Who and what are the Beatles?
Let's Get Back to the start of it all -before Beatlemania. Back in 1955, in the working class city of Liverpool,
England, a young troublemaker by the name of John
Lennon (10/9/40-12/8/80) formed a band called The Black Jacks with his friend Pete Shotton. That name lasted about a week and the group then became the Quarrymen -named after their alma-mater, Quarrybank High.
It was in 1957 that a certain Paul
McCartney (B 6/18/42) attended a church picnic and heard Lennon's skiffle group. Although Paul thought Lennon was a drunk (yes John had a few beers at that nice little church social), he was still impressed with the band. He was so impressed that he showed the group how to play Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock" and gave them the words to a few other songs. Several days later, Pete Shotton told Paul that he was in.
Paul's joining of the Quarrymen lead to the inevitable entrance of of George
Harrison (B 4/25/43). Harrison and
McCartney were friends from school and, in 1958, Paul introduced George to the group. Being the youngest member at 14, George could not fully participate with the band until the Quarrymen actually fell apart. At that point in time the trio of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison (the other slew of members having already gone their separate ways) were known as Johnny and the
Moondogs.
After the Quarrymen split, the band's moniker went through several more changes -no, they did not just quit at Johnny and the Moondogs! As John and Paul began to write music on their own, they dubbed themselves The Nerk Twins. The band, in general, went through several variations of the name Beatles which was inspired by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. 1. The Beatals 4. The Beatles 2. The Silver Beetels 5. The Silver Beatles 3. The Silver Beats 6. The Beatles
It was necessary for a band to have a bass player and, in 1960, Stuart Stutcliffe took that role. Stuart was a friend of John's from art school. He, with his dark sunglasses, was the band's man of mystery -the James Dean of the group. How he stayed there was a mystery too since Stu could not play a lick on the bass. Shortly after Stutcliffe came aboard, drummer Pete Best entered the group. Pete's mother, Mona, actually owned one of the clubs that the band played in. While Stutcliffe was the mystery man, Best was the best looking and the rest of the band members were not immune to jealousy.
Stutcliffe and Best, however, did not make it to Abby Road or, for that matter, to "Meet the Beatles" . Stutcliffe, who left the band in 1960, died in Germany of a brain hemorrhage in 1962. Best was dismissed on August 12, 1962. Six days later his spot was filled by Richard Starkey a.k.a. Ringo Starr.
Starr
(B 7/7/40) was the oldest member of the group and had been a member of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. It was during his time with Rory Storm that he was dubbed Ringo. His first name came from the collection of rings that he wore. His last name was concocted so that his solos could have the moniker of "Starr Time". As time
waned, Ringo turned out to be the Beatles' title man. The titles "A Hard Day's Night" and "Eight Days A Week" came from Ringo's remarks regarding his work schedule.
On August 17, 1960, the group began their first tour in Hamburg, Germany where they were told to "mach show" (make a show). Not only did they "mach show", but they also made a mess. Since their living conditions and the conditions of the clubs they played at were less than pathetic, it did not go against their grain to tear up the rooms. Also, at times, it seemed as if the Beatles and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes were trying to have a contest to see who would be the first act to break through the floor of the stage. John Lennon had an especially good time with swearing and name calling that was directed at the Germans. They did not seem to mind (or understand) because the more fits John threw, the more excited the audience became.
In 1961, The Beatles faced a major turnaround. It was in that year that Brian Epstein, a record store operator, began to question why a song called "My Bonnie" by an unknown band called The Beatles was always being requested at his store. After doing some research, Epstein found out where the band was playing and went to hear them. At this point everything fell nicely into place and Epstein became the group's manager.
Epstein made changes -big changes. One of his first acts as manager was to clean the group up. He removed them from their familiar attire of black leather jackets and put them into mohair suits. Not only did he rearrange their wardrobe, but he also attempted to instill some manners in them (cursing was now out). By far, the biggest change that Brian Epstein made was getting The Beatles a recording contract and that lead to world wide fame.
A 1966 ad for a Beatles one-nighter.
From this point on, The Beatles name remained firmly up in lights throughout the 1960s. As the decade changed, so did the Beatles. Their songs shifted from love songs to social comment songs and autobiographical works. At the dawn of a new decade, the 1970, the Beatles began to crumble. This was for a number of reasons, but it cannot be pinned to just one (it seems every Beatle fan I know likes to pick a scapegoat). Personal lives conflicted -e.g. John's marriage to Yoko Ono. Yoko was a constant presence during the times when the band was recording and at times the rest of the guys did not appreciate this. Personal interests clashed: some members wanted to take other ventures and some members felt that their contributions were not appreciated. One of the big arrows in the dart board was the management problems after the death of Brian Epstein. On April 10, 1970 the break-up was announced. And that's the way it is.
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