Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas 6/3/14, 10:09 AM print page close window The Beatles The most successful group of the 1960s, the Beatles reshaped and reinvigorated rock and roll, arriving in the post- Presley period just when rock music had been tamed. Isolated from the cultural center of London, the Beatles emerged from the unlikely working-class environment of Liverpool, England, an industrial shipping-port city where residents had access to foreign goods such as American rhythm and blues (R&B) and jazz records. With British radio playing few American rock records in the late 1950s, these American imports exposed aspiring musicians John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Little Richard and Fats Domino. Lennon's childhood was marred by exploding Nazi bombs, and an unstable home life. After the divorce of his parents, Lennon was raised by his aunt and uncle, Mimi and George Smith. After hearing Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel," Lennon pursued a career in music, abandoning the notion of being a sailor like his father. Given an inexpensive guitar by his mother Julia, Lennon suffered another tragedy when she was struck and killed by a bus. The son of a jazz bandleader, McCartney grew up in a stable environment until 1956, when his mother died of cancer. While attending the prestigious Liverpool Institute, McCartney became obsessed with the guitar, finally purchasing one at age 14. A fan of rockabilly, he emulated guitarists like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran. The eldest Beatle, Richard Starkey Jr. (later, Ringo Starr), was the son of a baker. A sickly child, spending two months in a coma after rupturing an appendix, Starr had a difficult life. Dropping out of school due to poor grades, he turned to music, hoping to eke out some sort of living. The first Beatle to join a band, he was drumming at the age of 16. His father a bus driver and both parents former professional ballroom dancers, George Harrison grew up in a musical household. A scholastic disappointment, his mother gave him a guitar at age 13, hoping to discover a hidden talent. The Beatles story began in July 1957, when McCartney approached Lennon after a performance by his skiffle (a style of rockabilly) band, the Quarrymen. The pair had first met a year earlier at a church picnic. McCartney impressed Lennon with both his rendition of "Be-Bop-a-Lula" and his ability to properly tune a guitar, and was asked to join a few weeks later. Playing a menu of American R&B and rockabilly covers, the scruffy-looking band attracted the attention of 14-year-old guitarist Harrison, who was hired in early 1958. Adding drummer Pete Best, the group was renamed Johnny and the Moondogs. During this time, Lennon, a mediocre student, attended the Liverpool College of Art, where he met Stuart Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe joined the group on bass in 1960, forming (among various names) the Silver Beatles, at one time backing pop singer Johnny Gentle in a tour through Scotland. Shortening their name to the Beatles in August 1960, the group began a four-month stint in Hamburg, Germany, their musical skills and showmanship sharpened by playing grueling eight hour a night shifts in red-light district clubs. http://popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1360671?sid=1360671&cid=0&view=print Page 1 of 4 Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas 6/3/14, 10:09 AM Enamored of the band, art student Astrid Kirchherr reshaped the group's image with new outfits and updated haircuts. Deported on various charges (Harrison was only 17), the Beatles returned to Liverpool. Engaged to Kirchherr, Sutcliffe remained in Germany, where he soon died of a cerebral hemorrhage. With McCartney switching to bass guitar in December 1960, the Beatles debuted at a dingy Liverpool teen spot, the Cavern Club, soon garnering a faithful local fan base. During a subsequent visit to Hamburg, the Beatles recorded for the first time, hired as backing musicians by pop singer Tony Sheridan. Appearing on the single, "My Bonnie," the record label attributed the song to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. Meanwhile, a customer's request for a Beatles record at a well-stocked Liverpool record store caused the manager Brian Epstein to search out the group. After catching a performance of the Beatles at the Cavern Club, Epstein signed the rough, leather-clad foursome to a management contract. After failing an audition with Decca Records, in June 1962 the Beatles signed with EMI's Parlophone subsidiary, impressing 36-year-old producer George Martin (a classically trained oboe player). At Martin's request, drummer Best was fired and replaced by Starr (who had been the session drummer on "My Bonnie"). Infuriated fans protested the group's shows and vandalized Epstein's car. Scoring their first British hit in the fall of 1962 with "Love Me Do," the song marked the first of hundreds of Lennon- McCartney compositions, the century's most successful writing team. After refusing Martin's order to record "How Do You Do It?" (instead, a hit for Gerry & the Pacemakers), the Beatles followed up with another original composition, "Please Please Me," their first number one hit in Great Britain. On a roll, the Beatles toured Britain in 1963, sharing bills with Tommy Roe and Roy Orbison, topped off by a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth; at Buckingham Palace, Lennon mocked the audience, requesting they rattle their jewelry instead of applauding. The Beatles landed their first U.S. chart entry of sorts in late 1963, when Del Shannon scored a minor hit with Lennon and McCartney's "From Me to You." While the Beatles were breaking British sales records with "She Loves You," Epstein traveled to the U.S. to determine why the group was unable to break through into the American market. With EMI's American counterpart, Capitol, refusing to issue the Beatles' early records, other labels such as Vee-Jay, Tollie, and Swan happily shared the responsibility. With Capitol Records relenting, an expensive promotional campaign imported Beatlemania to the states. In January 1964, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" debuted on the U.S. singles charts, quickly leaping to number one. On February 7,1964, the Beatles made their triumphal arrival at New York's Kennedy Airport, greeted by 3,000 screaming girls. Two days later, 73 million American viewers were introduced to the mop-topped Fab Four on The Ed Sullivan Show. As American radio stations went on Beatle binges, millions of American teenage males soon let their hair grow long. In their banner year of 1964, the Beatles scored dozens of chart entries, turning the music industry on its ear with "She Loves You," "Please Please Me," "Twist and Shout," "Can't Buy Me Love," and, from their film of the same name, "A Hard Day's Night." In March of 1964 the group held down the top-five positions on Billboard's singles chart. With its haunting black and white cover, the group's debut Capitol album, Meet the Beatles, featured cheerful, upbeat material. http://popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1360671?sid=1360671&cid=0&view=print Page 2 of 4 Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas 6/3/14, 10:09 AM In 1965, the Beatles starred in their second film, Help!, the soundtrack album highlighted by "Yesterday," the most recorded song in rock history. Moving toward a more mature sound with their album Rubber Soul, the Beatles landed hits with the uncharacteristic "Michelle" and with Harrison on sitar, "Norwegian Wood." In March 1966, John Lennon created a furor when he told British journalist Maureen Cleave that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. After a series of Beatles' record burnings and record bans, Lennon apologized. Now experimenting with drugs, the Beatles brought drug use to the mainstream. Protesting Capitol's practice of "butchering" their British album releases by substituting songs and recycling previously- issued material on the American counterparts, the Beatles delivered a controversial album cover photo for Yesterday and Today, which featured the group in bloody, butcher smocks. When outraged retailers boycotted the album, the record was recalled and cover replaced. (The original cover is now a collector's item.) Their next album, Revolver, spawned the hits "Eleanor Rigby" and "Taxman." Releasing the double-sided single, "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Field Forever" (1967), the latter track would signal their increasing studio experimentation. Citing difficulties in re-creating their complex sound outside of the studio, the Beatles gave their last-ever concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966. After months of breakneck session work, in June 1967 the Beatles released their critically acclaimed psychedelic, conceptual album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. Recorded on a four-track recorder, the album was highlighted by "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "With a Little Help from My Friends," and the group's first song banned by the BBC, "A Day in the Life." Setting the stage for the Summer of Love in 1967, it topped the charts for months. Recorded in June 1967 before an international audience, "All You Need Is Love" was beamed to over 400 million viewers, featuring Mick Jagger and others on backup. In August, the Beatles traveled to India to study transcendentalism under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. A few days later, Epstein died, and the shaken group (minus Starr, who had already left due to the quality of the food) returned home. Miring the group with managerial responsibilities, some believe Epstein's death marked the start of the Beatles' breakup.