The Beatles were an English musical group from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music.[2]The Beatles are the best-selling musical act of all time in the United States of America, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, which certified them as the highest selling band of all time based on American sales of singles and albums.[3] In the United Kingdom, The Beatles released more than 40 different singles, albums, and EPs that reached number one. This commercial success was repeated in many other countries: their record company, EMI, estimated that by 1985 they had sold over one billion discs and tapes worldwide.[4] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Beatles #1 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[5] According to that same magazine, their innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s,[2] and their influence on pop culture can still be felt today.
The Beatles led the mid-1960s musical "British Invasion" into the United States. Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and homegrown skiffle, the group explored genres ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, styles, and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.
1957–1960: Formation
In March 1957, while attending Quarry Bank Grammar School in Liverpool, John Lennon formed a skiffle group called The Quarrymen.[6] Lennon and the Quarrymen met guitarist Paul McCartney at the Woolton Garden Fête held at St. Peter's Church on 6 July 1957.[7] On 6 February 1958, the young guitarist George Harrison was invited to watch the group (who played under a variety of names) at Wilson Hall, Garston, Liverpool.[8] McCartney had become acquainted with Harrison on the morning school bus ride to the Liverpool Institute, as they both lived in Speke. At McCartney's insistence, Harrison joined the Quarrymen as lead guitarist[9] after a rehearsal in March 1958, overcoming Lennon's initial reluctance because of Harrison's young age.[10] Members continually joined and left the lineup during that period, and in January 1960 Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe joined on bass.[11] Lennon and McCartney both played rhythm guitar and the group had a high turnover of drummers.
The Quarrymen went through a progression of names — "Johnny and the Moondogs", "Long John and the Beatles", "the Silver Beetles" (derived from Larry Parnes' suggestion of "Long John and the Silver Beetles") — before settling on "The Beatles". There are many theories as to the origin of the name and its unusual spelling. It is usually credited to Lennon, who said that the name was a combination word-play on the insects "beetles" (as a reference to Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets) and the word "beat". Cynthia Lennon suggests that Lennon came up with the name Beatles at a "brainstorming session over a beer-soaked table in the Renshaw Hall bar."[12] Lennon, who was well known for giving multiple versions of the same story joked in a 1961 Mersey Beat magazine article that "It came in a vision — a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, 'From this day on you are Beatles with an A'".[13] During an interview in 2001, Paul McCartney took credit for the peculiar spelling of the name, saying that "John had the idea of calling us the Beetles, I said, 'how about the Beatles; you know, like the beat of the drum?' At the time, everyone was stoned enough to find it hilarious. It's funny how history is made." [14]
In May 1960 The Beatles toured northeast Scotland as a back-up band with singer Johnny Gentle.[15] They met Gentle an hour before their first gig, and McCartney referred to the tour as a great experience for the band.[16] For the tour the often drummerless group secured the services of Tommy Moore, who was considerably older than the others.[17] Soon after the tour, however, feeling the age gap was too great, Moore left the band and went back to work in a bottling factory as a fork-lift truck driver.[18] Norman Chapman was the band's next drummer, but was called up for National Service in a few weeks. His departure posed a significant problem as the group's unofficial manager, Allan Williams, had arranged for them to perform in clubs on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany.[19]
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น