The Beatles – story of success
The Beatles were one of the most successful and influential pop-music groups of the 1960s. This quartet of British musicians were rhythm guitarist John Lennon (October 9, 1940-December 8, 1980); bass guitarist Paul McCartney (born June 18, 1942); lead guitarist George Harrison (February 25, 1943— November 29, 2001); and drummer Ringo Starr (originally Richard Starkey; born July 7, 1940).
In March 1957, John Lennon formed a group, The Quarry Men. On July 6 that year, he met Paul McCartney and the two were soon playing music together. In 1958 the young guitarist George Harrison joined the group. In 1960 they finally became the Beatles. In 1962 they signed a recording contract with a large music company. At about this time they chose Starr to replace drummer Pete Best.
The Beatles were fond of Little Richard and some of their songs featured falsetto calls similar to his, notably “Long Tall Sally”. In 1962 he socialized with the Beatles around Hamburg and they performed together at the Star Club.
In 1963, their song ‘Please Please Me’ climbed to the top of the British music charts. They became very famous. People started calling the excitement over the band Beatlemania.
Beatlemania exploded in the United States with three national television appearances by the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February, 16 February and 23 February, 1964. The pop-music band became a worldwide phenomenon with worshipful fans and angry denunciations by cultural observers and established performers such as Frank Sinatra, sometimes on grounds of the music or their appearance.
In 1964 they held the top five places on Billboard’s Hot 100, a feat that has never been repeated.
In 1965 they were instated as Members of the Order of the British Empire.
On June 25, 1967 The Beatles were the first band whose performance was broadcasted via satellite.
The Beatles released three comedies Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour.
In 1970, the Beatles broke up. All four continued their musical careers—Lennon with his wife, Yoko Ono; McCartney with the band Wings and later as a solo performer; and Starr and Harrison mainly as solo artists.
Any hopes of a reunion were crushed when Lennon was assassinated in 1980.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine called the Beatles the best artists of all time.
The composition ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ lasts about 8 minutes, but contains only 14 words.