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-and-roll Music
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Any old way you choose it
It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it
Any old time you use it
It's gotta be rock roll music
If you wanna dance with me
If you wanna dance with me
I've got no kick against modern jazz
And lose the beauty of the melody
Until they sound just like a symphony
That's why I go for that that rock and roll music
Any old way you choose it
It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it
Any old time you use it
It's gotta be rock roll music
If you wanna dance with me
If you wanna dance with me
I took my loved one over 'cross the tracks
So she can hear my man awail a sax
I must admit they have a rockin' band
Man, they were blowin' like a hurrican'
That's why I go for that that rock and roll music
Any old way you choose it
It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it
Any old time you use it
It's gotta be rock roll music
If you wanna dance with me
If you wanna dance with me
Way down South they had a jubilee
The jokey folks they had a jamboree
They're drinkin' home brew from a water cup
The folks dancin' there are all shook up
And started playin' that that rock and roll music
Any old time you use it
It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it
Any old time you use it
It's gotta be rock roll music
If you wanna dance with me
If you wanna dance with me
Don't care to hear 'em play a tango
And In The Mood they take a mambo
It's way to early for a congo
So keep a rockin' that piano
That's why I go for that that rock and roll music
Any old time you use it
It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it
Any old time you use it
It's gotta be rock roll music
If you wanna dance with me
If you wanna dance with me
The lyrics to The Beatles' "Rock & Roll Music" are a celebration of the powerful, infectious energy and rhythm of rock and roll music. The song is a tribute not just to the music itself, but to the culture and community that it creates, bringing people together to dance, sing, and enjoy the thrill of the beat. The lyrics suggest that rock and roll is a timeless, universal force that anyone can enjoy, no matter how old or young, rich or poor, or what their musical preferences might be.
The song contrasts rock and roll with other genres of music, such as modern jazz, tango, and congo, which are criticized for being either too complex or too simplistic, lacking the raw energy and passion that make rock and roll so irresistible. The lyrics also describe specific cultural contexts in which rock and roll can be found, such as the South, where a "jubilee" and "jamboree" are taking place, and across the tracks, where a saxophone player is wailing with a "rockin' band."
Overall, the lyrics to "Rock & Roll Music" celebrate the power and excitement of rock and roll as a cultural force that brings people together and inspires them to dance, sing, and have fun.
Line by Line Meaning
Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music
I'm requesting to listen to rock and roll music.
Any old way you choose it
I don't care how you play it, just as long as it's rock and roll music.
It's got a backbeat, you can't lose it
Rock and roll music has a strong, driving rhythm that makes it impossible not to dance.
Any old time you use it
You can play rock and roll music at any time, it's always appropriate and fun.
It's gotta be rock roll music
No other genre will do, I need to hear rock and roll music.
If you wanna dance with me
If you want to dance with me, then you need to play rock and roll music.
I've got no kick against modern jazz
I have no problem with modern jazz, it just doesn't excite me like rock and roll music.
Unless they try to play it too darn fast
I only dislike modern jazz when they play it too quickly.
And lose the beauty of the melody
When modern jazz is played too fast, the melody becomes distorted and the beauty of the music is lost.
Until they sound just like a symphony
When modern jazz is played too fast, it starts to sound like a classical musical piece.
I took my loved one over 'cross the tracks
I brought my partner to the other side of town to hear some rock and roll music.
So she can hear my man awail a sax
I wanted my partner to hear the saxophone player in the rock and roll band.
I must admit they have a rockin' band
The band that's playing rock and roll music is really good and enjoyable.
Man, they were blowin' like a hurrican'
The band was playing with so much energy and intensity, it felt like a storm was brewing.
Way down South they had a jubilee
There was a celebration in the South with a lot of music and dancing.
The jokey folks they had a jamboree
People were having fun at the party, dancing and enjoying the music.
They're drinkin' home brew from a water cup
People were drinking homemade alcohol from cups that were intended for water.
The folks dancin' there are all shook up
The people dancing were so excited and energetic that they were all 'shook up'.
Don't care to hear 'em play a tango
I'm not interested in listening to a tango, I want to listen to rock and roll music.
And In The Mood they take a mambo
I don't like it when people try to change classic songs like 'In The Mood' and turn them into a mambo.
It's way too early for a congo
It's not the right time for congo music, I want to listen to rock and roll music instead.
So keep a rockin' that piano
Please continue playing the piano in a rocking, energetic way.
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
Written by: CHUCK BERRY
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.