The Beatles: The Sound of a Social Revolution

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The Beatles: The Sound of a Social Revolution

It was on February 9, 1964, that the Beatles made their American debut

on the Ed Sullivan Show, marking the beginning of a musical and

cultural hysteria the likes of which the world had never seen.

Americans were drawn to "Beatlemania" instantaneously, and would

follow these four boys from Liverpool for years to come. That night in

February, 73 million Americans sat, transfixed, in front of the

television as if the world had just came to a complete standstill. The

influence of the Beatles on American culture, and the definition of

rock music are remarkable. Penny Lane refers to a shopping area in

Liverpool, where John and Paul spent many of their childhood days.

Penny Lane follows a familiar 8 bar chord structure, and tells a story

using verses that alternate with a common refrain. The blend of

instruments that comprise this tune is quite unique; bass, piano,

flute, horns, and drums with no guitar. These instruments flow

together seamlessly, never overpowering each other. While the flute

and the bass usually play straight on the beat, both instruments

occasionally pick up a melody line that mimics McCartney's singing. It

is quite remarkable that the melody is basically only sung, a

testament to the singing talent this group possessed. The vocal

harmony could easily fall into a classical category, and is a sharp

contrast to the untrained, gritty vocal sound of most rock bands of

the time. The beat is kept on the piano, which plays sharp, stinging

chords on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4 throughout the entire song. This is

interesting, especially because there is not a single time when this

chord instrument veers from this form to play a melody line, or

respond to McCartney's vocals or the improvised solos heard from the

trumpet and flute. Another unique attribute of this song is the use of

wind instruments. The flute harmonizes with the bass throughout the

tune, and the horn section plays on the backbeat later in the song,

but especially makes its presence known during the refrain, where the

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