How the Beatles Changed a Generation

Ali GreerResearch PaperHST 367 How One Band Changed a Generation The 1960s is a decade remembered for its counter nicety, social revolution and an emergence of a new kind of touristed farming. If you asked me what my primary thoughts were when I hear the decade 1960s, I automatically think rough the Beatles. Has a decade ever had such a defining medicamental group that represents not entirely a shift to much rebellious music such as Rock n Roll, but an regulate so large(p) that they atomic number 18 still talked about to this day?The Beatles not only transferd music but they affected culture in ways that had not been challenged by a musical group before. I asked my mom what she remembers about the Beatles. She was only 6 when they performed on the Ed Sullivan Show but she still remembers. She said that, The Beatles didnt limit a contemporaries, they created unmatched. The first way that the Beatles challenged everyday toss offular culture was that the fact that they w ere British. Before the Beatles travelled across the pond, the U. S. had been a tough break for aspiring British pop groups.The Beatles wanted to apprise the world that pop music could be intelligent and that British groups could do that just as considerably as the Statesn music groups. Some could argue that the Beatles did not start a phenomenon, they somehow improve the cultural significance of 1950s musicians before them like Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. Before settling with their jot rock sound, The Beatles started in the Skiffle genre, a type of music with jazz, blues and roots influences. By 1960, Lennon wanted to impinge on away from Skiffle to more of a Rock n Roll sound.Lennon and McCartney perfected their writing skills and relied little and less on on outside material. This was a groundbreaking ideal in the music industry and it had a lasting impact on culture. It urged other big name music acts such as the involute St wizs to start writing their own music. Lenno n and McCartney would eventually become oneness of the most famous vociferationwriting partnerships in music history. The Beatles first appe ared on American television on February 9, 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show. 40 % of the country, about 73 million viewers tuned in to see Paul, John, George and Ringo perform for the first time in America.This is still considered one of the most important moments in television history. Now one may ask, how did so many volume know about this little band from Britain? The record I Want to Hold Your Hand was leaked in advance to American radio stations. The record label could not prevent DJs from the playing the record whence the phonograph album was officially released on December 26, 1963. 250,000 copies were sold in the first three days of its release. Its unclear who actually leaked the record beforehand, but this publicity stunt was hugely successful for the Beatles.Mobs of people were wait for the Beatles when they arrived at JFK airport. When asked how did you find America, Ringo Starr jokingly said Turn left at Greenland. The media took to covering this frenzy as best as it could. Newsweek printed an article on February 24 ,1963 reviewing the Beatles performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The last divide ended with this, the odds are they will fade away, as most adults confidently predict. No one could predict the upcoming effects that the Beatles would have on American culture. The Beatles had arrived in America during a enigmatical time.President Kennedy had been assassinated just a few months prior, the threat of a war in Vietnam was eminent and Americans call for something new. And the Beatles were just what they needed. They rejuvenated pop music for Americans. They were seen as modern and sleek. Beatlemania was so strong because the times and the youth of America were simpler and more naive. This simplicity of society would play a big role in the Beatles influence on culture because it would allow them t o change their style so freely without doubt from the nation.Society would accept it as popular no matter what. When the Beatles arrived in America, parents of teenagers hated them. They hated their relationship themed lyrics, their sex assembling, etc. The Beatles influenced a generation to not do what their parents told them to and helped Rock n Roll gain its rebellious reputation. Naturally, The Beatles are best cognise for their music. Not only did they have a large number of lulu songs, but their music in addition evolved very rapidly through the groups brief career, embarking on territory not previously explored by pop music groups.Released in 1967, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was a huge breakthrough album in pop music with its use of orchestras, harpsichords, circus sounds and other effects that were largely created in the studio. No longer did pop groups just have to be guitars, a bass, drums and vocals nor were they limited to what could be performed live. The Beatles still influence music years after their breakup. Beatlesque is a term used by critics to describe music that has one or more traits or characteristics of the music made by the Beatles. There are also hundreds of Beatles recommendation bands out there paying tribute to the Fab 4. The Beatles sold a lot of records not because they were the greatest musicians but simply because their music was easy to sell to the crapperes it had no difficult content, it had no technical foul innovations, it had no creative depth. They wrote a bunch of catchy 3-minute ditties and they were photogenic. The Beatles were immensely popular during the 1960s and they helped effeminise a culture. The baby boom began in 1946 and ended in 1964 which meant that ? f the nations universe was in the teen or pre teen bracket. When the the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, hundreds of teenage girls were lined up, screaming. An important agent to Beatlemania was the fans. There was something sligh tly feminine about the Beatles. Their slightly tousled sensory hair, their tailored suits. The Beatles had the perfect mix among masculinity and femininity. The Beatles persistent feature of women and love in their songs left teenage girls swooning and a culture that was more sexually driven than ever.As Steven Stark points out in his book Meet The Beatles, they also challenged the exposition that existed during their time of what it meant to be a man. The Beatles were not only selling records, they were selling trends. Featured in the age All Time 100 Fashion Icons, the Beatles were always evolving when it came to style. You could say that its normal for musicians to change their appearance to keep up with society and the latest trends. The Beatles were the trend. Whatever they did, society copied. When the Beatles first traveled to America, they wore b pretermit collarless suits.They even popularized a haircut called the moptop The moptop was a straight cut, collar length in the back and over the ears on the sides. The public went crazy for this cut. McCartney writes in a letter, George explained in a 60s interview that it was John and I having our hair cut in Paris which prompted him to do the same. We were the first to take the plunge. The Beatles were not afraid of fetching risks. They took what they liked from popular culture and took it to a new extreme. Towards the end of Beatlemania, the Beatles embraced more of a psychedelic style, with aglitter(predicate) patterns and colors.They even let their signature hairstyles grow out and even experimented with facial hair. John Lennon even constituted his own trend, wearing tea shade glasses which ended up being called Lennon glasses. The Beatles were not indecisive when it came to change, even when it dealt with changing their own fads and this is important to their success as culture icons. The Beatles did not merely abide in the music industry. They dabbled in the movie business too. Their f ilm, Yellow Submarine was a colored trendsetter in the world of life. Producers used techniques that had never been used before.Although Yellow Submarine was produced on a underage budget, the film was met with mostly positive reviews. Talking about the film, Time Magazine stated that it, turned into a smash hit, delighting adolescents and esthetes alike. The aftermath of Yellow Submarine was that animation was being taken as a more serious form of art. Previously, animation had been described as silly or goofy. The Beatles changed this perspective. Josh Weinstein, a former writer for the animated series The Simpsons wrote an article describing how Yellow Submarine affected modern animation today.Weinstein states, Without Yellow Submarine there would never have been The Simpsons, no Futurama, no South Park, no miniature Story, no Shrek No animated anything that enables us to laugh at ourselves while being highly entertained. As you can see, The Beatles accomplishments in popula r culture are still talked about today. The religious allure of the Beatles was a vital factor in allowing the group to endure. John Lennon was onto something in 1966 when he compared the groups popularity with that of savior Christ.Multitudes flocked to them and even brought sick children to see if the Beatles could somehow heal them. Thus, those who have seen elements of religious ecstasy in Beatlemania are not wrong. Religion, it must not be forgotten, has its roots in spiritual bonding. And the Beatles had a powerful appeal to a generation in calling forth a spiritual bonding. It was so intoxicating that it created mass hysteria. In this way, the Beatlesespecially with their elevation to a kind of sainthoodhave become modern counterparts to the religious figures of the ult.John Lennon once stated that, The Beatles are more popular than Jesus and this remark caused quite the controversy in the United States. It led to fans to protest the band and to burn their albums. This was different than the attitudes of society during Beatlemania. Society was actually dispute something the Beatles did. This was a momentous event because it showed that the Beatles were immune. They made mistakes too. They didnt have a perfect image. But that lack of perfect image was the catalyst to the Beatles success. Society saw the Beatles as four men trying to change he face of music. The Beatles did not only influence religion, but political views as well. Lennon in an interview to Rolling Stone talks about the song renewal, I had been thinking about it up in the hills in India. I still had this God will save us feeling about it, that its press release to be all right (even now Im saying Hold on, John, its going to be all right, otherwise, I wont hold on) but thats why I did it, I wanted to talk, I wanted to say my darn about revolution. I wanted to tell you, or whoever listens, to communicate, to say What do you say? This is what I say. Revolution was the Beatles first ove rtly public political song. Revolution dealt with the War in Vietnam. New Left publications called the song a betrayal. Besides it blatant political undertones, Revolution went on to become a hit single. The Beatles were and still are so successful because of their infiltration of different media outlets. Music, television, movies, magazines, radio, etc. They knew that they needed not only to sell music but to sell a legacy. The Beatles influenced a whole generation during the 1960s and they are still influencing new generations to this day.This multi decade success is a clear example of their powerful grasp on American culture during the 1960s. Bibliography http//www. guardian. co. uk/film/2012/nov/19/beatles-yellow-submarine-simpsons-shrek http//www. edsullivan. com/artists/the-beatles/ http//www. beatles-tribute-band-uk. co. uk/history. htm http//www. time. com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2110513_2110627_2110708,00. html http//www. scaruffi. com/vol1/beatles. htmlsgt h ttp//beatle. wordpress. com/2008/08/23/history-the-beatles-started-a-revolution-that-changed-us-all-forever/ http//www. thebeatles. com/