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 Following the 1964 release of the Beatles' early records in America and their subsequent appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in February of that year, the Beatles remained the most popular band in the Western world until their breakup in 1970.
Nothing strange about that, as the Fab Four were undoubtedly the most progressive band of that era, and unquestionably the leaders when it came to all things "pop." In other words, where they went, the rest of the world seemed to follow.
What is strange, however, is that the biggest band in the world during the year 1996 was probably...the Beatles, thanks to the release of the three Anthology albums featuring rarities, outtakes and alternate versions of their tunes, as well as a longform Anthology video and DVD release (which originally appeared in a shortened version as an ABC-TV miniseries).
In 1997, many major cities have 24-hour Beatle radio stations, playing nothing but Beatles music, as well as tracks from the individual members' solo years, bootlegs and bootlegs of the bootlegs. These stations have already outlasted similar experimental stations broadcasting nothing but Elvis or Sinatra, even though those artists had significantly longer careers and larger catalogs than the Beatles.
Despite a relatively minor backlash during the past several years from Generation X-ers tired of hearing from Baby Boomers that the Beatles were "good for them" (R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe once complained to Rolling Stone that the Beatles were like "Muzak" to his "generation"--and while Stipe obviously considered this a put-down, the remark was appropriate, as it put the band in the company of such other noted Muzak staples as Leonard Bernstein, Louis Armstrong and Beethoven), the Beatles' popularity has never really ebbed, with their catalog selling consistently and new interest constantly created by such events as the release of their music on CD and the aforementioned Anthology series.
It's hard to explain exactly how huge the Beatles were to someone who wasn't there, but try imagining U2, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, the Spice Girls, Hanson, Star Wars, Independence Day, Batman, John Bradshaw, the Dali Lama, Seinfield, Friends, America Online and the most charismatic modern political figure you can visualize (Bill Clinton?) all rolled into one, and then you're at least somewhere in the ballpark.
Unlike the genre-based pop music of today, the Beatles were populist as opposed to exclusionary, and although they primarily made their mark in rock and pop music, they incorporated everything from ragtime to classical to Eastern raga to modern jazz to hillbilly in various compositions; in fact, it may have been their love for the "girl group" sounds of the '50s and early '60s that originally distinguished them from their early peers who concentrated solely on, say, Chuck Berry and/or the Chicago blues.
Certainly, it was the key element in what came to be known as "the Mersey Sound" or "Merseybeat." In many ways, it could be argued that the Beatles virtually invented the exciting, turbulent decade in which they thrived, no matter how synchronistic it may have seemed at the time. Their influence wasn't felt in just music, but in art, literature, film and lifestyles.
Though they were considered "countercultural" at the time, they were the single most important element in bringing rock into the mainstream and their influence lingers to this day. And even though you may have had your favorite Beatle at the time, the Beatles were always the Beatles, meaning that the whole was always more important than the separate individuals...which only added to the whole communal mythology that was the '60s.
The Beatles' story has been told so many times and in so many different ways--books (many published before the group had even disbanded), films, documentaries--that it hardly needs repeating here. In fact, it would be impossible to relate all the unique details in such brief a space.
And you'd have to be a hermit with no access to the media to not already know the story in full detail. In a nutshell: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard (Ringo) Starkey were born and raised in Liverpool, England, a small, dismal working class seaport that is unique only in that it's the first place to receive rock 'n' roll records from America. John and Paul began playing in "skiffle" bands as teenagers--and then met one day when Paul saw John fronting a band called the Quarrymen.
They were impressed to discover that they both knew how to play--and knew all the words to--Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock," and became fast friends. Paul brought along a younger school chum named George who played a mean guitar, and with drummer Pete Best (and John's art school pal Stu Sutcliffe, who Paul later replaced on bass, though McCartney was capable of playing damn near anything), they formed Johnny & the Moondogs, later the Silver Beatles, and, ultimately, the Beatles (a name they based on Buddy Holly's Crickets).
They honed their chops playing all-night sets in Hamburg, Germany; then became the most popular band in Liverpool at the Cavern Club. Local record store entrepreneur Brian Epstein became their manager; after every British label rejected them, he convinced comedy producer George Martin to take a chance on them via EMI. They replaced Pete Best with Ringo; they became a phenomenon in Europe...and then became the first British pop act to conquer America, opening the door for the "British Invasion."
Bob Dylan introduced them to marijuana. Although their first albums were pop perfection, the influence of both Dylan and drugs slowly but surely became evident--and by the time of Rubber Soul and Revolver, they were transforming pop into Art. Sgt. Pepper's, LSD, the Summer Of Love, the Maharishi, Yoko Ono...oh, hell, just read one of the books or buy the video!
Ultimately, the one theme that ran continually through the Beatles' music and career was the theme of love in all its variations, from "She Loves You" to "She's Leaving Home" ("Love is the one thing that money can't buy") to "All You Need Is Love" to the last words they ever recorded as a foursome: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make..." Suffice it to say that for one brief, shining moment, the Beatles made the world actually believe that love could save us all. But to put a new spin on one of their influential contemporaries: We were so much younger then, we're older than that now.
This Biography was written by Bill Holdship
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