It’s hard to imagine that the most covered song in pop history started out as a song about scrambled eggs. The writer of this song, Paul McCartney, was a member of a band in the 1960’s called the Beatles. The members were John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney. Originating in Liverpool, they visited America in February of 1964, 77 days after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, bringing with them outrageous trends, revolutionary music, and strong opinions no one could have foreseen ("The Beatles Arrive in New York"). The Beatles changed the way society viewed fashion, music, and politics during the 1960’s in America.
The Beatles’ style was unignorable from the second they stepped off the plane at JFK airport on February 7, 1964. When America saw their mopped, long hairdos, they couldn’t believe it! Long haircuts were provocative during that time, and only strange people or monks who religiously grew their hair had hairdos like the band. Popular TV shows even made fun of the Beatles by wearing wigs made after the boys’ hair. Soon, though, men were starting to have hair longer than ever before. Some people still thought it was wrong, but when politicians sported hair growing over their ears, the Beatles knew they had caused a revolution in fashion. Later, though, the longer hairdos were no match for the amount of facial hair the Beatles had, and they were at the front lines of the hippie generation (McGasko).
The Beatles seemed to not only lead the American culture in fashion, but made music that is still widely adored today. Some of their songs had meanings directly targeted at America, as well.
More than anything, the Beatles are remembered for being the kings of music at that time and stil...
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...ted the Vietnam War by using his fame to host a bed- in with his wife, and stayed in bed for a full week to help promote peace ("John and Yoko's Montreal Bed-in."). This had never been done before, but much of the Beatles’ accomplishments hadn’t ever been either.
All in all, the Beatles have impacted not only American society, but the entire world’s. It’s obvious that during the 1960’s, America was introduced to new fashion trends, music, and political opinions by this boy band. The Beatles have influenced everything from hairstyles to new ballads, from music videos to using their fame for good. The Beatles’ legacy still lives on today, and hopefully will live on forever. When they arrived in America to 3000 fans waiting at the airport, they brought a distraught America back into rock n’ roll, exceeded expectations, and lifted spirits higher than any band before.
The Liverpool rock group known as the Beatles began to form during the year of 1960. The band was made up of four members which included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Although the Beatles are known as a major influential part of music today, the early years of their career were a difficult. They suffered the struggles of discouragement, being rejected by labels, and changing band members throughout the beginning. However, things began to change during the Beatlemania period. The Tipping Point is described by Malcolm Gladwell as a time of “critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point. This theory can be applied to the Beatles during their rise to fame period known as Beatlemania. There
The Beatles were formed in London and consisted of four prime members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. When they first came out from Liverpool to America, they gave a clean look toward people by wearing suits and trimmed haircuts. The Rolling Stones, also formed in London later on, also consisted of four prime members in the beginning: Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts. Throughout their career, they let they hair grow long and wear whatever they wanted including concerts, giving off the “I don’t care” look. The Beatles gave a clean impression, perceived as perfect school boys while The Rolling Stones gave a dirty image to the public and didn’t care about other’s opinion and rebelled against “the man”. As t...
The Beatles are known, respectively, as the fathers of modern pop music. After their first #1 hit “Please Please Me” was released in 1963 the Beatles were set in motion to become one of the most influential groups of musicians to ever rock our world. With over forty-nine records, 37 #1’s, and thirty- four number one albums (the highest amount of any band in history), there is no denying that they made a monumental ripple in the musical world. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr surprisingly all come from humble beginnings in a town that, until their superstardom, was barely noticed on the map. Liverpool, being kn...
The Beatles are an iconic English rock band and are widely regarded as the “foremost and most influential act of the rock era” (Unterberg). Formed in Liverpool in 1960, the Beatles were comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, with Stuart Sutcliffe on bass guitar in January and Pete
To understand how The Beatles got so big, you have to trace back their roots and see where it all began. Going back to the birth of the band members, we are taken to Liverpool in England. Liverpool was regarded as a very dirty and low place by many of the people that liv...
Well if we are going to figure this out, why don't we start at the beginning? Well, One day in the year of 1955, one young man gets this crazy idea; his idea was to create a band that played music that was similar to what American’s Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly were making (The Beatles). That young man was John Lennon (Glassman). His group was named the Quarrymen (Glassman). The original members were John on the microphone, Rob Davis on the banjo, Eric Griffiths playing guitar, Pete Shotten playing the washboard(The Beatles), and Ivan Vaughan on the bass (Glassman).
A major person that the Beatles has influenced was an artist named Kurt Cobain (widely known as the singer of Nirvana). Another short example of someone that was influenced by the Beatles was Gene Simmons (singer and bassist of KISS). Not only Artists but people were influenced by the words in the Beatles music to start fighting for rights of people. During the Vietnam war John Lennon would talk about how the world should come together and fight for peace. This came up to the song (Imagine) sung by John Lennon. The Beatles had a popular hairstyle that young teen boys got called “Mop-top”. Usually young teens wore this style of hair and it was highly mocked by adults. Clothing they wore eventually became popular to both male and female listeners. An example where the highly known glasses that John Lennon would wear called teashade glasses but are known now from people as “John Lennon glasses”, these glasses were round shaped shades. The influence of The Beatles on the people may seem small but it created a huge effect on fashion now, and on how people view the
There were many things that had influenced the way Lennon thought, the Vietnam war had a strong impact on his point of view. The Vietnam war had not only affected Lennons point of view, but many people around that have been touched by the war as well. John lennon had the support of his former wife Yoko Ono and well as many of the people he touched. Partridge indicated that “John and Yoko fervently condemned America's aggression on vietnam”(2). As a result of their attitude and state of mind to end the war and give peace a chanc , it later on led to many protests and interviews. One of Lennons most shocking form of protest was when he returned his MBE award on November 25, 1969 in protest against Britain's involvement in the Niagara- Biafra Thing against our support of America in Vietnam (Middleton). His actions was quickly spread throughout the media, which led to more interviews and more future protests.
Pop music began to take on a serious art form. Rock stars influenced fashion in a way like never before. The Beatles began the British invasion with pop culture. They were fashion icons and many copied their long hair. Others copied the rebellious look of Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones). Rock stars began speaking on behalf of the younger generation and the media was all over them. By the end of the sixties, pop music was the main force in fashion. In Europe and America, "underground" music played a big part, with underground magazines, festivals, and groups during 1966-67. Drugs such as marijuana and hallucinogens like LSD were more widely used outside of a small circle of musicians and artists. Sounds of blues, jazz, rock, electronic, Indian, and classical had inspiration in psychedelic music. Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix were leaders of this long hair, drugs, and music scene. Other music such as be-bop jazz with the beatniks, the sounds of soul that flowed from the record company Motown, and folk for hippies also inspired the way of fashion.
When people think about the 60’s the majority of them all think about the Beatles. The Beatles is a band that made Rock and Roll a totally, different type of music. Even though The Beatles were such a hit, as time went on they started to fall apart. Over 50 years later, the Beatles are still classified as one of the best band of all time.
This style influenced an era of fashion, aesthetic appreciation, and a new approach towards life. Furthermore, “Young men got Beatle haircuts and bought Beatle clothing [while] young women wanted to date someone who at least looked or acted like a Beatle.” They were hip and it was extremely clear that everything the band symbolized, their massive fan base did as well.
The Beatles have been noted as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, and most persuasive bands of all time. They were both musical and lyrical masterminds whom interpreted their opinions through their music. Of those many opinions their main message they wanted to send was the idea of peace. The Beatles opposed the war in Vietnam and were avid participants in the anti-war movement; by trend setting, not being afraid to speak their mind, and writing songs including: “Give Peace A Chance,” “Revolution,” “All You Need Is Love,” and many more. These songs insinuated and instilled their views on world peace, and back their opinions on the war.
America was in a bad spot before the Beatles made their appearance. America was dealing with President Kennedy who had been assassinated in Dallas three months before. The Vietnam War was heating up. Civil rights clashes became street battles. It seemed like nothing was going right for America at this time. Then came the Beatles. Stark said, "The country was in a collective depression, essentially. And to have these incredible fun and funny guys show up, almost from outer space -- which is about the equivalent of what England was in those days -- was incredibly energizing for people." “When The Beatles changed everything” This gave people hope and excitement. The Beatles were a blessing for this country. There were two strands to the 1950s; one had an element of conformity. This was built around suburbia, the rise of a more affluent middle-class and the accompanying shift towards greater conformity. Political dissent was repressed and this created both problems and opportunities for those working in the cultural sphere. The other strand contained the rise of the teenager, the birth of rock and roll, the impact of existentialism, bebop and modern jazz. There’s tension between this strand and the comfortable, conformist, middleclass society. Then you have McCarthyism and the Cold War unsettling things as well. The Beatles helped people come together and create the hope again and know how to be
By the end of the 60’s, The Beatles had acquired a worldwide fan base and legendary iconic status among the youth of the world. John Lennon, the most prolific and famous of the Beatles, wasn’t averse to making political statements through his music. He knew that he had the power t...
The Beatles are an English rock band who originated in Liverpool, England in 1960. They were a huge success locally even before they began to make records in the United Kingdom. The band was comprised of four members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They owe much of their early, quick success to manager Brian Epstein who molded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin who enhanced their musical potential. Early in the 1960’s, their widespread fame in the United Kingdom was first referred to as “Beatlemania”. Eventually, they acquired the nickname “the Fab Four” as Beatlemania grew rapidly in Britain. By 1964, the Fab Four made their way overseas and officially became international pop stars. The Beatles were the leading factor in the “British Invasion” of the United States pop market.