The Beatles

The most successful pop group of the 20 century; they changed popular culture forever. From their first studio contract in 1962 until 1970, the Beatles lineup consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr. This famous lineup is also known as the "Fab Four" while many other musicians claimed the "Fifth Beatle" status. Those other musicians who performed with The Beatles on various gigs, tours, recordings, and on part-time basis were: singer Tony Sheridan, bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, guitarist Eric Clapton , drummers Pete Best , Andy White, Tommy Moore, Jimmy Nicol, and Neil Aspinall on harmonica and percussion, assistant and Hammond organ player Mal Evans, electric piano player Nicky Hopkins, and pianist Billy Preston, the only artist to receive joint credit on a Beatles record. The four Beatles sometimes referred to Brian Epstein as the fifth Beatle, albeit the label is now more often applied to George Martin , who produced nearly all the Beatles recordings, made arrangements and orchestrations, and played piano on several songs.

Both Ringo Starr and George Harrison were singled out for praise for their performances in the first Beatles movie, A Hard Days Night ; manager (and former drama student) Brian Epstein predicted that Starr would turn out to have considerable acting ability. He did indeed begin a second career in movies as the Beatles broke up, while bandmate Harrison first befriended the Monty Python comedy troupe, then became a movie producer after he financed the Pythons Life of Brian . (John Lennon and Paul McCartney had briefer movie careers, with Lennon appearing in How I Won the War and McCartney making Give My Regards to Broad Street .)

The Beatles stopped touring in 1966. To promote their new albums, they made "promos" - a predecessor of music videos. Individual members of The Beatles sometimes appeared on TV to give interviews. Their few live performances were for cameras, and invited audiences. Their 1969 rooftop show in London was for whoever could hear them, on the street below, and was their last-ever public performance.

Their initial 1962 recording contract with Parlophone Records in England (a division of EMI) was for a series of singles, at a minimal royalty rate. After "Please Please Me" became a hit, EMI gave them a full five-year contract for singles and albums, and better royalties. Brian Epstein negotiated a new contract for them in 1967 just before he died; with its basic terms fulfilled by late 1969, Allen Klein was able to renegotiate with EMI, and got the band the highest royalty rate ever paid to a recording artist or group up to that time - a whopping 69 per album. John Lennon had already effectively quit the Beatles, but agreed to keep mum about it until the deal was complete; Paul McCartney announced the debut of his first solo album a few months later. The official dissolution of The Beatles was final in 1975.

Their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show actually wasnt the first time the Beatles had been seen on American television. The CBS Evening News (hosted by Walter Cronkite ) ran a story about their popularity in England, and a film clip of them performing aired on "The Jack Paar Program" . Sullivan gave them their first live TV appearance in America, after personally contacting Cronkite to ask about them.

George Harrison nearly missed their first Ed Sullivan show, because hed come down with the flu. He spent much of their rehearsal time sick in bed at the hotel, and only made the show after a doctor came to their suite with enough medications to get him through the performance. He was substituted by Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall during rehearsals. Ed Sullivan jokingly threatened to put on a Beatle wig himself and appear with the band, if Harrison wasnt able to perform.

Their infamous "butcher cover" for the "Yesterday and Today" album came about from the Beatles disdain for photo sessions, and also the way Capitol Records in America tended to "butcher" their British LPs in repackaging. (Capitols producers used to skim tracks off two or three albums, add a stereo mix of their newest single, and issue the results as their "latest album", ignoring the work the Beatles and producer George Martin had put into crafting the earlier ones.) Protests from fans, parents, and radio DJs over the cover design forced Capitol to change the photo - and soon after, they changed their issuing and packaging policies.

"Saturday Night Live" had a running joke in the 1970s, where producer Lorne Michaels would appear on camera, and invite the Beatles to reunite for one more set on the show, for the handsome sum of $3200 (later upped to $3500). The joke spoofed both the grandiose offers made by Sid Bernstein and other promoters to the Beatles to perform again through those years, and the relatively small budget SNL was given to bring on top musical acts. On one show night, John and Paul (who was visiting John in New York) happened to be watching, and joked about going down to the studio, just for a laugh. George Harrison did actually appear on another night; a mock argument happened on camera when he was told he couldnt collect the whole fee, since the offer was only for the whole band.

Three of the Beatles married their wives because they became pregnant: John (to Cynthia Lennon , mother of Julian Lennon ) in 1962, Ringo (to Maureen Starkey , mother of Zak Starkey ) in 1965, and Paul (to Linda McCartney , mother of Mary McCartney ) in 1969. George Harrison was the only Beatle who had a child born out of wedlock, his son, Dhani Harrison, was born one month before he married second wife, Olivia Trinidad Arias, who became Olivia Harrison. George was previously married to Pattie Boyd from 1966 - 1977; they did not have children.

One of the reasons their 1968 "White Album" (whose formal title was simply "The Beatles") was a double album with thirty-three songs was because the band had misinterpreted their 1967 contract renewal. Since the deal with EMI was for a minimum of seventy recorded songs within nine years (either as a group or as solo artists), they sought to deliver those seventy recordings as early as possible, then look for another deal. Allen Klein , their manager, pointed out to the band that however early those songs were delivered, each member was still under exclusive contract to EMI until 1976. The fact that they had submitted the required number of songs (between the "White Album", "Abbey Road", the in-progress "Let It Be", recent singles, and solo projects) by the fall of 1969, however, gave them a bargaining chip for renegotiations.

They were ranked #1 on VH1s 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll and #25 on VH1s 100 Sexiest Artists.

The Beatles were the first rock-n-roll performers to be immortalized in Londons Madame Tussauds waxwork museum. The bands personal tailor Dougie Millings supplied the suits for the wax effigies.

At the time of writing they remain the only band to have won two Brit (British Phonographic Industry) Awards for their Outstanding Contribution to Music, in 1977 and in 1983. In addition, they are the only band which has had two members receive the Outstanding Contribution Award individually, John Lennon posthumously in 1982 and Paul McCartney in 2008.

Geoff Emerick , a principal recording engineer on The Beatles classic "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" , estimates that the entire album took 700 hours to complete over a period of 129 days. First track to be recorded was "When Im Sixty-Four" (December 6, 1966 at Abbey Road studio two).

When "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released in 1967, it was the first album to feature printed lyrics of all songs on its sleeve.

Ringo Starr (the eldest Beatle) and Paul McCartney are the only former Beatles to make it to their 64th birthdays.

The bands performance of their 1965 number one hit song "Ticket to Ride" on "Top of the Pops" was wiped by the BBC and the only footage of it that is known to still exist features in "Doctor Who" {The Executioners (#2.30)} .

The Beatles were best known from early on for their stage performances, but they came to dislike performing live, as their popularity increased. They were used to playing whatever music they chose, but had to stick to their own songs to promote record sales. What had been an hour-plus show was cut to 20-30 minutes, not allowing the band their usual interaction or showmanship. Their stage amplifiers were suited to nightclubs and theaters, not the stadiums or amphitheaters public demand required, and it was impossible for the Beatles to hear each other onstage - even without the nonstop screaming from the crowds. (In-house sound systems were rare, primitive, and also lacking in volume.) Higher-powered amplifiers were not yet available. The music suffered under these conditions, and sometimes became a pantomime, with Ringo Starr playing only every other beat, and the rest of the band trying to just start and end songs at the same time. The backstage atmosphere was usually a rowdy party scene, and lost its appeal over time. After the Beatles stopped touring in 1966, their few live performances were for cameras, and invited audiences. (Their 1969 rooftop show was for whoever could hear them, on the street below, and was their last-ever public performance.).

Even though their 1966 "Revolver" album came out while they were on tour, the Beatles performed no songs from it onstage, and mostly stuck to their 1965 set list. Not all the big shows were sold out, partly from the remaining controversy over John Lennon s "more popular than Jesus" remarks. The band played their last show on August 29, 1966 in Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California. The band had already decided not to tour again.

The Beatles resolved not to visit America to perform until they had a #1 hit single there. They had seen many popular British stars, like Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard , have little success in the American market, and did not want to follow suit. After "I Want To Hold Your Hand" topped the American charts, the band gave the nod to appearing in the States.

One of the bands first recording engineers was Norman Hurricane Smith , later Pink Floyd s first producer. Alan Parsons was the engineer at some of their last sessions in 1969.

John Lennon was asked by a news reporter in 1964 "How long do you think the Beatles will last?" Lennon answered "About five years." The Beatles began to break up in 1969.

The recording "Eight Days a Week" ) commenced with a fade-in - a first in pop music - when most contemporary recordings concluded with the commonplace fade-out.

The landmark recording "Yesterday" featured Paul McCartney on vocals and acoustic guitar accompanied by a string quartet. McCartney agreed to the strings only on condition that the players not use vibrato, a finger-jiggling technique usually applied to the strings of bowed instruments.

"I Feel Fine" , according to John Lennon , featured the first intentional use of guitar feedback on a pop song. This is heard at the very beginning of the track.

Female backing vocals (Yoko Ono and Linda Eastman) can clearly be heard on "Birthday" from The Beatles "White Album" in 1968.

When 16-year-old British sensation Helen Shapiro played the first engagement of her British nationwide tour in February 1963, The Beatles were second-billed to her act.

(16 November 2010) After years of legal disputes, The Beatles music finally becomes available for the first time on iTunes, Americas largest purveyor of online music after just 10 years in business. First day of sales saw single "Here Comes the Sun" and album "Abbey Road" racking up the most sales for the launch of the bands vast music library.

The Beatles album "The Beatles (The White Album)" contains the longest recording in the bands entire repertoire: "Revolution 9" (8:22). Their subsequent album "Abbey Road" contains the shortest: "Her Majesty" (0:23).

Release of the book, The Beatles: Unseen Archives" by Tim Hill and Marie Clayton.

Release of the book, "The Beatles: The Biography" by Bob Spitz.

Release of the book, "Cant Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America" by Jonathan Gould.

In 1973, John Lennon was sued by Chuck Berrys publisher Big Seven Music Corp. over the lyric, "Here comes ol flat-top. He come groovin up slowly," in the song, "Come Together". In Chuck Berrys song, "You Cant Catch Me", the lyric is, "Here come up flat top. He was groovin up slowly." Lennon ended up settling out of court when he agreed to record three of Berrys songs on his Rock n Roll album. Big Seven Music Corp. again sued Lennon for breach of contract, when he recorded only two of the three songs promised, with the court awarding the company US $6,795.

The Beatles and the French connection: The song "Michelle" features the French lyrics "ma belle" (my beautiful) and "sont les mots qui vont trs bien ensemble" (these are words that go together well). "Paperback Writer" features a repeated backing vocal refrain to the French nursery rhyme "Frre Jacques". The first few instrumental bars of "All You Need is Love" are lifted from the French national anthem.

In a 2015 poll conducted by the UKs ITV in a 2-hour TV special, the British public voted for their favorite Beatle songs as follows: 1. Hey Jude 2. Yesterday 3. Let It Be 4. Eleanor Rigby 5. All You Need Is Love. Paul McCartney sang on the first four and John Lennon sang number 5.

Because their debut album "Please Please Me" was rushed into production and recorded in twelve hours, the song "Twist and Shout" was recorded last. John Lennon had a bad cold, and producer George Martin feared that the throat-shredding vocal would ruin his voice and thus the whole recording session.

In his series "20th Century Greats" , British composer and presenter Howard Goodall made a case for the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership as one of the four most important composers of the 20th century, along with Cole Porter , Leonard Bernstein and Bernard Herrmann.

The harp intro on "Shes Leaving Home" was played by Sheila Bromberg , the first female to feature prominently on a Beatles recording. Bromberg was paid 9 Sterling for her services.

Coincidentally, Paul McCartney and John Lennon each wrote individual songs titled "Woman." Paul penned his 1966 song under the pseudonym Bernard Webb for British pop duo Peter and Gordon and John recorded his song for his "Double Fantasy" album. "Woman" was Lennons first single to be released after his death.

"Till There Was You" (by Meredith Willson ) was the only song from a Broadway musical ("The Music Man" ) ever recorded by the band. It appeared on their album "With The Beatles".

When the band played at The Hollywood Bowl (August 1964), they were visited backstage by actress Lauren Bacall who, coincidentally, would later have John Lennon as her neighbor at the Dakota Building in Manhattan. Bacall claims to have heard the gunshots that killed Lennon but thought it was the sound of a car backfiring in the street below. It wasnt until she saw the evening news on TV that she realized what the source of the sounds had actually been.

Songs which were credited to Lennon-McCartney were often primarily written by one or the other. Lennon would sing the lead vocal on songs he wrote and McCartney would sing the lead vocal on songs he wrote.

They are mentioned in Barenaked Ladies "Be My Yoko Ono.".

Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight.