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.
Never Give Me Your Money
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You only give me your funny paper
And in the middle of negotiations
You break down
I never give you my number
I only give you my situation
And in the middle of investigation
Out of college, money spent
See no future, pay no rent
All the money's gone, nowhere to go
Any jobber got the sack
Monday morning, turning back
Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go
But oh, that magic feeling, nowhere to go
Oh, that magic feeling
Nowhere to go, nowhere to go
One sweet dream
Pick up the bags and get in the limousine
Soon we'll be away from here
Step on the gas and wipe that tear away
One sweet dream came true today
Came true today
Came true today (yes, it did)
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
All good children go to Heaven
The Beatles' song "You Never Give Me Your Money / At the Hop" is a complex song with many layers of meaning. The first two stanzas reflect a relationship between two people who are struggling to communicate effectively with each other. The first stanza presents a situation where one person only gives the other "funny paper" instead of real money, and the negotiations between them end in a breakdown. The second stanza reflects the other person's way of communicating, only presenting their situation instead of their phone number, and they also experience a breakdown in communication. The reference to "funny paper" is a metaphor for the lack of meaningful exchange in their communication, while the "breakdowns" signify an inability to achieve connection.
The third stanza shifts the narrative and introduces a new theme, that of being broke and struggling to find a job or a place to live. The lyrics reflect a sense of hopelessness and frustration that comes with being unemployed and with no prospects of a future. However, despite the grim situation, the lyrics convey a sense of magic and the possibility of a dream that may yet come true. The reference to the "yellow lorry slow" indicates a feeling of being stuck in slow-moving traffic, with no destination in sight.
Line by Line Meaning
You never give me your money
You are not providing me with financial support.
You only give me your funny paper
The only financial support you provide me with is worthless items like paper or notes.
And in the middle of negotiations
At the point of discussing matters with you about getting financial support,
You break down
you stop communicating with me and providing the support we discussed.
I never give you my number
I am not available to be contacted by you
I only give you my situation
I only tell you the current state of my situation.
And in the middle of investigation
When you look into my situation
I break down
I become emotionally overwhelmed and cannot continue the investigation.
Out of college, money spent
The period of higher education has come to an end, and I have no money left.
See no future, pay no rent
I cannot see a future for myself and have no money to pay my rent.
All the money's gone, nowhere to go
All the money is gone, and it seems there is nowhere to go for financial support.
Any jobber got the sack
Any possible employer will not hire me, and I'm left with no job.
Monday morning, turning back
It's Monday, and I am turning back from a job interview disappointed due to the lack of successful result.
Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go
A slow-moving yellow lorry is in my way, and there seems to be no way around it.
But oh, that magic feeling, nowhere to go
But I have this magical feeling inside me, which makes me feel that there must be a way to find the financial support I need.
Oh, that magic feeling
I am lifted up and filled with hope, despite the current situation.
Nowhere to go
Even though it seems like there is no answer in sight.
One sweet dream
A hope or desire of achieving something good
Pick up the bags and get in the limousine
Pack up your things, and let's enjoy the luxurious lifestyle we hope to achieve.
Soon we'll be away from here
We'll leave this place soon and start a better life.
Step on the gas and wipe that tear away
Move fast, wipe away any feelings of sadness, and focus on the bright future ahead.
One sweet dream came true today
One of our many dreams of achieving a good life has finally been realized today.
Came true today
Our dream came to fruition on this day.
One two three four five six seven
Rearranging the numbers of counting to signify that all the good children are going to heaven.
All good children go to Heaven
The line emphasizes the belief or hope that all good people will someday find eternal happiness after they die.
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.