“Lend me your ear
and I’ll sing you a song.”
I’ve decided to begin my journey through music with the icon that started it all for me: The Beatles.
At the ripe age of 12, I made my journey across England with my grandmother and aunt to explore a world unknown to me. As we traveled through England we eventually made our way to Liverpool, where I discovered a band I had never known before. I had heard of The Beatles and knew a few of their songs, but being in the same place where they got their start had the biggest impact on me.
The Beatles made music unlike anything ever before and took the world by surprise. The original ‘boy band’ (I like to think with more class and talent by far), George, Ringo, Paul, and John, embarked on a journey that would forever change their lives as well as impact so many others.
Their music spoke to a new audience and evolved throughout time adapting to the changes around them.
The periods of their music (think of the transition from Please Please Me to Sgt. Peppers and Yellow Submarine to Let It Be) are distinct among one another and mold to sound like their respective environment. As much as I hate to reference a sing-along, chick flick, Across the Universe is an amazing tale of their music’s journey told through the lives of a group of young people.
This is my favorite clip from the movie:
Now away from this movie and more on inspiration. The Beatles inspired so many by breaking the mold of society at that time. They went beyond anything that had been created and produced a type of music that was not expected throughout their career.
The evolution of their music is why they are one of my favorite bands of all time. I like that their songs are different and each album has its own identity. I believe that is what is wrong (well, not necessarily wrong, but uninspiring) with today’s artists. I hate it when I get all excited for so-and-so’s new album to come out only to be disappointed that it sounded just like his/her last one. A great example of a modern band that constantly intrigues me is Radiohead (more to come on them).
Back to breaking the mold and remaining relevant to society. The lyrics of some of The Beatles songs directly relate to what was going on in the world. For example, “Revolution” was written in direct response to the Vietnam War which inspired so many American youth.
To this day, I could listen to every Beatles album back to back and never get tired of the songs. They are still as popular as they were back in their beginning (at least in my opinion). With the release of Beatles Rock Band, I believe my previous statement stands. There is a Cirque du Soleil program in Vegas called “The Beatles — Love” that is inspired by their hit song, All You Need Is Love.
Obviously, The Beatles have been very successful, and essentially, they need no PR team. I’m sure they did along their way to superstardom and definitely during their career, but now they are so influential and established that my expertise would not be needed. I know a large part of this is because they are no longer an active band, but the PR help they did have back in the day definitely brought them to where they are today.
I could go on and on about The Beatles and their impact and how they have inspired so many current bands. They are a classic example of what music is to and depending on the mood I’m in and what day of the week it is, there is always a Beatles album I can put on that will directly relate to how I am feeling.
