The Fab 4: A Brief History Of The Beatles

It is no question that the Beatles were, and still could be, the most iconic rock band of all time. The “Fab Four” included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The legendary rock group formed in Liverpool, England in nineteen-sixty. Their music, hairstyle, fashion, and lifestyle were mimicked world-wide, resulting in a phenomenon known as Beatlemania. Their popularity brought them to write a total of four hundred and nine songs before the band split in nineteen-seventy. I’d say that’s a pretty impressive number for only ten years performing together.

All four members of the band were born in the nineteen-forties in Liverpool, England, and were devoted rockers by the time they reached their teenage years. John Lennon

and Paul McCartney were the main songwriters of the group and began working together in nineteen-fifty seven. Two years later, George Harrison joined them. In nineteen-sixty two. Ringo Starr became the band’s new drummer. The group started performing in Hamburg, Germany and in Liverpool, where sailors brought the most recent American rock, rhythm-and-blues, and country records. In nineteen-sixty one the Beatles made their first record, and a year later they were England’s top rock group.
Unlike most other songwriters, the Beatles never began a song with a complete set of verses all written down. In John’s case, they mostly started with scraps of words, or even just the title. For Paul, however, whole tunes would come to him, but lyrics would come a while later. Words didn't matter so much in their early songs, but the tun was the most important. “You don't dance to words”, Hunter Davis stated, “For them, the hook was often enough”. Lennon thought that analysis of music was nonsense. Only after an event would he give clues to how and when a song was written.
John and Paul met on Saturday, July sixth, nineteen-fifty seven, when John’s schoolboy group, the Quarrymen, played at a church in Wilton, Liverpool. Paul, who had just turned fifteen, brought his guitar and was introduced to John after the performance. He was impressed and soon after invited Paul to join the group. A year later, Paul introduced George to John and he too became one of the Quarrymen. The other two members of the group, Colin Hanton and Rod Davis, soon left the band. So it was John, Paul, and George left to persevere when the world showed no interest in what they were doing.
The Beatles’ original style arose from a variety of sources, including traditional blues, the rhythm and blues of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley’s rock and roll style, English folk songs, and Bob Dylan’s lyrics. Harrison often used the sitar due to the impact of Indian religions. The Beatles’ also experienced a brief period of experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs that was reflected in some of there songs, including tracks on Sgt. Pepper. In their earlier days, they strove for originality through creative treatment of melody, harmony, rhythm, form, and tone color. This style evolved steadily, growing in sophistication with each new album they produced.
The Beatles’ vocal delivery sounded carefree and spontaneous with Lennon’s and McCartney’s innovative lyrics. Songs were often based on modes, instead of major and minor scales. The band also had a richer harmonic vocabulary than that of most other rock bands. Their songs regularly contained changes in meter, irregular phrase length, unusual chord progressions, and alternation between major and minor keys. The most impressive was the group’s use of electronic and instrumental sounds that had not formerly been used in rock.
The Beatles never expected to become famous, and girls never drove their musical interest. However, in nineteen-sixty, they auditioned before Larry Parnes, which led to their first tour, which last two weeks in Scotland. In nineteen-sixty four they prevailed in the United States, where they broke attendance record everywhere and governed the record market. Audiences often became frenzied, and police had to guard the band from the fans. Beatle merchandise, such as dolls, wigs, sweatshirts, and jackets flooded the market. Also along with musical success, the Beatles made hit movies like A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, and Yellow Submarine.
The very first song the Beatles performed was Ain’t She Sweet, which was composed by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen in nineteen-twenty seven.

They then recorded their first single, Love Me Do, which was released on October fifth, nineteen-sixty two. In the beginning of nineteen-sixty three, the band debuted Please Please Me, while making an appearance at NEMS musical store in Liverpool. The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, suggested that the band record severn original numbers, five that would feature Paul as the main singer, and the other two to be sung by John. It is assumed that each sang the songs they wrote. For Paul: PS I Love You, Love Me Do, Like Dreamers Do, Love of the Loved, and Pinwheel Twist, and for John: Ask Me Why and Hello Little Girl. This experiment led to their first album, My Bonnie, on March twenty second, nineteen-sixty

three.
The Beatles were under a contract with United Artists after making Help!

and Magical Mystery Tour, which they had not enjoyed making. However, the contract required another film to be produced. The idea of an animated film came up: a cartoon based on a story spun out of an earlier children’s song they had written, called Yellow Submarine. Because of this, they would not have to act, and could get away with doing only one appearance in the final scene of the movie. Fans hoped that the bands voices would be used, but only to find that their characters were played by other actors. The film opened in July of nineteen- sixty eight and the longplay came out in January of nineteen- sixty nine. The Beatles produced fur new songs specifically for the film, including, Hey Bulldog, Love You To, All Together Now, and Only A Northern Song. These have been considered “left-over” songs, not being good enough for one of their albums or singles. A few of the band’s older songs, like When I’m Sixty Four and Yellow Submarine, were incorporated into the film as

well.
In nineteen- sixty six the Beatles stopped touring. It is believed that this happened because they could not duplicate their creativity that they achieved while in the studio on stage. The band then devoted themselves to recording a succession classic rock albums. Abbey Road, their last album made, was ironically no the last one they released. It entered the market in nineteen-sixty nine, while Japan Box was not released until two thousand fourteen. In nineteen-seventy, the group disbanded to pursue other careers. Then, in nineteen-eighty, John Lennon suffered a fatal shooting, thus signaling the end of the rock era. In the mid-nineteen-nineties the remaining Beatles joined forces to make a video documentary on the band for British television. As a result, the Beatles made it back on the top of the pop charts. In nineteen-ninety four their Live at BBC was named best-selling album.
It is quite obvious that the Beatles achieved immaculate success in a variety of different markets. Whether it was music, movie-making, or anything else they set their minds to, they were going to leave their mark on it. For only having worked together for ten years, their success was pretty impressive. Even today, fifty five years after their first release, they have the same popularity that they did back when they were performing. With only two members still living, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the Beatle legacy lives on, inspiring current day rockers. Their unique style swept the nation and gained the band eminence popularity. Who would have thought that four teenage boys, in Liverpool, England, would have written four hundred and nine songs and quickly become rock legends?

Works Cited
Kamen, Roger. Music: An Appreciation. 11th ed., New York City, McGraw Hill Education, 2015, p. 521
Davis, Hunter. The Beatles Lyrics. first ed., New York City, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, 2014, pp. 27-335.
Spitz, Bob. The Beatles:the Biography. first ed., New York City, Warners Bros. Publications, 2005, pp. 5-106.
Andrews, Evan. "Beatlemania sweeps the United States." History.com, A+E Networks, 2014. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017