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The Beatles
Article Talk
This article is about the band. For their eponymous
album, see The Beatles (album). For other uses, see
Beatles (disambiguation).
"Beatle" and "Fab Four" redirect here. For the insect,
see Beetle. For other uses, see Fab Four
(disambiguation).
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in
Liverpool in 1960, comprising John Lennon, Paul
McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
They are regarded as the most influential band of
all time[1] and were integral to the development of
1960s counterculture and the recognition of
popular music as an art form.[2] Rooted in skiffle,
beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound
incorporated elements of classical music and
traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also
explored music styles ranging from folk and
Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As
pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic
presentation, the Beatles revolutionized many
aspects of the music industry and were often
publicized as leaders of the era's youth and
sociocultural movements.[3]
The Beatles
The Beatles in 1964; clockwise from top left: John
Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George
Harrison
Background information
Origin Liverpool, England
Genres Rock · pop · beat ·
psychedelia
Years active 1960–1970
Labels Parlophone · Capitol ·
Apple
Spinoffs Plastic Ono Band
Spinoff of The Quarrymen
Past members John Lennon
Paul McCartney
George Harrison
Ringo Starr
(see Personnel section
for others)
Website thebeatles.com
Led by primary songwriters Lennon and
McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's
previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their
reputation by 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,
including Pete Best, before inviting Starr to join
them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded
them into a professional act, and producer
George Martin guided and developed their
recordings, greatly expanding their domestic
success after they signed with EMI Records and
achieved 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". Epstein, Martin or
another member of the band's entourage was
sometimes informally referred to as a "fifth
Beatle".
By early 1964, the Beatles were international
stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of
critical and commercial success. They became a
leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence,
ushering in the British Invasion of the United
States pop market. They soon made their film
debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). A growing
desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with
the challenging nature of their concert tours, led
to the band's retirement from live performances
in 1966. During this time, they produced albums
of greater sophistication, including Rubber Soul
(1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band (1967). They enjoyed further
commercial success with The Beatles (also
known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey
Road (1969). The success of these records
heralded the album era, as albums became the
dominant form of record use over singles. These
records also increased public interest in
psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality and
furthered advancements in electronic music,
album art and music videos. 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 principal former members
enjoyed success as solo artists, and some partial
reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in
1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in 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.[4][5] They are the most successful act
in the history of the US Billboard charts,[6]
holding the record for most number-one albums
on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one
hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and
most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The
band received many accolades, including seven
Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy
Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970
documentary film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor
Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of
eligibility, 1988, and each principal member was
individually inducted between 1994 and 2015. In
2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stone's
lists of the greatest artists in history. Time
magazine named them among the 20th century's
100 most important people.
History
Musical style and development
Legacy
Awards and achievements
Personnel
Discography
Song catalogue
Selected filmography
Concert tours
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Last edited 18 hours ago by Tkbrett
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