Who Were The Beatles?
Have you ever wondered what the music was like in the old days, or if the music was just lame old songs? Well, if you assume that, you are dead wrong because this fantastic band is still to this day the best-selling band in history. Can you guess? This astonishing band was called The Beatles.
The Beatles were a British 60s band that played different types of music, including pop, rock, psychedelia, and Indian music. It is said that “The Beatles are the best-selling band in history” and their Abbey Road album sold the most copies in America, followed by Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, then the White Album. The Beatles “ leader” of the band, John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England, on October 9, 1940, he played rhythm guitar, and was a lead vocalist for The Beatles, but he occasionally played the piano or harmonica or other instruments. He spent most of his life living with his aunt Mimi, when he was seventeen, his mother, Julia Lennon passed away, hit by an intoxicated driver. John received his education from Quarry Bank High School and the Liverpool College of Art. Another band member is Sir James Paul McCartney, born in Liverpool, England, June 18, 1942. He played bass when he was in the band and a lead vocalist. Similar to John, he played the piano and a lot of other instruments. Paul’s mother died of breast cancer when he was thirteen years of age. The youngest member of The Beatles name was George Harrison, born in Liverpool, England on February 24, 1943, although for many years it was thought that he was born on the 25th. He played the six-string bass and synthesizer, he was also a background vocalist and sometimes the lead vocalist. He was fourteen when he began to play in the band, but was not a Beatle until he was sixteen. The oldest Beatles group member was Ringo Starr, born in Liverpool, England on July 7, 1940. His original name was Richard Starkey. He played the drums for The Beatles, although he was not the original drummer for the band. They hired him in 1962 and that was when they became a complete band.
In The Beatles first couple years of music they were playing in clubs and mostly in one spot called, The Cavern Club, an underground tunnel like place. In the next couple of months they met Brian Epstein, and he became their manager. . Sure enough, The Beatles were awesome and were about to begin a fresh start. In January, after an audition for Decca Records, the upsetting news came out that they didn’t get in. Luckily, in the next three months, George Martin signed them to the EMI Parlophone label. In 1962, The Beatles began their first recording session at the Abbey Road Studios. After a while, George Martin suggested that they should get a new drummer. John, Paul, and George went along with it and had the tough talking to with Pete Best, their current drummer and that was when they hired Ringo Starr, they thought he would be good because he was older and already was part of a band before, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. So the band continued on normally, and in September they began the recording of “Love Me Do” which after the first two sessions, Martin was unsatisfied with Ringo’s drumming and replaced him with Andy White, who was the drummer for the songs, “P.S. I Love You” and “Please Please Me”. This song was released in October, and was peaking at number seventeen on the “Record Retailer Chart”. Brian Epstein suggested that The Beatles clean up their act, to stop eating, smoking and using foul language on stage, and to dress up cleanly, rather than just a shirt, jeans, and a jacket, so they did. On February 14, 1963, The Beatles started to record the first ten songs of their album called “Please Please Me”. When they released the album it was number one on the “Record Retailer Chart” for almost thirty weeks. They recorded and released another album, which was “From Me to You” which was another number one in most of the charts. In August, The Beatles released their fourth single, “She Loves You” and had the quickest sales of any record in the UK at that time, selling nearly three quarters of a million copies in four weeks, which is about 750,000 in four weeks, or if the same amount was sold each week, that would be almost 187,500 per week. This was the biggest-selling record in the UK, until 1978. Over the first half of the year, The Beatles did three tours in the UK. When The Beatles were on one of their tours, the press came out with the name, Beatlemania. At the end of October, The Beatles started a five day tour in Sweden, when they returned on the 31st, they were approached by hundreds of fans, reporters and paparazzis. In November, when The Beatles were in concert, Beatlemania started to burst forth, the police had to use all of their strength and might to control and hold back the crowd. A while after that, EMI released another Beatles album along with The Beatles single, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. On November 4, 1963, The Beatles had a special concert to play in, it was called the “Queen’s Royal Variety Performance”, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the mother or Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, along with Princess Margaret and her husband. Queen Elizabeth II could not come because she was with child, (Prince Edward). At this concert, John Lennon said, “ for our last number, I’d like to ask your help, for the people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands, and the rest of you, rattle your jewelry”. Then they proceeded to sing the song “Twist and Shout”. In 1964 The Beatles did a lot of touring, their first one was in Europe, then in the United States, followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia. Their first concert on television was on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show”, it was estimated that 34% of the American population was watching them, in other words, that is nearly 73 million people. (Teddy Burrows, It Was 50 Years ago Today)
On August 15, 1965, The Beatles had a very large concert at Shea Stadium with a crowd of about 55,600 people, which was said to be the largest crowd in a concert at that time. Also, was one of the most famous concerts in that era. At that concert, many of the photographers pictures were of women crying, screaming, or even fainting. Yeah, that is how crazy Beatlemania was. The Beatles said it was way too loud, and that the noise was deafening them, which made it hard to hear themselves over te roaring fans. In December, they released the album, Rubber Soul. The next year, 1966, in August, The Beatles did their third concert tour, with nineteen performances, two in Canada and the rest in America. The performances were a little bit ruined though, because John Lennon made a remark about being “more popular than Jesus”. Many people were angry about it, and started to burn Beatles merchandise. John later apologized about it, and tried to make a joke that "if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it". Brian Epstein still had to cancel the tour though, because The Beatles were fearing that someone would try to kill them. After a concert in San Francisco, The Beatles announced that they would not go on tour anymore, because they were starting to dislike being chased around all the time, and never having a quiet moment. The following year, 1967, released an album called “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”. This album took about 400 hours to make, or 5 months to make, and a record-breaking 25,000 pounds to produce, which is nearly 32,773 US dollars. One particular song in this album, called “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, was thought to be about or stand for a popular drug that many rock bands were influenced by, it was called LSD (D-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide). This drug was the most potent hallucinogen known to the public. John claimed that it was about his son, Julian’s drawing in nursery school, he called Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Although, Paul McCartney later admitted that it was really about LSD. In the other album they released, “Magical Mystery Tour”, one song in particular was about John’s childhood was “Strawberry Fields Forever”. It was referring to a salvation army home near where John used to live. Also, in the “Magical Mystery Tour” album, Paul wrote his own song about one of his childhood memories as well. His was referring to a street in Liverpool, this song includes what Paul remembers seeing on that street. In November, 1968, The Beatles released their album, called the “White Album”. While recording this album, it was very difficult, because John had to have his new “love”, Yoko Ono, around him, so that lead to problems with everyone, the band started to argue and sometimes they would even record in a separate room, and Ringo decided to quit the band for a little bit. Finally, the “White Album” was finished, with thirty songs. In the next couple years, The Beatles released the album, “Abbey Road” , this album had ten songs. Also, they released the album called “Let It Be”, which was the last Beatles album they recorded in a studio together. It is said that in September, John privately told the band that he was going to leave, it was not publicly known until April, 1970, when Paul McCartney said that he was leaving as well, but originally, he wanted to keep the band going. That left Ringo and George, but they both left too. That was the end of a magnificent band, The Beatles. No, it is not over yet though. All of The “ex” Beatles were still in the music industry, they made their own bands, John had his own band called, the “Plastic Ono Band”, which was very successful, and two other bands, “The Hollywood Vampires” and “The Dirty Mac” and he was a solo artist for a short period. In the last two bands, he was in them for a little while, and John was an additional member while he was in them. Paul was in the bands “Paul McCartney and Wings”, “The Fireman”, “Band Aid” and “Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band”, and a solo artist. “Paul McCartney and Wings” was the one he was the most successful with out of the four. George was in the “Traveling Wilburys”, the “Plastic Ono Band”, “Delaney and Bonnie” and he was a solo artist as well. Ringo was in the bands “Plastic Ono Band”, “Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band”, and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes”. On December 8, 1980, a terrible event occurred, in John’s house, The Dakota, he was assassinated by Mark David Chapman, suffering four head injuries, no one could live for more than three minutes. A couple days before that he even signed his autograph, and Mark David Chapman got the chance to chat with him. Mark David Chapman was mentally ill, he was sentenced to life in prison, and still to this day is still in prison. Sadly, another death of a Beatles was George Harrison in 2001, aged 58, of lung cancer, after surviving a knife attack, which punctured his lung and caused head injuries. (It Was 50 Years Ago Today, Terry Burrows)
This was the life of The Beatles, I truly thank them for how they changed the music industry and how they made a difference in the world. I would be glad if you would too. Think of something you have learned from my report. What do you think about the old music now?