The Beatles Essay

The Beatles are unquestionably one of the most celebrated musical bands of all time.

Their musical stint as a band lasted just under a decade, but their musical prowess still echoes

several decades later, even after their fallout in the early 1970s (Gammond, 1993). The Beatles,

a musical group from Liverpool England was made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George

Harrison, and Ringo Starr, four youngsters who would change the social culture the world over.

Just as their musical career sky-rocketed in 1962, so did it go down with their fallout. In their

wake, the band influenced many aspects of social culture both positively and negatively.

The 1960s was a decade marred with social revolution, mostly across Europe and

America. This was attributed to the recovery of many countries from the effects of the Second

World War, whose negative effects had spilled over through the 1950s. The 1960s were therefore

the first time that many countries had the economic and social capability to be more productive

after the post World War II recovery era. There was more money and time to be spent on other

activities such as music and films, and not only in rebuilding the nations stricken by post war

effects. This was also the era of the Hippie movement, which influenced many youths, as did

The Beatles (McGuigan, 1992). .

The Hippie movement was a youth movement with a strong base in San Francisco

in the United States. The movement was associated with and openly advocated for drugs

and popular music, and rock and roll was among the popular music of the time (McGuigan,

1992). The Beatles being young, were also influenced by this movement, which was resisting

and challenging the old world order. As seen in The B...

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... Due to this anglicizing of music especially in Europe, English started to be

widely accepted as a language of choice in music, therefore influencing social culture of many

countries. The Beatles were also against the Vietnam War, and advocated for peace among the

world’s citizens. This plea was echoed by their fans worldwide and changed the perception of

war against innocent citizens.

As much as The Beatles were talented and controversial in similar measure, it is my

opinion that they affected the social culture of many positively. From encouraging cohesion

through use of English language, to advocacy for equality between all social classes, to creating

awareness on the effects of war on citizens, The Beatles were and still are one of the greatest

musical bands ever. They had a great impact on social culture, especially in Europe and the

Americas.