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.
No No Song
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I came to your door
No reply
They said it wasn't you
But I saw you peep through
Your window
I saw the light
I saw the light
'Cause I looked up to see
Your face
I tried to telephone
They said you were not home
That's a lie
'Cause I know where you've been
And I saw you walk in
Your door
I nearly died
I nearly died
'Cause you walked hand in hand
With another man
In my place
If I were you, I'd realize that I
Love you more than any other guy
And I'll forgive the lies that I
Heard before, when you gave me no reply
I tried to telephone
They said you were not home
That's a lie
'Cause I know where you've been
And I saw you walk in
Your door
I nearly died
I nearly died
'Cause you walked hand in hand
With another man
In my place
No reply
No reply
The Beatles' song No Reply, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, is a melancholic ballad that describes a man who feels helpless and betrayed after his partner stands him up and cheats on him. The song starts with an introspective tone, suggesting that this isn't the first time that the singer has experienced this kind of feeling. It seems that the man had come to his partner's house looking for an explanation for her absence but instead found out that she had been there all along, having an affair with another man. The man feels outraged for being lied to, but as the song progresses, he realizes that he still loves his partner and will forgive her.
The chorus of the song is a plea for his partner to understand how much he loves her and how much he has been hurt by her actions. The song's emotional depth is elevated by the use of repetition and the use of long, drawn-out notes on the lines "No Reply," creating a sense of longing and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
This happened once before
This situation has occurred in the past
When I came to your door
When I came to see you
No reply
You did not answer the door
They said it wasn't you
Others claimed you were not there
But I saw you peep through
I saw you looking through the window
Your window
The opening on the wall of your house
I saw the light
I saw that the lights were on
I saw the light
I saw that the lights were on
I know that you saw me
I know that you noticed me
'Cause I looked up to see
Because I looked up at your window
Your face
Your facial expression
I tried to telephone
I tried to call you
They said you were not home
Others told me you were not available
That's a lie
That information is incorrect
'Cause I know where you've been
Because I know where you were
And I saw you walk in
And I saw you enter your home
Your door
The entrance to your house
I nearly died
I was deeply hurt and upset
I nearly died
I was deeply hurt and upset
'Cause you walked hand in hand
Because you were holding hands
With another man
With a man who was not me
In my place
In the location where I should have been
If I were you, I'd realize that I
If I were you, I would understand that I
Love you more than any other guy
I love you more than anyone else does
And I'll forgive the lies that I
And I will forgive the falsehoods that I
Heard before, when you gave me no reply
That I heard previously when you did not answer me
No reply
You still did not respond
No reply
You are still not responding
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Raymond Malcuit
This Song Went To Number 3 On The Billboard Hot-100 Chart In 1975.
Bob Lowry
I remember listening to this on the car radio with my Dad back then in his 67 Pontiac Parisienne. I'd love to go back, even momentarily to spend a few minutes with my Dad again. ☮ to everyone from 🇨🇦
Linda Easley
@David Wesley There was another chart in the US at the time called Cash Box .It did go to #1 on that one
David Wesley
The song should have gone to number one.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Jaiden Vera
I apparently sung this song when I was little and I never knew the sniff part was cocaine until now... I'm 19 😭😭
WEsmokepot Cannabis
PpP
Matthew Tyrer
@Jaiden Vera Smoke a joint instead ;)
Jaiden Vera
@Hand Solo yeah I know
Hand Solo
@Jaiden Vera Good for you. Coke killz.
Jaiden Vera
@Hand Solo naaahhh