The Beatles

The Beatles

The group that I picked to be an example of a particular type of music is The Beatles. The Beatles included George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Richard Starkey, other wise known as Ringo Starr. This group is very well known and also influenced many musicians since they formed.

The Beatles started their careers in England. They were a huge success there, playing in clubs and eventually for the queen herself. After the appearance before the queen, The Beatles came to the USA. The Beatles came to New York City for the first time in 1964 and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. They performed the song "I want to hold your hand" to millions of people anxious to hear their new kind of rock. They were an instant success. A couple of weeks after their New York appearance, the five best selling records were by the Beatles. They became world famous by the end of 1964. The Beatles were unusual because most rock was strong beat with no melody. The Beatles added melody to rock. The Beatles also added strong and meaningful lyrics. Many of these lyrics were derived from pop culture, and had real life meaning to the group. Most of the songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Although, every song was always credited with being written together, rarely did they write the songs this way. Usually, John and Paul would write songs separately, and then take the songs to the group and work out the kinks. Early in their careers, most of the songs written by The Beatles were about love. This changed in about 1965 when the songs became about more practical things, and about things that were going on in the world.

Even when the group decided to break up and go off on their own solo careers, the songs were still about the same basic themes. Paul was the most successful solo artist, followed closely by John. Even when solo, they influenced many people both in the business and outside. One of the most influential song is "Imagine" by John. This song gave people hope.

The Beatles changed history and the music world in a dramatic way. Even today, the influence can be seen in the works by modern artists. I do not believe that any other artist or band has influenced their genre as much as this group did theirs.