The Impact of the Beatles
From Across the Pond Into America's Limelight
Until 1962, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney roamed the streets of Liverpool, England as teenage musicians- each of them performing in various groups gained them brand-new experiences that could only prepare them for the recognition that the world would give them.
Fans & Beatlemania
- The term "Beatlemania" was coined in 1963 and was initially considered to be an actual condition.
- Constant Mobbing
- American Influence
- Strange & Unusual Behavior, etc.
- Their first movie, A Hard Day's Night, grossed $1.3 million in its first week. The band was aggressively merchandised - with wigs, clothes, dolls, lunch boxes, and a cartoon series.
"In the nine days during the Beatles' brief visit, Americans had bought more than two million Beatles records and more than 2.5 million US dollar worth of Beatles-related goods."
Top Of The Charts
- "She Loves You" became the biggest-selling single in British history (in the years since, only six other singles have sold more copies there).
- In April 1964 they became the first to top American and British charts simultaneously, and that same month the Beatles held the top five positions on Billboard singles chart.
- In a span 6½ years, they had the Number One single in the US for a total of 59 weeks and topped the LP charts for 116 weeks. In other words, they had the top-selling single one out of every six weeks, and the top-selling album one out of every three weeks.
Influences
- Opened the American market to such British Invasion groups as the Dave Clark Five, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks.
- Member of the Order of the British Empire was awarded to them by the Queen.
- John & Remarks About Christianity: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now".
Sources
- http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylan-the-beatles-and-the-rock-roll-of-the-60s-19900823?page=7
- http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatlemania-born/
- http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/showbiz/beatles-ed-sullivan-beatlemania-5-things/
- http://www.beatles-history.net/
- http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-beatles/biography