Rock Bands

During the 1960’s, a very famous band came about, they were called The Beatles, they became the best known group in popular music (Ebsco Host). In the beginning of The Beatles career, they were called “The Quarrymen”. “The Quarrymen”, originated at John Lennon’s high school, when he became entertained by rock and roll in the mid-50’s. In 1960, “The Quarrymen” changed their name to “The Silver Beatles”. However, soon after they dropped the “Silver” and became just “The Beatles”.

They were considered one of the most successful bands of the twentieth century, who played a prominent role in impacting the music industry as well as society during the 1960's. The start of The Beatles began first with the formation of The Quarrymen, which assembled in early1957 in Liverpool with John Lennon being its founder (The Quarrymen). On July 6, 1957, Paul McCartney viewed The Quarrymen performing in a church fete for the very first time (John Lennon Meets Paul McCartney). The encounter between the two led to the beginning of The Beatles, who would create music that would change the world. Paul McCartney then introduced George Harrison, his younger but very musically talented friend into the band (Beatles Biographies).

George Harrison, a good friend of McCartney, hung around the band a lot, and was finalized as a member in 1958. They were all young teenagers as this process occurred. Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best joined the QuarryMen and the name was changed to the Silver Beatles. Furthermore, Sutcliffe and Best eventually left the band and were replaced by Ringo Starr. The Beatles consisted of four talented men that were about to change the world.

As the year was ending Paul McCartney convinced John Lennon to let George Harrison join the band. George Harrison was influenced by rockabilly; he soon became the lead guitarist. The Beatles stared becoming popular in Europe and they decided to travel to United States where they had the first show that started all. The show was 8 o’clock on February 9th 1964 “The Beatles” first live performance on United States soil, on the “Ed Sullivan Show” (more than 70 million people watched the performance). That year they held the top five slots in the single billboard chart and sold more than a billion records.

The Beatles, along with other bands from the United Kingdom, would make great contributions to pop culture and change the world as people knew back then into the world we know today. During the years preceding the formation of The Beatles, (1950s) Britain was in a state of recovery from the horrors of World War II. In the month of October (1957) in Liverpool, England, high school students John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe started The Blackjacks. “In March 1957, after getting his first guitar, John formed a group which, for the first week, involved only himself and Pete Shotton. They called themselves the Black Jacks for less than a week, before changing their name to The Quarry Men, as they both attended the Quarry Bank High School for Boys… Paul McCartney joined in 1957, and George Harrison joined 1958, and they remained The Quarry Men until the very end of 1959, when they briefly appeared as Johnny and the Moondogs… John, however, hated it, and in 1960 they changed their name five times before settling on The Beatles.

The Beatles are even today known as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era. They introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. Moreover, they were among the few artists of any genre that were simultaneously the best at what they did, and the most popular at what they did. They were also the first British rock group to achieve worldwide prominence, launching a British Invasion that made rock truly an international phenomenon. Guitarist and teenage rebel John Lennon got hooked on rock & roll in the mid-'50s, and formed a band, the Quarrymen, at his high school.

Peter Travers, a journalist who wrote for Rolling Stones Magazines, affirms, "During the week of April 4, 1964, the Beatles held the first five slots on the Billboard Singles chart; they went on to sell more than a billion records..." (1). they were a band that was unlike any other. Not only did they sing and write most of their own music, but they also played their own instruments, unlike many of the bands during that time. It wasn't just their music that drew people in, but it was their personality. The boys always seemed to be laughing and joking around with one another.

The Beatles came to New York City for the first time in 1964. They were an instant success. A couple of weeks later after their New York appearance, the five best selling records were by the Beatles. They became world famous by the end of 1964. Also in 1964 the song "I Want To Hold Your Hand" marked the beginning of "BEATLEMANIA."

While they are in Germany, Stu Sutcliffe decides to go back to college to get back into art which he is in love with and be with Astrid which he met in Germany. The members remaining in the Quarry Men group renamed their group and now their group calling it Silver Beatles and returned to Liverpool. As the group thought their luck was terrible, a young record storeowner in the late 1961, with the name of Brian Epstein, noticed the Beatles with their great musicians skills, he thought they have something unique to them (History of The Beatles pg. 1). The Silver Beatles held a tough ima... ... middle of paper ... ... Linda Eastman” (History of The Beatles pg.

One example is shown the by circumstance of fame for the Beatles. The Beatles first became a band in the 1960’s as the Quarrymen with the original members being Paul, George, and John. As a group, they played many gigs for hours and days while having to abuse drugs to keep them awake most of the time. With Ringo eventually joining the group, it still took the Beatles landing a gig on the Sunday Night at the London Palladium, to be considered to finally become noticed. Whereas Ed Sullivan just so happened to be at the right place at the right time to find the Beatles and decided to give them a chance on his show.