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.

Rock'n Roll Music
The Beatles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Rock And Roll Music
Just let me hear some of that
Rock And Roll Music,
Any old way you choose it,
It's got a back beat, you can't lose it,
Any old time you use it.
It's gotta be Rock And Roll Music,
If you want to dance with me,

If you want to dance with me.

I've got no kick againt modern jazz,
Unless they try to play it too darn fast,
And change the beauty of the melody,
Until they sounded like a symphony,
That's why I go for that
Rock and roll music

I took my loved one over cross the tracks
So she can hear my man await a sax,
I must admit the have a rockin' band,
Man they were going like a hurricane
That's why I go for that
Rock and roll music

Way down South they gave a jubilee,
The jockey folks they had a jamboree,
They're drinkin' homebrew from a water cup,
The folks dancin' they all got shook up
And started playin' that
Rock and roll music

Don't care to hear 'em play a tango,
I'm in the mood to dig a mambo,
It's way to early for a congo,
So keep a rockin' that piano

So I can hear some of that
Rock and roll music

Overall Meaning

The Beatles's song Rock and Roll Music is an anthem that glorifies the power of Rock and Roll music, and how it has been shaping the world of music for decades. The first verse of the song invites the listeners to embrace the rhythm, sound and vulgarity of Rock and Roll music, declaring "Just let me hear some of that Rock and Roll Music, Any old way you choose it, It's got a back beat, you can't lose it, Any old time you use it, It's gotta be Rock And Roll Music if you want to dance with me." The band is eager to show that this is a genre that will always find a place in the hearts of the masses, despite changes in the musical landscape.

The song's second verse highlights the band's preference for Rock and Roll over any other genres, even modern jazz. The Beatles emphasizes the simplicity of Rock and Roll's melody and rhythm, a characteristic that makes it accessible to listeners of all ages and backgrounds. The song's third verse paints a picture of a scene where Rock and Roll music brings people together, regardless of their backgrounds. It describes the jubilant and explosive energy of a gathering where people all enjoy the music together, rocking to the rhythm of the piano.

Line by Line Meaning

Just let me hear some of that
The singer is eagerly expressing their desire to hear some Rock and Roll music.

Rock And Roll Music,
The singer specifically wants to hear Rock and Roll music.

Any old way you choose it,
However the music is played, the singer will enjoy it.

It's got a back beat, you can't lose it,
Rock and Roll music has a distinctive rhythm that cannot be ignored.

Any old time you use it.
Rock and Roll music can be enjoyed at any time.

It's gotta be Rock And Roll Music,
The singer is insistent that the music they listen to must be Rock and Roll.

If you want to dance with me,
The singer is inviting someone to dance with them while they listen to Rock and Roll music.

I've got no kick againt modern jazz,
The artist doesn't have anything against modern jazz music.

Unless they try to play it too darn fast,
The artist doesn't like when jazz music is played too quickly.

And change the beauty of the melody,
The artist doesn't like when the original melody of a song is changed.

Until they sounded like a symphony,
When played too quickly, jazz music can sound like a complex classical symphony instead of the original jazz tune.

That's why I go for that
This is why the artist prefers Rock and Roll, because it has a simpler structure.

Rock and roll music
The singer is reaffirming their love for Rock and Roll music.

I took my loved one over cross the tracks
The singer takes their loved one to a different location to listen to music.

So she can hear my man await a sax,
The singer wants their loved one to hear the saxophone player in a band they admire.

I must admit the have a rockin' band,
The artist admits that the band they are listening to is really good and has a strong sound.

Man they were going like a hurricane
The band was playing really energetically, similar to a powerful storm.

Way down South they gave a jubilee,
In the southern United States, there was a celebration of music.

The jockey folks they had a jamboree,
People were dancing and enjoying themselves at the music event.

They're drinkin' homebrew from a water cup,
People are drinking homemade beer from cups typically used for water.

The folks dancin' they all got shook up
The people dancing were really excited and energetic.

And started playin' that
This led to the start of some Rock and Roll music being played.

Don't care to hear 'em play a tango,
The singer doesn't want to hear a tango being played.

I'm in the mood to dig a mambo,
The artist wants to listen to and dance to a mambo song.

It's way to early for a congo,
It's too early in the day for music that you might hear at a party.

So keep a rockin' that piano
The singer wants the piano player to keep playing Rock and Roll music.

So I can hear some of that
The singer wants to hear more Rock and Roll music.

Rock and roll music
The artist still loves Rock and Roll music.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SLY DUNBAR, ROBBIE SHAKESPEARE, LLOYD WILLIS, EVERTON BONNER, JOHN TAYLOR

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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