The Beatles Influence on Rock-and-Roll

http://cfaonline.asu.edu/beatles E-mail preferred: mus354 beatles@mainex1.asu.edu The Beatles • John Hannon – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, song writer • Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, song writer • George Harrison – (Jazz), vocals, lead guitar, song writer (“something”) • Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) – vocals, drums • Left-handed: Paul and Ringo Paul is a perfectionist Ringo – short, more like human being, oldest, older than John by 3 month 4 stage career – • 1958-1963 – formative, U.K. hits 62-63: “ Please please me”, “Love me do” 63: “She loves you, yeah yeah yeah”, “I want to hold your hand” • 1964-1965 – U.S. and World tours, pop hits • 1966-1968 – psychedelic sound and concept albums

Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band immediately fell into a success that could have never been foretold. The album spent twenty-seven weeks at number one on the UK charts and fifteen weeks at the top of US charts, the best success any Beatle’s album ever achieved. No other album of the Beatles carried as much influence as did Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Hints of influence can be seen from indie rockers, to modern rappers, like Kanye West, and their use of densely layered productions. The Beatles’ experimentation with recording technology led to the first use of eight-track recording in Britain because of the bands use of orchestral overdubs in “A Day in the Life” that required two four-track recording machines to be used with one another. This album created new ways for music to be made and opened doors for all other recording artists. Musicologist Allan Moore argues that this album returned an idea of the musical process. In the case of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the “process” involved the use of recording technology as part of the Beatles composition process. The album itself led way to album covers as art and the popularity of the concept album, where albums were designed to play all the way through. After the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the music industry experienced a never before seen shift in the popularity of albums, as album sales became increasingly more than single sales. The album helped to define

For thousands of years, music has been influencing people in extraordinary ways. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band should not be mistaken as an ordinary album. Without a doubt, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, an incredibly innovative album, stands as the most influential album of all time; it stands as a true masterpiece. People all around, especially artists, were influenced greatly by the innovations the album brought to the world of music. Many people have said that from the moment they heard the first track of the album, it was life changing. Like the first falling domino tile of a domino show, June 1, 1967, would mark the start of the influence of many generations of music to come. The album helped popularize concept albums, in which songs are connected to a theme, which would inspire many musicians to do the same. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a psychedelic rock album; a manifestation of life in the 1960’s. This genre of rock is home to the work of numerous artists who were influenced by the album’s use of this style of rock. The hours of work put into by the Beatles to create this album surpassed those of any of their albums. Not only that, it altered the way music was recorded by creating their own recording techniques. Surely, these recording techniques and tactics were used by future artists in their work which then led to the creation of legendary music. Sgt. Pepper’s opened the gate to innovation; an album whose impact on

The Beatles were more than their music. They influenced the lives of millions of people unlike any musicians before them. They were the first and most popular band in one of the most important music movements in American history, the British Invasion. The year 1964 was the year both the British Invasion and “Beatlemania” came to America and forever changed the landscape of music in the United States by introducing the genre of pop, as it is today. The Beatles changed the rules of music. Many things that are considered normal now were pioneered by the Beatles such as: creating compilation albums, expressing their views on world happenings through the media, musicians in movies, and even mass media advertising. The beatles

The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. They were able to conquer and influence pop culture with their music. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain and the W.S. during the 1960s, and later the request of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.3 billion albums. During the sixties, The Beatles using revolutionary ideas in their music inspired a generation of young adults across the globe to look at life from their perspective.

     “Octopus’s Garden” is another standout track on the album. The song has developed into one of the best-known Beatles’ songs ever. This song was without a doubt, Ringo’s best song writing effort ever. Anyone who can write a song about being in the garden of an eight-legged sea creature should win an award. George’s flawless solo provided excellent cover over the background voices of gurgling water. This is also in the form of a love song. “We would sing and dance around because we know we can't be found” is quoted from the song, which details that he would like to be alone with this person. To finish the song off, Ringo’s quote “We would be so happy you and me, No one there to tell us what to do, I'd like to be under the sea In an octopus' garden with you” makes it clear that he is sending a message out to someone who he would like to be with undisturbed.

There have been many people, known as artists, who have tried to change the world through their art. “Art” can be paintings, music, dances, sculptures, literature, or photography. There are many ways to communicate and express ones feelings but The Beatles did it through their popular music. Although they didn’t focus on changing the world of politics or try to protest through their music they have songs that focus on those exact two things.

The Beatles started as an English skiffle group in the late 1950s. By the time they reached their peak popularity, the term “Beatlemania” was coined to explain the frenzied obsession with the group. A former associate editor from Rolling Stone drew a comparison between the Beatles and Picasso, calling them “artists that broke through their time period to come up with something that was unique and original.” Throughout their discography, the Beatles have time and time again released music that both broke musical trends and engrossed the masses. They have held an “unprecedented top five spots on the

What was it that George Martin brought to the table? While for one, Martin had experience working on comedy recordings and that gave Martin a sense of experimentation. Martin also had a classical background which allowed him to take his experimental ideas and put them into motion musically. Martin is quoted as saying, “When I first started in the music business, the ultimate aim was to try and re-create, on record, a live performance as accurately as possible,” which was true. However, Martin saw that with a willingness to experiment (which he had) new music could be made unlike any heard before. Martin’s handprints can be found all over the Beatles catalogue and his suggestions transformed

It was the 1960s in Liverpool, England when John McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon joined to create one of the most influential rock bands the world has ever known; The Beatles. An odd moniker for a band, their name was influenced by Buddy Holly’s group, The Crickets and subsequently changed several times. The group was originally started by McCartney, Harrison and Starr was only a session drummer at the time who loaned his talents to the popular “Love Me Do” track. It wasn’t until 1962 when Starr became a full fledged member and Beatlemania grew through all of Britain. “The Fab Four” was born.

The Beatles are known to many as one of the greatest bands of all time. Their music has

One of the most influential groups of the 20th Century—the Beatles revolutionized rock and roll into what we know it as today. Not only were they great musicians, they wrote and composed each of their songs. The band proved to be popular and exciting causing mass hysteria at each of their public performances. The “Fab Four’s” talent was so great that the phenomenon was termed “Beatlemania” in Britain and eventually erupted in the United States being called the British Invasion of the Beatles (Britannica Online, 2005).

Perhaps the most celebrated and most known musical group ever known "The Beatles" changed the way the world viewed rock music for generations to come. Comprised of four members; John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, "The Beatles" rose to stardom in England. With hits such as "Love me do" The Beatles quickly grew a fan base in the United Kingdom. By the mid-1960s the Beatles were taking the world by storm and leading the British invasion of the United States ' music industry. Till this day the Beatles ' music is still being played around the world today.

     From the sounds of Elvis many other important bands of the sixties were inspired, even people a thousand miles away from America. One of these important bands was the Beatles. The Beatles took the rock sound and added more lyrical and musical complexity to the sound. The Beatles were the starters of the “British Invasion” in 1963 when they released “I want to Hold Your Hand” (Kallen, 2012, 31). After their first single they had immense success with other hits such as “She Loves You” and “Woooo!” The Beatles continued to reinvent their music on the various other albums throughout the sixties delving into complex, heavy existential concepts and psychedelic elements, becoming the most relevant influence for modern rock.

Everyone, Americans and Europeans alike, have heard-of, if not grown off of, a generation and culture started by an ensemble of four shaggy-haired Liverpool musicians that the world went mad over; no one can deny that no greater event impacted today's pop culture than "Beatlemania". But not everyone has heard the story behind the Beatles, who were they? How did they become the band and how did they make it big? What's the story of their struggle?