Song Facts. The beatles

(The Beatles, IPA: [ðə ˈbiː.tlz]; separately, the members of the ensemble are called the Beatles, they are also called great four"[Eng. Fab Four] and the Liverpool Four) - British rock band from Liverpool, founded in 1960, which included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. also in different time The band included Stuart Sutcliffe, Pete Best and Jimmy Nichol. Most songs The beatles co-authored and signed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The group's discography includes 13 official studio albums, published in 1963-1970, and 211 songs.

Starting by imitating the classics of American rock and roll of the 1950s, The Beatles came to own style and sound. The Beatles have had a significant impact on rock music and are recognized by experts as one of the most successful groups XX century, both in a creative and commercial sense. Many famous rock musicians admit to being influenced by The songs Beatles. Since the release of the single "Please Please Me / Ask Me Why" in 1963, the band began their ascent to success, giving birth to a global phenomenon - Beatlemania. The four became the first British group, whose records gained popularity and first places in the US charts, and from it began worldwide recognition British bands, as well as the "Liverpool" (Merseybeat) sound of rock music. The musicians of the group and their producer and sound engineer George Martin are responsible for innovative developments in the field of sound recording, combination different styles, including symphonic and psychedelic music, as well as the filming of video clips.

Fact no. 5037

In 1966, in Texas, religious groups staged a public burning of Beatles records in response to a phrase that John Lennon threw in an interview: Lennon stated that "Christianity is in decline and the Beatles have become more popular than Jesus Christ."

On Saturday, August 13, 1966, one of the first record fires was set up in Longview, Texas, and was run by the local radio station KLUE.

The next day, August 14, lightning struck the tower of this radio station. The lightning strike damaged much of the equipment, and the director of the news department was hospitalized.

Fact # 5096

In 2009, Hope University of Liverpool opened a specialization called The Beatles, Popular Music and Society. The training program states the history of the group in the context of world history. The study consists of four 12-week semesters, and at the end of it, the student defends thesis and receives a master's degree. "Thousands of books have been written about The Beatles, but none of them are serious scientific research... Now that forty years have passed since the band split up and the passions have subsided about this, it's time to start studying The Beatles. Liverpool is the perfect place to do this, as all musicians were born and raised here, "comments Michael Broken, Senior Lecturer on Popular Music at Hope.

Source: article by Pavel Filippov, Rolling Stone magazine, April 2009

Fact no. 5514

British scientists have proved that the British loved the Beatles because they sang about ... the weather. This is what The Telegraph says, citing the findings of experts from Oxford and Southampton Universities. Scientists examined 308 Beatles compositions and found that in 48 works it is the weather that is mentioned; thus, the share of songs about the weather in their work was 16%.

British people love to talk about the weather, and the Beatles are no exception: they wrote the most songs on this topic among the more than 900 authors and performers whose work was studied in this scientific work.

The study was published in the journal Weather. Experts have analyzed the texts, musical genres, tonality and connection with certain weather phenomena. It turned out that out of 500 greatest songs of all time (according to Rolling Stone magazine) 7% of compositions are about the weather. Of 190 songs, 86 are sung about the sun, in 74 cases about rain. The Beatles' Here Comes The Sun is also mentioned there: it was inspired by the first sunny spring day after a long cold winter.

The Beatles made a great contribution to the development of rock music and became a vibrant phenomenon of world culture in the sixties of the twentieth century. In this article, we will learn more than just the history of the Beatles. The biography of each member after the breakup of the legendary team will also be considered.

Beginning (1956-1960)

When did the Beatles start? Biography has been of interest for several generations of fans. The history of the band's origins 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 life around young man... 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 his school friends, he created the Quarriman collective, named after their educational institution... The teens played skiffle, a variation of British amateur rock and roll.

At one of the performances of the group, Lennon met Paul McCartney, who surprised the guy with his knowledge of the chords of the most last songs and high musical development... And in the spring of 1958 they were joined by George Harrison, a friend of Paul. 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 the pioneers of rock and roll, Eddie Cochran and Paul and John decided to write songs and play guitars themselves. They wrote texts together and gave them double authorship.

In 1959, the group appeared new member- Stuart Sutcliffe, Lennon's buddy. was almost formed: Sutcliffe (bass guitar), Harrison (lead guitar), McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano), Lennon (vocals, rhythm guitar). The only thing missing was the drummer.

Name

It is difficult to tell briefly about the Beatles group, even the history of the emergence of such a simple and short name of the group is fascinating. When the collective began to integrate into concert life hometown, they needed a new name, because they no longer had anything to do with the school. In addition, the group began performing in various talent contests.

For example, at the 1959 television competition, the team competed under the name Johnny and the Moondogs. Moon Dogs"). A The name The Beatles appeared a few months later, in the early 1960s. Who exactly invented 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, you can see the root beat - like 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 on the posters the guys were referred to as Long John 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 many musical groups hometown. Biography of the Beatles, summary which you started reading continues with the collective's move to Hamburg.

Young musicians played into the hands of the fact that numerous Hamburg clubs needed English-speaking bands, and several teams from Liverpool showed themselves well. In the summer of 1960, the Beatles received an invitation to come to Hamburg. This 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 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, singing pop and folk songs... We can say that largely thanks to the experience gained in Hamburg, the Beatles group took place. The biography of the collective was experiencing its dawn.

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

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

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

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

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

First success (1962-1963)

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

He met with a major label producer who took an interest in the group. He was not entirely happy with the demo recordings, but live young people fascinated him. 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, to support general style collective and often clashed with other participants. Despite the fact that Best was popular with fans, it was decided to replace him. Ringo Starr took over as drummer.

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

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

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

This was the beginning of the period of frenzied popularity that the Beatles experienced. Biography, Short story novice team, is over. The story of the legendary band begins.

The birthday of the term "Beatlemania" is considered to be October 13, 1963. In London, in the Palladium, the band's concert took place, which was broadcast throughout the country. But thousands of fans chose to gather around 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 released, as usual English groups did not have much success. The manager managed to conclude a contract with a small company, but the records were not noticed.

How did the Beatles get on the big American stage? The biography (short) of the band says that everything changed when the music critic of the famous newspaper listened to the single I Want To Hold Your Hand, already very popular in England, and named the musicians “ greatest composers after Beethoven. " The following month, the group hit the top of the charts.

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

In March 1964, the quartet began to create a new album A Hard Day's Night and musical film... And the single Can't Buy Me Love / You Can’t Do That, released this month, set the world record for the most pre-submissions.

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 a basketball club from Casas City offered the musicians $ 150,000 for a half-hour concert (usually the ensemble received 25-30 thousand).

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

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

Yesterday and the 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 its publication, it took off to the top of the charts.

In July 1965, the second film, Help !, was released, and in August, an album of the same name. It was in this album that the most famous song collective Yesterday, which has become 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 music at the beginning of the year, the words appeared later. He called the composition Scrambled Egg, because, while 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 string quartet, of the group members, only Paul participated.

In 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 have never been released, and no music agents from all over the world have been able to locate them. The value of these records cannot be estimated today.

New Directions (1965-1966)

In 1965 at big stage there were many bands that competed with the Beatles. The band began to create a new album, Rubber Soul. This disc marked new era in rock music. Elements of surrealism and mysticism, for which the Beatles are known, began to appear in the songs.

Biography (short) tells that at the same time scandals began to arise around the musicians. In July 1966, the members of the group refused the official reception, which caused a conflict with the first lady. Outraged by this fact, the Filipinos almost tore the musicians to pieces, they had to literally take their feet. The tour administrator was severely beaten, the quartet was pushed and almost pushed to the plane.

Second big scandal erupted when John Lennon said in an interview that Christianity is dying and the Beatles are more popular than Jesus today. Protests swept across the United States, and the band's records were burned. The team leader, under pressure, apologized for his words.

Despite the troubles, in 1966 the album Revolver was released, one of best albums groups. His distinctive feature is that musical compositions were difficult and did not involve live performance. The Beatles are now a studio group. Exhausted by the tour, the musicians abandoned concert activities... In the same year passed recent concerts. Music critics called the album a genius and were sure that the quartet would no longer be able to create something as perfect.

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

White Album (1967-1968)

The Beatles' performance was broadcast all over the world. It could be seen by 400 million people. A TV version of the song All You Need Is Love was recorded. After this triumph, the affairs of the team began to decline. The role in this was played by the death of the "fifth Beatle", the manager of the group 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 reviews concerning the new film Magical Mystery Tour. Many complaints were caused by the fact that the tape was released only in color, while most people only had black and white televisions. The soundtrack was released as an EP.

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

This disc marked the beginning of the band's breakup. Ringo Starr left the band for a while, several songs were recorded without him. The drums were played by McCartney. Harrison was busy with solo work. The situation was also heating up because of Yoko Ono, who was constantly present in the studio and annoyed the band members.

Decay (1969-1970)

In early 1969, the musicians had many plans. They were going to release an album, a film about their studio work, and a book. Paul McCartney composed the song Get Back, which gave the title to the entire project. The Beatles, whose biography began so naturally, was approaching disintegration.

The band members wanted to show the atmosphere of fun and ease that prevailed at the performances in Hamburg, but they did not succeed. Many songs were recorded, but only five were selected, a lot of video footage was filmed. The last entry was supposed to be filming an impromptu concert on the roof of the recording studio. It was interrupted by the police who were called locals... This concert became last performance groups.

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

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

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

After the breakup. John Lennon

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

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

After the breakup. Paul McCartney

After McCartney left the Beatles, the musician's biography acquired new turn... The breakup with the band took its 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 McCartney solo album, and soon released a second - Ram.

However, without the group, Paul felt insecure. He organized the Wings group, 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 breakup. George Harrison

George Harrison, even before the collapse 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, features songs written during the Beatles and rejected by other band members. This is the most successful solo album musician.

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

After the breakup. Ringo Star

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