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.
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Science in the home
Late nights all alone with a test tube
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine
Calls her on the phone
"Can I take you out to the pictures, Joan?"
But as she's getting ready to go
A knock comes on the door
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head
Clang! Clang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead
Back in school again, Maxwell plays the fool again
Teacher gets annoyed
Wishing to avoid an unpleasant scene
She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away
So he waits behind
Writing fifty times "I must not be so, o, o, o"
But when she turns her back on the boy
He creeps up from behind
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head (doo doo, doo doo, do)
Clang! Clang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead
P.C. 31 said, "We caught a dirty one"
Maxwell stands alone
Painting testimonial pictures
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Rose and Valerie, screaming from the gallery
Say he must go free (Maxwell must go free)
The judge does not agree and he tells them
So, o, o, o
But as the words are leaving his lips
A noise comes from behind
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon his head (doo doo, doo doo, do)
Clang! Clang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that he was dead, wow, wow, oh
(Doo doo, doo doo, do)
Silver hammer man
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is an upbeat and seemingly playful song by The Beatles, but with dark and twisted lyrics. The lyrics tell the story of a medical student, Maxwell Edison, who uses his silver hammer to murder people, starting with his girlfriend, Joan, and then his mean teacher, and even a judge. The song touches upon themes of violence, madness, and justice.
The lyrics start with Joan, who is studying pataphysical science at home, all alone with a test tube. Maxwell calls her on the phone and invites her to the pictures, but before she can leave, he knocks on her door and kills her with his silver hammer. The song then moves to his school days, where Maxwell plays the fool and annoys his teacher, leading her to reprimand him by asking him to write "I must not be so" fifty times. When she turns her back, he murders her as well. In the end, even the judge who tries to convict him meets the same fate.
Interestingly, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was one of Paul McCartney's earliest compositions and was recorded and released only after prolonged arguments with his fellow band members. The song was actually recorded during the Let It Be sessions in 1969 but was released only in 1970 on the album Abbey Road. John Lennon was so frustrated with the song's persistent recording that he quit the band briefly.
Line by Line Meaning
Joan was quizzical, studied pataphysical
Joan was curious, studying unconventional science
Science in the home
She studies at home
Late nights all alone with a test tube
She studies and experiments late into the night all by herself
Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine
Maxwell is studying medicine in college
Calls her on the phone
He calls Joan on the phone
"Can I take you out to the pictures, Joan?"
He asks her out on a date
But as she's getting ready to go
As she prepares to leave
A knock comes on the door
Someone knocks on the door
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Maxwell hits Joan with a hammer
Came down upon her head
He hits her on the head with the hammer
Clang! Clang! Maxwell's silver hammer
He hits her again with the hammer
Made sure that she was dead
He kills her
Back in school again, Maxwell plays the fool again
Maxwell goes back to school and acts foolish
Teacher gets annoyed
His teacher is irritated with him
Wishing to avoid an unpleasant scene
The teacher wants to avoid causing a scene
She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away
She tells him to stay after class when everyone else has left
So he waits behind
He waits behind
Writing fifty times "I must not be so, o, o, o"
As punishment, he writes a statement 50 times
But when she turns her back on the boy
When the teacher's back is turned
He creeps up from behind
Maxwell sneaks up from behind the teacher
P.C. 31 said, "We caught a dirty one"
The police announce that they have caught someone who committed a crime
Maxwell stands alone
Maxwell is alone in court
Painting testimonial pictures
He paints pictures that serve as evidence
Rose and Valerie, screaming from the gallery
Two women, Rose and Valerie, scream from the audience
Say he must go free (Maxwell must go free)
They demand that Maxwell be set free
The judge does not agree and he tells them
The judge disagrees and tells them so
But as the words are leaving his lips
As he speaks
A noise comes from behind
A noise is heard from behind
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Someone hits Maxwell with a hammer
Came down upon his head
He is hit on the head with the hammer
Clang! Clang! Maxwell's silver hammer
He is hit again with the hammer
Made sure that he was dead, wow, wow, oh
He is killed with the hammer
Lyrics © 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.