The History Of: The Beatles

The story of one of the greatest rock bands ever started on a day in 1957 when Ivan Vaughn introduced John Lennon, born October 9th, 1940, to Paul McCartney, born June 18th, 1942. They form a group called the Quarrymen that same year. The Quarrymen soon began performing at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. In 1958, The Quarrymen got George Harrison, born February 24, 1943, to be its next member. Later in the year they would record their first single, the A side being Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day". The B side was an original track by Paul and George called "In Spite Of All The Danger".

The next year, the Quarrymen changed their name to Johnny And The Moondogs and played dead end gigs in Liverpool. In January of 1960, John's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe, born June 23, 1940, joined on bass. They would continue without a regular drummer until August when Pete Best, born November 24, 1941, joined the band. The band renamed itself the Silver Beatles, then just the Beatles that same year. Soon after the name change, The Beatles travelled to Hamburg, Germany and began a 17-day residency at the Indra Club, before moving to the larger Kaiserkeller Club. The Beatles went into a studio in Hamburg and recorded "Summertime". Pete Best was absent during this session. His seat was filled by Richard Starkey a.k.a. Ringo Starr, born July 7th, 1940.

The Beatles left Germany, with Stuart staying behind by request, at the end of 1960. The band began a residency at their old Quarrymen hangout, The Cavern Club, in February of 1961. During one of these gigs, they met Brian Epstien, who would become their manager. The next year, The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records, but were turned down. About three months after the Decca audition, the Beatles received word that Stuart Sutcliffe had died of a brain haemorrhage. He was only 21 years old. Later in the year, the Beatles were signed to EMI Records, where they met George Martin, who would produce the band through much of their career. On August 14th, 1962, Pete Best was fired from the group. Ringo Starr was his replacement. The Beatles recorded "P.S. I Love You", "Ask Me Why", and "Love Me Do" later in the year. By the end of the year, "Love Me Do" would reach #17 on the UK charts.

At the beginning of 1963, the Beatles began their first headlining tour. Soon after the tour, the Beatles released their debut album, Please Please Me. It shot up to #1 on the UK charts. Later in the year, they released With The Beatles. It too was a smashing success. At the beginning of 1964, the Beatles landed in the US. Their first album in the US was an exact copy of With The Beatles, but titled Meet The Beatles. Beatlemania had begun.

On February 9th, 1964, the Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. This performance would become legendary. On February 29th (leap year), the Beatles' latest album, Introducing...The Beatles shot up to US #2, where it was behind Meet The Beatles. On July 6th, A Hard Day's Night was released. The movie/album would become a smashing success, climbing to #1 on both the US and UK charts. In late August, the Beatles released Beatles For Sale, another #1. The beginning of 1965 brought the release of Beatles '65, which, of course, climbed to #1 on the charts. The Beatles released yet another album in July. It was titled, "Beatles VI". Like all of the Beatles albums before it, it was a smashing success. The Beatles were on top of the world.

August brought the release of the Beatles' second movie, Help!. The soundtrack would shoot up to #1, where it would stay for nine weeks. On December 3rd, the Beatles began their final UK tour, with only 9 dates. The end of the year brought the release of Rubber Soul, an experimental album that marked a departure from the typical pop songs they had been playing before. But even though it was so different from the albums before it, Rubber Soul ascended to #1 in both the US and UK. In early 1966, John said in an Evening Standard interview that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus". John would apologize for the statement later in the year. In July of that same year, Yesterday And Today was released. It's original album cover, featuring the Beatles dressed up as butchers with dismembered dolls and bloody cuts of meat surrounding them, was taken off the shelves and replaced with an alternative cover.

On August 13th, 1966, Revolver was released. It was another experimental album, and marked the beginning of the later half of the Beatles' career. On August 29th, the Beatles played their final US concert in San Francisco, California. The band had more creative choices now that they wouldn't have to play live. Their next album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was their most experimental yet, featuring orchestras and horns. Soon after, Brian Epstein died of an overdose at the age of 33. In September of 1967, the Beatles began filming their TV movie, Magical Mystery Tour. The soundtrack would be released a few months later. It was around this time that John first met Yoko Ono, who he began dating. Soon after, the Beatles form Apple Records. One of the first bands signed onto the new label was Badfinger.

In 1968, Yellow Submarine, the soundtrack to the animated film of the same name, was released. The Beatles didn't actually supply the voices for their characters in the movie and only made a cameo appearance at the end. Later in the year, John's wife, Cynthia, divorced him because of his affair with Yoko Ono. In December of 1968, the Beatles released a self-titled double album that would usually be referred to as The White Album because of its white cover. In 1969, the Beatles began recording Get Back. The album project was abandoned and the Beatles began working on Abbey Road, which was revolutionary. Also around this time, the Beatles played for 42 minutes on top of the Apple building until they were stopped by the police. In March, John married Yoko. Tension was building between the Beatles, partially because of Yoko. The Beatles' reign of success would soon end.

In 1970, the Beatles finished Get Back and released it as Let It Be. It would be the Beatles' last album. The band split in April. John went on to have a successful solo career until he was murdered in 1980. Paul formed Wings and also had a successful solo career. George, just like John and Paul, had a great and influential solo career. He died in 2002. Ringo too had a solo career, but his was a little more low-key. The Beatles are remembered today as one of the most influential rock bands ever. Their influence is shown in many classic and modern rock bands. Their legacy will never be forgotten.

Comments

[ukdudeinuk]

Then why even look at this article?? Geez...

Anyways, good job man, you know more about them than I do!

[Sgt_Pepper27]

El Bastarrdo²:
first!!!! hahaha
beatles suck mokey ballz

you really are a bastard..

the bealtes are one of the greatest inventors, innovators, musicians in rock n roll history..

if ur being sarcastic..that wasnt funny

[Sgt_Pepper27]

**beatles

[Left_behind]

wow this is certainly the closest ive been.
Well done man. good article.

[Wiegraf]

Nice Article.

[BrianApocalypse]

the beatles are awesome.

[PickNGrin]

I always check out the Beatle topics, If it wasnt for them, I wouldnt be playing guitar. I was small when the beatles stuff was coming out, and used to play air guitar in my room listening to them.

[Ffghter101]

u forgot abbey road it was their last recording but let it be was released las

[VoodooChild15]

God, I truly love this band. They're what got me into music in the first place. T'was the fall of 2000, and my mother had just recieved the "1" compilation for her birthday. As soon as she put it on, I was hooked. They've been my favorite band ever since. George's solo on "Can't Buy Me Love" is what inspired me to pick up a guitar. Abbey Road, Revolver, and The White Album are my favorite albums ever, not just my favorite Beatle albums. Paul has the greatest singing voice in history, and John is a close second. Beatles forever, man.

[MATTTHEMOP]

sometimes i find the beatles annoying, but i can never deny that they have had such a huge effect on western music, i cant help lovin em!

[AnnaPlaysGuitar]

I like their material when they started getting creative... I wonder what they would have done with today's music production and technology. Probably something fantastic.

[boxcarblink41]

Great band.

[sirpsycho85]

the info isnt totally accurate...they did get back / let it be BEFORE they did abbey road, and hte rooftop concert was get back songs. abbey road was recorded and written later, but issues with let it be made it released after abbey road

[classical_metal]

very interesting reading. well done!

[strider_hein]

uhhm what about abbey road?

[theonlybman]

When did Abbey Road come out in this sequence? Whatever happened to the album's Introducing the Beatles and Yesterday and Today. Well done, but you should have put it in two section colums.

[Scourge441]

Kinda short for a history on The Beatles, but you have most of the important stuff. Nice job.

[PARASITE 5150]

Nice article... although the Beatles are overrated as hell. They weren't innovative whatsoever. There were several bands in England that played rock n roll before the Beatles came to America. The only thing that made the Beatles so famous was the fact that they came to America first.

The Beatles consisted of four of the most untalented instrumentalists ever. Paul was a mediocre bass player, George was nothing special on guitar and neither was John. Ringo... Ringo was quite possibly the worst drummer to ever live. They used to have to hire session drummers to record Ringo's parts. I believe he only really played one FULL album.

Compared to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles were boring and so was their music.

[ledhed68]

i dont like the beatles but they were very revolutionary. Nice job but i would like some more details like why was there tension between them because of Yoko

[Andy_the_k]

hey your article left much to be expected

[nirvanafan11111]

hmmm don't much like the beatles but they are responsible for most modern music and it was an interesting and informative article on them, nice one dude!

[Lyf]

Nice article. My father's obsessed with the Beatles. So much so that my middle name is Lennon.

[VoodooChild15]

Nice article... although the Beatles are overrated as hell. They weren't innovative whatsoever. There were several bands in England that played rock n roll before the Beatles came to America. The only thing that made the Beatles so famous was the fact that they came to America first.

The Beatles consisted of four of the most untalented instrumentalists ever. Paul was a mediocre bass player, George was nothing special on guitar and neither was John. Ringo... Ringo was quite possibly the worst drummer to ever live. They used to have to hire session drummers to record Ringo's parts. I believe he only really played one FULL album.

Compared to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles were boring and so was their music.

What does instrumental skill matter when they wrote such damn good songs? Have you ever even listened to any post-Revolver Beatle records?

[hen]

Compared to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles were boring and so was their music.

Sgt. Peppers was anything BUT boring

[Jimi444]

How can you hate The Beatles? Anyways, sweet article, beatles own.

[django student]

whoever says the beatles were not innovative clearly has never made any attempt at listening to Sgt. Peppers or the White album. i seriously doubt anybody did anything sounding remotely like "a day in the life" before them. if you don't like the beatles that's fine, but if you're a fan of rock and roll in general you have to respect them.

[BlueZephyr]

Finally, an article about the Beatles. Short article though. The Beatles had a long history of music.

Next time Floyd, cite your sources.

[The_Exploited]

good article, 5 stars for u

spam deleted

[ak50324]

Actually..the beatles were only innovative because they simply perfected everything everyone else was doing...all of their "revolutional cds" were really just rip offs from bands who were truly progressing rock to new heights...however all bands like led zep and the rolling stones ever did was borrow styles music from others(exept the few songs zeppelin stole...)..and yes i do belive they are the most amazing band ever(though zep,the who and the srones are all quite close...)

[darkstar9814]

the beatles rocl

[Ryan_Music]

the beatles are good but the article has errors

[gunsn'pjs]

i love the beatles

[Buscubba]

I just got Sgt. Peppers and that album kicks ass. it really is awesome. And along with john paul george and ringo, George Martin really helped the beatles become what they are today.

[Buscubba]

oh, and props to whoever decided to put ringo's picture on the ug homepage. he may not have been the best drummer, but he is a total badass...

[Arnni]

Beatles rock, they are influiencial to any artisit. The last bit of info is wrong an many people have said that. let it be/get back was recorded before abbeyroad however john gave the master tapes to phil spector if i remember and he added all strings and made them into songs

[GNRobsessed013]

great article. the information was typed up good.

[JimiFloydStones]

Yoko rose tensions because she was tearing John apart from the band. No the Beatles did not rip anybody off, People came off of them u jackass. Also the Beatles influenced me to love music. And as for skills George really had some good solo's, Ringo did his part, there are som amazing bass lines from Paul, John did his hand on a few solo's and backup guitar, and both John and Pauls skill in singing is incredible.

[BMAN12688]

one of the best articles yet. Precise, focuses on the topic perfectly, and states all the important facts! i really like! great job! fiii..vvv..eee.. stars for u!

[Einzigerfan03]

Im sorry i just dont like the beatles yea i like paul's solo stuff but there are very few songs i can get into by the beatles but i will say i do respect them musicially they had there own sound and any band with there own sound and style should be respected.

[Rock agnst Bush]

Music technology really started taking off in the early 70's. If they stayed around for that they could have done even more amazing things in the studio.

Damn you YOKO!!!!

[Rock agnst Bush]

PARASITE you are such a jackass. The Beatles are not at all over rated. Any praise they get they totaly deserve. Ringo may not have been good at drum FILLS, but he kept perfect time and he was on ALL of the Beatles albums. Ive seen the anthology I should know. Paul wasnt a great bass player but composed beautiful melodies, as well as John. and George on Let It Be and Abbey Road had finaly blosomed into a great guitar player and music writer, especialy on Here Comes the Sun and Something.

You my friend need to be more informed/ open minded.

[ruckfules]

Great job man!!!! I have always loved The Beatles but I think that Pauk McCartney sucks his composition were the worst!

[rasker]

did you know it was the Beatles that invented (was a part of, atleast) the first eight-track recorder? (or so my musical production teacher told us)

[jimmylives]

Floyd93, get your facts straight before you start insuting the beatles by typing up the wrong shit. as you can see here, everyone is open to their own opinions, but a history is supposed to be based on real facts. why are you even writing about the beatles? everyone knows about ABBEY ROAD! what, are you trying to build your cred or something, cause likeing the beatles makes you hardcore??

just get out you jackass, cause you're an insult to the music world.

[blinkjared2]

half of that shit is totally wrong

[sirpsycho85]

PARASITE 5150:
Nice article... although the Beatles are overrated as hell. They weren't innovative whatsoever. There were several bands in England that played rock n roll before the Beatles came to America. The only thing that made the Beatles so famous was the fact that they came to America first.

The Beatles consisted of four of the most untalented instrumentalists ever. Paul was a mediocre bass player, George was nothing special on guitar and neither was John. Ringo... Ringo was quite possibly the worst drummer to ever live. They used to have to hire session drummers to record Ringo's parts. I believe he only really played one FULL album.

Compared to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles were boring and so was their music.
[POSTED: 11 June 2005 - 11:44]|

wow you have no clue what you are talking about. rolling stones firstly kick ass, but they are straight up r and b bluesy rock, they did not pioneer new styles, theyre just great at what they do. even if u personally like their music more, theres no way they are more original. ringo played on every track except the ones that paul randomly played and one version of love me do.

[sirpsycho85]

even just looking at it musically, beatles used riddiculous chords and harmonies that people never used before, and frankly very few have been able to successfully copy since. and paul is considered one of the greatest bassists of all time, and i cant think of a rock band with three voices like those

[sirpsycho85]

even before they turned artistic, within their first five albums, musically theres stuff that has never been done

[Seasoninhell]

The thing that all these moronic muso's always pick up on is Ringo Starr. The Beatles wrote simple songs, it would have sounded crap with intricate jazz drumming behind it. He might not have been the greatest drummer to have ever lived but what was on the records helped shape the simplicity of the songs, it suited the style. Stop with all the pretentiousness, he's made hundred of millions from his music, how much have you made? Exactly! When you've sold a billion then you can come and make a comment, until then, shut the hell up.

Oh, Parasite, you're wrong, the first British invasion band to go to America was the Dave Clark Five, funny how you never hear them mentioned much! Perhaps the Beatles got so big was because they wrote great songs as well as good lyrics? Just throwing an idea in.

Fairly good article; a few inaccuracies, but on the whole good.

[hammet_is_godd]

The beatles have got to be the most overated band ever to have roamed the earth. Actually no third behind Ubastard2 and The ***in Smiths.

[Seasoninhell]

Surely that should read fourth? Metallica? How overrated!

[django student]

^lol, and a bunch of money-lusting sellouts at that.

[wanna_lick_me?]

Compared to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles were boring and so was their music

are you ***ing shi.tting me??? the stones are nowhere near as good as the beatles. First off, Mick Jagger is the most horrible singer i've heard. Seriously, i know a shitload of people (who are not famous or anything) who can sing better than him. Second, Keith Richards' repertoire of riffs consists of about 2 different licks he repeats over and over and over and over again, with slight tempo changes. And third, most people don't even know the other members of the group. why??? cause the Stones=Jagger/Richards. Sure, John and Paul made most of the Beatles songs, but everyone knows George and Ringo, not only because of how they shapped the band's sound(George especially, with Indian music) but also because of classic songs they wrote (Something, Here Comes the Sun, Octopusses Garden).

but then again, its your opinion/musical taste, and you're entitled to have one

[Justice-For-All]

The Beatles certainly had some good tunes later in their career, but their early stuff is equivalant to a boy band of today. Much respect to the Beatles but clearly one of the most overrated bands in the history of music. They are always #1 on someones list and I just don't see the proof to go along with their explanations of why they are #1 much less #20 in the all time greatest bands. What about Led Zepplin? The Stones? The Eagles? Pink Floyd? All these are far superior bands to the Beatles.

[dcrico20]

One thing you guys dont realize is that for one, McCartney wasn't a bassist. He started off playing guitar, and actually is much better at guitar than bass (he can play fluently left AND right handed.) He was certainly the musical brains behind the band. Also John Lennon and George Harrison were both above average musicians, but EXCELLENT song writers (along with Paul.) In fact, the only other singer/songwriter that is in the same category as these three is Bob Dylan.

I also can not see how any of you can say that the Stones are better than the Beatles. The Stones actually tried to copy the Beatles during the sixties (they released the Satanic Majesty album in response to Sgt. Peppers,) but found out that they sucked and doing anything experimental and quickly returned to their roots on their later albums.

For any of you that dont appreciate the Beatles or other early Rock and Roll musicians (Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, etc.) I would recommend reading the book entitled "Flowers in the Dustbin." It follows the evolution of Rock and Roll from the late 1940's up until Elvis Presley's death in the late 70's. Also for those of you who do appreciate the Beatles, there is an excellent book entitled "Tell Me Why" which goes chronographically through each song on each Beatles Ablums and notes the thinking behind each song, significance as it pertains to the album, the Beatles in general, and Rock and Roll itself. It is one of the most thorough and interesting books on music I have ever read.

[gmsje]

The original idea for the Get Back album was for it to be recorded live in the studio like the early Beatles records were (imagine any group doing that today). It morphed into the rooftop concert. The Beatles weren't satisfied with it, so it was dropped for awhile. After John and George hired Allen Klein as a manager, defeating McCartney's proposal to have Linda Eastman's family supply the manager, John and George had Phil Spector see what he could do with the Get Back recordings. The Dave Clark 5 had a string of hits early, but couldn't keep up with the Beatles output (no one could). McCartney wasn't the musical genius behind the band, George Martin was. If McCartney is such a genius, then how come his solo stuff is such mindless pap. He completely lost his edge with Lennon and Harrison to bounce off of. Lennon said he was the first one to use feedback on a recording in the I Feel Fine intro. I believe it was Keith Richards who told the story of Lennon and McCartney showing Jagger and Richards how to write their own songs. The Beatles songwriting and harmonies are unrivaled (the Eagles and Beach Boys are close but not as prolific). It was the engineers at Apple Studios who came up with multi-track machines. The Beatles had to pry the machines away from the engineers. An interesting book is The Complete Beatle Recording Sessions, which gives all the recording history from their signing to EMI/Decca to the end of the band in 1970. The Stones didn't innovate in their recordings until after the Beatles had put out a new album and the Stones new what direction to go in. Lead Zep followed both of them. Then Hendrix came out with the Experience and started a new of sound experimenting. That's how I remember it from buying the vinyls in the '60's.

[gmsje]

Opps, McCartney lost his edge withOUT Lennon and Harrison to bounce off of.

[therockdawg1138]

The Beatles rock.
My favorite band. The Stones aren't bad but the Beatles are far superior to any other bad.

Long Live The Beatles and rock n roll.

[kittycatk]

Wow. reading these comments made me really surprised...i thought nobody could ever hate the beatles...wow...anyway, i like them

[Steph Bets]

the beatles are probably the most awesom rock band ever, not to mention really hot. sham stu sutcliffe died. the article was pretty shoddy tho.

[saturns_bassman]

George died in 2001 on November 29 u retard

[costa94]

neone that even thinks the beatles are nething less than one of the most revolutionary most amazing bands and songwriters in the history of man deserves to die right now

[Cobainliveson]

Good Article! But you should have gone into more detail about John Lennon's "more popular than jesus" statement. Like the effect it had on everyone. Like most of their fans threw away their albums and burned them. That deserves a little more than 1 sentence

[minorbravo]

why do people get on a beatles article and say the beatles suck? damn. wow. Especially parasite who has no idea what he is talking about. oh my god some people are so stupid. go listen to your metal trash and your green day dont come comment on how the beatles suck. every band who has made it big today was inspired by the beatles. beatles forever.

[JimiFloydStones]

Yes the Beatles were better than the Stones in most opinions and yes they did learn a lot from the Beatles but the Stones are a complete different style of music. Also Keith Richards has some good stuff on guitar and Mick Jagger has a lot of talent hen it comes to singing.

[Metallica420]

the beatles kick ass man!
Peace

[ad_lib_oz]

Ringo had a killer solo career, jeeez.

[FsharpMinor]

YOKO SUCKS!!!

[FsharpMinor]

THE FAB FOUR RULES! THE BEATLES RULE!

[monkeyspks]

Really informative... yes.

[slashs_#1_fan]

hmmm the beatles are just a boyband. the kinks were so much better

[FS Guitar]

go to hell slashs_#1_fan

[slashs_#1_fan]

FS Guitar:
go to hell slashs_#1_fan

quaking in my boots

did any1 read "classic rock" magazines "100 reasons why the beatles suck"?

[Laser]

You're probably not the best writer, but the content of the article was great, good information, dates, well organized timeline. I learned stuff.

[Seasoninhell]

Classic rock magazine? For the generic middle aged rock fans who still labour under the delusion that Status Quo were ever good. It's terrible.

[rollingzeppelin]

Yea I guess Guns N Rose were sooo much better...what a douche...#1 fan prob lives in a trailer park...

[JimiFloydStones]

The Beatles were a so called "boyband" at the beginning of there career.

[slashs_#1_fan]

ha a trailer.... i think not, n status quo are crappy stadium rock poop that sucks, along with deep purple. led zep and the kinks are the way forward

a douche??? wow, learn the language we taught u and then talk

[Super_Sexy_Owen]

my uncle playing "blackbird" made me want to start to play

[gmsje]

Most of the Beatles did NOT throw away their records after Lennon's "bigger than Jesus" statement. A couple of radio disc jockeys in the deep south held a public media event where they destroyed a bunch of records. That started a backlash of negative publicity by people who did not like the Beatles to begin with. I still have several of my Beatles records from the 60's. The dynamic power of the Sixties supergroups, Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Doors, Lead Zepplin, The Experience, Cream, Jethro Tull, and others has only been sporadically matched in the last thirty five years. The Ramones had the attitude and Kurt Cobain had the talent. U2 comes close. Where's the real edge now? Not the blitherings of wannabes; but real edge. Educate me people.

[gmsje]

Another blopper. Most of the Beatles FANS did not throw away their records after Lennon's off hand comment.

[the_who]

Sure, people can say they don't like the Beatles but saying they suck or dispute their influence on music and culture just goes against any reason. Pretty good article but I recommend everyone to go out and get either The Beatles Anthology book or the DVD set for the whole story.

[icatchdinosaurs]

good article.beatles rule

[beatle]

beatles rule beatles rule beatles rule beatles rule beatles rule

[vantage4]

ever since i can remember, i've listened to the beatles because my dad's crappy little record collection happened to include several beatles albums. awesome stuff. once you get into the experimental stuff, most of the songs are very different from each other.

and the stones are awesome, but they didn't go far from their blues/rock roots, which is probably good because they are some of the best at playing that style. but if you want to listen to the beatles play blues/rock, listen to revolution. it's their only song like that, but i think it stacks up to any of the stones' stuff.

[poontastic]

beatles rule, their memory and influence lives on. LED ZEPPELIN are EPIC!

[shoebox81]

Not bad article..... it seemed a little rushed. But i guess its hard to fit all that the Beatles did into a readable amount

[tambourine_man]

All of you who do not respect the innovations that the beatles made during the 60's obviously do not know the first thing about music. The music we listen to today, of any genre, has came along because of the beatles. They wrote timeless songs and we will sit here and analyze them until the end of time. Ive listened to all of them during their solo careers, but none of them have the magic that they did when they were together. John Lennon was a genius, his politcal views were revolutionary and he was probably the most important member of the band. Paul has the greatest sense of melody I think there will ever be. The Lennon/McCartney songs will be around forever because they are what has made up our music today. SOngs like, "Revolution", "Here Comes The Sun", the whole "Sgt. Peppers" album, people listen to them now and they dont realize how innovative it was back then, because since then there have been so many carbon copies of them. Back in the 60's, the effetcs used for songs like that, playing techniques, everything was new. I love the Beatles and they will be my favorite band until the end of time. Every person and band who enjoys listening to popular music owes a debt of gratitude the The Beatles.

[slashs_#1_fan]

^ the music we listen to may have been influenced by the the beatles, and i do not doubt that they are good, they are, but i dont like then. just because they are older than say soundgarden, does not mean they are better. i would rather eat a fresh sarnie than a 40 year old one.

[IAMTHEEGGMAN...]

George was nothing special on guitar

No, he was conservative, he didn't play anything he didn't think was neccessary. Listen to 'She's My Baby' by the Travelling Wilburies and then tell me he was nothing special. A fantastic slide guitarist too, listen to his solo stuff. George is my hero, don't ever talk him down again.

[Seasoninhell]

So slashs_#1, by that token you would prefer someone like the Killers over the Beatles?

[gmsje]

Yea, Slash_#1, I'm sure you would like to hear the same ***t over and over again. That's the problem with a lot of bands nowadays. They learn one thing and can't move on. Soundgarden is a perfect example. Maybe they should have learned how to use more than a couple of strings to play chords.

[gmsje]

Well, I looked up Soundgarden chords. My apologies to Soundgarden. I was in a rotten mood yesterday.

[cantshreddave]

i may not have read properly, but i dnt think u sed how george harrison joined

[cantshreddave]

ok u did, i didnt read it properly soz

[costa94]

slash # 1 fan.....im gonna pee on u

[knotilus]

Mediocre article, knot 100% accurate, but the Beatles are definitely the greatest band of all time and always will be... forever!

[nirvana4lf]

george and john live on forever!!!.. and so do ringo and paul!!!..

[Drazil]

You missed a lot of info, including any mention of the Abbey Road album. You also didn't mention the REAL reason why The Beatles broke up: Paul sued the other 3 over the fact that they refused to hire Linda McCartney's dad and outvoted him 3 to 1 when deciding whether or not to hire The Stones' old manager Allen Klein, causing him to feel he had lost control of his songs and all that. Everyone always blames Yoko, but you gotta learn the facts before you decided who to blame.

Anyway, average article. I think I'll write my own. 3 stars.

[Bmm386]

great article, you should have had more information on the particular albums. its seemed at the end you just stopped putting in details.

[Sqeeezie]

Beatles are the shit, Lennon was the shit, The Person Who killed Lennon isnt the shit.

[Sqeeezie]

at all...

[Archaon]

The Beatles have my respect for being one of the most influential rock and roll bands in history. They're songs are nice and catchy, but don't match the crazy metal guitar solos that I want. But still, they have a lot of my respect. They're one of the classics that will always shine.

[rustausa]

The Beatles are the best band in the world. Penny lane is in my ears, and in my heart!

[Connerrado]

It's ALL about the Beatles!

[superjonti]

to all would be guitarests learn by playing beatles numbers and you wont go far wrong i did'nt !!

nice article.

[lorddubton]

plain and simple they have no bearing on modern music at all...THE BEATLES SUCK

[el duderino]

to the people who are bad mouthing the beatles (like above) i say this. They are and probably will forever be the most influential band in the history of music, and denying it just shows how ignorant you are. although none of them were the absolute best in their field, they were all talented (even ringo). And this shows in the music they made together, especially in their later years. They were innovative, using not only unique lyrics, effects, and other recording tricks to enhance their music, but complicated chord progressions and melodies as well. I highly doubt that any of you who spoke poorly about the beatles ever took time to really listen to them. If you had, you would have to be one of the most musically challenged individuals i have ever heard of to write lke you did. In short, there is a reason they are as famous as they are.

[guitarkid2113]

PARASITE 5150 wrote:

Nice article... although the Beatles are overrated as hell. They weren't innovative whatsoever. There were several bands in England that played rock n roll before the Beatles came to America. The only thing that made the Beatles so famous was the fact that they came to America first.

The Beatles consisted of four of the most untalented instrumentalists ever. Paul was a mediocre bass player, George was nothing special on guitar and neither was John. Ringo... Ringo was quite possibly the worst drummer to ever live. They used to have to hire session drummers to record Ringo's parts. I believe he only really played one FULL album.

Compared to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles were boring and so was their music.

Instrumental skill doesn't matter when you listen to the lyrics to there albums... Its amazing...

[Quark113]

hammet_is_godd wrote:

The beatles have got to be the most overated band ever to have roamed the earth. Actually no third behind Ubastard2 and The ***in Smiths.

Seasoninhell wrote:

Surely that should read fourth? Metallica? How overrated!

django student wrote:

^lol, and a bunch of money-lusting sellouts at that.

Okay, to get a few things straight here:
The Beatles are NOT overrated, any credit given to them is deserved. Sure, they might have 1 or 2 bad songs (think because), but any rock music that came out after their reign as Kings Of Rock (Pop?) owes something to them.

Second: U2 is NOT overrated, if anything they're UNDERrated, and they don't get enough damn airplay!

Third: The Smiths MIGHT BE overrated, 'cause I ain't gonna bash nobody whose music I ain't heard.

Fourth: Metallica MIGHT BE overrated, see The Smiths, above

[Quark113]

Justice-For-All wrote:

The Beatles certainly had some good tunes later in their career, but their early stuff is equivalant to a boy band of today. Much respect to the Beatles but clearly one of the most overrated bands in the history of music. They are always #1 on someones list and I just don't see the proof to go along with their explanations of why they are #1 much less #20 in the all time greatest bands. What about Led Zepplin? The Stones? The Eagles? Pink Floyd? All these are far superior bands to the Beatles.

Your point is well taken, nonetheless, if one doesn't have them in they're top 40, someone is a DICK!!!!!

[Floyd93]

I can't believe I actually left out Abbey Road.

[E-bay777]

The Beatles are were a big movement in rock music.