The Beatles

I was born in 1960 so I have clear memories of their fame from a young age. John, Paul, George and Ringo were household names. My mother had a crush on Paul McCartney. My cousins were teenagers at the time and I clearly recall seeing the Sgt. Pepper album with the inside photograph. One of my favorite songs growing up was "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Once in a while I listen and still believe they did something special. I have come to this theory that from time to time, brilliance beyond the ordinary is achieved in some of the arts and if we are lucky, we get to see some of that brilliance preserved. I realize they are human beings and flawed, but their art transcended the norm. I put them on the same level as Mozart. Their influence is forever. A bunch a guys from Liverpool, just a bar band that found a path to great expression. George had a larger influence on my as a teenager. Superficially, I thought he was gorgeous but spiritually, he expressed himself in a way most pop stars never can. His beliefs coming through the lyrics made me pause and consider there are other ways to worship or believe in God. The Beatles worked really hard for their success. I've heard a podcast on this topic and like I come to work each day, they gave it hours and hours to production. Sometimes I think Queen, and Freddie Mercury had a bit of that ability to write all kinds of music. Queen was a better rock band but most of the songs on "A Night at the Opera" I love are none traditional. "Seaside Rendezvous" is probably my favorite Queen song, that and "Find Me Somebody to Love" from "Day at the Races". Brian May's "In the Year of 39" is a close 2nd. They are brilliant and fun to listen to. The Beatles did that on every album.
 

Though I was heavily influenced by R&B/Soul, I was also influenced by Rock, and of course - The Beatles. I think it's wonderful to have such an abundance of musical choices. I had a poster of the Fab Four on my bedroom wall, centrefold from 16 magazine.
 
I remember exactly where I was, who I was with the first time I heard I Want to Hold Your Hand. I felt my life change forever, and it did. What they held was my soul.

Saw them live 3 times: Carnegie Hall, Shea Stadium, Forest Hills Stadium.

Wasn't only my soul they held, they changed the appearance of the world! Russians have told me how they hid together to hear them, in the dark, with the sound down low, risking their freedom to hear The Beatles. They agree it was worth it.
 
Pepper said:
Saw them live 3 times: Carnegie Hall, Shea Stadium, Forest Hills Stadium.
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Pepper, were you one of those screaming fans at the Shea Stadium concert?
The opening show, at Shea Stadium in the New York borough of Queens, on 15 August was record-breaking and one of the most famous concert events of its era. It set records for attendance and revenue generation. Promoter Sid Bernstein said:
"Over 55,000 people saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium."
 
They were fantastic. They changed everything. How a Hamburg/Liverpool bar band became such a creative force is still a wonder to me. I don't think enough credit goes to George Martin, the "fifth Beatle", but Lennon/McCartney were at the core of it all. Their transformation around the time of A Hard Day's Night is really exciting. And their singing and overall musicianship is remarkable. Just listen to Nowhere Man, Lady Madonna, Ticket to Ride and dozens of other songs.
 
The first gift hubby ever gave me was the Rubber Soul album for Chritmas 1965. We had been dating for a month. It had only been released on Dec.3rd-not sure how he was even able to get it. Probably went to San Francisco for it. I see that that is now a Limited Edition as the album was rereleased 6 weeks later. Do I still have it? Nope.
 
I don't know who is responsible for the gigantic success of the Beatles. Someone had to know the music business in the 1960s, inside out. The album covers, the movies, the hype was masterfully managed. Yeah, the Beatles had talent, but lots of people have great musical talent, and they aren't superstars, who dominated the 60s, and after. The Beatle had great management. Most bands get big headed, and won't take direction. The Beatles put their unique spin on things, but they were well guided. Who ? Dunno.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I don't know who is responsible for the gigantic success of the Beatles. Someone had to know the music business in the 1960s, inside out. The album covers, the movies, the hype was masterfully managed. Yeah, the Beatles had talent, but lots of people have great musical talent, and they aren't superstars, who dominated the 60s, and after. The Beatle had great management. Most bands get big headed, and won't take direction. The Beatles put their unique spin on things, but they were well guided. Who ? Dunno.
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They had a great sound and were great musicians — each with unique styles. Even their mediocre songs sounded good if you listened to them in the context of the entire album. Most importantly, they had one of the greatest songwriting teams of all time in Lennon/McCartney. George Harrison came into his own as a songwriter towards the end of their run and Ringo even wrote a good song: Octopuses Garden. Lennon and McCartney were also great singers. All the different elements melded perfectly. None of the Beatles had that during their solo careers.

To top it all off, they had George Martin adding his knowledge of classical music and his musicianship to guide the band and even play on some songs.

The Beatles had something that doesn't seem to exist in today's music: they looked and sounded like they were having the time of their lives. It made you feel good just to watch and listen to them. That comes through in some of the clips I've seen from the Get Back documentary. They were always joking around and laughing.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I don't know who is responsible for the gigantic success of the Beatles. Someone had to know the music business in the 1960s, inside out. The album covers, the movies, the hype was masterfully managed. Yeah, the Beatles had talent, but lots of people have great musical talent, and they aren't superstars, who dominated the 60s, and after. The Beatle had great management. Most bands get big headed, and won't take direction. The Beatles put their unique spin on things, but they were well guided. Who ? Dunno.
Click to expand...
The only thing I remember about the Beatles is that at the beginning, they were not very successful. They kept playing but no luck. The break came when they started playing daily and developed a rhythm and style. That discipline is what helped. I can't remember where I heard or learned about it, but it made sense to me. I liked their music very much, but never went to a concert of theirs.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I don't know who is responsible for the gigantic success of the Beatles. Someone had to know the music business in the 1960s, inside out. The album covers, the movies, the hype was masterfully managed. Yeah, the Beatles had talent, but lots of people have great musical talent, and they aren't superstars, who dominated the 60s, and after. The Beatle had great management. Most bands get big headed, and won't take direction. The Beatles put their unique spin on things, but they were well guided. Who ? Dunno.
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It helped that their manager - Brian Epstein was wealthy before he met the Beatles at "The Cavern" where they were playing. When he backed their first song, "Love Me Do," he personally spent a fortune paying radio stations to play it; most weren't interested. He also bought several thousand copies of the single to put in a record store his family owned.
 
Thing for me was they were 'Mates'. Not just friends, it goes deeper.
The years playing in Germany at dive clubs, just cemented that.

Lots of band during that period were friends, but few were Mates.
Hard for me to explain the difference between the British term 'Mates' and just Friends.

Agree that George Martin changed how their music was presented. Brilliant.

They are still heard and will be enjoyed by future generations.
 
Loved the Beatles,remember seeing them at festival Hall Melbourne 1964,still have the program too from that concert also have most of their albums also. Out of interest researched the value of some of them,to my surprise "Please Please Me" 1963 first pressing $1,200!!,and many other early pressings of some of their work,most $100.00 or more. And of course every vinyl record need one of these (See pic)
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