Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, eventually settling with Pete Best in 1960, who played with them for two years before being replaced with then Rory Storm & The Hurricanes drummer Ringo Starr in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein molded them into a professional act and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin and other members of the band's entourage sometimes given the informal title of "fifth Beatle".
By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market and breaking numerous sales records. They soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). From 1965 onwards, they produced increasingly innovative recordings, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all four members enjoyed success as solo artists. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active.
The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart, most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and most singles sold in the UK. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and all four main members were inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2008, the group topped Billboard's list of the all-time most successful artists on the Billboard Hot 100. The band received seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people.
Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original "... In the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of African-American rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War".
They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people that they most associated with UK culture.
Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion.
According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of socio-cultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness".
Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964.
In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 800 million physical and digital albums as of 2013. They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. As of 2017, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 178 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
There are two holidays celebrated for the Beatles: Global Beatles Day on 25 June each year. On that date in 1967, the band performed "All You Need Is Love" on television. In 2001, UNESCO created World Beatles Day on 16 January each year. This date has direct relation to the opening of The Cavern Club in 1957.
Five asteroids, 4147 Lennon, 4148 McCartney, 4149 Harrison, 4150 Starr and 8749 Beatles are named after the Beatles.
A Girl
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All about the girl who came to stay?
She's the kind of girl
You want so much, it makes you sorry
Still you don't regret a single day
Ah, girl, girl
When I think of all the times
She will turn to me and start to cry
And she promises the earth to me
And I believe her
After all this time I don't know why
Ah, girl, girl
She's the kind of girl who puts you down
When friends are there
You feel a fool
When you say she's looking good
She acts as if it's understood
She's cool, ooh, ooh, ooh
Girl, girl, girl
Was she told when she was young
That pain would lead to pleasure?
Did she understand it when they said
That a man must break his back
To earn his day of leisure?
Will she still believe it when he's dead?
Ah, girl, girl, girl
Ah, girl, girl
The Beatles’ song “Girl” is a slow, acoustic ballad with deep emotional depth. The song starts with the lyrics “is there anybody going to listen to my story all about the girl who came to stay?” The singer is trying to reach out to the listeners to talk about his emotions and feelings for this girl who he met. The girl is someone who he wants so much, but it also makes him sorry. He doesn't regret a single day, still.
The singer then goes on to talk about how he tried so hard to leave her multiple times but she would always turn to him and start to cry. She would make promises to him, and he would believe her even though he doesn't know why. The girl is the kind of person who can put you down in front of your friends and make you feel like a fool. When you compliment her, she acts cool and as if you should already know that she looks good.
The last part of the song wonders if the girl was told when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure, and if she understood that a man must break his back to earn his leisure. Will she still believe it when he's dead? The song evokes a sense of deep emotions regarding the complexity of love and the pain that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Is there anybody going to listen to my story
The singer is looking for an audience to tell his story about the girl who came to stay.
All about the girl who came to stay?
The singer wants to talk about a girl who is currently with him.
She's the kind of girl
The singer wants to focus on the specific type of girl he's talking about.
You want so much it make you sorry
The singer is expressing both a desire and a sense of regret for wanting the girl so much.
Still you don't regret a single day
Despite the regret, the singer has no actual regrets about being with the girl.
Ah, girl, girl, girl
The singer repeats the word 'girl' several times for emphasis and perhaps to express his feelings more strongly.
When I think of all the times
The singer is reflecting on past struggles he's had with the girl he's talking about.
I tried so hard to leave her
The singer has attempted to leave the girl in the past.
She will turn to me and start to cry
Whenever the singer tries to leave, the girl will cry in an attempt to make him stay.
And she promises the earth to me
The girl will make extravagant promises to the singer in order to convince him to stay.
And I believe her
Despite knowing she might not keep her promises, the singer still believes the girl.
After all this time I don't know why
The singer doesn't understand why he still believes the girl after so much time has passed.
She's the kind of girl who puts you down
The singer is highlighting a negative characteristic of the girl he's talking about.
When friends are there
The girl will put the singer down in front of his friends.
You feel a fool
As a result of the girl's behavior, the singer feels embarrassed.
When you say she's looking good
Even when the singer compliments the girl, she acts like she already knows.
She acts as if it's understood
The girl acts like it's a given that she looks good, even if the singer tells her so.
She's cool, ooh, oo, oo, oo
The singer acknowledges that even though the girl has negative qualities, she's still desirable and 'cool'.
Was she told when she was young
The singer is now questioning what the girl was taught as a child.
That pain would lead to pleasure
The singer questions whether the girl was taught to believe that going through pain is necessary in order to achieve pleasure.
Did she understand it when they said
The singer is now questioning whether the girl even understood these lessons when she was young.
That a man must break his back
The singer is referring to the idea of 'hard work' that is often associated with achieving success in life.
To earn his day of leisure?
The singer is questioning whether the girl was taught that in order to enjoy leisure time, one must first work very hard.
Will she still believe it when he's dead
The singer wonders whether the girl will continue to believe these lessons throughout her life.
Ah, girl, girl, girl
The singer repeats the word 'girl' several times for emphasis and perhaps to express his feelings more strongly.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Philip Kassabian
on Mother Nature's Son
A really great Beatles song.
Philip Kassabian
on The Night Before
A really splendid Beatles song.
Philip Kassabian
on P.S. I Love You
Now this is a really great Beatles song.
Philip Kassabian
on There's a Place
A seriously underrated Beatles song.
Philip Kassabian
on Do You Want to Know a Secret
A fantastic song by The Beatles.
Philip Kassabian
on When I'm Sixty-Four
A very tuneful Beatles song.
Philip Kassabian
on Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
An excellent Beatles song.
Philip Kassabian
on I'm Looking Through You
A beautiful Beatles song.
Philip Kassabian
on Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
Honestly The Beatles can't stop producing good songs.
Philip Kassabian
on Michelle
A fantastic Beatles song and absolutely beautiful.