The Beatles

## Info

The Beatles were a phenomenally popular and legendary sixties band, the Beatles changed everything in rock music. Their albums and concerts sold exceptionally well, and their fame led them into total lack of privacy and other problems. *The Ballad of John and Yoko* documents an attempt by John Lennon and his girlfriend Yoko Ono attempting to flee the paparazzi. Due to the lines "Christ! You know it ain't easy." and "They're gonna crucify me.", the song received little airplay. Drummer Ringo Starr, although considered to be the joke of the band (his nickname comes from his tendency to wear many rings and his accent is thicker than the others), is considered to be the best of his profession. George Harrison implemented his love of East Indian culture into the Beatles' work. Paul McCartney was the main frontman, and after the Beatles breakup in 1970 went on to have the best of their solo careers. After a controversial statement that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus", an enraged man assassinated John Lennon in 1980. There was also a rumor in the late sixties that McCartney had been killed in a car crash and that clues revealing his death could be found in their album covers and songs. Paul, George, and John have been inducted into the Hall of Fame as Beatles and as soloists. McCartney's real first name is James. The Beatles have been satired, covered, and alluded to countless times. The song *Taxman* was written about a 200% tax on everything for the Beatles. *Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds* was initially inspired by a picture written by Paul's son, without noticing that the title could be written as LSD. They were originally known as The Quarrymen with Billy Preston as their drummer (many people were upset when Preston left) and later as the Silver Beatles. The bizarre *Revolution 9* includes a tape loop of a man saying "number nine" which the Beatles liked. *You've Got to Hide You're Love Away* was done in the style of Bob Dylan, while *Lady Madonna* was done in the style of Fats Domino (and even covered by him later on). The Beatles began by covering older artists. Their song *All Together Now* reflects their original "skiffle" style. Much like the work of Pink Floyd, their album Abbey Road was designed to have each song segue into the next. The song *Hey Jude* features a barely audible expletive in the background, which occurred due to an accident in the recording studio. They were unable to re-record the song to omit the expletive. The film *Across the Universe* is based around Beatles songs and named after one, with various modern artists performing the songs. The Cirque de Soleil show *Love* is based around Beatles songs. The song *Across the Universe* features the line "jai guru deva om", which is Hindu for "victory to the god divine, om" (om is an onomatopoeia for the sound of the universe). The film *Yellow Submarine* features a character known as "King of the Blue Meanies", whose personality was replicated by "Him" in *The Powerpuff Girls* and The Gromble in *Real Monsters*. There was a rumor for awhile that McCartney had died and there were clues hidden in album artwork and the songs. The song *Glass Onion* plays on this rumor. They are referenced in *I Dig Rock and Roll Music* by folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. The song features backing vocals similar to those in *Yellow Submarine* and *All You Need is Love.* Jam band Soulive released an album called "Rubber Soulive", after Beatles album *Rubber Soul*. On the album the group performs instrumental covers of Beatles songs. Paul McCartney released a live album entitled *Paul is Live*, playing off of the "Paul is dead" rumors. The album cover is a parody of that of *Abbey Road.* Compilation *1*, which features every number one hit the Beatles ever had, was created to prove that a greatest hits could sell well, and it sold very well.

## Genres

Psychedelic Rock

Rock and Roll

Hard Rock

Garage Rock

Blues Rock

Heavy Metal

Pop Rock

## Songs

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

She Loves You

All You Need is Love

Helter Skelter

Taxman

Twist and Shout

Yesterday

Yellow Submarine

I Want to Hold Your Hand

I Am the Walrus

Glass Onion

Here Comes the Sun

The Ballad of John and Yoko

Ob La Di, Ob La Da

Lady Madonna

Let it Be

Blackbird

Octopus Garden

A Day in the Life (I Read the News Today, Oh Boy)

Help!

P.S. I Love You

Do You Want to Know a Secret

Happiness is a Warm Gun (I Need a Fix 'cause I'm Goin' Down)

I Want You

Norwegian Wood

I've Just Seen A Face

Revolution

Hey Jude

Love Me Do

Eleanor Rigby

Strawberry Fields Forever

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Please Please Me

Get Back

Rain

Tomorrow Never Knows (It Is Not Dying)

Roll Over Beethoven

Please Mr. Postman

Money

Rock and Roll Music

Johnny B. Goode

Got to Get You into My Life

## Influences

Fats Domino

Buddy Holly and the Crickets

Bob Marley and the Wailers

The Isley Brothers

Chuck Berry

The Marvelettes

Barrett Strong

## Parody

The Monkees were created as a parody of The Beatles.

On the Nickelodeon animated cartoon series *Doug,* hard rock group The Beets were named as a parody of the Beatles, although they are more a parody of Ramones. Their drummer Chap Lipman is described as "world's greatest drummer", a common description of Ringo Starr.

The Rutles were created as a parody of the Beatles. They have such songs as *All You Need is Cash*.

Bee Gees would star in the Beatles parody film *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band*.

They were parodied in Disney animated film *The Jungle Book*.