The Beatles were the first British group to challenge the US dominance of rock and roll, and continued to influence popular music beyond their break-up. Of the 30 songs most frequently broadcast in the USA between 1955 and 1991, 13 were written by members of the Beatles. The Beatles’ buoyant melodies, playful personalities and mop-topped charisma were just the tonic needed by a nation left reeling by the senseless assassination of its young president, John F. Kennedy, barely two months earlier.
The Beatles were so good that they're not very interesting to talk about -- it's like listening to someone drone on about the Grand Canyon. No other band has generated as much dull commentary, even as the music remains unimpeachable.
The Beatles themselves would continue to reach number one with most of their singles and albums until they were finally dissolved in 1975. Today, they are a world-wide legend and their music will always be remembered and loved for many generations to come.
The band continued their solo careers throughout the 1980s, but their releases became less frequent, and their commercial success gradually diminished as listeners without first-hand memories of the combo created their own idols -- they were far away from the American protest movement and their ideas of pop song messages to humanity. The Beatles, in fact, are a synonym for rock & roll. Their music was re-released in 1987 via compact disc and continues to sell well, and it is played continuously on oldies radio stations.
The Beatles are more than music; they are a group of individuals who alone or together shaped the world that we live in. They were also the first British rock group to achieve worldwide prominence, launching a British Invasion that made rock truly an international phenomenon.
Paul made girls swoon but John made them scream, cry and tear their skirts climbing up fences to catch a wink or a smile. He also made each boyfriend of those girls buy a guitar and practice their stance. Paul McCartney was the 'most poised and stylish' Beatle using his hands to express whatever he was saying. George Harrison nearly always gave the impression of frowning , was wry, loose limbed and angular whilst Ringo Starr was described as a Groucho Marx type of figure with clothes that always looked too big.
John, Paul, George and Ringo all went on to have successful solo careers. Paul is still releasing records today, as is Ringo. John and Paul were deriving an income but Northern had control of their songs and that fact is the key to how The Beatles lost the rights to their own songs.
