The Beatles to this day are one of the most famous and
popular rock 'n roll groups in the world. The Beatles
include George Harrison, John Lennon(1940-1980), Paul
McCartney, and Richard Starkey(Ringo Starr). All of the
Beatles where born and raised in Liverpool, England. John
Lennon was considered the leader of the band. George
Harrison was the lead guitarist. John Lennon was a song
writer, one of the two lead singers, and rhythm guitarist.
Paul McCartney was a song writer, one of the two lead
singers, and a bassist. Ringo Starr played the drums.
John Lennon's first band was called the Quarrymen (named
after his High School). None of the three Beatles were in
this band. Paul joined the group in 1957 and Harrison
joined in 1958. They played with bass guitarist Sut
Sutcliffe, and Pete Best, a drummer. Sutcliffe left in 1961
and Ringo Starr joined the band. Pete Best was asked to
leave the band on April 16, 1962. He was considered the
Beatles undisputed sex symbol. The Beatles were discovered
on November 9, 1961 by Brian Epstein, a manager of a record
store in Liverpool as well as an x British Army soldier.
The Beatles first two song were "Love Me Do" and
"Please, Please Me." The Beatles starred in two movies, "A
Hard Days Night," and "Help." They also had their own full
length cartoon called "Yellow Submarine." The movie "A Hard
Days Night" earned 1.3 million dollars in its first week.
The Beatles early music was influenced by singers Chuck
Berry and Elvis Presley.
In November of 1963 the Beatles performed in front of
the Queen of England. This was an incredible honor. By the
end of 1963 the Beatles were the biggest music group in
England. The Beatles came to New York City for the first
time in 1964. They were an instant success. A couple of
weeks later after their New York appearance, the five best
selling records were by the Beatles. They became world
famous by the end of 1964. Also in 1964 the song "I Want To
Hold Your Hand" marked the beginning of "BEATLEMANIA."
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. John Lennon
wrote a book called "In His Own Write." The Beatles started
a new era of music. They wore their hair long and shaggy.
This haircut was known as the Beatles haircut. All across
the world people started wearing their hair like the
Beatles.
John Lennon described the Beatles like this "When you
said it, it was crawly things, when you read it, it was beat
music." The Beatles made their last stage appearance
together in 1966. In 1967 the Beatles put together a master
piece. The master piece was Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart
Club Band. The Beatles never had a chance to perform
Sergeant Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band. Also in 1967 Brian
Epstein, the manager of the Beatles, died. Also in 1967 the
Beatles directed a movie, Magical Mystery Tour. The movie
was about themselves in which they toured the English
countryside in search of wonder, fun, and magic.
In 1970 the world famous and world loved Beatles
separated. Everybody was hoping to see the Beatles come
back together. That hope ended when the peace loving John
Lennon was killed outside his New York City apartment by 25
year old Mark David Chapman.
