Are The Beatles the greatest band of all time?

Transcription

1 S1 Research Project Are The Beatles the greatest band of all time? by Evie Cockburn 1B2

2 Contents Page 3 Page 4,5,6 Page 7,8 Page 9,10,11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16,17 Introduction Background Arguments for the Beatles being the greatest band of all time Arguments against the Beatles being the greatest band of all time Opinion piece Conclusion Bibliography Acknowledgements Charts

3 Introduction In this report I am going to discuss reasons for and against The Beatles being the greatest band of all time. I have chosen this question because I have grown up with The Beatles' music, and I wanted to find out if I could prove whether the Fab Four really are so fab. People of my age are more likely to listen to bands such as One Direction and The Wanted, and sometimes question my taste in old fashioned music. Yet I wonder if people will still be listening to One Direction in fifty years' time? I have read many books about The Beatles, discussed their popularity with both local people and internet users, conducted my own surveys, and discovered lots of facts and figures about the band, their records and their legacy. I intend to record my findings objectively, although I will make my personal feelings known in my opinion piece.

4 Background The Beatles were all born in Liverpool during World War 2. Originally, the band was made up of :- John Lennon (guitar/vocals) Paul McCartney (guitar/vocals) George Harrison (guitar) Stu Sutcliffe (bass) Pete Best (drums) They went to Hamburg in 1960 where they played almost constantly, and this hard work and practise gave them the edge when they returned to Liverpool, without Stu, and with Paul now on bass. They were discovered at the Cavern Club by Brian Epstein, who

5 became their manager in Despite being turned down by Decca, they were signed to Parlophone that year by George Martin, known as 'the fifth Beatle', because of the influence he had on their records. Swapping Pete Best for another local drummer, Ringo Starr was one of his first suggestions. Their first single reached number 17 in the UK charts, and the next seventeen singles all got to number 1. Only a year later, the phenomenon known as Beatlemania hit Britain. In 1964 they made a film 'A Hard Day's Night' which showed what life as a Beatle was like, complete with hysterical screaming fans wherever they went. They were the first British band to become very successful in America, and then throughout the world. They stopped touring in 1966 because they couldn't be heard above the screaming, as

6 amplifiers weren't very powerful then, and concentrated on making records and films. Because of personal differences, they split up in 1970, but still sell records today, as well as downloads to a new generation of fans. The Beatles: The greatest band of all time

7 They were the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, and introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. itunes website The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 1 billion units. They have had 17 number one singles - more than any other act so far. They have had more number one albums on the UK charts and have held the top spot longer than any other artists. They have sold more albums in the US than anyone else, having had nineteen number one albums on the Billboard charts, the most of any artist. In 2008 they topped Billboard magazine's list of all-time Hot 100 artists. They have 7 Grammy Awards and 15 Ivor Novello Awards. Together they were in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. On February 9 th 1964, their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show was watched by over 73 million Americans 38% of the population which is still one of the largest viewing audiences in the States. The Beatles also inspired many bands like Oasis, who have a very similar sound and have admitted to being huge Beatles fans. Jeff Lynn's band, Electric Light Orchestra, also sounded a lot like The Beatles, but then he was a friend and collaborator of George Harrison. Their songs have been covered by hundreds of other musicians, and even non-musicians such as William Shatner's

8 version of 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds'. Some of Queen's earlier songs can be said to have a Beatles tone to their melody. Fifty years after their first single was released, they are still hugely popular, and it is possible to buy lots of Beatles souvenirs, like calendars, mugs, t-shirts, all over the high street and internet, and listen to new radio programmes being made about them (Radio 2 Weds 16 th Jan 10-11pm) When I questioned local people and internet users about who they thought the greatest band of all time was, The Beatles won easily amongst all age groups. See Charts for the results. The Beatles, unlike many bands today, wrote all their own songs (with the occasional cover) and played all their own instruments. George Harrison also started the world music trend when he worked with Ravi Shankar, which influenced Peter Gabriel who set up the Womad Festival. They started their own record company Apple Music in 1968 and used this to help the careers of other musicians, such as Mary Hopkins and Bad Finger. The Beatles had to work with primitive equipment but made amazing and influential music that has stood the test of time. Some of their old houses in Liverpool have been preserved by the National Trust, and Liverpool airport was renamed John Lennon airport. The Beatles: NOT the greatest band of all time.

9 Other bands, such as Elvis (with his backing band The Jordanaires) and Led Zeppelin, can also be considered contenders for the title of greatest band. Both are still hugely popular, despite not being active today, and also have record sales in the multi-millions. Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, formed in the late 1960s and huge in the 1970s, especially in America. The band consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. They disbanded in 1981 after John Bonham's death. Considered to be one of the most successful, innovative and influential groups in the history of music, Led Zeppelin might have had higher record sales than The Beatles if they had released singles as well as albums. Elvis Presley is one of the most popular American singers of all time, often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll". Elvis is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture, but he died in 1977 at the age of 42. Even after his death, he continues to sell millions of records, and his house Graceland is a place where his fans go to worship him. If anything, Elvis fans can be even more devoted than Beatles' fans. During the punk era The Beatles were very unfashionable, considered to be out of touch with normal people because of their

10 vast wealth. Lyrics were written about them, such as Finally Beatlemania has bitten the dust The Clash, London Calling Some of The Beatles songs were banned by the BBC for drug references such as 'Fixing a Hole' and 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', which is said to refer to LSD; a drug which causes you hallucinations. John Lennon said it was written about a picture his son Julian Lennon drew of a schoolfriend. 'Come Together' was also banned because it was promotion of Coca-Cola. The Beatles were known to take drugs, and this could mean they are a bad influence on young people. The Beatles' and the Rolling Stones' fans often hated each other and many riots were caused and many people were hurt, just because of their taste in music. This isn't right and people should be able to like whatever music they want. John Lennon once said We're more popular than Jesus now. I don't know which will go first - rock'n'roll or Christianity. This

11 caused Americans to burn their books, records and merchandise; they had many bonfires all over the country, and some people have still not forgiven John Lennon for his remark. Opinion

12 I personally feel that The Beatles are the greatest band of all time because their music inspired so many other artists. Even though their first single was released 50 years ago, they are still capturing new generations of fans with their timeless songs. Every day I hear their songs on the radio, and songs of other bands that have so obviously been influenced by them. I have learnt to play their songs on the piano, the guitar, and the ukele. The Beatles continue to bring pleasure to millions of people and continue to sell records worldwide. (Although, today there songs are more likely to be downloaded.) You only have to look on the internet to see how popular they still are. Put 'The Beatles' into Google and it comes up with 107 million results. Conclusion

13 In this report, I have described who The Beatles are and how they became so popular. I have included facts to show that they are, without doubt,the best selling band in the world, even though they stopped touring in Their influence is long-standing and far reaching. I have also featured other bands who might be considered the greatest band of all time, and explored the downside of The Beatles. As idols to so many people, their drug taking was irresponsible, and they also angered a lot of Christians. The punks of the 1970s thought they were out of touch. However, I firmly believe that, despite all this, they truly are the greatest band of all time, and that their influence will continue for many years to come. Books: Bibliography

14 'Hail, Hail, Rock'n'roll' by John Harris, Sphere 2009 'The Beatles' by Richard Brassey, Orion 2003 'The Beatles: Unseen Archives' by Tim Hill and Marie Clayton, Parragon 2001 'The Unseen Beatles' by Bob Whittaker, Conran Octopus 1991 'The Beatles: A Celebration' by Geoffrey Guiliano, Sedgewick & Jackson 1986 Websites: The Official Charts website Beatlesfacts.org Rock.about.com BBC website itunes website 'A Hard Day's Night' (film) Oral history source: George Cockburn Acknowledgements Thank you -

15 To my father, George Cockburn, for passing on his love of The Beatles, and all the facts he has about them stored in his brain. To my mother, Tania Cheston, for grammar and spell checking, and for pointing out that other great bands do exist. To my teachers, for nominating me. To all the people who answered my survey, and to Eilidh Fraser for standing in the cold while I conducted it. To Kieron O'Neill, for his musical knowledge. Charts

16 The full Official Singles Artists Top 15 Of All Time: 1 THE BEATLES 2 ELVIS PRESLEY 3 CLIFF RICHARD 4 MADONNA 5 MICHAEL JACKSON 6 ELTON JOHN 7 QUEEN 8 ABBA 9 DAVID BOWIE 10 RIHANNA 11 PAUL McCARTNEY 12 KYLIE MINOGUE 13 ROLLING STONES 14 ROD STEWART 15 TAKE THAT The Official Top 10 Biggest Selling Groups Of All Time: ARTIST COMBINED SALES TOTAL 1 BEATLES 22.1 MILLION SHE LOVES YOU BIGGEST SELLING SINGLE 2 QUEEN 12.8 MILLION BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY 3 ABBA 11.3 MILLION DANCING QUEEN 4 ROLLING STONES 10.1 MILLION (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION 5 OASIS MILLION WONDERWALL 6 TAKE THAT MILLION BACK FOR GOOD 7 SPICE GIRLS 8.0 MILLION WANNABE 8 BEE GEES 7.6 MILLION HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE 9 U2 7.5 MILLION WITH OR WITHOUT YOU 10 STATUS QUO 7.2 MILLION ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD These figures come from the Official Charts website, and are for UK sales only.

17 Who is the greatest band of all time?