Pop Band The Beatles

Play 'Got to Get You Into My Life Beatles cover'

The Beatles, AKA "the Fab Four", started in Liverpool in the 1960’s, originally as a skiffle group Lennon that formed called the Quarrymen. Paul McCartney and his school-friend George Harrison joined along with bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best on drums, who was later replaced by Ringo Starr in 1962. The band initially built their reputation in Liverpool’s Cavern Club and honed their craft in the nightclubs of Hamburg playing often ten hours a night.

Paul once said...

People forget - we were a really tight Rock & Roll band

Liverpool record store owner Brian Epstein became their manager. He curated their image (suits and mop-top haircuts) and was a superb marketer, paying fans to scream when the band played, something that caught on and became hysteria known as Beatlemania.

Timeline of Career Highlights

1962: Signed a record deal with Parlophone and Released their first album “Please, Please me” and single "Love Me Do," which peaked at number 17 on the UK charts.
1963: Achieved UK success with the single "Please Please Me" and their debut album of the same name.
1964: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" topped US charts, leading to their famous appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," sparking Beatlemania in America.
1963–66: they released six albums, some they recorded in a matter of days, including in 1965 the groundbreaking album "Rubber Soul," showcasing a significant evolution in their music. Then they went quiet…
1966: John Lennon's controversial statement that The Beatles were "more popular than Jesus" sparked backlash in the US.
1967: People said the Beatles were finished because they hadn’t released anything for a year, but they were using the time wisely to innovate production and recording techniques. They changed the course of music when they dropped "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," widely considered one of the greatest albums of all time. Around this time they went full-on hippy and embraced Indian music and mysticism and became disciples of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
1968: Released the double sided "White Album," noted for its diverse range of styles.
1969: Released "Abbey Road," featuring iconic tracks like "Come Together" and "Here Comes the Sun."
1970: The band officially disbanded following the release of "Let It Be".
1980: John Lennon died, shot by a lowlife outside his home in New York.
1995: They would never reunite, though the remaining members finished two Lennon songs and released them as Beatles songs.
2021: George Harrison dies.
2016: George Martin, their producer often referred to as the "5th Beatle," dies.
2023: Paul and Ringo used another John Lennon demo and released as a Beatles track. Paul sang along with a virtual big screen Lennon when he headlined Glastonbury – something that brought a tear to my eye.

Despite having pops at each other in their lyrics (Silly Love Songs) Paul always said after John Lennon died…

John is my best friend since we were at school - and always will be

Grammy Awards

The Beatles won multiple Grammy Awards, including

1964: Best New Artist.

1967: Album of the Year for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Lifetime Achievement Award - 2014.

Legacy and Influence

The Beatles are the most influential four-piece band in the history of popular music. The statistics are impressive, the Beatles have sold more records than any other musical artist in history, one billion albums sold worldwide. "Yesterday" alone has been covered more than 3,000 times. They also hold the record for most #1 singles in the U.S. with twenty.

For those of us who weren't there, you cannot imagine their impact. Young people, for the first time, had their own culture. It was like the world turned from B&W to color.

The statistics don’t tell the whole story. Their songs continue to be discovered by new generations. People will be listening to the Beatles in 1000 years time.