Presentation by: Billy Brown
“The thing is, we’re all really the
same person. We’re just four parts
of the one.”- Paul McCartney
The Beatles
Throughout the 1960’s, the popularity of
the English musical sensation, The Beatles,
created an uproar among many aspects of
American culture, including their influence
on society’s consciousness and revolution
in the creation of music.
Who are The Beatles?
The Beatles are a pop rock group, formed in
1960, from Liverpool, England.
The band consisted of George Harrison, Paul
McCartney, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon.
“
The Sixties saw a revolution among youth--- not just concentrating in small
pockets or classes, but a revolution in a whole way of thinking. The youth got it
first and the next generation second. The Beatles were part of the revolution,
which is really an evolution, and is continuing. We were all on this ship--- a
ship going to discover the New World. And The Beatles were in the crow’s
nest.
”
-PAUL MCCARTNEY
The Beatles Revolution
As a result of England’s inability to contain the colossal
growth of the Beatle’s popularity, Beatlemania was
introduced to the United States. On February 9, 1964,
the Beatles made their first debut performance in the
States, making an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
This was the beginning of their music, fashion, and
attitude revolt.
THE ED
SULLIVAN
SHOW
Sullivan could be easily
distinguished between other
television hosts due to his
ability to capitalize on growing
teenage obsession. His
introduction of rock ‘n’ roll to
television not only coincided
with the counter-culture, but
legitimized the genre for adult
awareness. The Beatles were
seen by an estimated 73
million viewers.
WOW!
By April 4, 1964, Beatles records occupied the first five
spots on the American singles charts. One to five include
‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘I
Want to Hold Your Hand’, and ‘Please, Please Me’.
The Beatles receive the MBE
On October 16, 1965, the Beatles received their
MBE (Members of the Most Excellent Order of the
British Empire) awards from Queen Elizabeth at
Buckingham Palace.
* Several previous recipients of the MBE saw this as demeaning, and
returned theirs.
“Lots of people who complained about us receiving
the MBE award received theirs for heroism in the
war- for killing people. We received ours for
entertaining other people. I’d say we deserve ours
more.”
-John Lennon
John Lennon:
“The music wasn’t being
heard. It was just a sort of a
freak show: The Beatles
were the show, and the
music had nothing to do
with it.”
"All you need is love"
The Beatles needed to give the world a
message, and one that could be
understood by all nationalities. John
Lennon wrote the song “All You Need is
Love” to portray this message. Lennon
was very interested in creating a message
or slogan out of all of his music.
“This is an inspired song, because they
wrote it for a worldwide programme and
they really wanted to give the world a
message. It could hardly have been a
better message. It is a wonderful, beautiful,
spine-chilling record.” –Brian Epstein
New adoptions in the music industry…

The Beatles were the first
band to broadcast a
concert over worldwide
television.
The Beatles created their own
production label, known as
Apple.
 Tracking was used to separate
songs, as opposed to the usual
A-side and B-side record.
 First band to play in a sports
stadium (along with first to
have a crowd exceeding
50,000 people).
 Made movies and had a
television cartoon series.

What’s new???
THE BEATLES’
INFLUENCE ON OTHER
20TH CENTURY ARTISTS
The Beatles’ mass popular style and musical ideas
influenced many bands of the time, including:
Oasis- 75% of all their songs owe some debt to the Beatles
Radiohead- ‘No Surprises’ and ‘Karma Police’ model ‘Sexy Sadie’
Pink Floyd- Many songs on ‘The Wall’ sound very much like those
from ‘The White Album’
The Beach Boys- Brian Wilson was inspired to write ‘Pet Sounds’
after listening to ‘Rubber Soul’
The Rolling Stones- One of their first songs was a cover of the
Beatles’ ‘I Want To Be Your Man’
…Other artists influenced by the Beatles are R.E.M, Sufjan Stevens,
The Cure, and David Bowie
“The Beatles will go on and on”
-George Harrison
The end
Works Cited
Beatles, The. Anthology. Hong Kong: Apple Corps Ltd., 2000
Beatles, The. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Apple, 1967
Bernico, Bill. “An Amazing List of Beatle ‘Firsts’.” Practical MIDI. 1 January,
2009. 25 May, 2009 <http://cybermidi.com/news/
index.php/practical-midi/an-amazing-list-of-beatle-firsts>