The Legendary Journey of the Beatles

The Beatles. One of the most incredible musical talents in history, they also have one of the most intriguing backgrounds. From John Lennon’s early groups in the late fifties to his assassination in 1980, the Beatles had very full and eventful lives (Haber).

Some may believe that the “Beatles Revolution” did not begin until the band arrived in the U.S. on February 7, 1964, but the beginnings of their legacy can be traced much further back (Haber). John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, the “Fab Four” as they were called were each born in the early forties in Liverpool, England. These were the four “permanent” members of what we know as the Beatles today, however when John was first starting out in the music industry, the members in his several different bands changed many times (Markowski).

One of John’s first and biggest steps toward becoming the amazing musician that he would later become was his first guitar, a gift from his aunt at age sixteen. John soon formed his own musical group that he titled the Quarrymen, after the school that he attended. During a performance at the Woolton Parish Church in Liverpool, future member Paul McCartney is invited to join the group. Several months following Paul’s enrollment in the group, George Harrison is invited to join as well. Finally, in mid 1960, the group titles itself the Beatles, with five total members. These members included John, Paul, George, Stu Sutcliffe, a bass player with little musical talent, and Pete Best on drums. They made their debut later that year on August 1 in Hamburg, West Germany (Rock).

The Beatles’ next big performance was on January 1, 1961 at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. In April of that year, Stu left the band and Paul ...

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...l. Even the Beatles’ last film and album, both titled Let It Be followed and essentially documented this depression. The downhill chain of events continued as bad feelings sprung up within the band for John’s new soon-to-be wife, Yoko Ono (Rock). This was just one of several things that contributed to the band’s slow dissolution and eventual breakup. Fortunately, though, the Beatles went out on somewhat of a high note in the summer of 1969 when they recorded their swan song, Abbey Road. But when Paul announced his departure from the group on April 10, 1970, the band quietly came to an end (Beatles Online). Throughout the seventies, while the four pursued solo careers in music, fans remained hopeful for an eventual reunion of the group. These hopes were tragically smashed, however, on December 8, 1980 when John Lennon was murdered in New York City (Steinberg).