History of the Beatles. Little-known facts from the biography of the Beatles In what year did the Beatles break up

The Beatles- a symbol of modern pop culture and music industry, perhaps even more significant than such musical "monsters" as Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Madonna and Michael Jackson. And The Beatles - the best-selling music brand in history (more than 1 billion records sold worldwide) - forever changed the music world.

1. John Lennon originally named the group differently

John Lennon founded the group in 1957 and named it the Quarry Men. Later, he invited Paul McCartney to the group, who brought in George Harrison. Ringo Starr became the last of the "great four" after he replaced Peter Best as drummer.

2. Quarry Men, Johnny and the Moondogs...

The band changed its name many times before settling on the name
The Beatles. In addition to the Quarry Men, the group also went by the names Johnny and the Moondogs, Rainbows and British Everly Brothers.

3. "Beetles" (beetlles) and "Rhythm" (beat)

Although no one can say exactly where the group's final name came from, most fans believe that John Lennon suggested the name after Buddy Holly's American Crickets. Other sources emphasize that the name deliberately combined 2 words - "bugs" (beetlles) and "rhythm" (beat).

4. "From Me To You"

The Beatles called their first UK single "From Me To You", taking the idea from the letters section of the British magazine NME, then called "From You to Us". They wrote this song on a bus while on tour supporting Helen Shapiro.

5. There was nothing before Elvis

John Lennon was very fond of cats. He had ten pets when he lived in Weybridge with his first wife, Cynthia. His mother had a cat named Elvis as the woman was a big fan of Elvis Presley. Not surprisingly, Lennon later claimed that "there was nothing before Elvis."

6 Abbey Road

The band originally wanted to name the song "Abbey Road" "Everest". But when their record company invited the band to visit the Himalayas to shoot a video there, the Beatles decided to rename the song after the street where the recording studio was located.

7. Hit for the main competitors

Very few people know the fact that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the first hit for their main rivals, the Rolling Stones. "I Wanna Be Your Man" was released in 1963 and peaked at number twelfth on the UK Singles Chart.

8. Good Morning Good Morning

John Lennon wrote "Good Morning Good Morning" after being infuriated by a Kellogg cereal commercial.

9 Billboard Hot Record Breakers

During the week of April 4, 1964, as many as twelve Beatles songs were included in the top 100 Billboard Hot singles, including the compositions of this group occupied the first five lines. This record has not been broken so far, for fifty-two years.

10. The Beatles sold 178 million records.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Beatles have sold 178 million records in the United States. That's more than any other artist in US music history.

11. "Got to Get You into My Life"

1966 the song "Got to Get You into My Life" appeared. It was originally thought to be about a girl, but McCartney later claimed in an interview that the song was actually about marijuana.

12. Hey Jude

If you listen carefully to the words of the legendary song "Hey Jude", you can hear how Paul swore dirty, making a mistake during the recording of the song.

13. "New Disease"

Many people mistakenly believe that the term "Beatlemania" first appeared in 1963 after a review in the Daily Mirror. However, the term was actually invented by Canadian Sandy Gardiner and first appeared in the Ottawa Journal in November 1963, where the word was used to describe a "new disease" that was sweeping the globe.

14. ... well, if they themselves ask

Mae West initially turned down an offer to have her picture on the album cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", but she changed her mind after receiving a private letter from the band. Other famous women on the cover are Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Temple.

15. "Something" is the greatest love song

Frank Sinatra has often publicly expressed his admiration for the band, and once said that "Something" is the greatest love song ever written.

16. Help! and "Strawberry Fields Forever"

John Lennon said that the only real songs he ever wrote were "Help!" and "Strawberry Fields Forever". He claimed that these were the only songs he wrote based on his own experiences and not just imagining himself in certain situations.

17. Beatles Records Publicly Burned in the South

In March 1966, John Lennon noticed that Christianity was in decline and that the Beatles had become more popular than Jesus. His remarks led to protests in the American South, where the band's records were publicly burned. The protests even spread to other countries such as Mexico, South Africa and Spain.

18. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. All four of its members were also inducted into the hall of fame individually from 1994 to 2015.

19. The Beatles hold the record for hits...

As of 2016, the Beatles still hold the record for most hits (20) to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Elvis Presley and Mariah Carey are tied for second with 18 songs each. The Beatles also hold the record for the most number one albums in the US and UK.

20. Unfulfilled dream

The members of The Beatles were so passionate about Tolkien's work that they wanted to star in the film "The Lord of the Rings", where the director was supposed to be Stanley Kubrick. Fortunately, Kubrick and his record company did not find this idea attractive, and a few decades later, Peter Jackson created his famous cinematic masterpieces.

21. The Beatles broke up because of...

No one knows 100 percent why the Beatles broke up. When Paul McCartney was asked why the band broke up, he claimed it was due to "personal differences, business differences, musical differences, but most of all, he enjoys spending time with his family much more".

22. Missed Opportunity

The closest the band came to a reunion after their split in 1970 was at Eric Clapton's wedding when he married Patti Boyd in 1979. George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr played together at the wedding, but John Lennon did not come.

23. Bands with guitars are out of fashion.

The Beatles auditioned for Decca Records on January 1, 1962, but were turned down because "groups with guitars are out of style" and also because "the band members lack talent". The Decca label instead chose a band called the Tremeloes, who no one remembers today. This is widely considered to be the biggest mistake in twentieth century music history.

24. The Beatles bought an island...

In 1967, when the Beatles were at the height of their drug addiction, they decided to buy their own island. Throwing in cash, the band members bought a beautiful private island in Greece where they wanted to live together, away from screaming fans. Unfortunately, when the group broke up, the island was also sold.

25. Beatles songs heal

Some scientists have suggested that several Beatles songs could help children with autism and other disabilities. In particular, they refer to the songs "Here Comes The Sun", "Octopus's Garden", "Yellow Submarine", "Hello Goodbye", "Blackbird" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

Not so long ago, it appeared on the Web, which, of course, will be of interest to all fans of this group.

Today, the Beatles are known to contemporaries as the author of popular retro songs such as Yesterday, Let It Be, Help, Yellow Submarine and others. However, few people know that this group had the loudest success in the history of show business, which has never been repeated. What was this success and what are its reasons I will try to state in this article.

Describing the success of the Beatles

The Beatles (The Beatles) in the final composition was formed in 1962 and existed for 7 years - until 1970. During this short time, by the standards of show business, the group released 13 albums, shot 4 feature films and achieved success that no other group could achieve before or after this group.

The idea for the band's name came to John Lennon in a dream, and is a play on the words "beetle" (beetle) and "beat" (beat, beat, rhythm). At first the group was called "Long John And The Silver Beatles", then the name was decided to be shortened to "The Beatles".

It is immediately worth noting the fact that this group has a large number of generally accepted terms related to it. Among them are the "Famous Four" ("The fab four"), "Liverpool Four". The term "Beatlemania" is also used to describe the band's unique success. This term is unique in its kind and is not found in other groups. In addition, there is the concept of "The Beatles movie" (The Beatles movie), used to analyze the contribution of the group in the field of cinema.

The speed with which fame and success came to the group is also interesting. Until 1960, the group was known only in Liverpool, and played basically the same as everyone else - arrangements of popular American songs. Even during their first tour of Scotland as an accompanying band in April 1960, they continued to be one of Liverpool's many obscure rock and roll bands.

Then in August 1960 the band made a 5 month trip to Hamburg (where they played in the clubs "Indra" and then "Kaiserkeller") after which the band became one of the most successful and ambitious Liverpool bands. By the beginning of 1961, the Beatles were at the top of the list of the top 350 beat bands in Liverpool. The quartet performs almost daily, gathering a large number of listeners.

4 months later, in April 1961, during the second tour in Hamburg, the Beatles recorded their first single together with Tony Sheridan "My Bonnie / The Saints". While in the studio, Lennon recorded one of his first songs, "Ain't She Sweet".

The first major musical success came to the Beatles after a tour to Hamburg, namely on July 27, 1961, when, after a concert in Liverpool's Litherland Town Hall, the local press called The Beatles the best Liverpool Rock 'n' Roll Ensemble.

Then, starting in August 1961, the Beatles began to perform regularly at the Liverpool Cavern club, where after 262 concerts (until August 1962) the group became the best in the city and it already had real fans.

Then, shortly after the release of their debut album in February 1963, the group's success quickly escalated into national hysteria. The beginning of such craze, who received the term "Beatlomania" ("Beatlomania"), is considered to be the summer of 1963, when the Beatles were supposed to open the British concerts of Roy Orbison, but turned out to be an order of magnitude more popular than the American.

In October, the Beatles begin to set records for popularity in the ratings and charts, when the single "She Loves You" becomes the most replicated record in the history of the UK gramophone industry. And a month later, in November 1963, The Beatles perform at the Royal Variety Show at the Prince of Wales Theater in front of the Queen and the English aristocracy. Thus, 2 years after the first musical success the group becomes recognized throughout the country. Further, their success grew like a snowball, and her fame breaks out of the country.

The Beatles are listened to not only by the English-speaking audience, but also by the whole of Europe, Japan and even Asia (for example, the Philippines). The United States was conquered in early 1964, a year after the release of the first album in their homeland, whereas before the Beatles, English artists were not very popular in America. After the Beatles, a wave of "English invaders" emerged in the USA, that is, the Beatles paved the way for successful tours of such English groups as The Rolling Stones, The Kniks, The Hermits and The Searchers.

The band during the Beatlemania period becomes more than a musical group, it becomes an idol, a style model, a trendsetter, a source of answers to all questions, hopes are pinned on them, etc. Their whole concept and "philosophy" begin to feel cramped within the musical framework and enter neighboring areas of art, such as cinema, and later - socio-political movements. In the genre of cinematography, the group made their debut by filming the film "A Hard Day's Night" in the spring and summer of 1964. The plot of the film is based on the events of one day of the band's life, and the Beatles' third album of the same name became the musical accompaniment to it.

By their example, the group demonstrated that a successful musical concept successfully exists not only in standard form, but can be successfully projected onto adjacent areas, such as cinema.

The purpose of the Beatles

By the phenomenon of the Beatles group, we mean the kind of success of a musical group that has grown into a real national mania. So, what is the reason that four people have had such phenomenal success when no one else had such success before them? Maybe in luck, maybe in genius, maybe in a combination of circumstances or something else?

In order to understand the nature of the band's success, you first need to understand what the Beatles wanted, what they aspired to. In such a case, we can view their success as a consequence of achieving their goal.

The goal of the Beatles from the very beginning of their existence was very simple - to become the best group of all times and peoples. John Lennon said after the breakup of the band that it was the belief that the Beatles were the best band in the world that made them who they were, be it the best rock and roll band, pop band or whatever.

I believe this goal came about when Lennon and McCartney started writing together. They felt and saw that they could create something in the future that no one had been able to do before. They intuitively understood that at that time it was impossible to create such “magic”, great things in any other way. A great desire to bring to life the musical ideas of the Lennon-McCartney duet formed a clear need for the creation of such a group. It was their author's duet that became the starting point in the creation of the Beatles.

Analysis of the initial conditions for the birth of a group

To achieve any goal, certain conditions and opportunities are required, so let's consider what conditions and opportunities for the Beatles to gain success existed in the late 50s. These possibilities can be divided into two groups. The first of them is external or exogenous, that is, not dependent on the members of the group, and the second is internal, endogenous, that is, which they can influence on their own. Consider first all the necessary external conditions at the end of the 50s in England, which contributed to the birth of the group.

Time and society

Inexperienced listener of the 60s

Events unfold in the 60s of the 20th century. In the English-speaking environment, mass music is only developing, the genre of love lyrics is far from being saturated with masterful, skillfully performed compositions. Until the 60s, there was no technically perfect and professional musical offer of a mass nature for listeners. John Robertson notes that pre-Beatles music was in a state of lethargic sleep, and only after them did it turn into not only a multi-million dollar business, but also into art.

At the time of the birth of the group, there was no musical proposal striving for an ideal, to which the listener would have "nothing to answer and object to" and could only succumb to the moods that such music carries. The emotional messages that existed at that time were more calm and balanced. They were such that the author himself believed that they should be listened to calmly and not lose one’s head from them, because causing delight and euphoria, there is a so-called responsibility of the author to himself - why convey such strong feelings to the world that cause fanaticism and, possibly, breaking the fate of others.

Thus, until the 60s, there was no significant test for the "virgin" hearing of the English-speaking listener. The first significant attempts to step over this line were on the other side of the ocean with Elvis Presley and Little Richard. The Beatles were the first to shamelessly cross this line and the first to have the opportunity to professionally express these feelings in an optimal musical format.

Unsaturated information environment

The 60s didn't have the huge amount of infotainment distractions that came in the early 21st century. There was no colossal entertainment industry, ranging from computer games to social networks. The more infotainment resources there are, the more time they require from a person to use them. At the moment, if you use the most popular services and services, then there will be no time left for some serious creativity. Consequently, the unsaturated information environment of society in the 60s disposed young people to creative pursuits in music, cinema, painting, etc.

A minimum of alternatives for a quick "conquest of the world"

A young man in those days had not a difficult choice in order to succeed in life: work, study or art. Music was the most common among young people. And if a young man was full of energy and desire to realize himself, then more often he chose music to achieve his goal. Undoubtedly, such people were John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who, as you know, chose music. In favor of the prevalence of music in the UK in the early 60s, John began his musical career at an early age in the church choir and then played the banjo, and Paul McCartney was introduced to music when his parents gave him a trumpet.

Scene

The process of the birth of the group, and then its success, takes place in the English city of Liverpool. In the capitalist England of the 60s, there were no ideological barriers and strict moral censorship, which also contributed to the study of music. However, the disadvantage was capitalism with its requirement to spend all working time on earning money to maintain one's lifestyle. For Paul McCartney, this was reflected in the fact that before the final decision to start playing in the group, he got a job as a janitor at the factory on the instructions of his father.

The need to spend most of the time making money was not so acute in the countries of the communist bloc. However, there was no way to achieve great success in music in principle, due to understandable ideological restrictions.

Also in Liverpool, teenage musical activity was widely developed, which was expressed in a large number of youth groups playing in the style of rock and roll and skiffle (350 beat groups in 1961). The most common instruments were banjo, electric and semi-acoustic guitar, bass guitar, simple drums with a barrel, harmonica. All these instruments were later used by the Beatles. The relatively high standard of living in the UK made it easy to acquire these essential musical instruments.

Summarizing the analysis of the above conditions, we get that in the English-speaking world of the early 60s there was an inexperienced listener and a favorable environment for the debut of a masterly skillful team. Moreover, if this group conveyed a strong emotional charge through its music, then the listener, not knowing how to react to it, could respond with a real explosion, mania, fanaticism, thereby causing a public outcry. The more skillfully the band can convey its musical message to the listener, the stronger the amplitude of this resonance will be. It is also determined by the uniqueness of the emotional message, which is difficult to express in precise terms.

Members of the Beatles

Before analyzing the reasons for the success of the Beatles, consider the composition of the members of this group. The sound of a musical group is determined by the set of instruments that its members use, for example, piano, guitar, harmonica, singing voice.

For the early Beatles, the specialization on instruments looked like this: McCartney and Lennon were responsible for vocals, Harrison for guitar, McCartney again for bass, Ringo Starr for drums and partly McCartney (for example, in the song "A Day In The Life"). Lennon played rhythm guitar, but it was not his main instrument (the voice was the main one), since in most of the band's songs the guitar accompaniment is determined precisely by Harrison's guitar. In addition, Lennon almost never performed solo during the entire time he played in the group (especially on stage). However, his solo performance with the song “Baby It's you” can be cited as an exception. In addition to vocals and guitar, John Lennon mastered another accompanying instrument quite well - the harmonica (in “Love Me Do” he plays the chromatic harmonica of the Marine Band ), which also suggests that the guitar was not his specialty. John himself later admitted that he plays the guitar "averagely" All this confirms his specialization in songwriting and vocal performance.

Some instruments for the musician are the main ones, that is, which he skillfully owns, and is responsible for the use of this instrument in the team. For example, George Harrison focused on the guitar while moving away from other things such as songwriting and honing his vocal skills. Of course, Lennon and McCartney initially took him as a guitarist, since they themselves were completely absorbed in writing songs. As a result, Harrison was responsible for the professional, fast-paced and improvising guitar in the band. Therefore, in the formative period, the representative song of the group, in addition to the rhythm section, consists of the vocals of John and Paul and the guitar of George. Developing guitar technique, Harrison had much less creative time, and given that his writing talent was not as bright as that of the Lennon-McCartney duo, explains his later emergence in the group as a songwriter (from the second album "With The Beatles").

The Beatles - full cycle musical group

There are three main types of musical groups: those specializing in writing material, performing it, or creating and performing their own material at the same time. Of course, the probability of the formation of the latter is much less, since it requires the ability to do two fundamental things well.

In practice, usually a band is good at one thing, so it's more common for a band to either be good at composing music or perform well.

The Beatles wrote and performed themselves, which at one time was a precedent, since there was a practice when the music was composed by outside composers for performing groups. That is, in the early 60s, the separation of the author's and performing functions dominated, which, of course, complicated the process of the creative cycle - from composing a song, writing music, to recording in a studio and performing on stage. This happened as a result of the appearance of transaction costs in the transfer musical material between composer and performer. For example, the author has to spend time to convey to the performer the emotional nuances of his song, which is completely impossible to convey in the form of lyrics and scores. In addition, in the course of such a “transfer”, part of the author's intention due to the difficulty of conveying such subjective information.

In the case of combining these two qualities in one person / team, this problem is removed. By the time the first album was recorded, the Beatles had become full-cycle musicians - that is, they closed the entire process of creating songs on themselves, which gave them the opportunity to quickly and losslessly create their songs from idea to recording.

Necessary internal conditions for success

Let us now consider the possibilities and conditions necessary to achieve the goal, which could depend on the future members of the group. In order to become the best band in the world, oddly enough, this band must first be created, then get the opportunity to professionally perform ready-made material, and then professionally write your own.

The need for a group

The need for a musical group arose from John Lennon's desire to have the best rock and roll band in the world. This group was needed for the full expression of the author's thoughts in musical language. To do this, the author needs an ensemble of musicians who own a set of instruments necessary for the full expression of the author's thoughts.

John Lennon formed his first group, The Quaryymen, in the spring of 1956. However, until meeting Paul McCartney in the summer of 1957, it was a purely amateur game. When Lennon and McCartney met, then that powerful author's duet began to form, the musical ideas of which, no doubt, demanded worthy expression. Lennon-McCartney co-authorship developed gradually in practice - by the end of 1958, 4 years before the release of the first album, they already had about 50 songs in their assets. Thus, the Lennon-McCartney duo had an objective need to create a group.

In addition, the young Beatles already had an idea of ​​​​how large-scale success in the musical field can be, using the example of the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley. Elvis was the inspiration for Lennon-McCartney at the very beginning of their work, as the musicians themselves admitted that if there was no Elvis, then there would be no Beatles.

Creation of the Beatles

To create a viable group, the creator needs to find a sufficient number of like-minded musicians. The creative duo of John and Paul needed their own musical accompaniment as they both focused on songwriting and vocals.

The most common instrument at that time, as in other things, and in ours, was the guitar, and therefore it is not surprising that the duet's musical accompaniment was the guitar of George Harrison, whom Paul brought into the group in 1958. George's interests completely coincided with the interests of the duet: George wanted to play the guitar and had already played in The Rebels, and the place of the game was determined by the presence of George's friend Paul McCartney in it.

This trio formed the backbone of the band, while the members on the other instruments changed constantly until the group found its final line-up in August 1962, when the band changed drummers from Pete Best to Richard Starkey.

The short duration of the existence of a musical group

Musical creativity is always a collaborative process. One person can be orders of magnitude less than in the company of a person, even with less talent.

Joint creativity is possible with a fundamental coincidence of desires, goals, worldviews of co-authors, and this intersection exists for a relatively short time. And during this period, masterpieces of art are created. However, when co-creating, you have to compromise, taking into account the interests of the co-author, and there is always a temptation to separate and write your own things, having complete freedom of action. That is, in a team you always have to give up your own opinion in favor of a common cause. Therefore, only those collectives continue to exist in which each participant can do orders of magnitude more than on their own.

The group consists of instruments playing together, the musician plays the instrument, the musician is a person. At each of the listed stages, a failure is possible and then the entire musical group cannot function fully. For example, a member of the group has a high-quality instrument, has an excellent command of it, but at the moment he does not want to play in this group / this song / this instrument and the whole team instantly falls into a non-working state. Here the human factor is manifested and the group is already under the threat of disintegration, although there are no objective reasons.

In the later Beatles, this manifests itself in the fact that, after writing the Beatles For Sale album in 1964, the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo stopped writing songs together. The last song together was "Baby's In Black", and starting with the album "Magical Mystery Tour", each of the quartet begins to use the others only as accompanying musicians to record their own songs.

The requirement that the interests of all participants coincide is clearly seen in the example of early bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. This is a clear example of a person who chose the wrong area of ​​activity for self-realization, because even before joining the group he wanted to become an artist. Sutcliffe agreed to be the bassist, most likely because his friend John asked for it. Another reason was the popularity of music among young people, which gave a chance to quickly become famous.

As a result, Stewart did not pay much attention to the skill of playing the bass, while continuing to paint at the same time, which caused discontent among the rest of the band. Being a musician was not his vocation, this is evidenced by the fact that after leaving the group he stayed in Hamburg and radically changed the type of activity, becoming an artist.

A similar situation was with the second drummer Pete Best. His interests differed from other members of the group, in particular, he did not fit with the rest physically, was taller and "more beautiful" than the rest. As the Beatles later said, almost all the girls preferred him, which also did not add stability to his position in the group.

Also, Best "wasn't actually a full member of the group because of his relationships with the other members." George Harrison later explains it this way: “There was one thing: Pete rarely spent time with us. When the show was over, Pete would leave, and we all stayed together, and then, when Ringo got close to us, it seemed to us that now there were as many of us as it should be, both on stage and off stage. When Ringo joined the four of us, everything fell into place.

In addition, Best did not recognize the general style of the group - he did not agree to do the same hairstyle as the other Beatles, did not wear the same clothes, which caused the real anger of the band's manager Brian Epstein. Pete did not get along with the other members of the group by nature, and therefore his departure was only a matter of time. As a consequence, he naturally and without scandal left the group in August 1962.

Until the final line-up, the group was formed gradually. For 6 years after the creation of the group in 1956, the Lennon-McCartney-Harrison trio continued to play together in part, while the rest of the musicians replaced each other constantly. And since they could not achieve a significant return on the game during this period, this is a confirmation of their great desire to play together, faith in themselves and the complete coincidence of their interests.

And finally, after the group found a decent drummer in 1962 (Starr played in the second most popular Liverpool band, Rory Storme And The Hurricanes), the band found a steady state. Now each instrument had a separate musician for whom it was the main one, and could exist for a sufficient amount of time to realize its potential.

The requirement for professional performance of the material

The transition to the level of professional performance of the material transfers the team from amateur to mature. Usually, this happens during the course of getting practical performance experience, and the Beatles were no exception. They made 2 trips to Hamburg - in the fall of 1960 and in the spring of 1961, where they forged their mastery of performance in a foreign land, working for pennies 8 hours a day, performing in the Hamburg clubs Indra, Kaiserkeller, Top Ten. Of course, the second trip to Hamburg was already on best conditions for the group, after the first days of their stay, the aspiring Beatles were recognized as the best touring band in the city. Also, away from home, the guys had a special motivation for the development of performance techniques - the effect of a stranger - when a person in a new place feels like a stranger, so to speak, on "enemy land", and therefore wants to succeed, gain a foothold, prove his success more strongly. After trips to Hamburg, the Beatles finally moved into the category of professional beat groups after holding more than 260 concerts in the Liverpool Cavern club in 1961 - 1962.

The technical prowess made the band ready for the studio as it made it possible to record songs quickly as the minimum number of errors reduced the number of recording takes. In addition, there was the possibility of easy improvisation, which allowed the Beatles to quickly develop musical theme to the finished composition. The excellent teamwork of the Lennon-McCartney-Harrisson trio helped to quickly achieve mastery of performance, which, after 5 years of acquaintance, understood each other in a musical sense from a half-word.

Requirement to develop writing skills

Band members acting as songwriters must develop and practice their creative writing function. That is, they must be able to quickly and accurately express their thoughts in a musical language, namely: to compose lyrics and come up with a main motive.

The main songwriters of the Beatles - John Lennon and Paul McCartney - began to practice composing at the age of 16. After they met and Paul entered the Lennon group, the future duo began to spend time together, making music. Usually, visiting one of them, they cooked scrambled eggs and composed simple songs. It was also during this time that Paul showed Lennon the basic chords on the guitar, which helped the latter transition from banjo to guitar. A year and a half after John and Paul met, they already had about fifty songs in their assets, on which they trained to compose, not only on their own, but also together. At this time, the poetic skills of the future authors of the Beatles were formed.

It is also interesting that a year before they met in 1956, John Lennon in his group "The Quarrymen" did not even try to write his own songs. His amateur band only performed songs in the style of skiffle, country and western and rock and roll. In my opinion, the need for my own songs arose after meeting McCartney. Then both talented authors had a desire to outdo the other, or at least look no worse, which stimulated them to constantly hone their skills.

As a result, Lennon's talent for writing hit songs developed through long and painstaking practice, while McCartney had a natural talent for writing beautiful melodies.

By 1963, the Beatles were able to skillfully perform other people's material and honed their writing skills, and were also ready to start realizing their huge accumulated creative potential in the studio. It is noteworthy that the Beatles were ready to work in the studio a year before their first recordings. However, it was precisely the fact that they were admitted to the studio later that provided a reserve of creative and technical potential, which made it possible, firstly, to release fundamental hit albums two per year, and, secondly, to create albums "playfully" easily. In other words, by the beginning of the recording of the first album, the musicians were already in a state of “permanent musical readiness”.

Permanent musical readiness

Each musician, if he is not engaged in music on an ongoing basis, needs time to tune in to the game, refresh the primary control of the instrument in his memory. For example, a guitarist needs to repeat basic playing techniques, move his fingers on special exercises, play scales, and so on.

The need to play each time before the game, significantly reduces the time of useful work, which reduces the number of games played. In addition, if the group is inexperienced, then all the fresh forces of the musicians, which could be spent on creative search, can go to the warm-up.

This problem is also relevant for experienced musicians. Even if the musician has a significant break between the game, the musician again “gets upset”, that is, he loses RAM and the feeling of controlling the instrument and will no longer be able to play the instrument “freely” right away.

Is there a solution to this problem that will save time and effort spent on such a "setup"? There is such a solution and it consists in not leaving the state of constant “tuning” and contact with a musical instrument.

This is possible if you make music the main activity, as well as through constant playing without significant interruptions, as well as using the tool to solve related problems (working with a vocal part, inventing melodies on the go). In this case, each time you can "not forget" all the subtleties and sensations of the game and be in a state of constant (permanent) musical readiness.

Having honed their performing and authoring skills by the time the debut album was recorded, the Beatles not only played together, but also entered the state described above. The Beatles' first such sensations were to come during their tour to Hamburg, where they were required to work on stage every day for 8 hours a day. Then, after holding over 260 concerts at the Cavern Club, the Beatles finally entered a state of permanent readiness by August 1962 and did not leave it until the breakup in 1970.

As a result, the constant "combat readiness" made it possible to fully realize the full potential of the joint Lennon-McCartney in a relatively short time: from 1963 to 1969. In addition, this gave an amazing speed with which the group's albums were released. The Beatles released an average of two albums a year, which in principle was not unusual for those times. For example, Elvis Presley recorded an average of 3 albums in the 60s, and The Rolling Stones released 4 albums in the first 2 years of work.

However, the speed with which the band's new albums are released is astonishing due not only to their complexity and level of elaboration, but also to the unsurpassed number of hits in each album. This speed with which so many hits came out also brought a sense of "impossibility", "wonder" to the Beatles' music. And the unprecedented level of recording and mixing in the best English studio Abbey Road also gave the sound a "superhuman" origin.

Such intensity of music lessons required a significant limitation of the personal life of musicians due to the lack of free time and energy. Members of the Beatles from 1963 to 1965 approached his extreme state - a complete renunciation of personal life. For example, in the midst of Beatlemania, the band members spent about 3 years without significant breaks on tour or working in the studio, living in hotels and not being at home for several months. It is also interesting that the rhythm of the Beatles' life during these years was so intense and tough that modern pop stars could not even dream of.

Musical success as society's response to the band's message

The last necessary condition for success is that the band's musical message is accepted by society. This process is largely subjective and largely determined by the nature of the group's message. However, indirectly it depends on such parameters as the novelty of the message, its relevance to society, depth, style and a kind of philosophy that it carries.

The Beatles' goal of becoming the best rock 'n' roll band of all time shaped the band's core idea of ​​"give what you want". Musical messages, like other details of their activities, were only an expression of this idea. The uniqueness of the message was achieved by the fact that the idea was expressed in the language of a specific creative duo Lennon-McCartney.

Of course, the Beatles met all the formal criteria for success. In particular, novelty was ensured, on the one hand, by a breakthrough in the genre of love lyrics, and on the other hand, by the original style of the game, which synthesized such styles as rock and roll, country, etc. The Beatles were also innovators in musical performance. For example, they had their own style - beat music - where the drum rhythm is transmitted by a fast constant beat, most often eighth notes, which gave the music significant expressiveness and emotional tension when changing the accents of the game.

As a result, as practice showed, their message was quickly accepted by the English, and then the American society of the 60s.

The Beatles Phenomenon

So, the Beatles had every opportunity to be successful. But why did her success turn into real national hysteria?

First, we note that the success of a creative team is a process of public reaction in time and space to information and emotional messages created by creative team. If accepted, the nature of success is determined by the specifics of the message. If the message is calm, then the reaction in case of success will be calm, adequate, sustained. If the message conveys a cry, enthusiasm or a call to action, then the response, if successful, will be appropriate.

The desire to be the best made the Beatles' musical message to the outside world, the purpose of which was to make a splash.

Popularization of the Beatles

However, no matter how successful, explosive the musical message is, the depth and scale of success is largely determined by the efficiency and speed with which it is "presented" to the listener. Such a necessary component of success as “popularization” or advertising of the group is responsible for this.

The messages of the musical group are transmitted in the form of musical compositions, through sales of sound media (vinyl records), broadcasts on radio and television, as well as live performances of the group. In addition to primary musical recordings, the dialogue between the group and society takes place through all kinds of publications and mentions in the media.

A distinctive feature of the Beatles group was that for the first time mass popularization technologies were tried on it, when all of the above means of contact with the audience were used to the maximum.

It was first handled by Brian Epstein, who considered success in the four. When the group gained momentum, absolutely all the media took over the baton of advertising due to the specifics of their work (to keep the reader informed of what he is interested in). Then, given that the image of the Beatles was exploited by everyone who could, for commercial purposes, businessmen of all stripes were connected to advertising.

The start of Beatlemania in England is noteworthy. There is an opinion that the success of the Beatles was purely promotional. However, in reality, first the group gained fame, and then it spread through the media.

Indeed, until October 1963, the Beatles' fame was limited to Liverpool and Hamburg. However, in these cities, the group already had crowds of fans who made a stampede and did not allow the passage. However, not a single word was written about this phenomenon in any English newspaper. The media did not acknowledge this phenomenon until October 13, 1963. Although until that time all the signs of Beatlemania were already on the face - during 1963 the Beatles toured intensively, gradually becoming leaders of the programs, leaving behind their colleagues Helen Shapiro, Danny Williams and Kenny Lynch.

In November-December, the Beatles were the sole leaders concert programs, eclipsing American star Roy Orbinson. Already at the time when the Beatles ran onto the stage, they were met by a deafening roar of the crowd, young fans rushed forward, creating a stampede, the girls threw themselves under the car, which was swiftly taking the Beatles away from the rampant fans. And all this was without any media support, all the popularity was won only thanks to word of mouth, live performances and 2 albums (the second was released just on November 22, 1963). For the same reason, their fame was limited to a greater extent by Liverpool and England.

Then, for unknown reasons, the go-ahead to popularize the Beatles comes from the very top of conservative England. First, on October 13, the Beatles performed at the London Palladium Sunday Afternoon concert, which brought the group a colossal success, marking the full involvement of the national print media in popularizing the group. The elite then make a sign to everyone by giving them the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Show in front of the elite of English society, including Queen Elizabeth II. Here comes a turning point in the effectiveness of the foursome's spin - the Beatles are shown for the first time to an audience of 26 million, as a result of which the heart of the nation was won, and success completely spread throughout the country.

The Beatles vs USA

Having won unconditional fame in their homeland, the Beatles set their sights on the last English-speaking outpost - the United States of America. Conquering America was especially flattering for the Beatles, given that they began by imitating its music, and their early inspiration was the king of American rock and roll, Elvis Presley.

In the USA, the Beatles had to overcome the negative attitude of the American listener, and especially American producers, to the English pop music. This attitude has developed due to the fact that not a single English group in America has had lasting success.

Despite the rise of the Beatles in England, Capitol Records, the American division of EMI, did not agree to release records until January 1964. Epstein's first attempt to negotiate a U.S. release of the "Please Please Me" single ended in failure: "We don't think the Beatles can do anything in the U.S. market."

Not giving up, Brian Epstein signed a contract with other record companies: "Vee-Jay" from (Chicago) and "Swan Records" (Philadelphia). The former released limited edition singles "Please Please Me"/"Ask Me Why" on February 25 and "From Me To You"/"Thank You Girl" on May 27, 1963, while the latter released the single "She Loves You"/"I 'll Get You" September 16th. However, all three times the compositions did not rise in the main rating list of the USA - the weekly Billboard.

In America, the single "Love Me Do" was released in May 1964 (just at the height of Beatlemania in Britain) and stayed at the top of the charts for 18 months. A well-known role here was played by the commercial cunning of Brian Epstein, who, at his own peril and risk, bought 10 thousand copies of the record, which significantly increased its buyout index and attracted new buyers.

Another strategic move Brian made was to travel to New York and meet on November 11-12 with the host of America's most popular show, Ed Sullivan. At this meeting, he talked Sullivan into 3(!) consecutive performances of the Beatles at his show on February 9th, 16th and 23rd. Of course, Sullivan's decision was swayed by direct evidence of the extent of Beatlemania when his flight to London on October 31st was delayed by a crowd of screaming teenagers welcoming the Beatles from a tour of Sweden.

The US promotion situation changes towards the end of November 1963, when Epstein presses Capitol Records President Alan Livingston over the phone to listen to the band's English single "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and reminds them that the Beatles will be performing on The Ed Sullivan Show, which may be a great opportunity for Capitol Records. Livingston later agrees to spend $40,000 promoting the Beatles, the equivalent of $250,000 today.

After deciding to launch the Beatles campaign, Capitol Records released the single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in late 1963, which went to number one on the Cash Box chart on January 18, 1964 and number three on the Billboard weekly chart. On January 20, Capitol released the album "Meet the Beatles!", partly similar in content to the English "With The Beatles". Both the single and the album went gold on February 3 in the US. By the beginning of April in the top five best songs Only the songs of The Beatles appeared on the US national hit parade, but in general there were 14 of them in the hit parade.

The fact that the United States was conquered by the group became obvious on February 7, 1964, when the musicians landed at New York's Kennedy Airport - more than four thousand fans came to meet them.

As a result, it took Beatlemania about a year after it began in the UK to make it across the ocean. The main reasons for the Beatles' success were their explosive message and phenomenal success in their home country. It was these factors that made it possible to break through the wall of distrust towards English music representatives of American show business. The first mentions of the group were in newspaper and television stories, just dedicated to the "squealing" England with might and main. The feature films "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help" also played a role, which also contributed to the growth of the group's popularity in the United States. The beginning of a humble advertising company Capitol Records (modest, because for each show during the group's second visit to the US they received 20 - 30 thousand dollars) was only a necessary technical step, which until the beginning of 1964 was an almost artificial barrier to the realization of the band's amazing potential in America.

Analysis of the possibility of repetition

Why didn’t it work for those who came before them

Analyzing the success of the four, one may wonder why such success did not exist before the Beatles. The main reason, in my opinion, is just the lack of an artfully conveyed explosive message. That is, no one before the Beatles so fanatically sought to convey such strong emotions to the world. The only exception was the lone talent Elvis Presley, who worked on the other side of the ocean. Elvis's music was the first to show strong emotions, conducive to a vivid display of emotions, and therefore it is not surprising that he was an idol for the early Beatles.

As a second reason, it can be noted that before the Beatles, no one at the collective level tried so purposefully to convey such "uncompromising" emotions to the world. Before them, there was no ensemble in which almost all participants were equally involved, who strove for excellence in appearance, in performance, quality of recording, interviews, mixing songs, that is, to integrity in music and life. In those days, the musician, when he put the instrument into the case, became an “ordinary” person, while the Beatles remained one with the music always.

They made a choice in favor of the full realization of their creative potential to the detriment of, for example, their personal lives. Oddly enough, they succeeded quite well for 10 years and did not cause a particular crisis, which, for example, Elvis Presley experienced. George Harrison explained this by saying that Elvis was alone, while the Beatles were always together and could share their experiences with each other.

Why didn’t it work for those who came after them

I believe that a song can be "eternal" only in minor variations of the performance of the same theme. This is explained by the fact that all authors have the same basic, "immortal" themes. Therefore, after one author BEFORE another has said his word, the rest will have to talk about it in a different way, so as not to “repeat” and not become a plagiarist. And if this first author also said his word masterfully, then the next ones will have to try hard to look no worse.

The Beatles were the first to professionally reveal such topics as love, loneliness, romance, the philosophy of human life. This gave them the opportunity to act as freely as possible, and allowed them to remove the “cream of the genre”. After the Beatles idealized, simply and skillfully traversed the entire genre of love lyrics, other performers are faced with the so-called "follower complex" effect. A song that is destined to become a classic should have simplicity, a strict classical structure, be performed on basic instruments, and be distinguished by the skill of recording.

Post-Beatles performers essentially have the same themes for songs, but they no longer "can" express their feelings "straight and simple" (instrumental moves, arrangements, etc.). This restriction is imposed regardless of whether they have come to this on their own, not knowing about the pioneers, or not.

Therefore, subsequent authors have to deviate from the ideal, simple course and go sideways in order to remain at least "innovators." However, the further away from the topic and the simplicity of its presentation, the less universality of the work and, as a result, the potential for its success. Therefore, after the Beatles, a return to a simple expression of delight in musical language was difficult in terms of creating repetition / plagiarism. A typical example of such a follower group was the Rolling Stones. In particular, they started with the Beatles song "I Wanna Be Your Man", and then continued to compose in a similar style, but that had not yet been revealed by their predecessors. In favor of the version that the classical themes were already sufficiently developed is the fact that in 1964 a whole “bouquet” of groups arose that predetermined the emergence of a large variety of new trends in English rock music. Among them, first of all, we should mention "The Knicks", "Small Fanzie" and "The Who".

Thus, we can conclude that the Beatles occupied the best part of the love lyrics genre, and given that it makes sense not to sing about everything, then the subsequent authors had to either invent a new one, change the old one, or invent a Time Machine.

Generalization

So, let's sum up the reasons for the rise of the Beatles. External conditions and factors played an important role in the formation of this phenomenon. In a favorable environment, all the conditions arose for the formation of a skillful temptation for world hearing. That is, the genre niche was completely free, professionalism in which could lead to a social explosion, resonance.

The first to take this place was a talented and uncompromising duet of young co-authors, which caused an unprecedented enthusiasm of the public, which grew into a real mania.

Of course, before the Beatles there was already a similar success, but Elvis Presley in the USA had a slightly different character. However, Elvis was a solitary talent, and the Beatles became the first group of like-minded people in England who concentrated entirely on conveying the strongest emotions and emotional attraction to the world.

The Beatles phenomenon was defined by the unique intersection of a large number of rare events. To begin with, it is worth noting that in addition to talent, Lennon and McCartney were originally smart people. Music, as a way to quickly conquer the world, was determined for them by itself, firstly, due to the lack of alternatives, and secondly, the Beatles already had a common role model - the American pioneer of mass hysteria Elvis Presley.

Further, the likelihood of the formation of the Beatles is significantly reduced by the fact that two complementary young people, with the same interests and a thirst for universal love, met and became friends at such an early age (John was 16 and Paul 15). This helped them together to go through the path of becoming in the musical mainstream, as it gave the duo, and then the rest of the group, a strong motivation for development.

As a result, a collective author appeared with many times greater creative potential, compared to each of them individually. That is, the effect of multiplying the creative function from the union of two talented authors from an early age was observed. Also, this association gave both a strong motivation to develop in the mainstream of writing music due to rivalry, as well as the need to improve the technique in order to be able to perform composed songs.

Further, the two authors needed minimal musical accompaniment to perform their songs. Moreover, it was required not only good technique, but a full-fledged accompaniment of the musical idea of ​​a duet with an instrumental part (rapid improvisation, creation of riffs, solo). Of course, this refers to guitarist George Harrison, who met all these requirements. Indeed, firstly, he focused on the guitar, leaving songwriting behind the duet, and secondly, he was a friend of McCartney, which allowed him to quickly fit into the band.

The acquisition of Harrison added to the birth of the Beatles even more exclusivity and meant the formation of the core of the group.

Of course, the guitarist was not immediately found, which adds a little bit of realism to the story of the Beatles. But the trio could already calmly not only sing invented songs, but also listen to them with the main accompanying instrument, that is, vocals plus an independent guitar. Thus, the core of the Beatles was formed, which made it possible, from 1958, to gradually realize the existing potential of Lennon-McCartney.

Then follows a less significant event - the acquisition of the rest, more technical, musical accompaniment. Until August 1962, the rhythm section was McCartney's bass and Pete Best's drums. However, Pete Best was the last one on the team who was out of place. As a result, when Brian Epstein announced his departure, the Beatles acquired the last musician to form a worthy rhythm section - drummer Ringo Starr. The latter came to the Beatles from the second most popular Liverpool band, Rory Storme And The Hurricanes.

The rhythm section did not require special creative talents, they needed a sufficient level of playing at that time. Therefore, an important condition was the compatibility of the new member with the main team. And this also showed the exclusivity of the birth of the Beatles - Ringo fit into the group like a glove.

With the addition of a drummer, the Beatles were unstoppable. The only question was the speed and scale of their success. The attraction to the essence of the Brian Epstein band certainly hastened and increased the band's success, providing a financial and promotional function. Also, their manager added the “fifth Beatle” to the group in the form of permanent sound engineer George Martin.

Martin provided amazing for those times recording and mixing of the band's compositions in the studio (especially noticeable from the second album). At that time, the infrastructure for the distribution of musical material was already relatively developed, which in the case of the Beatles ensured the mass character and speed of distribution of new signals to listeners in the form of released records, radio and television broadcasts, as well as promotional events. Of course, live performances were an integral part of the Beatles' activities, where the delight of the listeners was actually manifested directly.

Further, when a well-trained group had a way to transmit their works to the whole society as a whole, all obstacles to the realization of the original talent of the duet disappeared, and the matter took a technical, inertial course of development.

John Lennon said after the breakup of the group that it was the belief that the Beatles were the best group in the world that made them who they were, whether it was the best rock and roll group, pop group or whatever. The realization of his unprecedentedness came to him when he began to compose with Paul McCartney. Thus, the Beatles phenomenon is the success that naturally came to a group that had sufficient creative potential, and which went through all the necessary stages to achieve its goal of becoming the best band in the world. The nature of this success was determined by the group's message to the public, as well as by the receptivity of the public itself, which was extremely unsophisticated.

Conclusion

So, the Beatles phenomenon was the success of the musical group, which grew into a real sensation and went far beyond just popular music. The success of the group knew no bounds and was noted at various levels: from the orders of the Queen to a huge number of music awards and prizes.

If we consider the starting point for the development of the Beatles, which ensured the future explosion, then it was the beginning of the joint work of Lennon and McCartney in 1957. Together they realized that they could do great things together through music. As a result, they created a creative idea, the essence of which, as a result, was attracted first by a capable guitarist, and then by a drummer of a decent level.

After the group is noticed by their future manager, the group has financial opportunities to start and develop. Finally, the last necessary like-minded person joins the group - sound director George Martin, who provided the recording process in the studio. He became the last link in the chain of transmission of the musical messages of the Beatles to the listener, and thus all the possibilities for achieving the goal were at the disposal of the group, and the Beatles successfully used them.

The Beatles' goal was to become the best musicians of all time. This desire to convey to the world their strong emotions through music formed the need to create a musical group of a decent level. In order to adequately convey their unique potential, an appropriate level of its demonstration was required, that is, the maximum possible, the best form of its presentation.

In accordance with the purpose of creating the group, the requirements that were imposed on all aspects of the group's activities become clear: from texts and repertoire to dress code and style of conversation. The group was required not only to be able to perform works, but to do it to the limit of the possible. Similar requirements were for the sound quality of the songs, and their emotional content.

The band's musical message was shaped by the personalities of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo, while the form of that message was a direct result of the desire to be the best. In particular, this means that tomorrow and 50 years from now, you need to remain the best. For the appearance, this means being above the current fashion, that is, more universal than the current phase of its development. Therefore, if you look at this group today, in general, they do not belong to any pronounced era, and their appearance is quite universal. In terms of music, the Beatles chose themes that are classic and still resonate to this day.

The Beatles are a phenomenon that turned out to be able to go beyond the musical framework into neighboring areas of art, such as cinema, social movements, the creation of an entire subculture. After the Beatles, the English-speaking world, in particular the cultural and entertainment areas, have irreversibly changed, having received a strong, all-overcoming impetus for development. The Beatles left behind a legacy that continues to give positive emotions to the listeners, as well as inspire entire generations to creative achievements. The work of the Beatles does not lose its relevance to this day in the face of constantly emerging new fans who discover this group.

Biography of the Beatles - young years.
legendary band The Beatles were born in 1959 in the UK, in the city of Liverpool. The very first line-up of the group included Paul McCartney (bass guitar, guitar, vocals), John Lennon (guitar, vocals), George Harrison (guitar, vocals), Stuart Sutcliffe (bass guitar), Pete Best (drums).
At first, the group was known only in Liverpool, then, when the musicians left for Germany in 1960, they were noticed by Tony Sheridan, who was at that time a very famous rock and roll performer. Together with the Beatles, Sheridan recorded the studio album Tony Sheridan and the Beatles. It was then that the first serious debut at the international level took place in the creative biography of the Beatles.
After a joint project with Sheridan, Brian Epstein, owner of a record store, became interested in the band. From the autumn of 1961 he became their manager. When Stuart Sutcliffe left the group in December 1961, the Beatles became a quartet. Then the composition of the group underwent another change: the record company with which Epstein was negotiating, for their agreement to cooperate with the Beatles, demanded to change drummer Pete Best.
The first author's single of the Beatles, called "Love me do", was recorded at the then little-known recording studio "Parlofon" in December 1962. Brian Epstein, in an effort to arouse public interest in the group's new hit, took a rather risky step - he bought the first ten thousand copies himself. This commercial ruse was a success - interest in the instantly scattered record attracted a lot of buyers. The first independent album in the Beatles' biography was released in early 1963. By 1964, the whole world was crazy about the Beatles.
The official "birthday" of the "Beatlemania" phenomenon is considered to be the day the Beatles performed at the London Palladium on October 13, 1963. Their concert was televised and attracted about fifteen million viewers. At the same time, thousands of the group's fans, instead of watching a TV show, preferred to gather near the concert hall building, hoping to see their idols in real life.
On November 4 of that year, the Beatles performed at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Their performance became the highlight of the program of the Royal Variety Show. The Queen Mother herself expressed admiration for the song "Till There Was You" performed by the Beatles.
Soon the Beatles' second album, With The Beatles, was released, breaking all existing records for the number of pre-purchase requests. By 1965, over one million copies of the album had been sold.
In 1963-1964, the Beatles conquered America. They became the first English group, which had such a resounding success "overseas". Moreover, the Parlofon company did not dare to release the group's singles in the USA, precisely because of the short-lived popularity in the States of almost all musicians from Great Britain. Brian Epstein tried to attract the attention of the American public by releasing the singles "Please Please Me" and "From Me To You" and the album "Introducing The Beatles", but they were not successful.

Popularity came after the release in the United States at the end of 1963 of the single "I Want To Hold Your Hand". One of the famous music critics after this song called Lennon and McCartney "the greatest composers since Beethoven". In January 1964, the album "Meet the Beatles!" was released in the United States, which in February received the status of "gold".
The quartet went on tour in the United States, where they gave three concerts, and also twice became participants in the popular television program The Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles brought together forty percent of the US population in front of television screens - that's about seventy-three million people. This fact of the Beatles' biography is one of the most significant: such a number of television audiences was recorded for the first time in the history of television.
This was the height of the "Beatlemania": their next creative project, the musical film "A Hard Day's Evening" and the album of the same name, received three million pre-orders, foreign tours were a triumph. The Beatles were called "the best songwriters since Schubert ".
However, the quartet soon had to put an end to concert performances: the public was ready to tear apart their idols, the fans did not let the musicians pass, so the Beatles were practically isolated from the whole world. In 1965, world popularity showed its reverse side: protests began against the Beatles, their records, portraits, and clothes were burned. The careless statements of the members of the group led to scandals on a national scale. In addition, the stage limited their creative development - day after day they performed the same songs, under the terms of the contract they did not have the right to deviate from the program. The stage biography of the Beatles ended, and the musicians decided to devote themselves entirely to studio work. On August 5, 1966, one of The Beatles' best albums, Revolver, was released. The album was distinguished primarily by the fact that most of its songs did not involve stage performance - the studio effects used here are so complex.
In 1967, the Beatles recorded a monumental and innovative album called Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club. It was a real revolution in the world of rock music: the album was the first impetus for the new musical directions such as art rock, hard rock and psychedelia.
Biography of the Beatles - mature years.
In June 1967, the Beatles concert was broadcast around the world. They also became the first in this - about four hundred million people saw their performance, no other musical ensemble has ever achieved such a grandiose success. During the performance, a video version of the song "All You Need Is Love" was recorded. Shortly after this triumphant success, the tragic death of the "fifth Beatle" of the band's manager, Brian Epstein, occurred. The group's business went into decline.
In 1968, the band released a double album, which would become known among the band's fans as the "white album" due to the cover artwork. The album was very popular, but it was during the work on it that the first signs of a subsequent collapse appeared in the group. The atmosphere began to heat up, between the musicians from time to time there were scandals. contributed to the improvement of the group.
In 1969, the group released one of their best songs, "Hey Jude". The single reached the top of the charts around the world and sold six million copies.
In February 1969, relations in the group finally went wrong due to disagreements over a new manager. McCartney sued his own group. However, later the group released another masterpiece of their work - the album "Abbey Road", which is considered their last collaboration (the album "Let It Be", released in 1970, included old recordings of the group).
In April 1970, at the same time as the release of the solo disc, Paul McCartney officially announced that the Beatles were no more. The world's greatest rock band has broken up. In 1979, McCartney made attempts to reunite the group in the same lineup. But this was never destined to happen - a year later, John Lennon was killed.

The Beatles made a great contribution to the development of rock music and became a striking phenomenon in the world culture of the sixties of the twentieth century. In this article, we will learn not only the history of the emergence of the Beatles.

The biography of each participant after the collapse of the legendary team will also be considered.

Beginning (1956-1960)

When did the Beatles form? The biography and work of the team have been of interest for several generations of fans. The history of the emergence of the group can begin with the formation of the musical tastes of the participants.

In the spring of 1956, the leader of the future star team, John Lennon, first heard one of Elvis Presley's songs. And this song, Heartbreak Hotel, turned the whole life of a young man upside down. Lennon played the banjo and harmonica, but new music made him take up the guitar.

The biography of the Beatles in Russian usually begins with the first group, organized by Lennon. With school friends, he created the Quarryman team, named after their educational institution. The teenagers played skiffle, a form of amateur British rock and roll.

At one of the group's performances, Lennon met Paul McCartney, who surprised the guy with his knowledge of the chords of the most latest songs and high musical development. And in the spring of 1958, George Harrison, Paul's friend, joined them. The Trinity became the backbone of the group. They were invited to play at parties and weddings, but it never came to real concerts.

Inspired by rock and roll pioneers Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly, Paul and John decided to write their own songs and play the guitars. They wrote the texts together and gave them double authorship.

In 1959, a new member appeared in the group - Stuart Sutcliffe, a friend of Lennon. The line-up was almost formed: Sutcliffe (bass guitar), Harrison (lead guitar), McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano), Lennon (vocals, rhythm guitar). The only thing missing was a drummer.

Name

It is difficult to talk briefly about the Beatles group, even the history of the emergence of such a simple and short name of the group is captivating. When the team began to integrate into concert life hometown, they needed a new name, because they no longer had a relationship with the school. In addition, the group began to perform at various talent competitions.

For example, at the 1959 television competition, the team performed under the name Johnny and the Moondogs (“Johnny and the Moon Dogs”). And the name The Beatles appeared a few months later, in early 1960. Who exactly came up with it is unknown, most likely Sutcliffe and Lennon, who wanted to take a word that has several meanings.

When pronounced, the name sounds like beetles, that is, beetles. And when writing, the root of beat is visible - as beat music, a fashionable direction of rock and roll that arose in the 1960s. However, the promoters believed that this name was not catchy and too short, so the guys were called Long John on the posters. and The Silver Beetles ("Lanky John and the Silver Beetles").

Hamburg (1960-1962)

The skill of the musicians grew, but they remained just one of the many musical groups of their hometown. The biography of the Beatles, a summary of which you began to read, continues with the move of the team to Hamburg.

The fact that numerous Hamburg clubs needed English-speaking bands played into the hands of young musicians, and several teams from Liverpool proved themselves well. In the summer of 1960, the Beatles received an invitation to come to Hamburg. It was already serious work, so the quartet had to urgently look for a drummer. So Pete Best appeared in the group.

The first concert took place the next day after arrival. For several months, the musicians honed their skills in Hamburg clubs. They had to play music for a long time different styles and directions - rock and roll, blues, rhythm and blues, to sing pop and folk songs. It can be said that largely thanks to the experience gained in Hamburg, the Beatles group took place. The biography of the team was experiencing its dawn.

In just two years, the Beatles gave about 800 concerts in Hamburg and raised their skills from amateurs to professionals. The Beatles did not perform their own songs, concentrating on the compositions of famous artists.

In Hamburg, the musicians met with students of the local art college. One of the students, Astrid Kircher, began dating Sutcliffe and became actively involved in the band's life. This girl offered the guys new hairstyles - hair combed over the forehead and ears, and later characteristic jackets without lapels and collars.

Returning to Liverpool, the Beatles were no longer amateurs, they became on a par with the most popular groups. It was then that they met Ringo Starr, the drummer for a rival band.

After returning to Hamburg, the first professional recording of the band took place. The musicians accompanied rock and roll singer Tony Sheridan. The quartet also recorded several of their own songs. This time their name was The Beat Brothers, not The Beatles.

The short biography of Sutcliffe continued with the exit from the team. At the end of the tour, he refused to return to Liverpool, choosing to stay with his girlfriend in Hamburg. A year later, Sutcliffe died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

First success (1962-1963)

The group returned to England and began to play in Liverpool clubs. On July 27, 1961, the first significant concert in the hall took place, which became a major success. In November, the group got a manager - Brian Epstein.

He met with George Martin, a major label producer, who showed interest in the band. He was not entirely satisfied with the demos, but young people fascinated him live. The first contract was signed.

However, both the producer and the band's manager were unhappy with Pete Best. They believed that he did not reach the general level, in addition, the musician refused to do his signature hairstyle, maintain the general style of the band, and often clashed with other members. Despite the fact that Best was popular with fans, it was decided to replace him. The drummer was replaced by Ringo Starr.

Ironically, it was with this drummer that the band recorded an amateur record at their own expense in Hamburg. Walking around the city, the guys met Ringo (Pete Best was not with them) and went to one of the street studios to record some songs just for fun.

In September 1962 the band recorded their first single, Love Me Do, which became very popular. The manager's cunning also played a big role here - Epstein bought ten thousand records at his own expense, which increased sales and aroused interest.

In October, the first television performance took place - the broadcast of one of the concerts in Manchester. Soon the second single Please Please Me was recorded, and in February 1963 the self-titled album was recorded in 13 hours, which included cover versions of popular songs and own compositions. In November of the same year, sales of the second album With The Beatles started.

Thus began the period of frenzied popularity that the Beatles experienced. Biography, a brief history of the beginning team, is over. The history of the legendary band begins.

The birthday of the term "Beatlemania" is considered to be October 13, 1963. In London, in the Palladium Hall, a concert of the group took place, which was broadcast throughout the country. But thousands of fans chose to gather around the concert hall hoping to see the musicians. The Beatles had to make their way to the car with the help of the police.

The height of "Beatlemania" (1963-1964)

In Britain, the quartet was wildly popular, but in America the group's singles were not published, since usually English groups did not have special success. The manager managed to sign a contract with a small firm, but the records were not noticed.

How did the Beatles get on the big American stage? The band's (short) biography tells that everything changed when a music critic of a well-known newspaper listened to the single I Want To Hold Your Hand, already very popular in England, and called the musicians "the greatest composers since Beethoven". The following month, the group was at the top of the charts.

"Beatlemania" stepped over the ocean. On the band's first visit to America, the musicians were greeted at the airport by several thousand fans. The Beatles gave 3 big concerts and performed on a TV show. All of America was watching them.

In March 1964, the quartet began creating a new album, A Hard Day "s Night, and a musical film of the same name. And the single Can't Buy Me Love / You Can't Do That, which appeared this month, set a world record for the number of pre-orders.

On August 19, 1964, a full-fledged tour of North America. The group gave 31 concerts in 24 cities. It was originally planned to visit 23 cities, but the owner of the basketball club from Casas City offered the musicians $150,000 for a half-hour concert (usually the ensemble received $25,000-30,000).

The tour was hard for the musicians. They were like in a prison, completely isolated from outside world. The places where the Beatles stayed were besieged around the clock by crowds of fans in the hope of seeing their idols.

The concert venues were huge, the equipment was of poor quality. The musicians did not hear each other and even themselves, they often got lost, but the audience did not hear this and practically did not see anything, since the stage was set very far for safety reasons. I had to perform according to a clear program, there was no question of any improvisation and experiments on stage.

Yesterday and Lost Recordings (1964-1965)

After returning to London, work began on the Beatles For Sale album, which included borrowed and own songs. A week after the publication, he soared to the top of the charts.

In July 1965, the second film, Help!, was released, followed by an album of the same name in August. It was this album that included the most famous song of the collective Yesterday, which became a classic of popular music. Today, more than two thousand interpretations of this composition are known.

The author of the famous melody was Paul McCartney. He composed the music at the beginning of the year, the words appeared later. He called the composition Scrambled Egg, because, composing it, he sang Scrambled egg, how I love a scrambled egg ... ("Scrambled eggs, how I love scrambled eggs"). The song was recorded to the accompaniment of a string quartet, with only Paul participating from the group members.

On the second American tour, which started in August, an event took place that still haunts music lovers around the world. What did the Beatles do? The biography briefly describes that the musicians visited Elvis Presley himself. The stars not only talked, but also played several songs together, which were recorded on a tape recorder.

The recordings were never released, and music agents from all over the world failed to locate them. The value of these recordings cannot be estimated today.

New Directions (1965-1966)

In 1965, many groups entered the big stage, which made a worthy competition to the Beatles. The band started to create a new album Rubber Soul. This record marked new era in rock music. Elements of surrealism and mysticism, which the Beatles are known for, began to appear in the songs.

The biography (short) tells that at the same time scandals began to arise around the musicians. In July 1966, the band members refused an official reception, which caused a conflict with the first lady. Outraged by this fact, the Filipinos almost tore the musicians apart, they had to literally run away. The tour administrator was badly beaten, the quartet was pushed and almost pushed to the plane.

The second big scandal erupted when John Lennon said in one of his interviews that Christianity was dying and that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus today. Protests swept across the United States, the group's records were burned. The leader of the team, under pressure, apologized for his words.

Despite the troubles, 1966 saw the release of Revolver, one of the band's best albums. Its distinguishing feature is that the musical compositions were complex and did not involve live performance. The Beatles are now a studio band. Exhausted by the tour, the musicians gave up concert activities. In the same year, the last concerts were held. Music critics called the album brilliant and were sure that the quartet would never be able to create something as perfect.

However, in early 1967, the single Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane was recorded. The recording of this record lasted 129 days (compared with the 13-hour recording of the first album), the studio worked literally around the clock. The single was extremely complex musically and was a resounding success, being at the top of the charts for 88 weeks.

White Album (1967-1968)

In 1967, the performance of the Beatles was broadcast to the whole world. 400 million people could see it. A television version of the song All You Need Is Love was recorded. After this triumph, the team's affairs began to decline. The role in this was played by the death of the "fifth Beatle", the band's manager Brian Epstein, as a result of an overdose of sleeping pills. He was only 32. Epstein was an important member of the Beatles. The biography of the group after his death has undergone major changes.

For the first time the group received the first negative feedback regarding the new movie Magical Mystery Tour. A lot of complaints were caused by the fact that the tape was released only in color, while most people had only black and white TVs. The soundtrack was released as an EP.

In 1968, Apple was responsible for releasing albums, as the Beatles announced, whose biography continued. In January 1969, the Yellow Submarine cartoon and its soundtrack were released. In August - single Hey Jude, one of the best in the history of the group. And in 1968 the famous album The Beatles, better known as the white album. It got its name because its cover was snow-white, with a simple imprint of the title. The fans received it well, but the critics no longer shared the enthusiasm.

This record marked the beginning of the group's breakup. Ringo Starr left the band for a while, several songs were recorded without him. The drums were played by McCartney. Harrison has been busy with solo work. The situation was also tense because of John Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, who was constantly present in the studio and annoyed the band members in order.

Breakup (1969-1970)

At the beginning of 1969, the musicians had many plans. They were going to release an album, a film about their studio work, and a book. Paul McCartney wrote the song Get Back ("Come back"), which gave the name to the whole project. The Beatles, whose biography began so naturally, was approaching disintegration.

The band members wanted to show the atmosphere of fun and ease that reigned at the performances in Hamburg, but this did not work out. Many songs were recorded, but only five were selected, a lot of video material was filmed. The last recording was to be filming an impromptu concert on the rooftop of the recording studio. It was interrupted by the police, who were called by the locals. This concert was last performance groups.

On February 3, 1969, the team got a new manager, Allen Klein. McCartney was strongly opposed, as he believed that his future father-in-law, John Eastman, would be the best candidate for the role. Paul began legal proceedings against the rest of the group. Thus, the Beatles group, whose biography is described in this article, began to experience a serious conflict.

Work on an ambitious project was abandoned, but the group still released the Abbey Road album, which included George Harrison's brilliant composition Something. The musician worked on it for a long time, recorded about 40 ready-made options. The song is put on a par with Yesterday.

On January 8, 1970, the last album, Let It Be, was released, a reworking of material from the failed Get Back project by American producer Phil Spector. released May 20 documentary about the team, which had already broken up by the time of the premiere. Thus ended the biography of the Beatles. In Russian, the title of the film sounds like "Let it be so."

After the collapse. John Lennon

The era of the Beatles is over. The biography of the participants continues with solo projects. At the time of the breakup of the group, all members were already engaged independent work. In 1968, two years before the breakup, John Lennon released a joint album with his wife Yoko Ono. It was recorded in one night and at the same time contained not music, but a set of various sounds, noises, screams. On the cover, the couple appeared in the nude. Two more records of the same plan and a live recording followed in 1969. From the 70th to the 75th year, 4 music albums were released. After that, the musician stopped appearing in public, devoting himself to raising his son.

In 1980, Lennon's last album, Double Fantasy, was released and was well received by critics. A few weeks after the album's release, on December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot several times in the back by Mark David Chapman. In 1984, the musician's posthumous album Milk and Honey was released.

After the collapse. Paul McCartney

After McCartney left the Beatles, the musician's biography took on a new twist. The break with the group took a heavy toll on McCartney. At first he retired to a remote farm, where he experienced depression, but in March 1970 he returned with material for a solo album by McCartney, and soon released a second - Ram.

However, without the group, Paul felt insecure. He organized the Wings team, which included his wife Linda. The group lasted until 1980 and released 7 albums. As part of his solo career, the musician has released 19 albums, the last of which was released in 2013.

After the collapse. George Harrison

George Harrison even before the breakup of the Beatles released 2 solo albums - Wonderwall Music in 1968 and Electronic Sound in 1969. These records were experimental and did not have much success. The third album, All Things Must Pass, included songs written during the Beatles period and rejected by other band members. This is the musician's most successful solo album.

Throughout his solo career, after Harrison left the Beatles, the musician's biography was enriched by 12 albums and more than 20 singles. He was actively involved in philanthropy and made a significant contribution to the popularization of Indian music and converted to Hinduism himself. Harrison died on November 29, 2001.

After the collapse. Ringo Star

Ringo's solo album, which he began working on as part of the Beatles, was released in 1970, but was declared a failure. However, in the future, he released more successful albums, largely due to his collaboration with George Harrison. In total, the musician has released 18 studio albums, as well as several live recordings and collections. The last album was released in 2015.

An excerpt from a 1963 concert:

The Beatles formed in 1959 in Liverpool. The very first line-up of the group included Paul McCartney (bass guitar, guitar, vocals), John Lennon (guitar, vocals), George Harrison (guitar, vocals), Stuart Sutcliffe (bass guitar), Pete Best (drums). Who was in the original Beatles, how did Paul McCartney "die" and when will the remaining "bugs" sing together again? The Beatles are the greatest rock band of the century.

During its existence, The Beatles released 13 studio albums. After the breakup of the group, compilation albums were released by Apple & Parlophone studios. They became the first English band to have such a resounding success overseas. The group's business went into decline. In 1968, the band released a double album, which would become known among the band's fans as the "white album" due to the cover artwork.

In 1969, the group released one of their best songs, "Hey Jude". The single reached the top of the charts around the world and sold six million copies.

In April 1970, at the same time as the release of the solo disc, Paul McCartney officially announced that the Beatles were no more. The world's greatest rock band has broken up. By then, Stuart Sutcliffe had left the band, and Paul McCartney took over on bass. Then the group decided to stop the concert activity.

Relations in the group became strained, it was almost impossible to work together. In 1971, Paul McCartney created the group "Wings", which lasted until 1980. McCartney actively performed with concerts and composed music.

2. The founder of The Beatles, John Lennon formed his first group called The Quarrymen in 1956. The team included his friends from the QuarryBank school. 3. The name The Beatles was coined when new members came to Lennon's group - Paul McCartney, and after George Harrison - who had no relation to the Quarry school. 8. In 1961, during the band's second tour of Hamburg, Stuart Sutcliffe fell in love with a young artist and photographer, Astrid Kirchherr.

Sutcliffe made the decision to leave the group and stay in Hamburg with Astrid. 9. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best - in this composition The Beatles came to their first success. 10. Stuart Sutcliffe died in Hamburg from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1962. Despite the fact that Stewart was in the group for a very short time, he influenced all members of The Beatles. On October 28, 1961, in a music store, he asked for a record with the song My Bonnie by the little-known band The Beatles.

19. The film Hard Day's Night at the age of 13 starred the future star and leader of the Genesis band Phil Collins - he plays one of the fans. 29. Two members of the band are currently alive: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. George Harrison died of cancer in 2001 and was given a Hindu burial.

John's father did not remind himself of himself for many years, but decided to meet him only at the height of Beatlemania and even released his own single with the song "Here is My Life". James Paul McCartney was born to James McCartney and Mary Mohin, and two years later they had a brother, Michael. Both brothers went to the same school and then to the prestigious Liverpool Institute. Paul was an excellent student, showing a penchant for English literature, and could well have entered the Semi-University.

Again, Lennon's obsession with the matter brought McCartney to Lennon's attention, and both quickly made the decision to play and compose as an ensemble. Together with the Beatles, Sheridan recorded the studio album Tony Sheridan and the Beatles. It was then that the first serious debut at the international level took place in the creative biography of the Beatles. After a joint project with Sheridan, Brian Epstein, owner of a record store, became interested in the band.

The first independent album in the Beatles' biography was released in early 1963. By 1964, the whole world was crazy about the Beatles. By 1965, over one million copies of the album had been sold. In 1963-1964, the Beatles conquered America. Moreover, the Parlofon company did not dare to release the group's singles in the USA, precisely because of the short-lived popularity in the States of almost all musicians from Great Britain.

This fact of the Beatles' biography is one of the most significant: such a number of television audiences was recorded for the first time in the history of television. The careless statements of the members of the group led to scandals on a national scale. In addition, the stage limited their creative development - day after day they performed the same songs, under the terms of the contract they did not have the right to deviate from the program.

In February 1969, relations in the group finally went wrong due to disagreements over a new manager.

In 1967, the Beatles recorded a monumental and innovative album called Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club. During the performance, a video version of the song "All You Need Is Love" was recorded. Shortly after this triumphant success, the tragic death of the "fifth Beatle" of the band's manager, Brian Epstein, occurred. The album was very popular, but it was during the work on it that the first signs of a subsequent collapse appeared in the group.

The following year, after the release of the second album "With The Beatles", inexplicable phenomenon- Beatlemania. In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II recognized their contributions to British culture by awarding each member of the ensemble with the Order of the British Empire.

A year later, their most successful album, Revolver, was released, in which new directions gained a tangible character. On August 27, 1967, their manager Brian Epstein was found dead in his home. Having lost their manager, the musicians decided to run their own business and founded the infamous Apple company. For a while, the Beatles stopped playing music and spent three months in India studying Indian philosophy and meditation.

The group played in clubs and at parties, performing the then popular rock and roll. When Stuart Sutcliffe left the group in December 1961, the Beatles became a quartet. The 1994 film "The Beatles: 4+1 (The Fifth of the Four)" tells about this period in the history of the group. After leaving the Beatles in 1969, John Lennon formed the Plastic Ono Band with his wife Yoko Ono. His most famous songs were the anti-war "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance".