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.
She_s_leaving_home
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As the day begins
Silently closing her bedroom door
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
She goes downstairs to the kitchen
Clutching her handkerchief
Quietly turning the backdoor key
She(we gave her most of our lives)
Is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives)
Home (we gave her everything money could buy)
She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years (bye bye)
Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
Picks up the letter that's lying there
Standing alone at the top of the stairs
She breaks down and cries to her husband
"Daddy, our baby's gone.
"Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly?
How could she do this to me?"
She (we never thought of ourselves)
Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves)
Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by)
She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years
Friday morning, at nine o'clock
She is far away
Waiting to keep the appointment she made
Meeting a man from the Motortrade
She (what did we do that was wrong)
Is Having (we didn't know it was wrong)
Fun (fun is the one thing that money can't buy)
Something inside, that was always denied, for so many years
She's leaving home, bye, bye.
The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" is a poignant song about a teenage girl who decides to leave her home and family without any explanation. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the girl's departure, starting with her quietly sneaking out of her bedroom and leaving a note behind to explain her actions. The girl is portrayed as a sympathetic character who feels suffocated by her parents' expectations and sacrifices, and who yearns for freedom and independence.
As the song progresses, we learn that the girl's parents are devastated by her departure, particularly her mother who discovers the note and breaks down in tears. The father seems more resigned to the situation, snoring away as his wife gets dressed and prepares to face the reality of their daughter leaving home. The song ends with a hint that the girl may have left in search of something that is missing from her life, something that money cannot buy.
Overall, the song is a nuanced exploration of the theme of growing up and leaving one's family behind. The lyrics are beautifully crafted and capture the feelings of both the daughter and her parents with sensitivity and empathy.
Line by Line Meaning
Wednesday morning at five o'clock
The day begins very early, before the sun even rises
As the day begins
The start of a new day
Silently closing her bedroom door
Leaving without making any noise to avoid being caught or noticed
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
A written message left behind with the intention of conveying more information or feelings than what could be said in person
She goes downstairs to the kitchen
Going to the ground floor of the house, where the kitchen is located
Clutching her handkerchief
Holding onto a small piece of fabric used for wiping tears or sweating
Quietly turning the backdoor key
Unlocking the door in a way that doesn't make any noise
Stepping outside, she is free
Feeling liberated from a situation or lifestyle
She(we gave her most of our lives)
The parents gave their daughter a lot of time, effort, and resources over the years
Is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives)
The daughter is leaving behind the sacrifices her parents made for her
Home (we gave her everything money could buy)
The parents provided their daughter with a comfortable and financially stable home environment
She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years (bye bye)
The daughter is leaving the house where she lived alone for a long time and saying goodbye
Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
The father is sleeping soundly while the mother puts on her robe
Picks up the letter that's lying there
The mother finds the note left behind by her daughter
Standing alone at the top of the stairs
The mother is in a vulnerable and emotional state, isolated from others on the upper level of the house
She breaks down and cries to her husband
The mother becomes emotional and weeps in front of her husband
"Daddy, our baby's gone.
The mother addresses her husband, referring to their daughter as their baby
Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly?
The mother questions why her daughter would act so inconsiderately towards them
How could she do this to me?"
The mother feels personally hurt by her daughter's actions
She (we never thought of ourselves)
The parents prioritized their daughter's needs over their own
Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves)
The daughter is leaving behind the parents who hadn't really thought of themselves in a long time
Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by)
The parents had to work hard to maintain their home and make ends meet
She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years
The daughter is leaving behind a life of solitude and independence
Friday morning, at nine o'clock
A specific time and day
She is far away
The daughter is now distant from her parents
Waiting to keep the appointment she made
The daughter has arranged to meet someone at this time
Meeting a man from the Motortrade
The daughter is meeting with a man who works in the automotive industry
She (what did we do that was wrong)
The parents are questioning what they did to cause their daughter to leave
Is Having (we didn't know it was wrong)
The daughter is experiencing something that the parents didn't realize was inappropriate
Fun (fun is the one thing that money can't buy)
The daughter is finding enjoyment in something that is not related to wealth or material possessions
Something inside, that was always denied, for so many years
The daughter is finally pursuing something she has wanted to do for a long time, but could never do while living at home
She's leaving home, bye, bye.
The daughter is saying goodbye to her previous life and starting a new chapter
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN LENNON, JOHN WINSTON LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES 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.