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THE
BAND:
John
Lennon - born John Winston Lennon, Oct. 9, 1940, Liverpool
- died Dec. 8, 1980, New York City, N.Y. - guitars,
vocals, harmonica, keyboards.
Paul McCartney - born James Paul McCartney, June 18, 1942,
Liverpool - bassist, vocals, guitars, keyboards.
George Harrison - born Feb. 25, 1943, Liverpool - guitars,
vocals, sitar.
Ringo Starr - born Richard Starkey Jr., July 7, 1940,
Liverpool - drums, percussion, vocals.
Formed
1959, Liverpool, England, the working-class heroes and
the three guitarists in the group John Lennon (Oct. 9,
1940-Dec. 8, 1980), Paul McCartney (born June 18, 1942),
and George Harrison (born Feb. 25, 1943) first played
together as schoolboys with the Quarrymen. In the late
1950s the group was renamed Johnny and the Moondogs, the
Moonshiners, then the Silver Beatles (a wordplay on the
musical term beat that also paid tribute to rocker Buddy
Holly's Crickets). They had been performing in small clubs
in Liverpool and in Hamburg, West Germany, when the
original drummer was replaced in 1962 by Ringo Starr (born
Richard Starkey, July 7, 1940). All four Beatles were from
Liverpool.
A
quartet of extraordinarily talented British musicians who
were once known as the Silver Beatles generated a
phenomenal run of gold records that endured long after the
rock group disbanded. The Fab Four inspired a worldwide
frenzy of Beatlemania, perhaps primarily because they
projected the self-image of the 1960s teenager.
The
Beatles' first record 'Love Me Do', written by Lennon and
McCartney in 1957 was released in October 1962. By the
time they led the so-called British invasion of the United
States in 1964, the Beatles held the top five spots on the
singles recording charts and they released their first
film, 'A Hard Day's Night'. Within a year six of their
albums in succession hit the top of the charts, and
'Help!', another antic musical film, opened to critical
acclaim.
As
musicians, as composers, and as entertainers, the Beatles
bridged generation gaps and language barriers, reshaping
rock music with their wit and sophistication. As
trendsetters, they popularized long hair, mod dress,
hallucinogenic drugs, Indian music, and Eastern mysticism.
The
later Beatles albums were like variety shows a miscellany
of rock, blues, country, folk, ballads, social commentary,
nursery rhymes, 1920s parodies, and satires of other pop
groups, with an occasional injection of surrealism. Most
of their material was credited to Lennon and McCartney as
a team; in time Lennon's sardonic songs were recognizable
because they were generally composed in the first person,
while McCartney's songs developed scenarios with offbeat
characters. Their most acclaimed works were the innovative
Revolver (1966); the single-concept album, Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967); the exuberant Album, The
Beatles (1968); and their last joint effort, Abbey Road
(1969). (Let It Be, issued in 1970, had been delayed for
simultaneous release with a film and book.)
The
last concert appearance of the Beatles was in San
Francisco in 1966. Amid public quarrels and lawsuits, the
singing idols officially broke up in 1970. Lennon had
begun recording with his second wife, the avant-garde
conceptual artist Yoko Ono, and McCartney formed the
successful soft-rock group Wings with his wife, Linda.
Harrison and Starr also recorded solo albums. Rumors that
the Beatles would reunite persisted for a decade until
Lennon was murdered in New York City in 1980.
The
impact of the Beatles -- not only on rock & roll but
on all of Western culture -- is simply incalculable. As
musicians they proved that rock & roll could embrace a
limitless variety of harmonies, structures, and sounds;
virtually every rock experiment has some precedent on
Beatles records. As a unit they were a musically
synergistic combination: Paul McCartney’s melodic bass
lines, Ringo Starr’s slaphappy no-rolls drumming, George
Harrison’s rockabilly-style guitar leads, John
Lennon’s assertive rhythm guitar -- and their four
fervent voices. One of the first rock groups to write most
of its material, they inaugurated the era of
self-contained bands and forever centralized pop. And as
personalities, they defined and incarnated Sixties style:
smart, idealistic, playful, irreverent, eclectic. Their
music, from the not-so-simple love songs they started with
to their later perfectionist studio extravaganzas, set new
standards for both commercial and artistic success in pop.
Although many of their sales and attendance records have
since been surpassed, no group has so radically
transformed the sound and meaning of rock & roll.
THE
ALBUMS:
1963
-- Please Please Me (Parlophone, U.K.); With the Beatles;
Introducing The Beatles (Vee-Jay)
1964 -- Meet the Beatles (Capitol); The Beatles’ Second
Album; A Hard Day’s Night (United Artists); Something
New (Capitol); The Beatles’ Story; Beatles ‘65
1965 -- The Early Beatles; Beatles VI; Help!; Rubber Soul
1966 -- Yesterday..., and Today; Revolver
1967 -- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; Magical
Mystery Tour
1968 -- The Beatles (Apple)
1969 -- Yellow Submarine (Capitol); Abbey Road
1970 -- Hey Jude; Let It Be (Apple)
1973 -- The Beatles 1962-1966 (Capitol); The Beatles
1967-1970
1976 -- Rock ‘N’ Roll Music
1977 -- Love Songs; Live at the Hollywood Bowl; Live at
the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, 1962 (Atlantic)
1980 -- Rarities (Capitol)
1982 -- Reel Music; 20 Greatest Hits
1988 -- Past Masters, vol. 1; Past Masters, vol.2
1994 -- Live at the BBC (EMI)
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