The Beatles
| The Beatles | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
| Genre(s) | Pop, rock and various others |
| Years active | 1960–1970, 1994–1995 |
| Label(s) | Parlophone, Capitol, Odeon, Apple, Vee-Jay, Polydor, Swan, Tollie, United Artists Records |
| Associated acts | The Quarrymen, Plastic Ono Band, The Dirty Mac, Wings, Traveling Wilburys, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, Ringo Starr All-Starr Band |
| Website | www.beatles.com |
| Members | |
| John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison Ringo Starr | |
| Former members | |
| Stuart Sutcliffe Pete Best | |
The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960. Primarily consisting of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals) throughout their career, The Beatles are recognised for leading the mid-1960s musical "British Invasion" into the United States. Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and homegrown skiffle, the group explored genres ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, styles, and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. After the band broke up in 1970, all four members embarked upon solo careers.
The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music, selling over a billion records internationally.[1] In the United Kingdom, The Beatles released more than 40 different singles, albums, and EPs that reached number one, earning more number one albums (15) than any other group in UK chart history. This commercial success was repeated in many other countries; their record company, EMI, estimated that by 1985 they had sold over one billion records worldwide.[2] According to the Recording Industry Association of America, The Beatles have sold more albums in the United States than any other band.[3] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Beatles number one on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[4] According to that same magazine, The Beatles' innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s, and their influence on pop culture is still evident today. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of top-selling Hot 100 artists to celebrate the chart's fiftieth anniversary; The Beatles reached #1 again.[5]
- 1.1 1957–60: Formation
- 1.2 1960–62: Hamburg, Cavern Club and Brian Epstein
- 1.3 1962: Record contract
- 1.4 1962–63: Fame in the UK
- 1.5 1963–64: American success
- 1.6 1964–66: Beatlemania crosses the Atlantic
- 1.7 1966: Backlash and controversy
- 1.8 1966–69: Studio years
- 1.9 1969–70: Let It Be project and breakup
- 1.10 1970 – 1993: Post-breakup
- 1.11 1994 – 1996: reunion and Anthology
- 1.12 1996 – present: recent projects and developmen
History
1957–60: Formation
In March 1957, while attending Quarry Bank Grammar School in Liverpool, John Lennon formed a skiffle group called The Quarrymen.[6] Lennon met guitarist Paul McCartney in St. Peter's Church, on 6 July 1957; Lennon added him to the group a few days later.[7] On 6 February 1958 the 14-year-old guitarist George Harrison was invited to watch the group, which was then playing under a variety of names, at Wilson Hall, Garston, Liverpool.[8] McCartney had become acquainted with Harrison on the morning bus ride to the Liverpool Institute, as they both lived in Speke. Despite Lennon's initial reluctance due to Harrison's young age, Harrison joined the Quarrymen as lead guitarist at McCartney's insistence after a rehearsal in March 1958.[9][10] Lennon and McCartney both played rhythm guitar during that period and, after original Quarrymen drummer Colin Hanton left the band in 1959 following an argument with other band members, had a high turnover of drummers. Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe joined on bass in January 1960.[11][12]
The Quarrymen went through a progression of names, including "Johnny and the Moondogs" and "Long John and The Beatles". Sutcliffe suggested the name "The Beetles" as a tribute to Buddy Holly and The Crickets. After a tour with Johnny Gentle in Scotland, the band changed their name to "The Beatles". Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Lennon, suggested that Lennon came up with the name The Beatles at a "brainstorming session over a beer-soaked table in the Renshaw Hall bar."[13] Lennon, who was well known for giving multiple versions of the same story, joked in a 1961 Mersey Beat newspaper article that "It came in a vision — a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, 'From this day on you are Beatles with an A'".[14] During an interview in 2001, McCartney took credit for the peculiar spelling of the name, saying that "John had the idea of calling us the Beetles; I said, 'How about The Beatles; you know, like the beat of the drum?' At the time, everyone was stoned enough to find it hilarious. It's funny how history is made."[15]
In May 1960, the then Silver Beetles toured northeast Scotland as a back-up band with singer Johnny Gentle, whom the band had met an hour before their first gig.[11] McCartney referred to the tour as a great experience for the band.[16] For the tour, the often drummer-less group secured the services of Tommy Moore, who was considerably older than the others.[17] Moore left the band soon after the tour and went back to work in a bottling factory as a forklift truck driver.[18] Norman Chapman was the band's next drummer, but was called up for National Service a few weeks later. His departure posed a serious problem, for the group's unofficial manager, Allan Williams, had arranged for them to perform in clubs on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, West Germany.[19]
1960–62: Hamburg, Cavern Club and Brian Epstein
Finding themselves without a drummer before their upcoming engagement in Hamburg, the group invited Pete Best to become their drummer on 12 August 1960. Best had played with The Blackjacks in The Casbah Coffee Club, owned by his mother, Mona Best; a cellar club in West Derby, Liverpool, The Beatles played there and often visited.[20] Four days after hiring Best, the group left for Hamburg. The Beatles began playing in Hamburg at the Indra Club and moved to the Kaiserkeller in October 1960. They were required to play six or seven hours a night, seven nights a week. On 21 November 1960 Harrison was deported for having lied to the German authorities about his age.[21] A week later, having started a small fire at their living quarters while vacating it for more luxurious rooms, McCartney and Best were arrested, charged with arson, and deported.[22] Lennon followed the others to Liverpool in mid-December while Sutcliffe stayed behind in Hamburg with his new German fiancée Astrid Kirchherr. The reunited group played an engagement on 17 December 1960 at the Casbah Club, with Chas Newby substituting for Sutcliffe.[23]
The Beatles returned to Hamburg in April 1961, performing at the "Top Ten Club". While playing at the Top Ten Club, they were recruited by singer Tony Sheridan to act as his backing band on a series of recordings for the German Polydor Records label,[24] produced by famed bandleader Bert Kaempfert.[25] Kaempfert signed the group to its own Polydor contract at the first session on 22 June 1961. On 31 October Polydor released the recording "My Bonnie (Mein Herz ist bei dir nur)", which appeared on the German charts under the name "Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers", a generic name used for whoever happened to be in Sheridan's backup band.[26] A few copies were also pressed under the Decca label for United States disc jockeys, as American Decca had a distribution deal with Polydor parent Deutsche Grammophon.[27] When the group returned to Liverpool, Sutcliffe stayed in Hamburg with Kirchherr.[28] McCartney took over bass duties.[29]
The band returned to Liverpool from Germany, and on Tuesday, 21 February 1961, they made their first lunchtime appearance at The Cavern Club in Mathew Street. Their stage show had been through a lot of changes, and some in the audience thought they were watching a German band. From 1961 to 1962 The Beatles made 292 appearances at the club, culminating in a final appearance there on 3 August 1963.[30] On 9 November 1961, Brian Epstein, owner of the North End Music Store (NEMS) on Great Charlotte Street, saw The Beatles for the first time in the club. Epstein became aware of the group after he received requests for the Sheridan/Beatles recording of "My Bonnie."
In a meeting with the group at North End Music Store on 10 December 1961, Brian Epstein proposed the idea of managing the group.[31] The Beatles signed a five-year contract with Epstein on 24 January 1962.[32] He then formed the management company NEMS Enterprises. Epstein led The Beatles' search for a British recording contract. Epstein had been manager of the record department at NEMS, an offshoot of his family's furniture store. He played on the status of NEMS as a major record dealer to gain access to producers and recording company executives. When Epstein contacted Kaempfert about the Polydor contract, Kaempfert told Epstein he was only interested in The Beatles as Sheridan's backup group. Kaempfert then agreed to release The Beatles from their Polydor contract. In a now-famous exchange, Decca Records A&R executive Dick Rowe turned Epstein down flat, informing him that "guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein."[33] (See The Decca audition.) While Epstein was negotiating with Decca, he also approached EMI marketing executive Ron White.[34] White, who was not himself a record producer, in turn contacted EMI producers Norrie Paramor, Walter Ridley, and Norman Newell; all of them declined to record The Beatles. White did not approach EMI's fourth staff producer — George Martin — who was on holiday at the time.[35] The Beatles returned to Hamburg from 13 April to 31 May 1962, where they performed at the opening of The Star Club.[36] Upon their arrival, they were informed of Sutcliffe's death from a brain hemorrhage.[37]
1962: Record contract
After failing to impress Decca Records, Epstein went to the HMV store on Oxford Street in London to transfer the Decca tapes to discs. There, recording engineer Jim Foy referred him to Sid Coleman, who ran EMI's publishing arm. Epstein eventually met with Martin, who signed the group to EMI's Parlophone label on a one-year renewable contract.[38] The Beatles' first recording session was scheduled for 6 June 1962 at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in north London.[39] Martin had not been particularly impressed by the band's demo recordings, but he liked The Beatles' personalities when he met them.[40] He concluded that they had raw musical talent, but stated in later interviews that what made the difference for him was their wit and humour.[41]
Martin had a problem with Pete Best,[40] whom he criticised for not being able to keep time. Martin privately suggested to Epstein that the band use another drummer in the studio. There was speculation by some that Best's popularity with fans was another source of friction.[42] In addition, Epstein became exasperated with his refusal to adopt the distinctive hairstyle as part of the band's unified look. Best also had missed a number of engagements because of illness. The three founding members of the band enlisted Epstein to dismiss Best, which he did on 16 August 1962.[43] They asked Richard Starkey, known as Ringo Starr, to join the band; Starr was the drummer for one of the top Merseybeat groups, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and had performed occasionally with The Beatles in Hamburg.[44] The first recordings of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr together were made as early as 15 October 1960, in a series of demonstration records privately recorded in Hamburg while acting as the backing group for singer Lu Walters.[45] Starr played on The Beatles' second EMI recording session on 4 September 1962, but Martin hired session drummer Andy White for their next session on 11 September.[46] White's only released performances were recordings of "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You", found on The Beatles' first album.
Their recording contract paid them one penny for each single sold, which was split amongst the four Beatles — one farthing per group member.[47] This royalty rate was reduced for singles sold outside the UK, for which they received half of one penny (again split between the whole band) per single. Martin said later that it was a "pretty awful" contract.[47]
The Beatles' first EMI session on 6 June 1962 did not yield any recordings considered worthy of release, but the September sessions a few months later produced a minor UK hit "Love Me Do", which peaked on the charts at number seventeen.[48] "Love Me Do" would reach the top of the U.S. singles chart over eighteen months later in May 1964.
1962–63: Fame in the UK
On 26 November 1962 the band recorded their second single "Please Please Me", which reached number two on the official UK charts and number one on the NME chart. Three months later, they recorded their first album, also titled Please Please Me (1962). The band's first televised performance was on the People and Places programme, transmitted live from Manchester by Granada Television on 17 October 1962.[49] As The Beatles' fame spread, the frenzied adulation of the group, predominantly from teenage female fans, was dubbed "Beatlemania".
The band also began to be noticed by serious music critics. On 23 December 1963, The Times music critic William Mann published an essay extolling The Beatles' compositions, including their "fresh and euphonious" guitars in "Till There Was You", their "submediant switches from C major into A flat major", and the "octave ascent" in "I Want to Hold Your Hand".[50] The Beatles themselves were perplexed by this analysis by Mann: "...one gets the impression that they think simultaneously of harmony and melody, so firmly are the major tonic sevenths and ninths built into their tunes, and the flat-submediant key-switches, so natural is the Aeolian cadence at the end of 'Not a Second Time' (the chord progression which ends Mahler's 'Song of the Earth')."[51]
In was also in 1963 that the Beatles' iconic logo (referred to as the "drop-T" logo) made its debut. The logo, with an extended "T" emphasizing the word "Beat", was designed by Ivor Arbiter, music store proprietor, who sold Epstein a new kit. Arbiter was paid £5 for the design, which was painted on the bass drum by a local sign-writer.[52]
1963–64: American success
Although the band experienced huge popularity on the British record charts in early 1963, EMI's American operation, Capitol Records, declined to issue the singles "Please Please Me" and "From Me to You", their first official number one hit in the UK.[53] Vee-Jay Records, a large independent (mostly R&B) Chicago label, issued the singles as part of a deal for the rights to another performer's masters. Art Roberts, music director of popular Chicago radio station WLS, placed "Please Please Me" into radio rotation in late February 1963, arguably the first time a Beatles record was heard on American radio. Vee-Jay's rights to The Beatles were later cancelled for non-payment of royalties.[54]
In August 1963, Philadelphia-based Swan Records released "She Loves You", which also failed to receive airplay. A testing of the song on Dick Clark's TV show American Bandstand produced laughter from American teenagers when they saw the group's distinctive hairstyles.[55] In early November 1963, Brian Epstein persuaded Ed Sullivan to present The Beatles on three editions of his show in February, and parlayed this guaranteed exposure into a record deal with Capitol Records. Capitol committed to a mid-January release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand".[56] On 10 December 1963, a 5-minute story shot in England about the phenomenon of Beatlemania was shown on the CBS Evening News. The segment first aired on the CBS Morning News on 22 November and had originally been scheduled to be repeated on that day's Evening News, but regular programming was cancelled following the assassination of John F. Kennedy that day. The segment inspired a teenage girl named Marsha Albert living in Silver Spring, Maryland to write to Carroll James, a disc jockey at Washington DC's WWDC radio station, requesting that he play records by The Beatles. Carroll James had seen the same news story and arranged through a friend to have a copy of The Beatles' new single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sent over to him in Washington DC. Immediately after debuting the record on December 17, the station received overwhelming positive audience reaction, with the station escalating airplay of the record. Made aware of the overwhelming listener response, Capitol Records president Alan Livingston decided a few days later to take advantage of the response and rush-release the already-prepared single three weeks ahead of schedule on 26 December 1963.[57]
Several New York radio stations began playing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on its release day. The positive response to the record that had started in Washington was duplicated in New York and quickly spread to other markets. The record sold one million copies in just ten days, and by 16 January 1964, Cashbox magazine had certified the record number one, in the edition datelined 23 January.
1964–66: Beatlemania crosses the Atlantic
On 7 February 1964, a crowd of four thousand fans at Heathrow Airport waved to The Beatles as they took off for their first trip to the United States as a group.[58] They were accompanied by photographers, journalists (including Maureen Cleave), and Phil Spector, who had booked himself on the same flight.[59] When the group arrived at New York's newly renamed John F. Kennedy Airport, they were greeted by a large crowd. The airport had never experienced such a crowd, estimated at about 3,000 fans.[60] After a press conference, where they first met disc jockey Murray the K, The Beatles were put into limousines and driven to New York City. On the way, McCartney turned on a radio and listened to a running commentary: "They [The Beatles] have just left the airport and are coming to New York City..."[61] After reaching the Plaza Hotel, they were besieged by fans and reporters. Harrison had a fever of 102 °F (39 °C) the next day and was ordered to stay in bed, so Neil Aspinall replaced him for the band's first rehearsal for their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.[62]
The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February 1964. Approximately 74 million viewers — about half of the American population — watched the group perform on the show.[63] The next morning, many newspapers wrote that The Beatles were nothing more than a "fad", and "could not carry a tune across the Atlantic".[64] The band's first American concert appearance was at Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C. on 11 February 1964.[65]
After The Beatles' success in 1964, Vee-Jay Records and Swan Records took advantage of their previously secured rights to the group's early recordings and reissued the songs; all the songs reached the top ten this time. (MGM and Atco also secured rights to The Beatles' early Tony Sheridan-era recordings and had minor hits with "My Bonnie" and "Ain't She Sweet", the latter featuring John Lennon on lead vocal.) In addition to Introducing... The Beatles (1964), which was essentially The Beatles' debut British album with some minor alterations, Vee-Jay also issued an unusual LP called The Beatles Vs The Four Seasons. This 2-LP set paired Introducing... The Beatles and The Golden Hits Of The Four Seasons, another successful act that Vee-Jay had under contract, in a 'contest' (the back cover featured a 'score card'). Another unusual release was the Hear The Beatles Tell All album, which consisted of two lengthy interviews with Los Angeles radio disc jockeys (side one was titled "Dave Hull interviews John Lennon", while side two was titled "Jim Steck interviews John, Paul, George, Ringo"). No Beatles music was included on this interview album, which turned out to be the only Vee-Jay Beatles album Capitol Records could not reclaim.
The Vee-Jay/Swan-issued recordings eventually ended up with Capitol, which issued most of the Vee-Jay material on the American-only Capitol release The Early Beatles, with three songs left off this final US version of the album. ("I Saw Her Standing There" was issued as the American B-side of "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and also appeared on the Capitol Records album Meet The Beatles. "Misery" and "There's a Place" were issued as a Capitol "Starline" reissue single in 1964, and reappeared on Capitol's 1980 US version of the Rarities compilation album.) The early Vee-Jay and Swan Beatles records command a high price on the record collectors' market today, and all have been copiously bootlegged.[66] The Swan tracks "She Loves You" and "I'll Get You" were issued on the Capitol LP The Beatles' Second Album. Swan also issued the German-language version of "She Loves You", called "Sie Liebt Dich". This song later appeared (in stereo) on Capitol's Rarities album.
In mid-1964 the band undertook their first appearances outside of Europe and North America, touring Australia; Ringo Starr was suffering from tonsillitis and was temporarily replaced by session drummer Jimmy Nicol. In Adelaide, The Beatles were greeted by over 300,000 people at Adelaide Town Hall.[67] Ringo had rejoined by the time they arrived in New Zealand on 21 June 1964.[68]
On 6 June 1964, A Hard Day's Night, the first movie starring The Beatles, was released in the United Kingdom. Directed by Richard Lester, the film is a mockumentary of the four members as they make their way to a London television programme. The film, released at the height of Beatlemania, was well-received by critics, and remains one of the most influential jukebox musicals.[69][70] That December the group released their fourth album, Beatles for Sale.
In June 1965, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed the four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire, MBE. The band members were nominated by Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who also was the M.P. for Huyton, Liverpool.[71] The appointment – at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders – sparked some conservative MBE recipients to return their insignia in protest.[72] In July 1965, The Beatles's second feature film, Help!, was released. The film was accompanied by the band's fifth British studio album Help!, which also functioned as the soundtrack for the movie. On 15 August 1965, The Beatles performed the first major stadium concert in the history of rock 'n' roll at Shea Stadium in New York to a crowd of 55,600.[73]
On 27 August 1965, the group arrived at a Bel Air mansion to meet Elvis Presley.[74] Biographer Peter Guralnick maintains that Presley was at best "lukewarm" about playing host to people he did not really know.[74] Paul McCartney later said: "It was one of the great meetings of my life ... I only met him that once, and then I think the success of our career started to push him out a little, which we were very sad about, because we wanted to coexist with him."[75] Marty Lacker, a friend of Presley's, recalls the singer saying: "'Quite frankly, if you guys are going to stare at me all night, I'm going to bed. I thought we'd talk a while and maybe jam a little.' And when he said that, they [The Beatles] went nuts."[76] The group told stories, joked and listened to records. The five of them had an impromptu jam session.[75] "They all went to the piano," says Lacker, "and Elvis handed out a couple of guitars. And they started singing Elvis songs, Beatle songs, Chuck Berry songs. Elvis played Paul's bass part on "I Feel Fine", and Paul said something like, 'You're coming along quite promising on the bass there, Elvis.' I remember thinking later, 'Man, if we'd only had a tape recorder.'"[76]
Their sixth album, Rubber Soul, was released in early December 1965. It was hailed as a major leap forward in the maturity and complexity of the band's music.[77]
1966: Backlash and controversy
In July 1966, when The Beatles toured the Philippines, they unintentionally snubbed the nation's first lady, Imelda Marcos, who had expected the group to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace.[78] When presented with the invitation, Brian Epstein politely declined on behalf of the group, as it had never been the group's policy to accept such "official" invitations.[79] The group soon found that the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to accepting "no" for an answer. After the snub was broadcast on Philippine television and radio, all of The Beatles' police protection disappeared. The group and their entourage had to make their way to Manila airport on their own. At the airport, road manager Mal Evans was beaten and kicked, and the band members were pushed and jostled about by a hostile crowd.[80] Once the group boarded the plane, Epstein and Evans were ordered off, and Evans said, "Tell my wife that I love her."[81] Epstein was forced to give back all the money that the band had earned while they were there before being allowed back on the plane.[82]
Almost as soon as they returned from the Philippines, an earlier comment by Lennon made in March that year launched a backlash against The Beatles from religious and social conservatives in the United States. In an interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave,[83] Lennon had offered his opinion that Christianity was dying and that The Beatles were "more popular than Jesus now".[84] Afterwards, a radio station in Birmingham, Alabama, ran a story on burning Beatles records, in what was considered to be a joke. However, many people affiliated with rural churches in the American South started taking the suggestion seriously. Towns across the United States and South Africa started to burn Beatles records in protest. Attempting to make light of the incident, Harrison said, "They've got to buy them before they can burn them."[85] Under tremendous pressure from the American media, Lennon apologised for his remarks at a press conference in Chicago on 11 August 1966, the eve of the first performance of what turned out to be their final tour.[86]
The group's two-year series of Capitol compilations also took a strange twist in the United States when one of their publicity shots, used for a Yesterday and Today album and a poster promoting the UK release of "Paperback Writer", created an uproar, as it featured the band dressed in butchers' overalls, draped in meat and plastic dolls. A popular, though apocryphal, rumour said that this was meant as a response to the way Capitol had "butchered" their albums.[87] Thousands of copies of the album had a new cover pasted over. Years later, a commentator linked the cover shot with the group's interest in German expressionism.[86] Uncensored copies of Yesterday and Today command a high price today, with one copy selling for $10,500 at a December 2005 auction.[88]
Elvis Presley apparently disapproved of The Beatles's anti-war activism and open use of drugs, later asking President Richard Nixon to ban all four members of the group from entering the United States. Peter Guralnick writes, "The Beatles, Elvis said, [...] had been a focal point for anti-Americanism. They had come to this country, made their money, then gone back to England where they fomented anti-American feeling."[89] Guralnick adds, "Presley indicated that he is of the opinion that The Beatles laid the groundwork for many of the problems we are having with young people by their filthy unkempt appearances and suggestive music while entertaining in this country during the early and middle 1960s."[90] Despite Presley's remarks, Lennon still had some positive feelings towards him: "Before Elvis, there was nothing."[91] McCartney later remarked that he "felt a bit betrayed [by Presley's views] ... The great joke was that we were taking drugs, and look what happened to [Elvis]. ... It was sad, but I still love him. ..."[92] Bob Dylan however, recognised The Beatles' contribution, stating: "America should put up statues to The Beatles. They helped give this country's pride back to it."[93]
1966–69: Studio years
During the recording sessions for Revolver, tape looping and early sampling were introduced in a complex mix of ballad, R&B, soul, and world music. The Beatles performed their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on 29 August 1966.[86][94] From then on, The Beatles concentrated on recording. Less than seven months after recording Revolver, The Beatles returned to Abbey Road Studios on 24 November 1966 to begin the 129-day recording sessions for their eighth album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, released on 1 June 1967.
The band appeared in a segment within the first-ever worldwide television satellite hook-up, a show titled Our World. The Beatles were transmitted live from Abbey Road Studios, and their new song "All You Need Is Love" was recorded live during the show, albeit to the accompaniment of a backing track they had spent five days recording and mixing in the studio prior to the broadcast.[95]
On 24 August 1967, The Beatles met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the London Hilton. A few days later they went to Bangor, in North Wales, to attend a weekend 'initiation' conference.[96] There, the Maharishi gave each of them a mantra.[97][98] While in Bangor, The Beatles learned of the death of Brian Epstein at age 32 from an accidental prescription drug overdose. At the end of 1967, they received their first major negative press in the UK with disparaging reviews of their surrealistic TV film Magical Mystery Tour.[99] Part of the criticism arose because colour was an integral part of the film, yet the film was shown on Boxing Day in black and white. The Magical Mystery Tour film soundtrack, was released in the United Kingdom as a double EP, and in the United States as a full LP (the LP is now the official version).
The group spent the early part of 1968 in Rishikesh, Uttar Pradesh, India, studying transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.[100] Their time at the Maharishi's ashram was highly productive from a musical standpoint, as many of the songs that would later be recorded for The Beatles (White Album) and Abbey Road were composed there by Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison.[100] Upon their return, Lennon and McCartney went to New York to announce the formation of Apple Corps.[101] The middle of 1968 saw the band busy recording the double album The Beatles, popularly known as The White Album because of its plain white cover. These sessions saw deep divisions opening within the band, with Starr temporarily leaving the band. The band carried on, with McCartney taking over the drums on the tracks "Martha My Dear", "Wild Honey Pie", "Dear Prudence" and "Back in the USSR". Among the other causes of dissension were that Lennon's new girlfriend, Yoko Ono, was at his side through almost all of the sessions, and that the others felt that McCartney was becoming too dominant.[102] Internal divisions had been a small but growing problem in the band; most notably, this was reflected in the difficulty that Harrison experienced in getting his songs onto The Beatles albums.
On the business side, Lennon, Harrison and Starr wanted New York manager Allen Klein to manage The Beatles; however, McCartney wanted businessman Lee Eastman (the father of McCartney's then-girlfriend Linda). All past Beatles decisions had been unanimous, but this time the four could not agree. The other three members felt Eastman would put McCartney's interests before those of the group (during the Anthology interviews, McCartney said, "Looking back, I can understand why they would feel that (Eastman) was biased for me and against them"). In 1971, it was discovered that Klein, who had been appointed manager, had stolen £5 million from The Beatles' holdings.
1969–70: Let It Be project and breakup
In January 1969, The Beatles began a film project documenting the making of their next record, originally titled Get Back. During the recording sessions, the band undertook their final live performance on the rooftop of the Apple building at 3 Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969. Most of the performance was filmed and later included in the film Let It Be. The project was temporarily shelved, and The Beatles recorded their final album, Abbey Road, in the summer of 1969. The completion of the song "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" for the album on 20 August 1969 was the last time all four Beatles were together in the same studio. Lennon announced his departure to the rest of the group on 20 September 1969, but agreed that no announcement was to be publicly made until a number of legal matters were resolved. Their final new song was Harrison's "I Me Mine", recorded 3 January 1970 and released on the Let It Be album. It was recorded without Lennon, who was in Denmark at the time.[103]
In March 1970, the Get Back session tapes were given to American producer Phil Spector, who had produced Lennon's solo single "Instant Karma!". Spector's Wall of Sound production values went against the original intent of the record, which had been to record a stripped-down live performance. McCartney was deeply dissatisfied with Spector's treatment of "The Long and Winding Road" and unsuccessfully attempted to halt release of Spector's version of the song. McCartney publicly announced the break-up on 10 April 1970, a week before releasing his first solo album, McCartney. Pre-release copies included a press release with a self-written interview explaining the end of The Beatles and his hopes for the future.[104] On 8 May 1970 the Spector-produced version of Get Back was released as Let It Be, followed by the documentary film of the same name. The Beatles' partnership wasn't dissolved until 1975,[105] though McCartney filed a suit for the dissolution on 31 December 1970, effectively ending the band's career together.[106]
1970 – 1993: Post-breakup
Shortly before and after the official dissolution of the group, all four Beatles released solo albums. Some of their albums featured contributions by other former Beatles; Starr's Ringo (1973) was the only one to include compositions and performances by all four, albeit on separate songs. Harrison showed his socio-political consciousness and earned respect for his contribution for arranging the Concert For Bangladesh in New York City in August 1971 along with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. Other than an unreleased jam session in 1974 (later bootlegged as A Toot and a Snore in '74), Lennon and McCartney never recorded together again.
In the wake of the expiration in 1975 of The Beatles' contract with EMI-Capitol, the American Capitol label, rushing to cash in on its vast Beatles holdings and freed from the group's creative control, released five LPs: Rock 'n' Roll Music (a compilation of their more uptempo numbers), The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (containing portions of two unreleased shows at the Hollywood Bowl), Love Songs (a compilation of their slower numbers), Rarities (a compilation of tracks that either had never been released in the U.S. or had gone out of print), and Reel Music (a compilation of songs from their films). There was also a non-Capitol-EMI release entitled Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962, which was a recording of a show from the group's early days at the Star Club in Hamburg captured on a poor-quality tape. Of all these post-breakup LPs, only the Hollywood Bowl LP had the approval of the group members. Upon the American release of the original British CDs in 1986, these post-breakup Capitol American compilation LPs were deleted from the Capitol catalogue.
John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman on 8 December 1980 in New York City. In May 1981, George Harrison released "All Those Years Ago"; a single written about his time with The Beatles. It was recorded the month before Lennon's death, with Starr on drums, and was later overdubbed with new lyrics as a tribute to Lennon. Paul and Linda McCartney later contributed backing vocals to the track.[107] In April 1982, Paul McCartney released his Tug of War album, containing his tribute song to John Lennon, titled "Here Today".
In 1988, The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during their first year of eligibility.[108] On the night of their induction, Harrison and Starr appeared to accept their award along with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and his two sons. McCartney stayed away, issuing a press release citing "unresolved difficulties" with Harrison, Starr and Lennon's estate.
1994 – 1996: reunion and Anthology
In February 1994, the three surviving Beatles reunited to produce and record additional music for a few of Lennon's home recordings. "Free as a Bird" premiered as part of The Beatles Anthology series of television documentaries and was released as a single in December 1995, with "Real Love" following in March 1996. These songs were also included in the three Anthology collections of CDs released in 1995 and 1996, each of which consisted of two CDs of never-before-released Beatles material. Klaus Voormann, who had known The Beatles since their Hamburg days and had previously illustrated the Revolver album cover, directed the Anthology cover concept. 450,000 copies of Anthology 1 were sold on its first day of release. In 2000, the compilation album 1 was released, containing almost every number-one single released by the band from 1962 to 1970. The collection sold 3.6 million copies in its first week (selling 3 copies a second) and more than 12 million in three weeks worldwide. The collection also reached number one in the United States and 33 other countries, and had sold 25 million copies by 2005 (about the ninth best selling album of all time).
1996 – present: recent projects and developments
In the late 1990s, George Harrison was diagnosed with lung cancer. He succumbed to the disease on 29 November 2001.[109]
George Martin and his son Giles Martin remixed original Beatles recordings to create a soundtrack to accompany Cirque du Soleil's theatrical production Love. The soundtrack album Love was released in 2006. In 2007, McCartney and Starr reunited for an interview on Larry King Live to discuss their thoughts on the show. Beatles widows Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison also appeared with McCartney and Starr in Las Vegas for the one-year anniversary of Love.
Also in 2007, reports circulated[110] that McCartney was hoping to complete "Now and Then", the third Lennon track the band worked on during the Anthology sessions. It would be credited as a "Lennon/McCartney composition" by writing new verses, and reworked by laying down a new drum track recorded by Starr and utilizing archival recordings of Harrison's guitar work.
Lawyers for The Beatles sued on 21 March 2008 to prevent the distribution of unreleased recordings purportedly made during Ringo Starr's first performance with the group in 1962. The dispute between Apple Corps Ltd. and Fuego Entertainment Inc. of Miami Lakes stems from recordings apparently made during a performance at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.[111]
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