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.
What I'd Say
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come and love your daddy all night long
All right, hey, hey, all right now
See the girl with the diamond ring
She knows how to shake that thing
All right, hey, hey, mmm, all right now
Make me feel so good, make me feel so good right now
Make me feel so good, make me feel so good right now
Make me feel so good, make me feel so good
Mmm, see the girl with the red dress on
She can do the dog all night long
All right, hmm what'd I say, tell me what'd I say
Tell me what'd I say, tell me what'd I say right now
Tell me what'd I say, tell me what'd I say right now
Tell me what'd I say, tell me what'd I say
Ahhh, ohh, ahhh, ohh, ahhh, ohh, ohh
It's all right, it's all right right now
Baby, it's all right, baby, it's all right right now
Baby, it's all right, oh yeah!
Baby shake that thing, baby shake that thing right now
Baby shake that thing, baby shake that thing right now
Baby shake that thing, well I feel all right
The Beat Brother's song "What'd I Say" is a classic example of a rock and roll love song that emphasizes the physical aspects of attraction between two people. The lyrics in the song are suggestive and steamy, pointing towards a sensual encounter between the singer and their lover. The song speaks fast-paced energy and up-tempo rhythm that perfectly captures the excitement that comes with falling in love, as well as the passion that arises when the two people involved unite physically.
The opening lines, "Hey mama, don't you treat me wrong, come and love your daddy all night long" set the tone for the entirety of the song, where the singer seems to be pleading with their lover to stay with them and satisfy their physical and emotional desires. The chorus of the song, "make me feel so good", is repeated several times, emphasizing the importance of the fulfillment of the singer's needs.
The song is also playful, as noted by the playful demands or questions in the chorus, "Tell me what'd I say right now," creating the impression of the singer's desperation, yet the singer is also aware of their power to make their partner pleased by the way they sing "Baby shake that thing, baby shake that thing right now." A singer's influence is the natural theme that runs through the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey mama, don't you treat me wrong
The singer is asking his mother-like figure not to mistreat him.
Come and love your daddy all night long
He wants the affection of the mother-like figure all throughout the night.
All right, hey, hey, all right now
The singer acknowledges that everything is fine at the moment.
See the girl with the diamond ring
The singer is observing a girl with a diamond ring.
She knows how to shake that thing
The girl in the diamond ring is skilled in moving her body in a provocative manner.
All right, hey, hey, mmm, all right now
The singer once again states that everything is okay at the moment.
Make me feel so good, make me feel so good right now
The singer is asking for someone to make him feel good immediately.
Mmm, see the girl with the red dress on
The singer is now observing a new girl, this time in a red dress.
She can do the dog all night long
The girl in the red dress is capable of doing a specific kind of dance called 'the dog' all night long.
All right, hmm what'd I say, tell me what'd I say
The singer is asking someone to confirm what he just said or did.
Tell me what'd I say, tell me what'd I say right now
He repeats his request for someone to tell him what he said or did.
It's all right, it's all right right now
The singer is reassuring himself that everything is still okay.
Baby, it's all right, baby, it's all right right now
He is now addressing someone (possibly the girl in the red dress) and assuring them that everything is still fine.
Baby, it's all right, oh yeah!
He reiterates that things are okay and expresses his satisfaction.
Baby shake that thing, baby shake that thing right now
The singer is now asking the girl in the red dress to dance and move her body in a seductive way.
Baby shake that thing, baby shake that thing right now
He repeats his request for her to dance and move her body sensually.
Baby shake that thing, well I feel all right
The singer expresses that he is feeling good because of the girl's dancing.
Lyrics © Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Sentric Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ray Charles
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mucha Na Dziko
As a band member I'm amazed at what's these guys can do at the firsts tries when given the right material
Lucie Melahn
@David Weingast I think even a few years before that. It's one of their early compositions.
David Weingast
their first try on this particular song was something like 1962
Pat Russo
Was that Yoko? Or did someone step on a Cat? 😁😂😃😄😅
Paul Bakker
The walrus was Paul, the cat was Yoko.