At Beatles anniversary time, the stories write themselves. It turns out that ranking the songs recorded by the Beatles in the s is easy; you put the worst one at the top, and the best one at the bottom. In the U. There was also a flurry of non-album singles throughout those years, collected in different ways in the U. EMI also released a number of four-song EPs in Britain, particularly early on, but only one of them, Long Tall Sally , contained songs not available in other forms. Releases in the U. The songs the band released in the s that were not on their studio albums were eventually consolidated in a catchall collection dubbed, quite lamely, Past Masters. They are duly noted below; most sound like the appreciative efforts of a young and not-quite-formed band; the Beatles being the Beatles, however, a few are transcendent. Any mistakes are, of course, my own.
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Today is the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles final album, Let It Be.
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in In the early s, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania", but as the group's music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the counterculture of the s. Manager Brian Epstein molded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late They acquired the nickname "the Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain the next year, and by early became international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market. From onward, the Beatles produced increasingly innovative recordings, including the widely influential albums Rubber Sou l , Revolver , Sgt. After their break-up in , they each enjoyed successful musical careers of varying lengths. McCartney and Starr, the surviving members, remain musically active. Lennon was shot and killed in December , and Harrison died of lung cancer in November They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act.
The band got their name by combining the words 'beetles' and 'beat'
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in As pioneers in recording , songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney , the Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from , initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since , went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best , before asking Starr to join them in Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after their first hit, " Love Me Do ", in late As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed " Beatlemania ", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin and other members of the band's entourage sometimes given the informal title of " fifth Beatle ". By early , the Beatles were international stars, leading the " British Invasion " of the United States pop market and breaking numerous sales records. They soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night From onwards, they produced records of greater complexity, including the albums Rubber Soul , Revolver and Sgt.
In the late s and early s, it was difficult to imagine a band hailing from the relatively poor northwest port city of Liverpool, England, could get a gig in the thriving London music scene of the south, let alone export their eventual homegrown success to a world eagerly opening up to the counter-culture movement of the '60s and the burgeoning phenomenon that was called rock 'n' roll. A fateful meeting between two music-loving teenagers in is where it all began. Sixteen-year-old rhythm-guitarist Lennon, the son of a merchant seaman, was performing with the Quarrymen, a skiffle folk music blended with jazz or blues band booked to perform at events at a church fete in Woolton, Liverpool.
