How Did The Beatles Impact On American Culture

During the 1960s, the music style of Liverpool’s “Beatles” impacted the culture of the rising generation. There was a lot of change, liberation, and revolutions happening in the 60s, and the rising generation began to question the ideals of their parents, as well as the current war, the Vietnam War. Many laws were passed in this time period pertaining to civil rights, voting rights, women’s rights, etc. The Beatles were very important to these changes, giving a voice to the youth, and emphasising quality in everything they did. The Beatles shaped the cultural landscape of the 1960s.

While the 1950s brought a lot of economic expansion after the war, the 60s was a time of change, on pretty much every level. As described in Sandra L. Campbell’s

article “Social Climate of the 1960s in America,” more and more women worked outside the home, challenging the idea that only men made money for the home. Martin Luther King Jr. began leading the Civil rights Movement for equality, sparking marches and protests around the country, including the March on Washington that included more than 200,000 people. Eventually the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed. “In fact, according to PBS, more Americans were voting in the 1960s than in any other decade since World War II,” says Campbell. Many people were also leaving to fight in the ever growing Vietnam War, and the government began a mandatory draft. Many people who were opposed to the war and draft spoke out about their beliefs. As Professor Musser and his college students say on their website “History of American Journalism”, “The social climate of the 1960s can be viewed as a systematic rejection of the conformity of the 1950s.”

During this time, in the small town of Liverpool, England, four young men took the first steps to becoming music legends. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison were all in a band while in high school. The group started in March as John Lennon, age 16, with some of his friends from school. McCartney joined that July as rhythm guitarist. Harrison begged to join a few months later, despite the age difference between them. After playing for the Beatles for 2 years, Pete Best, their drummer, was replaced by Ringo Starr in 1962. As Consequence Of Sound.net says, the Beatles were the “embodiment of the ideals shared by the counterculture of the 1960s.” The Beatles began movements such as Activism, Women’s liberation, Gay liberation, and Environmentalism. The Beatles members were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II herself. They have been awarded 6 Diamond albums, 26 Multi-Platinum albums, 42 Platinum albums, and 48 Gold albums, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Some of their famous songs or albums would include Hey Jude, Yesterday, and the album Sgt. Pepper, which Allen Moore, a musicologist, says assisted "the cultural legitimization of popular music" and became known as a musical portrayal of the generation.

The Beatles have greatly impacted the American cultural landscape by raising the quality of musicians, the creation of the first music video, and the change in the way we experience music.

The Beatles helped the entertainment industry become respectable, by having substance and being good boys. They were “more self-aware than their previous pop sweepstakes aspirants,” Joe McGasko from “Biography.com” says. The Beatles were very independant, and not easily swayed to think the way society might impress upon them. The editors of “The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll” have said about the Beatles, “One of the first rock groups to write most of its own material, they inaugurated the era of self-contained bands and forever centralized

pop.”
When the Beatles made their song “A Hard Day’s Night” into a video that portrayed the expressions of the music, rather than a plot, they created the first music video.

They created these films because they had stopped touring to continue promoting their music and image. The video was edited to move with the music, as well as portray the musicians’ interpretation of the song to the viewer. They continued to create videos like this, using special effects and techniques with the film in order to reach the desired effects. These videos are the ancestors of today’s music videos.

The Beatles created many hit singles in their day, as that was how the record industry functioned. But the Beatles rose above this standard in the music world, particularly in pop music. They began selling albums where each song was quality music, unlike the few albums sold at the time which included less than quality material in hopes of selling hit songs for a higher price. Because of the careful time and effort put into writing all songs within a set to fit the theme and style of the album, many believe it is best to experience the music as this whole, explains

McGasko.

The mindset of the rising generation in the 1960s can be seen quite clearly in the Beatles song “Revolution” which came out in August, 1968. As the LSR History Department says on their website, “Songs like Revolution strengthened your belief in peace and the futility of war. Their [The Beatles's] songs became anthems and mantras which young boys and girls loved to follow and the supposed irrationality of which was questioned by parents and religious leaders.” The first and second stanzas say:

“You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world

But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be
All right, all right, all right”

The first stanza explains that the generation wants to change the world, and to become better, while the second stanza says that they don’t mean to do so by war or violence, and that they don’t approve of the current war. The next lines say:

“You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can

But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be
All right, all right, all right”

The Beatles, especially John Lennon, who sings this song, speak for the youth saying “We’d all love to see the plan [..] You ask me for a contribution. Well, you know, we’re doing what we can.” The young adults of the 60s are trying to change things, even though they are too young and have too little power to do much. They protest, march, and do what they can to liberate women, to spread equality and civil rights, to stand up for things they believe in. The second stanza explains that if those saying they can change the world are asking for money or support for those against change, then they will not support. These are the last two stanzas:

“You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead

But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be
All right, all right, all right
All right, all right, all right
All right, all right, all right
All right, all right”

Lennon is saying in these stanzas that the government wants to change the constitution, but that this generation doesn’t believe that’s a good idea. In the last line of the first stanza, “you better free you mind instead,” the Beatles are saying, roughly, that those in charge need to have open minds. In the last stanza they mention Chairman Mao. This is in reference to Chairman Mao Zedong, the leader of Communist China, and also the opposing force in the Vietnam War. This stanza is saying if you support Communism or the War, that no one in this generation is going to be convinced of your views. These views were common in the teenagers of the 60s, and this was a large part of the reason for all the change in that era.

The Beatles greatly impacted the culture of the 1960s, and continue to affect us today. While dozens of laws were passed, revolutions started, and troops lost in the Vietnam war, the Beatles became the voice of America’s youth. The Beatles brought to the stage fresh music and ideas. They wrote and sold albums instead of singles, making each song with purpose and a theme. The young band also created the first music video that expressed the ideas in the song instead of a plot the song fit around. These men became respectable musicians, writing their own music and putting their own emotions into it. All of these accomplishments have impacted the way our music is created, sold, and distributed nowadays.