How and Why The Beatles?

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the world was in mourning. People desperately needed a sign of encouragement, and a moment of happiness. Who would have thought that it would come in the form of “4 mop top lads from Liverpool”. When the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in February, 1964, these 4 musicians provided us with just what the doctor ordered via their cheeky ways and wonderful melodies. The world would never be the same again…

The Beatles were a musical band from Liverpool, UK. The group consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar), Paul McCartney (bass guitar), George Harrison (lead guitar), and Ringo Star (drums). Each member sang, on various songs, on various occasions.

In March, 1957 John Lennon formed a “skiffle group” called “The Quarrymen”. Paul saw them perform at a local church function, and in July of the same year, he joined them. In March, 1958, after George saw the group perform, he joined as lead guitarist. The position of drummer was to prove harder to fill, but after much turmoil, the group settled on Ringo Starr.

After “earning their chops” in the seedy nightclubs of Hamburg, Germany, the group returned to Liverpool where they were playing the Cavern Club when a man named Brian Epstein saw them perform. In January, 1962, the Beatles signed him to a contract to become their manager. It was through Brian that the group was introduced to George Martin at EMI, and the rest, as they say, was history…

The Beatles first success on the UK record charts was the single “Love Me Do”. Next came “Please, Please Me”. With “From Me To You” they were well on their way to dominating the record charts, much to the delight of their growing fan base. In December, 1963 Capitol Records released “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, and the Beatle domination of the US market was on its way as well. In the years to come the Beatles did either a tour or concert in Denmark, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and the US.

As time rolled on, cracks and tensions started to appear in the group. In the summer of 1969 they recorded “Abbey Road”, their final album. The recording of the song “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” was the last time all four Beatles were together in the same studio.

On September 20, 1969 John announced to the group that he was leaving the band. Paul made the breakup official by filing a suit for the dissolution of the band on December 31, 1970. The settlement finally took effect in 1975.

Navigate over to: www.BeatlesLetItBeNow.com to learn more.