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.
St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We hope you will enjoy the show
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sit back and let the evening go
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
It's wonderful to be here
It's certainly a thrill
You're such a lovely audience
We'd like to take you home with us
We'd love to take you home
I don't really wanna stop the show
But I thought that you might like to know
That the singer's gonna sing a song
And he wants you all to sing along
So let me introduce to you
The one and only Billy Shears
And Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles's song "St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is about a fictional band named Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song starts by saying that it was twenty years ago when Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play. The chorus of the song talks about how the band hopes the audience enjoys the show and how they should sit back and let the evening go.
The lyrics then introduce the singer named Billy Shears to the audience, who wants everyone to sing along with him. The song's bridge contains some improvisation and sounds that are difficult to make sense of but add a playful and experimental quality to the song.
Overall, the song and album are meant to be an experimentation with different sounds and ideas, moving away from more straightforward rock music and into a more psychedelic and experimental realm. The fictional band, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was created as a way to distance themselves from their previous personas as The Beatles and to create a new, more creative and free-spirited image.
Line by Line Meaning
It was twenty years ago today
The band has been around for a long time and wants to share their music with the audience.
Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play,
Sergeant Pepper was instrumental in the formation and success of the band.
They've been going in and out of style,
The band's popularity has fluctuated over time.
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile,
Despite their ups and downs, the band knows they can still bring joy to people.
So may I introduce to you,
The band is formally introducing themselves to the audience.
The act you've known for all these years,
The band is referencing their long-standing reputation and familiarity to the audience.
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The band's name is Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
We're Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The band is reaffirming their name for the audience.
We hope you will enjoy the show
The band wants the audience to have a good time.
Sit back and let the evening go
The band encourages the audience to relax and enjoy the performance.
It's wonderful to be here,
The band is expressing gratitude to the audience for their attendance.
It's certainly a thrill
Playing for the audience is exciting for the band.
You're such a lovely audience,
The band is praising the audience's positive energy.
We'd like to take you home with us, we'd love to take you home
The band wants to continue the good vibes and create a lasting connection with the audience.
I don't really want to stop the show,
The band is enjoying the performance and doesn't want it to end.
But I thought you might like to know,
The band is going to inform the audience of the next part of the show.
That the singer's going to sing a song
The band is announcing that another song is about to be performed.
And he wants you all to sing along,
The singer is encouraging audience participation.
So let me introduce to you
The band is introducing the next performer.
The one and only Billy Shears
Billy Shears is being introduced as the next performer.
Oh ha ha
The band is expressing amusement or excitement.
Yeah, dress down
The band is telling someone to relax or take it easy.
I feel it, I feel it, I feel it
The band is expressing intense emotion or energy.
Oh baby now, I feel it, I feel it, I feel it
The band is continuing to express strong emotions.
Baby, free now
The band is expressing a desire to be unencumbered or unrestrained.
Gotta be free now, gotta be free now, gotta be free
Freedom is important to the band and they want to emphasize it.
Don't like that
The band is expressing dislike or discomfort with something.
I think it'll probably be another day singing it
The band is predicting when they'll perform a certain song in the future.
Yeah so just edit that then, it's nice
The band is discussing editing or changing something about their performance.
Yeah, and what you can do with the bits where you can't get it 'cause you haven't got enough breath
The band is discussing how to handle parts of their performance that are difficult due to lack of breath.
Just take over, yeah
The band is suggesting someone else step in or take over part of the performance.
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.