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'''The Beatles''' were a group of four musicians who epitomised the popular culture of Britain and the postwar baby boom generation, and, indeed, much of the English-speaking world during the [[1960s]] and early [[1970s]]. The members of the group were [[John Lennon]], [[Paul McCartney]], [[George Harrison]] and [[Ringo Starr]] (Richard Starkey), all from [[Liverpool]], [[England]]. When formed in [[1960]] as the Silver Beatles, Pete Best was drummer; in [[1962]], he was replaced by [[Ringo Starr|Ringo]].
[[Image:beatlessullivansinging.jpg|thumb|300px|right|'''The Beatles''' appeared on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' in [[1964]] as part of their first tour of the [[United States]], promoting their first hit single there, "[[I Want To Hold Your Hand]]."]]


Originally a high-energy pop band (typified by the early singles "Twist and Shout" and "Please Please Me"), as they 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, including the [[Ed Sullivan]] Show. At the height of their fame in the mid-sixties, bolstered by the two films [[Help]]! and [[A Hard Days Night]], the band discontinued touring. The increasingly sophisticated arrangements of their songs were difficult to perform in front of thousands of screaming fans. A backlash by conservative religious groups occurred in the United States and other countries after [[John Lennon]] described the band as "more popular than [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]]". Radio stations banned the group's recordings, and their albums and other products were burned and destroyed.
'''The Beatles''' were the most influential music group of the [[Rock and roll|rock era]]. Initially they affected the post-war [[post-WW2 baby boom|baby boom]] generation of [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and the [[United States|U.S.]] during the [[1960s]], and later the rest of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.1 billion records.


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. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band|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. By then, the stress of their fame was beginning to tell and the band was on the verge of splitting by the release of [[/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.
While they were originally famous for light-weight pop music (and the extreme hysterical reaction they received from young women), their later works achieved a combination of popular and critical acclaim perhaps unequaled in the [[20th century]]. Eventually, they became more than recording artists, branching out into film and — particularly in the case of [[John Lennon]] — political activism. They achieved an iconic status beyond mere celebrity, with [[The Beatles' influence|far reaching effects]] difficult to exaggerate.


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 Btitish 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). 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) the final release.
The members of the group were [[John Lennon]], (James) [[Paul McCartney]], [[George Harrison]], and [[Ringo Starr]] (Richard Starkey), all from [[Liverpool]], Merseyside, [[England]]. Early drummer [[Pete Best]] was asked to leave the group just before it started recording. [[Stuart Sutcliffe]] was with them in Hamburg but also left.


The influence of the Beatles on [[rock music]] was profound. Prior to their emergence as pop superstars, it was common for rock bands to rely on professional songwriters for their material (the [[Brill Building]] in [[New York City]] was a source of many hit singles in the early [[1960s]]). Whilst by no means the first to do so ([[Buddy Holly]] composed his hits), their example made self-composition the standard for rock bands then and since. Although they did not necessarily invent all the new ideas they incorporated in their music, they often competed with and played off of the developing ideas of other prominent acts of the period (such [[Bob Dylan]], [[The Byrds]], and the [[Beach Boys]]). As such, they spurred rock music, which hitherto had been largely looked down upon by older music fans, towards becoming an accepted art form. When the Sergeant Pepper album was released, it was hailed by music critics of the time as a major work of art, even compared favorably to classical musicians such as Schubert and Schuman.
'''[[Beatlemania]]''' began in the UK and exploded following the appearance of the Beatles on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' in the United States, on [[February 9]], [[1964]]. The pop-music band became a worldwide phenomenon with worshipful fans, hysterical adulation, and denunciations by culture commentators and others such as [[Frank Sinatra]]. Some of this was confusion over the sources of their music (a similar confusion was evinced in [[1956]] over [[Elvis Presley]] by commentators who were unaware of the tradition of [[blues]], [[R&B]], and [[gospel]] out of which Presley emerged), and some of it was simply an incredulous reaction to the length of their hair. At any rate, it was regarded by the band members with both awe and resentment.


Prior to the Beatles, record albums were of secondary consideration to 45s in mass marketing. Albums largely contained filler material along with one or two worthwhile songs. The Beatles, with the ability to produce albums with consistently well-liked material, helped to define the album as the preferred mechanism for releasing popular music, which in turn resulted in the development of new FM radio formats such as "Album Oriented Rock" (AOR) in the [[1970s]]. Even album covers changed during this period, becoming increasingly artistic--works of art in their own right (The Beatles seemed to rebel against this in 1968 when they released their plain white album "The Beatles", known as the White Album). While they were not alone in promoting these developments, they were clearly at the forefront of them. The Beatles' films also anticipated the [[videoclip]], the essential promotional tool of later popular musicians.
==A condensed history==


The influence of the Beatles even extended beyond their music. Perhaps the most notable was their influence on male fashion. Their relatively long hair, when they burst onto the scene in 1964, was a shocking fashion statement, one that was quickly adopted by other rock bands of the time, and by the 1970s, long hair became standard fashion for men.
[[image:jk_beatles_john.jpg|frame|left|Rhythm Guitarist [[John Lennon]] was known for his political activism, as well as his love for guitar-based rock and roll.]]


Suprisingly for a band as controversial, prolific and as ubiquitous as the Beatles, there have been very few noteworthy parodies of their work and style although one exception is [[The Rutles]], an outfit created by [[Eric Idle]] (of [[Monty Pythons Flying Circus]] fame) and [[Neil Innes]], formerly of the [[Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]].
''Main article: [[History of the Beatles]]''
<!--
Please contribute any major contributions to [[History of the Beatles]], as this is a condensed history. For more, see the Talk page.
-->


=== Albums ===
McCartney met Lennon at a garden fete in the late [[1950s]], and joined his band, [[The Quarrymen]], into which McCartney also recruited 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 magazine|Billboard's]] ''Top Pop Singles Chart'', a feat which has never been repeated.


Originally signed to Parlophone[[/EMI]] in the UK, the Beatles' (UK) official studio albums (not including compilations and the like) were:
In [[1965]] they were instated as [[British_honours_system|Members of the Order of the British Empire]], but also began experimenting with [[LSD]]. Lennon caused a great backlash against the Beatles the following year when in an interview he claimed that [[Christianity]] was dying and he lamented that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." Eventually he apologised, after being slammed by many religious groups, including the [[Holy See]], having Beatles' records banned or burned across the American South, and receiving threats from groups such as the [[Ku Klux Klan|KKK]].
*[[/Please Please Me|/Please, Please Me]]
*[[/With The Beatles]]
*[[/A Hard Days Night]]
*[[/Beatles For Sale]]
*[[/Help|/Help!]]
*[[/Rubber Soul]]
*[[/Revolver]]
*[[/Sgt Pepper|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]
*[[/The Beatles]] (aka The White Album)
*[[/Yellow Submarine]]
*[[/Abbey Road]]


*[[/Let It Be]]
The Beatles performed their last concert in [[Candlestick Park]], [[San Francisco]], on [[August 29]], [[1966]]. They then concentrated on recording and their compositions and musical experiments raised their artistic reputations remarkably while still being tremendously popular. However, their financial fortunes took a turn for the worse when their manager, [[Brian Epstein]], passed away on [[August 27]], [[1967]], and the band's affairs began to unravel. The various members began to pursue their individual interests and got together less often. In [[1969]] they recorded their last album, ''[[Abbey Road (album)|Abbey Road]]'' (although in [[1970]] various songs recorded earlier were compiled into ''[[Let It Be]]''). In the 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 [[Mark David Chapman|Lennon was murdered]] in [[1980]]. However, a virtual reunion was done in [[1995]] with the release of two original Lennon recordings which had the additional contributions of the remaining Beatles mixed in to create two hit singles, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". Three albums of unreleased material and studio outtakes were also released, as well as a documentary and television miniseries, in a project known as [[the Beatles Anthology]]


Of note: The earlier Beatles vinyl albums should be considered based on where they were released:
==Studio style evolution==
* [[England]] - albums are generally better sound quality and contain all of the songs
* [[USA]] - albums are lower sound quality and do not contain all of the songs


Also note: The early Beatles albums were originally released as monaural recordings. They were later remastered as artificial stereo with vocals on one side and music on the other side, much to the disgust of fans. Early CD printings of their albums are in this artificial stereo, though later printings restored the original mono.
[[image:jk_beatles_paul.jpg|frame|right|[[Bass guitar|Bassist]] [[Paul McCartney]] was primarily known for ballads such as "[[Yesterday (song)|Yesterday]]", although he also composed rockers such as "[[Helter Skelter]]".]]


=== Films ===
The role of producer [[George Martin]] was one of the crucial elements in the success of the Beatles. He used his experience to bring out the potential in the group, where a lesser producer would have imposed his views and inhibited the creativity he recognised and nurtured. His earlier experience of producing recordings by acts ranging from [[Jimmy Shand]] to the [[Goon Show|Goons]] prepared him for the open-minded, experimental approach to the studio which the group began to develop as they became more experienced. Martin's connection with the Goons had been impressive to the group, who were fans.


*[[/A Hard Days Night]]
At the height of their fame in the mid-sixties, bolstered by the two films ''[[Help!]]'' and ''[[A Hard Day's Night (movie)|A Hard Day's Night]]'', the band discontinued touring. The difficulty of performing to thousands of screaming fans who typically made so much noise that the music could not be heard had led to the disillusion with touring, and the group retired from live performance in [[1966]], to concentrate on making records. Their demands to create new sounds with every recording, the influence of [[psychedelic]] drugs and the studio techniques of recording engineer [[Geoff Emerick]] resulted in the albums ''[[Revolver (album)|Revolver]]'' ([[1966]]) and ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' ([[1967]]), 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 like the [[sitar]], [[tape loop]]s and early electronic instruments.
*[[/Help|/Help!]]
*[[/Magical Mystery Tour]]
*[[/Yellow Submarine]] (animated film, artwork by [[Peter Max]], featuring songs by the Beatles but with dialogue voiced by actors)
*[[/Let It Be]]


----
The group were increasingly taking charge of their own production, and Paul McCartney's increasing dominance in this role played its part in the tensions that eventually split the group.
[[/Talk]]

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 (album)|The Beatles]]'' ("The White Album"), with some tracks recorded by the band members individually, and Starr taking a two-week holiday &mdash; sometimes reported as a temporary break-up &mdash; 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==

[[image:jk_beatles_george.jpg|frame|left|Lead Guitarist [[George Harrison]] truly emerged as a composer in his own right on ''[[Abbey Road (album)|Abbey Road]]'', the Beatles' last album to be produced.]]

The Beatles also had a limited film career, beginning with ''[[A Hard Day's Night (movie)|A Hard Day's Night]]'' ([[1964]]). It was a comic farce (often compared to the [[Marx Brothers]]) directed in a black-and-white documentary style by the up-and-coming [[Richard Lester]], then known for directing the television version of the ''[[Goon Show]]''. In [[1965]] came ''[[Help!]]'', a [[Technicolor]] extravaganza shot in exotic locations in the style of a [[James Bond]] spoof. The ''[[Magical Mystery Tour]]'' (the concept of which was adapted from [[Ken Kesey]]'s [[Merry Pranksters]] [[LSD]]-oriented bus tour of the USA), was critically slammed when it 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, save for a live-action epilogue at the film's conclusion, and the contribution of four new songs for the film, including a holdover from the ''Sgt. Pepper'' sessions, "Only A Northern Song". Nonetheless, it was acclaimed for its boldly innovative graphic style and clever humour as well as the soundtrack.

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 (album)]]'', was (after much contractual to-ing and fro-ing and significant tinkering by producer [[Phil Spector]]) their final release.

==Achievements==

[[image:jk_beatles_ringo.jpg|frame|right|Drummer [[Ringo Starr]] did not compose many songs on his own. He did however customarily sing one song on each Beatles album.]]

Throughout their relatively short time recording and performing together, the Beatles set a number of world records &mdash; 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 Beatles have notched up 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 musical group (23 in Australia, 23 in The Netherlands, 22 in Canada, 21 in Norway, 20 in the U.S., and 18 in Sweden). 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 Beatles have had more number one albums than any other group (19 in the U.S. and 15 in the U.K.).
* The Beatles spent the highest number of weeks at number one in the albums chart (174 in the U.K. and 132 in the U.S.).
* 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 five positions on the ''[[Billboard magazine|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 (song)|Yesterday]]" is the most [[Cover version|covered song]] in history, appearing in the [[Guinness Book of Records]] with over 3000 recorded versions.

[[Image:Stamp-ctc-the-beatles.png|thumb|175px|left|The Beatles even had their own stamp commissioned, featuring a tribute to [[Yellow Submarine]].]]

* The Beatles had the fastest selling single of all time with "[[I Want To Hold Your Hand]]". The song sold 250,000 units within three days in the U.S., one million in 2 weeks. (Additionally, it sold 10,000 copies per hour in [[New York City]] alone for the first 20 days.)
* The Beatles have the fastest selling CD of all time with ''1''. It sold over 13 million copies in four weeks.
* The largest number of advance orders for a single, at 2.1 million copies in the U.S. for "Can't Buy Me Love" (it sold 940,225 copies on its first day of release in the U.S. alone).
* ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' is the best selling album of all time in the U.K. (over 4.5 million copies sold).
* 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 [[Order of the British Empire|Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) by the [[Queen Elizabeth|Queen]].
* On [[June 30]], [[1966]], the Beatles became the first musical group to perform at the [[Nippon Budokan Hall]] in [[Tokyo]]. They performed five times in three days gathering audiences of about 10,000 per performance.
* The Beatles appear five times in the [[List of best selling singles (UK)|top 100 best-selling singles in the UK]]. No other group appears more than twice.

==The music==

Unlike their contemporaries [[the Rolling Stones]], the Beatles were seldom directly influenced by [[blues]]. Though they drew inspiration from an eclectic variety of sources, their home idiom was closer to [[pop music]]. Their distinctive vocal harmonies were influenced by early [[Motown]] artists in the US. [[Chuck Berry]] was perhaps the most fundamental progenitor of the Beatles' sound; the Beatles covered "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Rock And Roll Music" early in their careers on record (with most other Berry classics heard in their live repertoire). Chuck Berry's influence is also heard, in an altered form, in later songs such as "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me And My Monkey" (1968) and "Come Together" (1969). (After "Come Together" was released, Chuck Berry successfully sued John Lennon for copyright infringement of his song "You Can't Catch Me".)

The Beatles were fond of [[Little Richard]], and some of their songs &mdash; especially their early work &mdash; featured [[falsetto]] calls very similar to those Little Richard offered as punctuation in his own songs.

A significant and acknowledged musical influence was [[the Beach Boys]], who were in turn spurred on by the work of the Beatles. [[Brian Wilson]] acknowledges that ''[[Rubber Soul]]'' challenged him to make ''[[Pet Sounds]],'' the album which in turn inspired McCartney's vision of ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]].'' Another example is the song "[[Back in the USSR]]", which contains an overt allusion to the Beach Boys' "California Girls".

[[The Everly Brothers]] were another major influence on the Beatles, with Lennon and McCartney consciously trying to copy Don and Phil Everly's distinctive two-part [[harmony|harmonies]].

The song-writing of [[Gerry Goffin]] and [[Carole King]] was yet another influence upon the Beatles, and it could be said that one of the Beatles' many achievements was to marry the relative sophistication of Goffin and King's songs (which used major-seventh chords, for example) with the simplicity of [[Buddy Holly]], Berry and the early rock-and-roll performers. Lennon and McCartney's songwriting partnership had initially been inspired by Goffin and King; Lennon and McCartney's goal when they started was to become the next Goffin and King.

Individually, the four Beatles drew further inspiration from different sources. John Lennon's early style owed a huge debt to [[Buddy Holly]] and [[Roy Orbison]] ("Misery" from [[1963]] and "Please Please Me" from [[1963]]). After becoming acquainted with the work of [[Bob Dylan]], Lennon became influenced heavily by folk music ("You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" and "[[Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)|Norwegian Wood]]" from [[1965]]). Lennon played the major role in steering the group toward [[psychedelic|psychedelia]] ("[[Strawberry Fields Forever]]" and "[[I Am the Walrus]]" from [[1967]]), and renewed his interest in earlier rock forms at the close of the Beatles' career ("Don't Let Me Down" from [[1969]]).

Paul McCartney is perhaps best known as the group's romantic balladeer: beginning with "[[Yesterday (song)|Yesterday]]" (1965), he pioneered a modern form of [[art rock|art song]], exemplified by "[[Eleanor Rigby]]" (1966) and "She's Leaving Home" (1967). Meanwhile, McCartney maintained an affection for the driving [[R&B]] of [[Little Richard]] in a series of songs which John Lennon dubbed "potboilers", from "I Saw Her Standing There" (1963) to "Lady Madonna" (1968). "Helter Skelter" (1968) &mdash; arguably an early [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] song &mdash; is a McCartney composition.

[[Image:Beatlessullivantogether.jpg|thumb|300px|Originally, The Beatles' work focused around themes of optimistic, giddy, love akin to that of a boy who had just fallen in love, as typified by their performances of songs on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', such as "All My Loving", "[[She Loves You]]" and "[[I Want To Hold Your Hand]]".]]

George Harrison derived his early guitar style from 1950s [[rockabilly]] greats such as [[Carl Perkins]], [[Scotty Moore]] (who worked with [[Elvis Presley]]), and [[Duane Eddy]]. "All My Loving" (1963) and "She's A Woman" (1964) are prime examples of Harrison's early rockabilly guitar work.

In [[1965]], George Harrison broke new ground in the West by recording with an Indian [[sitar]] on "Norwegian Wood". A result of his long and continued collaboration with Sri [[Ravi Shankar]], a famous [[Hindustani music]]ian, many of his following compositions were based on Hindustani forms, most notably "Love You To" (1966), "Within You, Without You" (1967), and "The Inner Light" (1968). Indian music and culture also influenced the band as a whole, with the use of swirling tape loops, droning bass lines, and mantra-like vocals on "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966) and "Dear Prudence" (1968). Harrison retained Western musical forms in his later compositions, where he emerged as a significant pop composer in his own right, occasionally reprising major themes that indicated his new relationship with Hindustani music and the [[Hindu]] god [[Krishna]]. His later guitar style, while not displaying the virtuosity of [[Jimi Hendrix]] and [[Eric Clapton]], became distinctive with its use of clear melodic lines and subtle fills ("[[Something (song)|Something]]" [1969], "Let It Be" [1970]) in contrast to the increasingly distorted riffs and rapid-fire guitar solo work of his contemporaries.

Ringo Starr's contributions to The Beatles' sound are less known compared to the other Beatles, as Starr himself rarely actually wrote songs. While he is mostly appreciated for his gentle comic baritone ("Yellow Submarine" [[1966]], "Octopus's Garden" [[1969]]), steady drumming, and everyman image, he was likely responsible for the group's occasional interest in surprisingly authentic [[country music|country]] sounds ("What Goes On" [[1965]]; "Don't Pass Me By" [[1968]]) and his own performance on [[Buck Owens]]' "Act Naturally".

In the Beatles' 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]]" (1967) is a good example of this style. Their earlier songs were often a bit faster paced. Throughout their career, their songs were rarely [[riff]]-driven. "Day Tripper" (1965) and "Hey Bulldog" (1969) are among the exceptions.

There was an abrupt change in direction due to The Beatles' decision to stop touring in 1966. Reportedly stung by criticism of "Paperback Writer", The Beatles poured their creative energies into the recording studio in a determined attempt to produce material they could be proud of. There had already been a clear trend towards progressively greater complexity both in technique and style, but this now accelerated noticeably, as was evident on "Revolver". The subject matter of the post-touring songs was no longer you, I, love, boy meets girl, etc., and this took them very far from the days in 1963 when their material had shown some similarity with, say, the work of [[The Hollies]]. Now all manner of subjects were introduced, from home repair and circuses to nonsense songs and others that defied description.

The extreme complication evident on ''Sgt. Pepper's'' reached its height on the ''[[Yellow Submarine]]'' soundtrack album. Parts of this, specifically "It's All Too Much" and "Only A Northern Song", were left over from [[1967]] and ended up being used only on ''Yellow Submarine'' in [[January]] [[1969]] apparently because The Beatles themselves weren't much interested in this as a project and didn't feel inclined to greatly exert themselves producing a lot of new material for it.

After the ''Revolver/Sgt. Pepper's'' phase, the creative surge seemed to exhaust itself, and their [[The Beatles (album)|self-titled album]], largely written in [[India]], reverted to a much simpler style and sometimes to simpler subjects (for example "Birthday"). Some of it (for example "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" and "Wild Honey Pie") were far less complex than much of their material from just a year or two before, and in 1969, the band began to disintegrate during sessions for the abortive ''Get Back'' project (which eventually emerged in 1970, much altered, as ''[[Let It Be]]'') which had been intended to be a return to more basic songs, avoiding massive editing or otherwise artificial influences on the final output (ironically ''Let It Be'' was heavily overdubbed and edited by producer [[Phil Spector]]'s [[wall of sound]] technique). Not wanting to leave things like that, the last album The Beatles recorded, ''[[Abbey Road]]'', represented a mature attempt to integrate what they knew, and use recording studio techniques only to improve the songs, rather than to experiment to see what happened. It represented one final effort, as McCartney once put it, to "leave 'em laughing".
X-Forwarded-For: 10.0.0.21

Beatle music is still performed in public by [[tribute band]]s such as the Bootleg Beatles, and shows like ''Beatlemania!''. They are also the basis for [[Eric Idle]]'s parody band, [[The Rutles]] ([[1978]]).

==Discography==
''For a detailed discography, see: [[Beatles discography]]''

==Trivia==
*Ringo Starr, Paul and [[Linda McCartney]], and George Harrison all guest starred on ''[[The Simpsons]]'' although not at the same time.
* It is commendable that this Wiki on the Beatles has not yet mentioned what's her name.

==Related topics==

* [[Beatles bootlegs]]
* [[Beatles discography]]
* [[The Beatles' influence]]
* [[List of albums by the Beatles]]
* [[The Fifth Beatle]]
* [[John Lennon's jukebox]]
* [[The Fool (design collective)]] - who decorated many of the Beatles guitars, cars etc.
* [[Allen Klein]]

==References==

* [http://beatles-discography.com beatles-discography.com] (various pages). Retrieved Dec. 15, 2004.
* Braun, Michael (1964), ''Love Me Do: The Beatles' Progress''. London: Penguin Books, 1995 [Reprint]. ISBN 0140022783.
* Goldsmith, Martin (2004). ''The Beatles Come To America''. Turning Points. ISBN 0471469645.
* Lewisohn, Mark (1990). ''EMI's the Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years''. Hamlyn. ISBN 0681031891.
* MacDonald, Ian (1995). ''Revolution In The Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties''. Vintage. ISBN 0712666974.

==External links==

* [http://www.beatles.com/ The Beatles (Apple Corps)] Official site, by Apple Corps
* [http://www.beatles-discography.com/ beatles-discography.com] Contains their complete UK and US discography, and a day-by-day diary of their entire career.
* [http://home.att.net/~chuckayoub/the_beatles_lyrics.html The Beatles Lyrics]
* [http://www.stevesbeatles.com/ Steve's Beatles Page] with comprehensive lyrics for all songs released so far.
* [http://www.steveclifford.com/beatles/ Steve Clifford's Beatles Website] A large informational site for Beatles collectors and fans. All aspects of Beatlemania featured.
* [http://realbeatles.com RealBeatles.com] has a forum, film archive, and more.
* [http://beatlesweb.de/~ebinfo.htm Beatlesweb.de] Contains a small biography.
* [http://lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/B/Beatles.html The Beatles Lyrics]
* [http://www.beatlemoney.com/ Beatle Money] focuses on financial accounts of the Beatles
* [http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/beatles.htm FBI dossier on the Beatles]
* [http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/awp-notes_on.html Notes on ... Series by Alan Pollack]A thorough analysis of the complete Beatles canon, by musicologist Alan W. Pollack
*[http://www.jerryfielden.com/essays/beatles.htm The Beatles and the British Invasion]
*[http://www.nemsworld.com/beatles/ The photo sessions]

{{The Beatles}}

[[Category:British musical groups|Beatles, The]]
[[Category:Rock music groups|Beatles, The]]
[[Category:The Beatles| ]]

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Revision as of 04:45, 15 January 2005

The Beatles were a group of four musicians who epitomised the popular culture of Britain and the postwar baby boom generation, and, indeed, much of the English-speaking world during the 1960s and early 1970s. The members of the group were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), all from Liverpool, England. When formed in 1960 as the Silver Beatles, Pete Best was drummer; in 1962, he was replaced by Ringo.

Originally a high-energy pop band (typified by the early singles "Twist and Shout" and "Please Please Me"), as they 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, including the Ed Sullivan Show. At the height of their fame in the mid-sixties, bolstered by the two films Help! and A Hard Days Night, the band discontinued touring. The increasingly sophisticated arrangements of their songs were difficult to perform in front of thousands of screaming fans. A backlash by conservative religious groups occurred in the United States and other countries after John Lennon described the band as "more popular than Jesus". Radio stations banned the group's recordings, and their albums and other products were burned and destroyed.

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. By then, the stress of their fame was beginning to tell and the band was on the verge of splitting by the release of /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.

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 Btitish 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). 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) the final release.

The influence of the Beatles on rock music was profound. Prior to their emergence as pop superstars, it was common for rock bands to rely on professional songwriters for their material (the Brill Building in New York City was a source of many hit singles in the early 1960s). Whilst by no means the first to do so (Buddy Holly composed his hits), their example made self-composition the standard for rock bands then and since. Although they did not necessarily invent all the new ideas they incorporated in their music, they often competed with and played off of the developing ideas of other prominent acts of the period (such Bob Dylan, The Byrds, and the Beach Boys). As such, they spurred rock music, which hitherto had been largely looked down upon by older music fans, towards becoming an accepted art form. When the Sergeant Pepper album was released, it was hailed by music critics of the time as a major work of art, even compared favorably to classical musicians such as Schubert and Schuman.

Prior to the Beatles, record albums were of secondary consideration to 45s in mass marketing. Albums largely contained filler material along with one or two worthwhile songs. The Beatles, with the ability to produce albums with consistently well-liked material, helped to define the album as the preferred mechanism for releasing popular music, which in turn resulted in the development of new FM radio formats such as "Album Oriented Rock" (AOR) in the 1970s. Even album covers changed during this period, becoming increasingly artistic--works of art in their own right (The Beatles seemed to rebel against this in 1968 when they released their plain white album "The Beatles", known as the White Album). While they were not alone in promoting these developments, they were clearly at the forefront of them. The Beatles' films also anticipated the videoclip, the essential promotional tool of later popular musicians.

The influence of the Beatles even extended beyond their music. Perhaps the most notable was their influence on male fashion. Their relatively long hair, when they burst onto the scene in 1964, was a shocking fashion statement, one that was quickly adopted by other rock bands of the time, and by the 1970s, long hair became standard fashion for men.

Suprisingly for a band as controversial, prolific and as ubiquitous as the Beatles, there have been very few noteworthy parodies of their work and style although one exception is The Rutles, an outfit created by Eric Idle (of Monty Pythons Flying Circus fame) and Neil Innes, formerly of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

Albums

Originally signed to Parlophone/EMI in the UK, the Beatles' (UK) official studio albums (not including compilations and the like) were:

Of note: The earlier Beatles vinyl albums should be considered based on where they were released:

  • England - albums are generally better sound quality and contain all of the songs
  • USA - albums are lower sound quality and do not contain all of the songs

Also note: The early Beatles albums were originally released as monaural recordings. They were later remastered as artificial stereo with vocals on one side and music on the other side, much to the disgust of fans. Early CD printings of their albums are in this artificial stereo, though later printings restored the original mono.

Films

/Talk

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