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| Conquering the USA: The Beatles during their US TV Debut in 1964. |
From their humble beginnings in Liverpool, England in the late 1950's to
their heavily publicized and somewhat acrimonious split in 1970, the Beatles'
comparatively short 8 year recording career that officially began in
1962 when they were signed to the EMI label 'Parlophone' yielded 12 studio
albums, 13 EP's (Extended Plays) and 22 singles. They starred in 4
feature films and 1 TV film from 1964 to 1969 and during the 1960s had 27
Number One singles worldwide.
They changed the musical world as we know it today. They spearheaded a
change in fashion and popular culture, touched and changed millions of
lives and left a rich, wonderful musical legacy that will live till the
end of time and perhaps even beyond that.
They are, to put it simply, abso-bloody-lutely brilliant.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison & Richard Starkey
(Ringo Starr) are simply four of the most talented people to walk this
Earth.
Whether you are a die-hard fan like me or are in the minority that claim
they cannot stand them or their music you cannot deny their influence
on the world. Those that I'm willing to wager that in the Afghanistan mountains
there's bound to be someone who will know at least one Beatles song.
From those of my readers who know me personally or even just have had a
few conversations with me they know that my Beatles obsession runs deep.
When I was around 8 years old I saw them on TV. It was their Royal
Command Performance from 1963 and they were performing 'Twist &
Shout' then I seen clips of the mania surrounding the 1965 Shea Stadium
concert and it absolutely fascinated me. Something about the music
reached me in a way that nothing else has before or since.
They fueled my musical passion and when I was in my early teens I
taught myself guitar and played and sang along to the Beatles."Getting
Better" every day and it's "Something" I still do today with my wife
whom I met on a Beatles forum and we enjoy discussing the Beatles' music
and themselves as individual people at length. Actually, not a day goes by when we don't discuss them. Does that make us crazy? Maybe so.
Here are the Beatles Through the Years.....
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| Leathered: The
Beatles with Pete Best on drums in 1961. Pete was replaced by
Ringo in 1962. |
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| John, Paul, Ringo
and......Neil? Road manager Neil Aspinall has a go at being a Beatle.
(George had a fever and so Neil had to stand in for the Ed Sullivan camera
crews to get their positions right) |
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| Paul teaches Ringo the Basics of Guitar during a break in filming 'A Hard Day's Night' in 1964. |
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Fab Four: The Beatles in Liverpool, 1962. From L-R: George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr & John Lennon.
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| Recording: During sessions for their fourth album 'Beatles For Sale', 1964. |
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| Evolving: The Beatles in 1967. During this year they released the critically acclaimed 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and also the critically slated 'Magical Mystery Tour' film. |
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| The End: The
Beatles gathered for their final photo session in August 1969. The
expressions on their faces say it all. They officially split up in April
1970, ending the greatest Rock group the world will ever know. |
