by n 1957, 16-year-old John Lennon and 15-year-old Paul McCartney met up and began playing together in a band called the Quarrymen.
And history was born.
I know, I know…the influence and impact of The Beatles has been spouted ad nauseum, but they really were revolutionary in the scope of modern music.
Even people who are not fans of the group’s music cannot deny the incredible musicianship when John sings “I heard the news today, oh boy…” (from “A Day in the Life”), or Paul croons “You never give me your money, you only give me your funnnny paperrr…”
As I often do when the weather leans toward summer, I fished out my Beatles CDs recently and have been listening to them in the car and at home.
My own appreciation for the band began after reading “Helter Skelter” as a kid. In his book, Vincent Bugliosi talked about the White Album so much and in such great detail that my curiosity was aroused and I had to hear Charles Manson’s favorite album for myself. It remains my favorite, as well. Often described using words such as “chaotic,” “unnerving,” “experimental,” and even “disturbing,” the Beatles’ only double-album gave them the freedom to include stuff that would normally have been cut for a single disc.
As a result, the artistic and tempestuous vibe of the culture of 1968 is perfectly captured with the avant-garde of “Revolution 9,” the vaudeville of “Martha My Dear,” and the roots of heavy metal in “Helter Skelter” and 70s rock in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
At the risk of offending many die-hards, I have had the “Love” soundtrack in my CD player for weeks. Many were put off at the thought of “desecrating” Beatles songs by chopping them up and sampling and interweaving them together, but I find it interesting (and seriously, if you are going to get that upset over a soundtrack, you really need to take up crocheting or anger management classes or something). When “Blackbird” segues seamlessly into “Yesterday,” or George’s sitar bookends “Tomorrow Never Knows,” you realize how talented these young guys were.
Not many bands who were only together for 10 years put out enough music that was versatile and inspired enough to create a musical from the snippets of their songs.
From mid-1962 until early 1970, just eight short years, the Beatles almost single-handedly pulled the still-fledgling rock and roll out of the dangerous territory of stagnation, bringing orchestral arrangements, Eastern mysticism, and heavy guitar into the mix to create a world where the boundaries of “what sounds good” in pop music became almost limitless.
Today is officially “Beatles Day,” born from the band’s return to England from the U.S. on July 10, 1964, also the date of the premiere of the film “A Hard Day’s Night.”
So, in appreciation of today, I have posted a couple of songs even the biggest fans may have forgotten about.
