The Beatles- is it too late to start?

[AugustWest72]

I was born in 1959. I just missed the hippy era but that sensibility was still very much a part of culture back then. The biggest television shows in my pre-teens were The Monkees and Rowan and Martin's Laugh In. We had debates back in elementary school as to who was better the Monkees or the Beatles, lol. We Were kids. Colour television had just come in if you can believe it. The Monkees got a lot of exposure.

I don't think it is possible to overstate how influential the Beatles were in popular culture in those days. The first album I ever owned was A Hard Days Night. That album was revolutionary for me and literally imprinted on my personality. Songs like, Can't Buy Me Love and Tell Me Why were the soundtrack of my childhood. I can remember elementary school dances where I danced to Birthday with my first crush.

When Sgt. Pepper came out, when I was 8 or so, everyone was talking about it. Adults were analyzing the lyrics for meaning. It changed everything about music and everything that came before suddenly seemed old-fashioned in comparison. I listened to that album over and over. It was fantastic. Even my fuddy parents were influenced by the psychedelia of the era wearing paisley shirts and bell-bottomed slacks.

I had a fan magazine based completely on the theory that Paul was dead and replaced by a double and that then listed all the clues from the songs and album covers that showed why Paul was dead. I don't know that I ever bought it but that is how nuts for the Beatles we all got back then.

Abbey Road and Let It Be were huge influences when I started playing guitar in my early teens. The Beatles were what made me want to learn and play. They were so huge. No body even came close except perhaps the stones.

When the film Imagine came out after John died, I literally bawled my eyes out for at least a half hour.

So, I still keep a few Beatle songs in my play list just because it would seem incomplete without them.

Blackbird
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Get Back
Come Together
I'll Follow the Sun
Twist and Shout

In the regular rotation.....anyone else?

[Mandobart]

I was born in '63, number 4 of 5 kids. My older siblings "got" The Beatles a lot more than I did. I was never a big fan. There's no denying their genius and influence. There's also a little bit of right-time-right-place-right-guys to their story.

In his book Elijah Wald (with the attention grabbing title How the Beatles Destroyed Rock'n'Roll) the author describes how much of rock's roots (jazz, blues, swing) was based on rhythm and the beat. These genres were more associated with the marginalized and counter mainstream US culture at the time.

The Beatles came along and wrote hits that were based much more on melody and lyrics, similar to show tunes, ballads, folk songs that were popular and more in line with then mainstream US (and probably UK) culture. It took British bands like the Stones, Peter Green, later Zeppelin and Cream to reintroduce mainstream America to rock's roots. Again, The Beatles were a major force in opening the door for those bands.

I'm still not a huge fan, but the older I get the more Beatles tunes I learn and appreciate.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by RLetson

.. the echoes of Goffin-King, Mann-Weil, Leiber-Stoller, and Neil Sedaka--and of course of all those vocal arrangements that come out of doo-wop and quasi-operatic performers like Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, and Paul Anka.

I think the BBC recordings are a great source illustrating The Beatles' influences.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by TedBPhx

John Lennon is reported to have said without Brian Wilson’s Pet Sounds there wouldn’t be a Sgt. Pepper’s.

That rivalry produced some great music.

[fpuhan]

There's an interesting web site on weebly called "Early Beatles Songs." It provides a timeline and digs up some interesting (and surprising) tidbits about the Fab Four. The data is presented year-by-year, with some wiggle room about some songs and items, but seems quite thoroughly researched.

I was surprised to learn that songs like "Michelle" and "One after 909" were written in 1959 and 1960, respectively, although they didn't make it onto vinyl until much later. Paul wrote "When I'm Sixty-Four" in 1956, when his dad turned 64.

After all these years, I can still be surprised and impressed.

[reeve21]

It is never too late to appreciate the Beatles.

I was 12 when they broke up and just starting to buy records. All I knew about them was Let It Be and Hey Jude on the radio. Nice enough, but I went in a different direction--country rock, southern rock, jam bands and jazz--I was much more into improvisation than song structure.

In the last few years I have listened to them intensely, mostly on XM radio where they have their own 24/8 channel. Around the same time I started playing finger style, and have recently begun to tackle their catalog (instrumentals).

The beauty of the melodies and the harmonies really grabs you. This is not 3 chord rock and roll, even when it sounds that way at first blush. Check out Stephen Bennett's solo acoustic cover albums. They were masterful composers and very good musicians. The sum was greater than the parts--their solo work does not affect me the same way. Ringo is not the joke some people make him out to be--he didn't just keep the beat, he composed a percussion track for the song.

So I have gone from being a casual am radio listener to a fanatic in just a few years. In my opinion they are the best band that ever was or will be, and it isn't really even close....

....ducks

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

That rivalry produced some great music.

Heck, the John vs. Paul thing produced great music too!

[catdaddy]

I believe that even in 100 years (or more) it won't be too late to appreciate The Beatles. I feel fortunate to have grown up at the time they started to create their music and to have been able to appreciate it at the time it was most startlingly fresh and original. I think you had to be there to really understand the impact they had not only on music, but on culture.

[jp2558]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

I feel like I've discovered a time capsule and a little weird about it. But I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve and this is why I love AGF. Thank you all for the insightful responses. Please keep them coming as I have a lot of catching up to do! School me!

Favorite album and why? (my 16 yo daughter is getting a turn table for Christmas...I may need to borrow )
What is your favorite read?

And yes, I have that documentary to watch on Disney+ (and I will). I've heard "Get Back" hundreds of times but seeing that trailer literally put a smile on my face. Ringo's drumming is tight as....

Buy your daughter With The Beatles. Be sure start with side one. Now imagine it being 1963 and this is your first ever exposure to The Beatles. If those first three songs don't do it, I'm afraid there may be no hope.

[steelvibe]

Thanks all for the wonderful responses!

Originally Posted by AugustWest72

I don't think it is possible to overstate how influential the Beatles were in popular culture in those days. The first album I ever owned was A Hard Days Night. That album was revolutionary for me and literally imprinted on my personality. Songs like, Can't Buy Me Love and Tell Me Why were the soundtrack of my childhood. I can remember elementary school dances where I danced to Birthday with my first crush.

When Sgt. Pepper came out, when I was 8 or so, everyone was talking about it. Adults were analyzing the lyrics for meaning. It changed everything about music and everything that came before suddenly seemed old-fashioned in comparison. I listened to that album over and over. It was fantastic. Even my fuddy parents were influenced by the psychedelia of the era wearing paisley shirts and bell-bottomed slacks...

...When the film Imagine came out after John died, I literally bawled my eyes out for at least a half hour.

I owned every single vinyl from KISS (mid-to-late 70's) so was getting a good start on music from around 6 yo. Looking back I think I was mostly a young boy thinking they looked so dang cool! Had lunch boxes, dolls, posters...all of it. As a guitarist of nearly 30 years I find their music lacking to be honest but it is still neat to see how different music affected different decades. But Frehley definitely was one of the first to give me the guitar bug. I too had a crush on a girl in 3rd grade and I distinctly remember the song "Waiting for a Girl Like You" by Foreigner as I "serenaded" her LOL. Probably 1982 or so.

Indeed what happened to John shocked the world. I remember it all over the news but didn't quite understand his impact on the music scene. My goodness I do now!

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

There's a story floating around that John & Paul once took a bus across town to see a guy who taught them how to play a B7 chord.

That's hilarious! Music fanatics!

Originally Posted by reeve21

It is never too late to appreciate the Beatles.


In the last few years I have listened to them intensely, mostly on XM radio where they have their own 24/8 channel. Around the same time I started playing finger style, and have recently begun to tackle their catalog (instrumentals).

The beauty of the melodies and the harmonies really grabs you. This is not 3 chord rock and roll, even when it sounds that way at first blush. Check out Stephen Bennett's solo acoustic cover albums. They were masterful composers and very good musicians. The sum was greater than the parts--their solo work does not affect me the same way. Ringo is not the joke some people make him out to be--he didn't just keep the beat, he composed a percussion track for the song.

So I have gone from being a casual am radio listener to a fanatic in just a few years. In my opinion they are the best band that ever was or will be, and it isn't really even close....

....ducks

I love Stephen Bennett and have met him. I have a couple of his songs but they are originals and now I need to look into his Beatles arrangements. Kelly Valleau has an amazing arrangement of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", a song very hard to capture from the original to a solo piece. Also Laurence Juber has a couple different fingerstyle albums that I'm aware of but haven't really listened to.

Originally Posted by catdaddy

I believe that even in 100 years (or more) it won't be too late to appreciate The Beatles. I feel fortunate to have grown up at the time they started to create their music and to have been able to appreciate it at the time it was most startlingly fresh and original. I think you had to be there to really understand the impact they had not only on music, but on culture.

I was talking to a fellow guitar picker at work today and he pretty much agrees with you and he is a major music head.

Originally Posted by jp2558

Buy your daughter With The Beatles. Be sure start with side one. Now imagine it being 1963 and this is your first ever exposure to The Beatles. If those first three songs don't do it, I'm afraid there may be no hope.

i'll look into it, and if she doesn't like it I bet that I will . She is already getting into some older stuff (for her) like Journey, Prince, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac. She has a wonderful singing voice and was first chair in violin for her orchestra class. She turns me onto to some modern music as well and it really isn't all bad. One of her favorites is also one of mine (Harry Styles). He is quite good.

[ascotia]

Originally Posted by The Watchman

A lot of their impact came from the context. The rock and roll of the '50s Elvis and doo-wop era was already cliche. Their sound was fresh and their youth and raw musical skills were different from the polished "teen idol" stuff that was ruling the airwaves. The norm in those days were studio musicians (older men) playing songs written by older professional songwriters, with front-piece singers dressed like old people. When these working class boys with funny looks started doing their own songs, and playing their own instruments, it was a rebellion. In that place and time, young people wanted rebellion, and these guys were authentic, not manufactured like the pop stars of today.

They stimulated that whole generation of contemporary musical groups and songwriters, like the Stones, The Who, Kinks, etc., to create a competitive music scene that pushed creativity and innovation, where each new album wasn't just a collection of tunes, but a progressive challenge.

I was just a kid when they hit the scene. All I knew was that chicks liked them. In the mid-sixties, they were already literally a Saturday morning cartoon show, before they broke out of the teen pop scene and started making more serious music. I didn't really appreciate them (I was more of a Monkees and Raiders fan) until I was in my teens and they had already broken up. Then, in hindsight, learned how interesting and creative their music was when learning the guitar.

So they had an outsize influence, beyond pop stardom, that you cant measure by record sales numbers. IMO, I dont care how many #1 hits Michael Jackson had, or how talented Prince was, the Beatles and their influence haven't been duplicated.

This is a great post and brings further illustration to my own reasoning for regarding the Beatles as the best band of all time despite being born long after their reign (1985).

To truly appreciate The Beatles you have to understand the historic cultural impact of Beatlemania around the world when the world was a much bigger, more detached and more mysterious place. The movement extended far beyond only music. They contributed enormously toward ushering in a new era of thought and creativity in multiple facets of society in a fierce battle against decades, if not centuries of social conservatism and repressed human emotion.

That's all aside from the immeasurable influence they've had on the countless other musicians who have followed in their footsteps. When you combine all of the above together, it's difficult to make an argument that The Beatles are anything but #1, in perpetuity.

[Kbonger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umgF17QfNc0

You'll want to check out this guy. He has great stuff on The Beatles.

[jricc]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

I think the BBC recordings are a great source illustrating The Beatles' influences.

Listening to and loving the Beatles, made me go back and listen to all the greats they were influenced by and one of my faves was Arthur Alexander. His stuff was so laid back and soulful, just love him. Also started loving Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins. The list is endless...

[jricc]

Originally Posted by AugustWest72

So, I still keep a few Beatle songs in my play list just because it would seem incomplete without them.

Blackbird
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Get Back
Come Together
I'll Follow the Sun
Twist and Shout

In the regular rotation.....anyone else?

Oh yeah, on my setlist:
All My Loving
Here Comes the Sun
I've just Seen a Face
Come Together
Get Back
Blackbird

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by fpuhan

... Paul wrote "When I'm Sixty-Four" in 1956, when his dad turned 64.

After all these years, I can still be surprised and impressed.

Paul was all of fourteen years old when he wrote that song...

Talk about genius...