.
Beatle mania kicked in around 1963 when "Please Please Me" was released and
topped the British charts. The hysteria soon crossed the ocean and the
"British Invasion" was in full swing and the Beatles became a part of American
music and pop culture.
Early in 1964, the Beatles owned the Billboard charts with such hits as "I Want
To Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," Can't But Me Love," "Twist and Shout" and
the aforementioned "Please Please Me"; all reaching top ten status. (An
interesting fact is that "Can't Buy Me Love" is probably the Beatles greatest
single, which had an international advance order of 2,100,000 copies)
The rest, as they say, is history. The Beatles followed up these singles with
a barrage of best-selling albums, appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, and
dominated the best-selling singles market in a way that had never been seen and
probably never will again. They also released the motion pictures, "A Hard
Day's Night" and "Help," which only cemented their place in rock 'n' roll
history, spawning hits such as "I Feel Fine," "She's A Woman," "Ticket To
Ride," "Yesterday" and of course the song "Help." (Did you know that "A Hard
Day's Night" was recorded in one day?)
Their producer, George Martin was probably the most brilliant, innovative and
to some extent lenient producer in rock 'n' roll history. As the Beatles grew
musically and the Lennon/McCartney song writing duo continued to churn out hit
after hit, Martin allowed them to push the limits of studio improvisation,
devising unique guitar and bass textures and experimenting with distortion,
multi tracking and using unconventional instruments.
In 1965, the Beatles released "Rubber Soul," a revolutionary and classic
pop-folk rock album and what George Martin described as "The first album to
present a new, growing Beatles to the world." Songs such as the melodic
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," the self-portrait style "Nowhere Man"
(which was one of the first Beatles' songs to move beyond a romantic theme),
the harpsichord sound of "In My Life" (which was a piano made to sound like a
harpsichord), the Dylan/Byrds influences of "I'm Looking Through You," George
Harrison's "If I Needed Someone" and hits including "Drive My Car," "Girl, "
and "You Won't See Me", all suggested that the Beatles had matured as song
writers and men.
The Beatles released "Revolver" in August of 1966 and McCartney quickly
established himself as the consummate pop song writer with "Eleanor Rigby" and
"For No One," while Lennon's "Tomorrow Never Sleeps" proved to be influential
as the Beatles experimented with unheard of studio techniques (such as a
backwards tape loop on of Paul's solo guitar work on "Taxman") and a droning
tamboura. Harrison was maturing as a prolific song writer with "Taxman," "I
Want To Tell You" and "Love You To." Other gems included "Good Day Sunshine,"
"Got To Get You Into My Life," "I'm Only Sleeping," "And Your Bird Can Sing"
and the whimsical child-like "Yellow Submarine."
The Beatles also quit touring in 1966, which was an unprecedented move at that
time in music history. Tired of being drowned out by throngs of screams and
crowd noise, the Beatles played their final concert on August 29, 1966 in San
Francisco and focused their attention to the music they could create in the
studio. The Beatles were in turmoil though, as Lennon and McCartney were no
longer writing together and George was grumbling with resentment. Amid break
up rumors and personal projects, the Beatles released the "Penny
Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever" single in February 1967 to appease the public
as they delved into psychedelic territory for their next release. (This was
their strongest single to date)
The Beatles did not disappoint the masses and had more astonishing success with
the next release "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," which is arguably the
most important rock 'n' roll album ever made. Issued in Britain 6/1/67 and a
day later in the United States, "Sgt. Pepper" dominated radio air waves in
"the summer of love"with irresistible melodies such as Lennon's
dreamy/kaleidoscope-like song "Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds," McCartney's
"Fixing A Hole," Lennon's carnival-like "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite,"
the Ringo-led anthem "With A Little Help From My Friends" as well as classics
"Lovely Rita," "When I'm Sixty-Four," "She's Leaving Home" and "A Day In The
Life" among others. The Beatle's collaborative talents gelled into the
pinnacle of a pop/rock masterpiece that can never be duplicated.
Moreover, the Beatles broke new ground with an album cover (created by artist
Peter Blake) that still is one of the most intriguing and famous cover of all
time. With a collage of cardboard cutouts of historical figures and the
Beatles dressed in satin marching band outfits, the album oozed of psychedelia
and was the first rock album to incorporate lyrics to go along with their
masterful concept album. (Did you know that Jesus, Hitler and Gandhi did not
make the final cut and were omitted from the cover?)
With that type of critical success and acclaim how could the Beatles follow
"Sgt. Pepper?" In November 1967 they continued their psychedelic sound with
the album "Magical Mystery Tour," and although it was pale in comparison to
"Sgt. Pepper" it had all the elements that the Beatles had become famous for:
sharp and finely crafted pop and rock songs. Hits included "All You Need Is
Love," "Penny Lane," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Hello Goodbye" and "The Fool
On The Hill." Furthermore, the Lennon-led "I Am The Walrus" cemented their
status as psychedelic icons.
About a year later the "White Album" was released and to some this was and
still is their best effort. Although they were taxed by growing tension within
the group, each Beatle played each others compositions with great results.
Combined, the "White Album" was a double lp set of pop, blues, folk, hard rock
and smooth rock with innovative songs such as "Back In The USSR," "Sexy Sadie,"
"Rocky Raccoon," "Dear Prudence," "Blackbird," "I'm so Tired," "Glass Onion"
among others. Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was an instant
classic. Other popular cuts included the harakiri "Helter Skelter," "Why Don't
We Do It In The Road?", "Cry Baby Cry" and "Savoy Truffle." The Beatles again
broke new ground, although there wasn't a "single" released from the album, the
"White Album" sold two million copies during its first week in the US alone.
But by this time the group was falling apart, with inner turmoil that only
festered with the emergence of Yoko Ono, Lennon's soul mate and constant
shadow. Their next release, "Abbey Road" (with yet another famous cover) was
to be the last album to be recorded (but "Let It Be" was the last to be
released) and to some arguably is the Beatles' best work. With some of the
greatest harmonies ever to be recorded, "Abbey Road" contributed radio hits
such as "Come Together," Harrison's rebirth-type song "Here Comes The Sun" and
his splendid ballad "Something." Other notable songs were Lennon's metal-like
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)," McCartney's "Oh Darling" and "Maxwell's Silver
Hammer"and the Ringo led "Octopus's Garden" among others. This also marked the
last day all four beatles were in the studio (Apple) to record.
The Beatles' last release, "Let It Be" in May 1970, was recorded largely in
1969 before "Abbey Road." The original concept was a live-in-studio album and
film, but the project was abandoned to create "Abbey Road." Nonetheless, there
are some remarkable Beatle hits such as McCartney's lead track "Let It Be," the
Harrison sung "I Me Mine" about greed and sin, the dreamy "Across The
Universe," "Two Of Us" and the popular "Get Back."
I am not sure if I have utilized every adjective I could have to describe the
Beatles. The Beatles were an institution, they not only influenced pop music,
they influenced culture as well. Countless musicians have counted the Beatles
as their influence and in my opinion people will read about them hundreds of
years from now as their supremacy of the Billboard charts, music, and culture
are immeasurable.
Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and
operates www.collectingvinylrecords.com, where you can secure your
copy of his
ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting."
Robert can be contacted at robert@collectingvinylrecords.com. |
