the beatles chpt. 7 history of rock & roll. the beatles 1965–70 the beatles are often referred...
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The Beatles
Chpt. 7 History of Rock & Roll
The Beatles 1965–70 • The Beatles are often referred to as one of the
most successful and influential groups in the history of American popular music
• They continue to sell a tremendous amount of recordings and merchandise every year
• They stand as an example of a highly successful commercial rock group with musical integrity and a willingness to experiment
• They are from England, but their impact on American music is tremendous
The Beatles
• John Lennon• Paul McCartney• George Harrison• Ringo Starr
The Beatles – 1965• The Beatles’s early recordings synthesize several styles of
American popular music• By 1965 the group begins to expand the possibilities for
popular music• George Martin, their producer with experience in the world
of orchestral music, played an important role in their development
• “Yesterday,” a song with no electric guitars, bass, or drums, was a major hit– McCartney plays acoustic guitar and is accompanied by a string
quartet
The Beatles – 1965 (cont.)• The release of the album Rubber Soul demonstrated a
further willingness to experiment, albeit in a much more conservative fashion than subsequent albums
– “Norwegian Wood” (This Bird Has Flown) is the first (released) commercial American recording to make use of the sitar
– “Nowhere Man” shows Lennon moving in a socially conscious direction inspired by Bob Dylan and folk music
– “In My Life” contains a harpsichord-sounding piano solo
The Beatles – 1966• Revolver is considered to be one of the greatest
albums in rock history; VH1’s poll found it to be the greatest and critics consistently include it in their top ten lists– “Eleanor Rigby” – utilizes a string octet and contains
socially conscious lyrics– “Tomorrow Never Knows” – use of tambura,
backwards guitar solo, vocal is run through a Leslie cabinet, use of tape loops and found sounds, psychedelic lyrics
– “Got to Get You into My Life” – use of horns, inspired by American soul music.
The Beatles – 1967 • “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” are
released as a double A-side single
• “Strawberry Fields Forever” is a particularly innovative song
– Lennon’s vocals are slowed down and there are no vocal harmonies in order to create a somewhat lonely atmosphere
– Use of brass and cello
The Beatles – 1967 (cont.)
• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is released on June 1 at the beginning of the so-called “Summer of Love”– Based loosely around a concept, which, in turn,
ushered in the era of the concept album– The Beatles had stopped performing live and they
decided to take on another identity for this album– The first twelve songs can be heard as a collage of
fantasy-world soundscapes full of interesting sounds– The closing track, “A Day in the Life,” is a return to
reality
Songs from Pepper
• “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”• “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”• “She’s Leaving Home”• “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite”• “Within You Without You” • “When I’m Sixty-Four”• “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
(Reprise)”
“A Day in the Life”• Demonstrates disenchantment with the real world• Contains a once controversial line: “I’d love to turn you
on” was banned because the BBC thought it was a drug reference
• Makes use of two orchestral build-ups provided by an orchestra of over forty members
• Lennon sings the rather somber verses while McCartney provides the hurried sounding bridge
• Ends with a major chord played by all four Beatles on three pianos
• Magical Mystery Tour– Includes Lennon’s surrealistic epic “I Am the
Walrus,” along with other psychedelic pop songs– The latter portion of the album contains the
“Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever” single– “All You Need is Love” makes use of an odd time
signature
The Beatles – 1967 (cont.)
• The Beatles (The White Album)– Wildly eclectic 30-song album which draws on a wide array
of musical styles– Lennon was in a relationship with avant-garde artist Yoko
Ono by this time– Nevertheless, the group drew less from psychedelic
imagery and unusual sounds, and the experimental approach is more related to shear musical diversity on this album
– Contains the sound collage “Revolution No. 9”
The Beatles – 1968
• Let It Be is recorded but the release of the album is delayed until 1970 after the breakup of the band
• Tensions grew between band members during the recording sessions, as Ono’s presence brought about some frustration (Paul and George also feuded)
• The album shows the group moving back toward their rock and roll roots, and McCartney’s ballads (“Let It Be,” “The Long and Winding Road) were major hit singles
The Beatles – 1969
• Abbey Road is the last album recorded by the group• The group members decided to put aside their
differences in order to create a final artistic statement; the result was one of their most upbeat, accessible later works
• “Come Together” shows Lennon mixing his surrealistic wordplay with his roots in the music of Chuck Berry, while side two contains several short, interconnected songs
• Early use of the Moog synthesizer
The Beatles – 1969 (cont.)
Yoko Ono broke up the band? • Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band album is released
in December of 1970, and is a sparse, stark collection of songs recanting his childhood and his time with the Beatles
• The breakup of the group is announced by the press on April 10, 1970
• Let It Be is released in May
The Beatles – 1970