How The Beatles shaped modern music and pop culture

This essay was written as my junior thesis in American History. If you would like to see an updated version, watch the video on my YouTube channel.

The year is 1956. England is surrounded by war-front damage, and morale is low. Many citizens look to America as a symbol of prosperity and life. American hits dominate popular culture at this time, and no English musician is able to rise up the charts to fame (Covach). Two teenage boys embraced American culture at this time and aspired to create music of their own. These boys were none other than the legendary John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They started off as writing partners in the living room of McCartney’s father, where together, they wrote their earlier hits, including the famous “She Loves You” (McCartney).

Little did they know, these two boys would soon grow to start a massive movement known as the “British Invasion” (Covach) and become arguably the most beloved songwriters and musicians of all time. Through their work in The Beatles, they helped to not only alter or introduce a multitude of practices to the music industry, but also to inspire love throughout the world by popularizing the culture of minority groups and standing as a symbol of peace and joy in a time of war. Because these practices and ideals are still held standard and relevant to our generation due to modern world conflicts, The Beatles’ legacy remains a vital component in today’s culture; a legacy that is not likely to die out in the next few decades.

Due to The Beatles’ mass popularity, so many musicians were racing to copy everything that the boys were doing. Eric Burdon of The Animals (another band of the British Invasion) has been reported saying that he and his group were dressed like “dolls” to copy The Beatles (Burdon). One aspect that these bands copied from The Beatles was their feature of two guitarists: a lead guitarist and the additional rhythm guitarist. Though the guitar was not a new instrument, the digital age was just starting to kick off, and Lennon and McCartney were among those of the first generation to have access to electric guitars. Most popular music, especially that in America, was characterized by brass or other wind instruments and were jazzy in style and groove. The use of a rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist, and a lack of wind instruments was foreign to the world of music (Tomasky). Because so many musicians at this time were copying everything The Beatles were doing, this caused this unique arrangement of instruments to become the norm. As a result, band-based groups were pushed out of popularity and replaced with guitar/drums-based groups. This characterizes most of the popular music today where wind arrangements are a novelty.

But that wasn’t the only thing that The Beatles pushed out of popularity. Since the start of jazz, a musician’s main source of income came from live shows. A large majority of musicians at that time did not write the songs released on any of their records, and many didn’t even play the instruments, either. Many even admitted that they were not fond of the songs played on their records (Stevens). Additionally, most songs released at this time were merely written as singles: songs that were simple, catchy, and fun to dance to. This means that most mainstream music was upbeat, repetitive, bubbly, and often watered-down.

In 1966, screaming Beatles fans (a phenomenon coined “Beatlemania”) became so disruptive during live performances that no one could hear the band playing (Atcheson). As a result, the boys decided that they would quit playing live shows to become the first “recording band”: a band that works exclusively in the studio (Covach). This was unheard of for most musicians, and could have been detrimental to the popularity and financial income for any band at that time. But for The Beatles — who had written most of their biggest hits (“She Loves You” became their first to top the charts in the UK, and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was their first big break in America) (Covach) — it is debatable that this change benefited the group and made them even greater than they already were, giving them more time to focus on writing meaningful, well-thought-out songs that said something instead of just entertaining or standing as background noise.

Following the announcement to stop touring, the band released their most commercially successful album yet: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This album not only became known as the first “concept album” (an album of songs that contribute to a singular or central idea) (Covach), but it included the famous “A Day in the Life,” a revolutionary song for its combination of two contrasting moods; a feat accomplished by contributions from two very different songwriters. Instead of writing a song to party and have fun to, Lennon and McCartney painted a story — they released a piece of art that was meant to be relished as a whole, not to enjoy as a “snack.” With this new focus on writing songs with a deeper meaning, the band pushed all cover bands off the charts and made way for writers of “art rock” to achieve fame (Britannica).

Even before the band stopping performing live, they showed a gradual, but sure change in emphasis to songwriting since their first album. This began to show on Rubber Soul, where guitarist George Harrison influenced Lennon to include Indian instruments (Covach). This was the band’s first record to not be a collection of singles; another novelty in the industry at that time and a concept that would follow in all succeeding albums from the band. This allowed for the further development towards Sgt. Peppers, as the songs on the album served a more personal purpose, other than simply a collection of popular hits. On the next record, Revolver, McCartney’s song, “Eleanor Rigby,” became a massive hit upon release (Covach). Being a complex pop song characterized by dark or depressing moods about a lonely woman who died in a church, The Beatles showed the world that a serious, well-written song could still find success among a sea of dance tunes (Covach). This new idea was followed by a wave of new, seriously written songs such as “Behind Blue Eyes” by The Who, which peaked at #34 for 11 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 charts (Billboard).

Without The Beatles, many of the music we know and love today would probably not exist. Modern groups such as Panic! at the Disco, Nirvana, and Foo Fighters (Mastropolo) credit their success to The Beatles’ influence. After the band first arrived in America in 1963, they opened a door to allow other British musicians to find their following in the country. Groups such as The Animals or The Yardbirds (Covach) might never have been able to achieve success without them, and some of these bands helped to contribute to the evolving industry, as well. The Kinks helped to popularize power chords and distortion, which has been attributed to the start of the post-punk and heavy-metal movements (Giles). The Who built off of the idea of the concept album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and went on to release the first rock opera, Tommy, where the tracks of the album correlate to a single story, like a musical or opera production would (Covach). Even The Rolling Stones, commonly known as the “antithesis” to The Beatles, defied the legacy that The Beatles had paved way for and reminded the world that music doesn’t have to be serious or complicated. Being a “Beatle” was difficult and time-consuming work. They showed the world, the industry, and up-and-coming musicians that you can still find success and personal accomplishment writing fun, dance-worthy tunes like those of the 1950s and early 60s (Covach).

But The Beatles did not only make a huge impact based on physical characteristics or components of their music. They also stood as a beacon and symbol of love and peace, in addition to Lennon’s open opposition to the Vietnam War.

Compared to the 1930s and the Great Depression in America, the 1950s and 60s seemed like a haven in American history. But after the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, the Civil Rights movement, and U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, American people began to question the integrity of their leaders (Madoni). The war was extremely controversial, and Eric Burdon has reported that upon arrival to the U.S., he and his band was told, “‘When you arrive in America, don’t mention the war!’ . . . We felt that we were being gagged,” (Burdon). The Beatles made their first appearance in American shortly after John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. American morale was in a rut, so it is no wonder that the handsome, charismatic Beatles made such a hit so quickly. Burdon said,

“Once we got on the road and we met people (like young Americans in the south in particular) who would talk to me in between shows and say, ‘Oh, we’re so glad you came! You know, we have been waiting to cut loose and feel free in this society.’ . . . Coming out of the fifties into the early sixties there was nothing — the fear, the terror of communist invasion and we had the Bay of Pigs…” (Burdon).

For The Beatles in particular, their ideas of love and unity that bled into their songwriting impacted the world and listeners in a way like no other before them. In a subtle way, thanks to Harrison’s newfound religion in India, his sitar playing on albums such as Rubber Soul and Revolver introduced music influences of minority groups to a vast multitude of cultures worldwide (Covach). The Beatles had started out with jazz from America (a genre originating from African American styles), added their own little spice of English charm, and continued to draw more inspiration from other genres, ranging from folk (“The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”) to proto-punk (“Helter Skelter”) on their self-titled double LP. With songs such as “Nowhere Man,” “The Fool on the Hill,” and “All You Need is Love,” the band spoke out against the controversial Vietnam War and advocated for peace. In a time where the war on civil rights had reached its peak, without anyone knowing, The Beatles had shown the world that we can come to appreciate difference. They brought the far corners of the Earth together by combining music styles and cultures.

Lennon, especially, remained an important activist against the notorious Vietnam War both during and after his involvement in The Beatles. His song, “All You Need Is Love,” with its message that we can achieve anything if we work together, remained at the top of the music charts for three consecutive weeks (MPL Communication Ltd). To this day, so many of The Beatles’ biggest hits stand as anthems for love and acceptance. McCartney has said himself that he and the other Beatles never expected their message to remain this relevant for so many generations. “It just keeps going on and on and on, and it keeps being relevant,” he said (McCartney).

Because The Beatles were at the head of the British Invasion and most of American pop culture during the 1960s, they were able to influence much of what we now know to be the norm. But in addition to their instrumental arrangements and songwriting styles that define most modern rock music today, the band had an even bigger, more personal impact on those who heard their songs back then, offering hope to a divided, war-devastated nation. It is ironic that the English had looked to America for inspiration when their own country has had such a long-lasting effect on ours. In today’s world and after the effects of 9/11, the Cold War, the Iraq war, and other modern issues in the U.S., Americans “no longer [feel] confident about their place in the world,” (Covach). The Beatles’ music still lives on today because it was written as a call for peace during a time where this confidence still did not exist. We are constantly looking for something new — something to distract us from the hardships we face in the world due to politics, environmental shifts, or trials in our personal lives. Ergo, that era has not changed, and neither has the story that the Beatles have told ended. Until we are finally at peace, The Beatles’ music will continue to be relevant. And as life will always have its downfalls, odds are that their call for love and peace will live on for generations to come.

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Watch my updated thesis on YouTube:

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Bibliography

Atcheson, Ella. TI Media Limited. The Beatles never intended to quit touring for good. https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-beatles-4-1191035

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Burdon, Eric. “Remembering the British Invasion.” CNN. YouTube. 9 February 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrlKKVsMnd8

Covach, John. What’s That Sound? An Introduction to Rock and Its History. W.W. Norton & Company, 8 March 2006.

Giles, Jeff. How the Kinks Changed Rock Music With One Riff On ‘You Really Got Me’. https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kinks-you-really-got-me-anniversary/

Madani, Jack. Pop and Rock Music in the 60s; A Brief History. http://www.spectropop.com/hmadanibrief.html

Mastropolo, Frank. “Top 11 Musicians Influenced By the Beatles.” Rock Cellar Magazine, 4 February 2018.

McCartney, Paul. “Paul McCartney Carpool Karaoke.” The Late Late Show with James Corden. YouTube. 21 June 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjvzCTqkBDQ

MPL Communications Ltd. UPDATED: Paul Has Spent 99 Weeks at №1 — UK Singles Chart Celebrates 60th Birthday. https://www.paulmccartney.com/news-blogs/news/updated-paul-has-spent-99-weeks-at-no1-uk-singles-chart-celebrates-60th-birthday

Stevens, Chris (jazz band director, Long Beach Polytechnic High School), interviewed by Milton, Madeline at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, 8 April 2019.

Tomasky, Michael. W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. Was The Beatles’ Music Really That Unique? Yeah, It Totally Was. https://www.thedailybeast.com/was-the-beatles-music-really-that-unique-yeah-it-totally-was

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