The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With the… Read Full Bio ↴The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With the line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as one of the most influential bands of all time. The group was integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the group revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and socio-cultural movements.

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.

I Need You
The Beatles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You don't realize how much I need you
Love you all the time
And never leave you
Please come on back to me
I'm lonely as can be
I need you

Said you had a thing or two to tell me

How was I to know
You would upset me?
I didn't realize
As I looked in your eyes
You told me
Oh yes, you told me you don't want my lovin' anymore
That's when it hurt me and feeling like this
I just can't go on anymore

Please remember how I feel about you
I could never really live without you
So, come on back and see
Just what you mean to me
I need you
But when you told me, you don't want my lovin' anymore
That's when it hurt me and feeling like this
I just can't go on anymore

Please remember how I feel about you
I could never really live without you
So, come on back and see
Just what you mean to me
I need you

I need you
I need you

Overall Meaning

The Beatles' song "I Need You" is a melancholic plea from the lead singer to his lover to return to him. He confesses that he never realized how much he needed her until she left him lonely and pained. The song opens with a despairing tone as the singer declares his deep affection and longing for his love. The lyrics highlight the depth of his love for her, he promises to love her always and never leave her, and he begs her to return to him, as he can't bear to be alone.

The chorus expresses the pain he felt after his lover informed him that she no longer wanted him. At this moment, everything changed for the singer, and he becomes agitated and desperate. He longs for her to come back to him and reminds her of how much she means to him.

Line by Line Meaning

You don't realize how much I need you
You are completely unaware of the extent to which I cannot do without you.

Love you all the time
My love for you never fades or diminishes, it is constant and unchanging.

And never leave you
I cannot bear the thought of being separated from you, ever.

Please come on back to me
I am pleading with you to return to me, to come back into my life.

I'm lonely as can be
Without you, I am completely alone, there is no joy or happiness in my life.

I need you
I am depending on you, you are my lifeline and without you, I cannot survive.

Said you had a thing or two to tell me
You had something important to share with me, something that was weighing on your mind.

How was I to know
I had no way of knowing, I was unaware of what was to come.

You would upset me?
Your revelation would emotionally devastate me, and I was not prepared for it.

I didn't realize
I had no idea that what you were going to say would impact me so profoundly.

As I looked in your eyes
I tried to read your emotions by peering into your gaze, looking for any signs of what was to come.

You told me
You were truthful with me, you communicated what was on your mind.

Oh yes, you told me you don't want my lovin' anymore
You revealed that you no longer desire my love or affection, which was difficult for me to hear.

That's when it hurt me and feeling like this
I was deeply hurt, and my emotions were overwhelming me.

I just can't go on anymore
I am at a loss, I don't know how to persevere through the pain and heartache.

Please remember how I feel about you
I ask you to keep in mind how much you mean to me, and how much I love you.

I could never really live without you
You are my everything, my very reason for living, and without you, life loses its meaning.

So, come on back and see
I urge you to return to me, to come back and witness how important you are to me.

Just what you mean to me
I want to show you how much you mean to me, and how deeply you are valued.

I need you
Once again, I reassert my dependence upon you and the overwhelming importance of your presence in my life.

Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Harrison

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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