The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are commonly regarded as one of the most influential bands of all time, and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. 
As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Heralding the album era, their success elevated the album to the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also inspired a greater public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. 
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 (fifteen), most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (twenty), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). 
The Beatles' influence on popular culture has often the focus of parody, reinterpretation and critique by The Residents, most notably in the defaced With The Beatles cover art for their 1974 debut album Meet The Residents, and the 1976 single The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles, for which The Beatles were credited as collaborators on the A-side, "Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life" (a sound collage piece derived from samples of various Beatles records). 
== History ==
Led by primary songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney, The Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, then with Lennon's friend Stuart Sutcliffe on bass guitar. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking 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 signing to EMI Records and achieving 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 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, and soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night. 
A growing desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with the untenable nature of their concert tours, led to the band's retirement from live performances in 1966. At this time, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album") and Abbey Road. 
Following the death of Epstein in 1967, The Beatles founded Apple Corps in 1968, a multi-armed multimedia corporation whose chief division is Apple Records, launched in the same year. Other divisions included Apple Electronics, Apple Films, Apple Publishing and Apple Retail, whose most notable venture was the short-lived Apple Boutique, on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street in central London.
The first two years of the company's existence also coincided with a marked worsening of The Beatles' relationships with each other, ultimately leading to the break-up of the band in April 1970. Apple quickly slid into financial chaos, which was resolved only after many years of litigation. When the Beatles' partnership was dissolved in 1975, dissolution of Apple Corps was also considered, but it was decided the company would continue to operate, while effectively retiring or mothballing all its divisions.
Following the group's break-up, all principal members enjoyed success as solo artists, with some partial reunions occurring in the years since. Lennon was murdered in 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr have remained musically active into their eighties. Apple Corps continues to oversee projects related to The Beatles' legacy. Ownership and control of the company remains with McCartney, Starr and the estates of Lennon and Harrison.
The Beatles have 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 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually 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.
== Use in Residents products ==
* 1970: The Residents cover "Let It Be" for their demo album "The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger"
* 1971: The Residents cover "Strawberry Fields Forever" for their demo album "The Warner Bros. Album"
* 1974: The Residents first album "Meet The Residents" features a defaced version of The Beatles album "Meet The Beatles" as the cover.
* 1976: The Residents second album "The Third Reich N Roll" features "Hey Jude" by The Beatles in the song "Hitler Was A Vegetarian" 
* 1977: "The Beatles Play The Residents And The Residents Play The Beatles" was released, it featured a mashup of Beatles tracks on the first side, and a cover of "Flying" by The Beatles. Their 1977 Radio Special addresses a rumour that The Residents are The Beatles. 
* 1989: The Residents cover of "Love Me Tender" by Elvis features sampling from The Beatles cover of "Roll Over Beethoven" and "It Won't Be Long"
*2007: The Residents perform a version of 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite.' live at the Remembering The Beatles live event.
* 2017: For Bobuck's album '1967', he recorded versions of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, All You Need Is Love & Eleanor Rigby.
== See also ==
* Meet The Residents
* The Third Reich 'n Roll
* The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles
* "Beyond The Valley of a Day in the Life"
* "Flying"
* The Rolling Stones
== External links and references ==
* Official website
* The Beatles at Wikipedia
Category:Other Artists
Category:Influential figures
Category:Collaborators
Category:The Beatles