The Beatles made music what it is today

The statement "the Beatles made music what it is today" is patently false in that they did not single-handedly make music what it is today. There were an unfathomable amount of other artists before and during the time of the Beatles (http://www.thepeoplehistory.com...), and every single recorded song in history was a contribution and an influence on music today. It would be fair to say that the Beatles had a larger influence on today's music than some, but it is in no way true that the Beatles made music what it is today. For that reason, I deny the the central argument made by my opponent. Rebuttals to my opponent's arguments in a step-wise manner: 1. "My argument is this: The Beatles were the most innovative band of the 1960's, they changed music and pop culture almost overnight." Response: They arguably were the most innovative, but it is an indisputable fact that they weren't the only band of the 1960's. For example, Gerry and the Pacemakers (http://en.wikipedia.org...) and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes (http://en.wikipedia.org...) were bands that originated in Liverpool, just like the Beatles (and an unrelated fun fact: Ringo actually spent some time playing with the latter, and all three bands were managed by Brian Epstein). The three bands spent many years in fierce competition and it is easy to appreciate how they were not only an enormous influence on each other, but each left its own mark on music forever. The Rolling Stones probably also deserve a place in this argument, but I don't even want to go there for fear that it will turn into a 'who was better' thing, which isn't related to the debate. 2. I won't quote it for fear of exceeding the allotted word limit, but you mentioned much of the Beatles' discography as well as "Beatlemania" a number of times. Response: While this is great, and a tribute to the successes of the Beatles, it doesn't do the argument any justice. Below are links to the discographies of a few other influential musicians before or during the time of the Beatles (of which there are thousands). http://www.discogs.com... http://www.discogs.com... http://en.wikipedia.org... 3. "Another point to my argument is that no group until The Beatles had used technology in such an innovative matter." Response: Of course other groups had! A few examples are Stockhausen/Varese's Tape Echo (50's), the DeForest's Vacuum Tube (1907), and Pfleumer's Magnetic Tape (1928). I mean, George Beauchamp invented the electric guitar in the 20's. The microphone was invented by Edison and Berliner in 1860 (debatable of course, there is a lot of guff about Edison having stolen this invention from David Hughes, as there is with anything Edison patented...). I would make the case that these are all more important technology innovations in music than the Beatles' use of backmasking. To quote you: "Until The Beatles, playing recordings/samples backward in a song was completely unheard of." The more important point I want to make here, however, is that this is simply not a tenable position. The Beatles didn't invent backmasking! (http://en.wikipedia.org...) "Backmasking was popularised by the Beatles, [...] In 1878, Edison noted that, when played backwards, 'the song is still melodious in many cases, and some of the strains are sweet and novel, but altogether different from the song reproduced in the right way'". As they did not invent it, you should not credit them for doing so- they used it, but so did other musicians and groups at the time, as well as before and after. (http://www.musicradar.com...) 4. "No band has ever achieved the amount of fame that The Beatles did before or after their career ended.", "How did "Beatlemania" change music? It turned music from just easy listening to a 24/7 phenomena that it has become today." Response: Regardless of how much fame they achieved, other groups have and are achieving fame. Beatlemania did not single-handedly change music, and it's not a tenable position to say that it did. Please refer to my first few paragraphs for more information on this. 6. "Their music has become timeless in a group that includes the names of Beethoven, Elvis Presely, and Bach." Response: You affirm my argument with the statement that many other groups have had influence on music. To sum it all up, you know a lot of Beatles facts and there ARE a lot of Beatles facts because they did a lot of impressive things. Your entire argument so far has been a statement of the large impact and success that the Beatles saw. This, however, is not conducive to them single-handedly changing music forever. There were many, many variables, and it is no valid to say that the Beatles were the only ones with any influence on today's music. With this, I thank my opponent for his arguments and look forward to his responses, hopeful that they can convince me that other artists at or before the time of the Beatles did not have any influence on today's music. Thanks!