Informative Speech
It’s 1963. You are standing in the middle of a sweat-stained floor in a club, shoulder-to-shoulder with five hundred other kids your age, ready to hear a band that is about to change the world. Two of the boys standing on the stage dressed the same, look back at their newest drummer, smile, and the night begins. Bodies are aimlessly jumping around you as the music plows excitement through everyone’s ears. The sweat begins to collect on the walls and soon travels down them and gathers on the stage which eventually drips into the electrical system, causing a power outage. It’s pitch black in the club and out of nowhere, two acoustic guitars begin to play a song that won’t be released for the next four years. You are listening to The Beatle’s last gig in the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
What makes a regular Saturday-night playing band turn into a worldwide sensation? There is no right answer. A band with as much impact as The Beatles would have never gotten to where they are without three major things. They needed their manager, their music, and their fans. Now, of course, the band’s music got them to the Cavern Club but Brian Epstein, their manager, took them to the top. Bruce Glassman wrote “From the moment Epstein took the helm, the image of the group changed.” Before Brian Epstein, the four boys chewed gum, ate food, and talked on stage during a gig. However, after Brian Epstein, John, Paul, George, and Ringo cleaned up. They traded their street outfits for suits and ties and their constant chatter on stage for an organized setlist.
Now that gigs were booked, it was time for John Lennon and Paul McCartney to sit down and write each infamous song they would soon release. Releasing their hit songs “Please Please Me” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, the fab four were on their way to break records like having a record-breaking advance order of 2.5 million copies for their newer album “With The Beatles “Even the biggest rock sensation in history to date-Elvis Presley-had never been able to do that” said Bruce Glassman. From the outside, the collaboration between John Lennon and Paul McCartney seemed almost impossible due to them being complete polar opposites. However as seen through their extraordinary track record with writing music, it is clear that the fact that they were polar opposites, made them better partners. They fed off of each other.
It’s safe to say that The Beatles had the three major qualifications for becoming a great band: the manager, the music, and the fans. See, without the fans, The Beatles would just be another wannabe British rock band trying to scavenge for gigs. However, with the fans, they accomplished extraordinary things like breaking records, impacting many artists like Jimmy Hendrix and David Bowe, and selling out Shea Stadium (a stadium that could only fit 45,000 people but squeezed 55,000 screaming fans). But like most good things, there is a cost.
Signing the contract with Brian Epstein meant that they were signing over their life to the world. Everything they did was there for the world to see. Every move they made was carefully watched by tons of millions of people. Everything they said was documented and sent to the press to publish. John Lennon learned that lesson quickly. Tim Hill stated that “an American magazine had picked up an article in which John talked about religion, and in which he said that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.” The four boys finally got to the point where they didn’t care about others’ opinions anymore. James Miller stated, “Various members of the band in these years flirted with mind-expanding drugs such as LSD.” Though in the long run, drugs affected the four band members. During Beatlemania, drugs are what helped them realized how they actually felt about the world. Towards the end, they truly hated touring. So finally at the end of 1969 but publicly announced in 1970, the band broke up.
Each of them led successful solo music careers. John Lennon and his wife Yoko Uno began their career in music until 1980 when he was shot. Paul McCartney also began his solo career that still continues today. George Harrison became a Hindu and started his own music career with his new favorite instrument, the sitar. However, he passed away in 2001 from lung cancer. Finally, Ringo Starr embraced his untapped singing career and started the newest chapter in his life. Though beginning their career in 1963 as The Beatles, by the end of 1969, all four members found themselves and embraced it.
What makes a regular Saturday-night playing band turn into a worldwide sensation? There is no right answer. A band with as much impact as The Beatles would have never gotten to where they are without three major things. They needed their manager, their music, and their fans. Now, of course, the band’s music got them to the Cavern Club but Brian Epstein, their manager, took them to the top. Bruce Glassman wrote “From the moment Epstein took the helm, the image of the group changed.” Before Brian Epstein, the four boys chewed gum, ate food, and talked on stage during a gig. However, after Brian Epstein, John, Paul, George, and Ringo cleaned up. They traded their street outfits for suits and ties and their constant chatter on stage for an organized setlist.
Now that gigs were booked, it was time for John Lennon and Paul McCartney to sit down and write each infamous song they would soon release. Releasing their hit songs “Please Please Me” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, the fab four were on their way to break records like having a record-breaking advance order of 2.5 million copies for their newer album “With The Beatles “Even the biggest rock sensation in history to date-Elvis Presley-had never been able to do that” said Bruce Glassman. From the outside, the collaboration between John Lennon and Paul McCartney seemed almost impossible due to them being complete polar opposites. However as seen through their extraordinary track record with writing music, it is clear that the fact that they were polar opposites, made them better partners. They fed off of each other.
It’s safe to say that The Beatles had the three major qualifications for becoming a great band: the manager, the music, and the fans. See, without the fans, The Beatles would just be another wannabe British rock band trying to scavenge for gigs. However, with the fans, they accomplished extraordinary things like breaking records, impacting many artists like Jimmy Hendrix and David Bowe, and selling out Shea Stadium (a stadium that could only fit 45,000 people but squeezed 55,000 screaming fans). But like most good things, there is a cost.
Signing the contract with Brian Epstein meant that they were signing over their life to the world. Everything they did was there for the world to see. Every move they made was carefully watched by tons of millions of people. Everything they said was documented and sent to the press to publish. John Lennon learned that lesson quickly. Tim Hill stated that “an American magazine had picked up an article in which John talked about religion, and in which he said that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.” The four boys finally got to the point where they didn’t care about others’ opinions anymore. James Miller stated, “Various members of the band in these years flirted with mind-expanding drugs such as LSD.” Though in the long run, drugs affected the four band members. During Beatlemania, drugs are what helped them realized how they actually felt about the world. Towards the end, they truly hated touring. So finally at the end of 1969 but publicly announced in 1970, the band broke up.
Each of them led successful solo music careers. John Lennon and his wife Yoko Uno began their career in music until 1980 when he was shot. Paul McCartney also began his solo career that still continues today. George Harrison became a Hindu and started his own music career with his new favorite instrument, the sitar. However, he passed away in 2001 from lung cancer. Finally, Ringo Starr embraced his untapped singing career and started the newest chapter in his life. Though beginning their career in 1963 as The Beatles, by the end of 1969, all four members found themselves and embraced it.
Annotated Bibliography
Glassman, Bruce. John Lennon & Paul McCartney: Their Magic and Their Music. Blackbirch Press, 1995.
This source provided good information about the making of The Beatles. I used this source when I needed information pertaining to the meeting of The Beatles and Brian Epstein. This source also provided information about the introduction to drugs for the four members of the band. This book is also good for information about the relationship between John and Paul.
Hill et al., Tim, et al. The Beatles: Unseen Archives. Paragon Publishing, 2006.
This source is one of the most important sources I have. This book provides information about the ending of The Beatles. It talks about the hardships of each band member individually and as a whole. This source will become even more important when I will begin to talk about the band’s breakup in more depth.
Miller, James E. “The Beatles.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13. Aug. 2020. Accessed 27 Sept 2020.
This source is perfect for general information about The Beatles. Whereas most of my resources go in-depth about a certain topic, this source is more general and covers just the tip of the iceberg about The Beatles.
This source provided good information about the making of The Beatles. I used this source when I needed information pertaining to the meeting of The Beatles and Brian Epstein. This source also provided information about the introduction to drugs for the four members of the band. This book is also good for information about the relationship between John and Paul.
Hill et al., Tim, et al. The Beatles: Unseen Archives. Paragon Publishing, 2006.
This source is one of the most important sources I have. This book provides information about the ending of The Beatles. It talks about the hardships of each band member individually and as a whole. This source will become even more important when I will begin to talk about the band’s breakup in more depth.
Miller, James E. “The Beatles.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13. Aug. 2020. Accessed 27 Sept 2020.
This source is perfect for general information about The Beatles. Whereas most of my resources go in-depth about a certain topic, this source is more general and covers just the tip of the iceberg about The Beatles.