The Beatles

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The Beatles
John Winston (Ono) Lennon:	Rhythm guitar, vocals, songwriter and occasional keyboards. Founder, early leader.
James Paul McCartney:	Bass guitar, vocals, piano, lead guitar and songwriter. Musical leader in the late '60s, songwriter.
George Harrison:	Lead guitar, sitar, vocals and songwriter. Youngest member of the group.
Richard Starkey/Ringo Starr:	Drums and vocals. One of the all-time great Rock drummers. Also, the oldest Beatle.

McCartney's announcement of his departure from and the de facto end of The Beatles in April 9th, 1970 was front-page news, and not just in the music trades. And though their impact was considerably less than Christ's, The Beatles were a one-of-a-kind phenomena - often imitated, never duplicated. Their influence was, and continues, to be enormous. They appeared in the midst of the Cold War and in the U.S., shortly after the Kennedy assassination. They were irreverent and fun. Just what the U.S. and by extension, the world, needed to pull itself out of the doldrums. More than that, they were exceptionally talented. But what often got lost was their discipline and hard work ethic. John and Paul spent years honing their songwriting skills and the two complimented each other, largely canceling the other's worst tendencies (a practice woefully missing in their solo careers); John's crippling sarcasm and Paul's over-sentimentality.

As the Skiffle craze rolled through England in the late '50s, Liverpool native John Lennon started a group to play this crude shuffle music and dubbed them the Quarry Men (a Rock 'n' Roll pun). After a performance at a Woolton church social John was introduced to Paul McCartney. During the show John, either not knowing or bothering to learn the lyrics to the Del Vikings' "Come, Go With Me" substituted his own racy lyrics. Paul was duly impressed. Paul knew chords Lennon didn't and how to properly tune a guitar. He also knew the lyrics to several Rock 'n' Roll songs. Lennon took notice and soon asked McCartney to join. Even in the beginning the basic dynamic between the two was set with Lennon being the Rock 'n' Roll rebel and McCartney, the inquisitive musician. That's not to say McCartney couldn't write lyrics or Lennon melodies. Both clearly learned from each other while playing to their own strengths. There was another bond. Both had lost their mothers at a young age. Lennon's mother Julia was killed in a car-pedestrian accident while McCartney's mother had succumbed to cancer.

Beatles with Pete Best

Paul's friend, George Harrison, auditioned for John on the top of a double-decker bus. These three, together since '57, formed the nucleus. Having passed an audition for a Hamburg, Germany, club gig they were told they need a drummer and at the last moment recruited Pete Best. The Hamburg line-up was John Lennon (rhythm guitar/vocals), Paul McCartney (rhythm guitar/vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar), Pete Best (drums) and Stu Sutcliffe (bass). Stu was in because he was John's friend and fellow art student. But Stu was hardly a musician and only half-heartedly attempted to play bass. In Hamburg, performing countless hours before rowdy audiences, earned The Beatles their chops. They participated in recording sessions - mostly as a backing group. They also encountered another Liverpool group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, with Ringo Starr on drums. As the group was about to return to Liverpool, Sutcliffe announced he was going to stay in Hamburg with this girlfriend Astrid and become an artist. Like Lennon, Sutcliffe had been an art school student. But unlike Lennon, he was far more serious about drawing and painting. After both John and George categorically refused to play bass (George had just bought a new guitar). Paul, being the good sport, took up the instrument. Having acquired manager Brian Epstein and the interest of EMI Records (after being rejected by several other labels) The Beatles long-time dissatisfaction with Best came to a head. Epstein got the unenviable job of telling Best he was out and Ringo was in. The quartet was now complete.

From the very beginning The Beatles were far more complex than their '50s predecessors. Still, in their early period beginning in '62 with the relatively primitive "Love Me Do" to "A Hard Day's Night" soundtrack (their first film) in '64, there was a remarkable growth in Lennon and McCartney's songwriting capabilities.

By '65, The Beatles had matured both as a recording act and as musicians. Furthermore, Lennon and McCartney entered into their most creative and accomplished songwriting period turning out a succession of brilliant songs including "Help!," "Ticket To Ride" and "Nowhere Man."

The rigors of touring and making a second film, "Help!" took its toll. Controversies, including Lennon's "We're bigger than Christ" statement and turning down a royal invitation in the Philippines made life difficult. General rule of thumb: never cause a despot dictator (Ferdinand Marcos), his wife (shoe maven Imelda) and their self-indulgent family to lose face in their homeland. The Beatles barely got out alive. So the decision was made to stop touring and focus on recording. The last Beatles concert was at San Francisco's Candlestick Park in August 29th, 1966.

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Meet The Beatles

Reviewed by: jesus
heaven

The beatles became a legend. They are unforgettable and irreplacable.

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Revolver

Reviewed by:
omaha

This was the first true turning point for the beatles. A serious departure from the music they had written and performed up to 1965 and the beginning of the Sgt Pepper/Magical Mystery Tour era. Some of the finest music penned by Lennon/Macartney including got to get you into my life and here there and everywhere. Fantastic and a must have for any serious musician or afficianado.

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