Persuasive Essay
Name an author before William Shakespeare. Name a decent gold player before Arnold Palmer. Name a painting by Vincent Van Gogh that was painted before “A Starry Night.” The point is, it is hard to remember the simple things before the great things enter the picture. The Beatles are the ‘great thing’ that entered the world and changed it forever. As a band, they entered this world in 1962 and have affected everything in their wake. While it is challenging to name a successful band before The Beatles, naming successful bands after them is quite easy. Not only did The Beatles influence multiple bands, artists, and music, they changed our culture itself with their music, their style, and their mannerisms.
Before Beatlemania, the vision of music was filled with solo artists and uniform bands. Ian McDonald stated in Revolution in the Head, “Before them, pop acts had been neatly presented as soloists or well-drilled units each with its clearly identified leader” (McDonald 124). For example, most bands consisted of many members but one usually stood out, the leader. This concept followed for many bands: Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Johnny and the Hurricanes, or Jay and the Americans. Along with having organized bands and uniform music, the look of teenagers was simple and unproblematic. The author of “Screams Heard ‘Round The World” said, “ Young women had swooned over Frank Sinatra in the `40s and screamed for Elvis Presley in the immediate pre- Beatle years, but the Fab Four inspired an extremity of feeling usually reserved for football games or natural disasters” (“Screams Heard ‘Round The World”). When listening to artists like Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley, their fans were loud and enthusiastic and still went crazy when they saw their favorite artists. Before The Beatles, a fan was simple. A fan would scream and would shout for their favorite artists and some would buy every album to listen to on repeat. However, the fans of The Beatles were a new kind of breed. The Beatles fans would crowd airports. During concerts, the screams became so loud that even the band couldn’t hear the music. Hundreds of fans would fill stadiums like the Shay Stadium and streets would be packed with thousands of fans.
The Beatles birthed a new kind of teenager. The average teenage girl in the 1950’s embodied an ideal pure and innocent wife material. She wore her “short hair in a tightly controlled style (the kind achieved with flat metal clips), button-down shirts done up to the neck, shapeless skirts with matching cardigans and a stance that evokes the intense posture-consciousness of prefeminist girls` phys ed” (“Screams Heard ‘Round The World”). The teenage girl never brought sex appeal to the table. Like the music, the dress for the girl was simple and didn’t stretch too far out of the respectable circle. The attitude of the teenager never was considered “rebellious”.Her transition from the angelic and pure teenager wanting to be in the Pink Ladies to becoming a member of the greaser is a replica of what the teenager went through when The Beatles entered the picture.
The Fab Four changed the meaning of being a teenager from tame to rebellious. Starting in the UK, the band began as a rowdy and unruly group of boys. They showed a different kind of performance compared to other bands that played in the Cavern Club, alongside them. This influenced many changes in a teenager’s life. Like the blink of an eye, the once conserved and pure girl began to engulf into a new world of rebellion and the jock began to grow his hair out, change his clothes to leather, and invest in some guitars (Puterbaugh). As The Beatles became more famous, their influence impacted more and more people and having an audience of only teenagers was powerful. The teenagers had a taste of a new band that was different “and this newfound solidarity was an exciting thing” (Puterbaugh).
To the teenagers, The Beatles served as a religion. Once they heard about the Fab Four in America, the term of Beatlemania hit the tabloids and ran fast. Many factors play into answering the question “why did The Beatles become famous in the States?” A more famous one was that when The Beatles came over to America, it was after the tragic assassination of the former president, JFK (Puterbaugh). Another reason considered was the Fab Four “stood so far above the musical status quo of the early Sixties that they gave kids the first credible excuse for mania since Presley” (Puterbaugh). The reaction to The Beatles was similar to the reaction the world had on Elvis Presley. Finally, the band had a considerable amount of publicity. Compared to other artists, The Beatles were advertised everywhere; “bumper stickers (The Beatles Are Coming! and Ringo For President), buttons (Be A Beatle Booster) and Beatle wigs” (Puterbaugh). It helped that every TV show host wanted an interview with them.
What separates The Beatles from other artists and bands was their unique approach to making their music and albums. Unlike other artists, where most of their songs were written by another writer, nearly every song by The Beatles was written by them. As written by Sam Ash, “Soon rock audiences came to expect a greater depth of meaning and relevance from the lyrics of their favorite songs” (Sam Ash Customer Article). The fans began to listen to the songs of their favorite artists to find hidden messages behind the lyrics, to be able to relate to the artists. Along with Bob Dylan, The Beatles influences a “confessional “singer-songwriter” movement featuring the likes of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Paul Simon” (Sam Ash Customer Article). Artists began to write songs about real emotions and problems they were facing.
As the year progressed their making of songs became more and more unique. Herb Bowie wrote, “every element of a track was worked out to perfectly blend with and complement the other elements of the song” (Bowie). John Lennon and Paul McCartney made sure to perfect each part of the song, from the melody, to the lyrics, and to the instruments used.
Throughout the career of The Beatles, as they changed and grew every year, their fans grew with them. In the beginning, their first six albums consisted of songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “And I Love Her”, and “Love Me Do”. All of their songs were soft and innocent in the beginning. Once their album Rubber Soul was released, their fans began to see their music change. Their songs now began to talk about sex and drugs like Norwegian Wood, Sexy Sadie, and Why Don’t We Do It In The Road. It was the touch into drugs that changed their music. Mikal Gilmore wrote “acid, however, would ultimately transform everything about the Beatles: their sound, their conception of themselves, their viewpoint and their influence on history” (Gilmore). By dabbing into drugs, The Beatles albums began to change and they began to produce the most famous songs in history.
Now, decades later, it is seen that The Beatles have become one of the most successful bands. They have received multiple awards, set many records, and were put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. No band has ever reached their success. Some bands have come close to matching their success but there is more to The Beatles than the numbers or records sold. The fans of The Beatles are what made The Beatles who they are today. The type of fans the band had was unlike any type the world had seen before.
Name a president after George Washington. Name a book by William Shakespeare that was after Romeo and Juliet. Name a successful band after The Beatles. The Beatles have influenced so many bands, artists, music, fashion, etc. Without knowing it at the time, they would go on to influence “the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, the Beach Boys – with their uncommon chord changes, their curving, often sharp-cornered melodies, and their commitment to writing their own songs” (Gilmore). The Fab Four have influenced more in this world than is actually realized. The Beatles have set a bar that is almost impossible to achieve.
Before Beatlemania, the vision of music was filled with solo artists and uniform bands. Ian McDonald stated in Revolution in the Head, “Before them, pop acts had been neatly presented as soloists or well-drilled units each with its clearly identified leader” (McDonald 124). For example, most bands consisted of many members but one usually stood out, the leader. This concept followed for many bands: Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Johnny and the Hurricanes, or Jay and the Americans. Along with having organized bands and uniform music, the look of teenagers was simple and unproblematic. The author of “Screams Heard ‘Round The World” said, “ Young women had swooned over Frank Sinatra in the `40s and screamed for Elvis Presley in the immediate pre- Beatle years, but the Fab Four inspired an extremity of feeling usually reserved for football games or natural disasters” (“Screams Heard ‘Round The World”). When listening to artists like Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley, their fans were loud and enthusiastic and still went crazy when they saw their favorite artists. Before The Beatles, a fan was simple. A fan would scream and would shout for their favorite artists and some would buy every album to listen to on repeat. However, the fans of The Beatles were a new kind of breed. The Beatles fans would crowd airports. During concerts, the screams became so loud that even the band couldn’t hear the music. Hundreds of fans would fill stadiums like the Shay Stadium and streets would be packed with thousands of fans.
The Beatles birthed a new kind of teenager. The average teenage girl in the 1950’s embodied an ideal pure and innocent wife material. She wore her “short hair in a tightly controlled style (the kind achieved with flat metal clips), button-down shirts done up to the neck, shapeless skirts with matching cardigans and a stance that evokes the intense posture-consciousness of prefeminist girls` phys ed” (“Screams Heard ‘Round The World”). The teenage girl never brought sex appeal to the table. Like the music, the dress for the girl was simple and didn’t stretch too far out of the respectable circle. The attitude of the teenager never was considered “rebellious”.Her transition from the angelic and pure teenager wanting to be in the Pink Ladies to becoming a member of the greaser is a replica of what the teenager went through when The Beatles entered the picture.
The Fab Four changed the meaning of being a teenager from tame to rebellious. Starting in the UK, the band began as a rowdy and unruly group of boys. They showed a different kind of performance compared to other bands that played in the Cavern Club, alongside them. This influenced many changes in a teenager’s life. Like the blink of an eye, the once conserved and pure girl began to engulf into a new world of rebellion and the jock began to grow his hair out, change his clothes to leather, and invest in some guitars (Puterbaugh). As The Beatles became more famous, their influence impacted more and more people and having an audience of only teenagers was powerful. The teenagers had a taste of a new band that was different “and this newfound solidarity was an exciting thing” (Puterbaugh).
To the teenagers, The Beatles served as a religion. Once they heard about the Fab Four in America, the term of Beatlemania hit the tabloids and ran fast. Many factors play into answering the question “why did The Beatles become famous in the States?” A more famous one was that when The Beatles came over to America, it was after the tragic assassination of the former president, JFK (Puterbaugh). Another reason considered was the Fab Four “stood so far above the musical status quo of the early Sixties that they gave kids the first credible excuse for mania since Presley” (Puterbaugh). The reaction to The Beatles was similar to the reaction the world had on Elvis Presley. Finally, the band had a considerable amount of publicity. Compared to other artists, The Beatles were advertised everywhere; “bumper stickers (The Beatles Are Coming! and Ringo For President), buttons (Be A Beatle Booster) and Beatle wigs” (Puterbaugh). It helped that every TV show host wanted an interview with them.
What separates The Beatles from other artists and bands was their unique approach to making their music and albums. Unlike other artists, where most of their songs were written by another writer, nearly every song by The Beatles was written by them. As written by Sam Ash, “Soon rock audiences came to expect a greater depth of meaning and relevance from the lyrics of their favorite songs” (Sam Ash Customer Article). The fans began to listen to the songs of their favorite artists to find hidden messages behind the lyrics, to be able to relate to the artists. Along with Bob Dylan, The Beatles influences a “confessional “singer-songwriter” movement featuring the likes of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Paul Simon” (Sam Ash Customer Article). Artists began to write songs about real emotions and problems they were facing.
As the year progressed their making of songs became more and more unique. Herb Bowie wrote, “every element of a track was worked out to perfectly blend with and complement the other elements of the song” (Bowie). John Lennon and Paul McCartney made sure to perfect each part of the song, from the melody, to the lyrics, and to the instruments used.
Throughout the career of The Beatles, as they changed and grew every year, their fans grew with them. In the beginning, their first six albums consisted of songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “And I Love Her”, and “Love Me Do”. All of their songs were soft and innocent in the beginning. Once their album Rubber Soul was released, their fans began to see their music change. Their songs now began to talk about sex and drugs like Norwegian Wood, Sexy Sadie, and Why Don’t We Do It In The Road. It was the touch into drugs that changed their music. Mikal Gilmore wrote “acid, however, would ultimately transform everything about the Beatles: their sound, their conception of themselves, their viewpoint and their influence on history” (Gilmore). By dabbing into drugs, The Beatles albums began to change and they began to produce the most famous songs in history.
Now, decades later, it is seen that The Beatles have become one of the most successful bands. They have received multiple awards, set many records, and were put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. No band has ever reached their success. Some bands have come close to matching their success but there is more to The Beatles than the numbers or records sold. The fans of The Beatles are what made The Beatles who they are today. The type of fans the band had was unlike any type the world had seen before.
Name a president after George Washington. Name a book by William Shakespeare that was after Romeo and Juliet. Name a successful band after The Beatles. The Beatles have influenced so many bands, artists, music, fashion, etc. Without knowing it at the time, they would go on to influence “the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, the Beach Boys – with their uncommon chord changes, their curving, often sharp-cornered melodies, and their commitment to writing their own songs” (Gilmore). The Fab Four have influenced more in this world than is actually realized. The Beatles have set a bar that is almost impossible to achieve.
Annotated Bibliography
Bowie, Herb. “Reason to Rock.” The Beatles | Reason to Rock. Accessed on November 14, 2020.
This source was good because it talked about the making of their music. This source will also be later used to talk about specific songs of the bands because it has a lot of information about that too.
Gilmore, Mikal. “Beatles' Acid Test: How LSD Opened the Door to 'Revolver'.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 26 Dec. 2019. Accessed on October 26, 2020.
This source talked about how the bad used LSD. I used it because I mentioned in my paper that the fact that the band used drugs, affected their music.
Macdonald, Ian. “Revolution in the Head: the Beatles'Records and the Sixties.” Amazon, Vintage, 2008. Accessed on November 11, 2020.
This source is good when I need to talk about the comparison between bands before The Beatles and The Beatles, themselves. This book also had a lot of information on the growth as individuals and as a band.
Puterbaugh, Parke. “The British Invasion: From the Beatles to the Stones, The Sixties Belonged to Britain.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2019. Accessed on November 11, 2020.
I used this source often because it touched on everything I needed to know about the progression as a band. It also talked about other bands which helped me compare The Beatles to other bands.
Sam Ash Customer Articles. “The Beatles' Influence On Songwriting.” Sam Ash Spotlight, 9 Apr. 2019. Accessed on December 7, 2020.
I used this source when I was talking about the impact of The Beatles. This source goes in-depth about the impact of The Beatles on music and song lyrics. This source will for sure be used later in assignments
“SCREAMS HEARD `ROUND THE WORLD.” Chicagotribune.com, 4 Sept. 2018. Accessed on November 15, 2020.
I also used this source a lot because it talked about what life was like before The Beatles. This was important because that was a subject I touched on a lot in this paper. It also contains a lot of quotes for primary sources during Beatlemania.