why did the Beatles even happen?

Question

I ask this question without judgement of anyone. All I am wondering is this ------- I do see a lot of people say that the Beatles are/were way over-rated, that they weren't really that good, any number of things. All in all, I hear a lot of 'what was the big deal with these guys anyway? They weren't anything great.' I am not judging those opinions, just wondering this ---- why, then, did the whole Beatles thing happen? Is it that they WERE a good band but are no longer relevant or important? Were they just an average band that for some reason or another were seen as far better than they were? Were they a lousy band that got sold as something great, and the whole world bought it?
You see what I am asking, probably. If the Beatles really WEREN'T anything exceptional, why then did the whole Beatles thing happen? I will be interested in seeing people's answers on this.
Thanks!!!

Answer 1

I can't honestly answer your question because as far as I'm concerned, The Beatles were every bit as great as the world made them out to be. Sure, their early stuff was simple and pop-oriented, but that's how rock was at the time. But then they revolutionized it and began doing things that nobody had even thought about doing. So many of their songs are still far more brilliant than anything that's come out sense. If you ask me, The Beatles should be taught in music school much the way Bach or Beethoven are. Almost all of today's most brilliant music probably happened because of The Beatles.

Answer 2

The Beatles set the stage for music as we know it today. John Lennon was a prodigy, you cannot deny this. Just listen to the song "In My Life" and if you don't just fall over from the genius of it, you are stunted. Great? Well, the country was in turmoil (can we ever name a time when it wasn't?) and rock was very predictable. Here come these guys with a different look, who threw conformity out the window, and expressed a different new sound. It was just something different. Remember, we had Elvis, who was bluesy, which has been around since the early slave days. We had Buddy Holly and we had Chuck Berry and Little Richard. All these guys were fantastic, but the Beatles were so far from that sound that they made everyone sit up and take notice. Let's don't discount the other members of the band. George Harrison wrote what is simply the most incredible love song in the history of the world. Listen to "Something" and tell me if you aren't moved by it. I think it's the best song for a wedding ever written. I certainly will have it played at my wedding, if ever I should have one. The Beatles came along when music was stagnating. Same as any other huge band that has a different sound. But their talent cannot be denied. Not in instrument playing, but in writing. You must pay attention to the writing of the lyrics and music itself, not the style or the sound. Then you will not deny the genius of it.

Answer 3

I think some of the success of the Beatles was due in fact to being in the right place at the right time. They ushered in the whole "British Invasion". I think that if some of the other groups like The Rolling Stones had made it first, they would have received the same status. There is some debate that Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons were poised to be the next big thing before the Beatles happened. This doesn't take away from the fact that the Beatles were still a phenomenal group, I just think that timing is usually a major key to any entertainers success.

Answer 4

I think the whole Beatles thing happened because they were so different from everything else at the time. The timing was right--kids had more money to spend on albums & singles, and the Beatles had a quality to them that earlier groups didn't.

Having been born after the Beatles first burst onto the scene, I can't say for certain, but that's the impression I get from the various biographies I've read.

Answer 5

To appreciate the Beatles, I think you have to look at the impact they had on popular music back in their day, and not compare them to the music of 2008.



Take a look at the top songs of the early 60s and you'll see that for the most part it was devoid of anything resembling rock and roll. The rock pioneers of the 50s, like Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, had for all intents and purposes disappeared by 1960. Elvis managed to continue charting songs, but since he was in the Army, his popularity waned considerably.That left the door open for the teen idols like Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Connie Francis, whose music was certainly not rock and roll.



The Beatles changed all that in 1963/1964 with not only a revolutionary sound that would be copied for decades to come, but a new instrumental set-up that included for the first time lead and rhythm guitars, bass and drums. That continues to be the "normal" set-up for a rock band today.



I would agree with you that if you compare a Beatles song to some of the new songs today, the Beatles song might not stand up. But I don't think you can deny their huge impact on popular music, including the music of today.

Answer 6

Portugal. The Man Belle & Sebastian The Arctic Monkeys The Shins

Answer 7

When it comes to the beatles they werent just a band they were a movement. Without them, the great bands that came after them would not be the same, all great music has an effect on future music, that is what i love about music, its always evolving and taking used techniques and styles, adapting them etc. The Stone Roses and Oasis are one of so many bands that say that their music is influenced by the Beatles, and I for one wouldnt want to be without these bands!

Answer 8

I was a little stunned by the overrated answers yesterday. there is a reason that you don't hear songs before 1964 on rock radio anymore......they were terrible. Doo wop, Bobby Vinton, Pat Boone, etc. The Beatles completely changed the concept of music, especially for anglo america. Motown did the same thing for the black community. The beatles in essence invented rock music, and their look was unique. Their lyrics as they grew into musicians became incredible. I will be stunned if the current favorites have songs lasting 40 years and in some cases still sounding very up to date.

Answer 9

In the beginning they probably were a bit over rated. but after they stopped performing live in 1966 and started being primarily studio artists they weren't. They were terrific songwriters and musicians. They would have never been able to be what they were without theearly years so perhaps they do owe there success to the maybe"over rated' early 60's. but how is a band over rated anyway?.if millions, even today say they are there favorite band then how can they be over rated. A band cant be overated. i do say the early years were mostly controlled by hysteria, and primarily obsessed girls.

Answer 10

the beatles were a great band. they changed music in so many ways. they tried things nobody had ever tried. so whoever said that they were over-rated and sold as a much greater thing has absolutly no idea of what they are talking about.

Answer 11

I'm of the opinion that they *were* an exceptional band and fully deserved the success and the accolades. (For the record, I feel that they really started to become interesting and to hit their stride in 1965 or thereabouts- not a big fan of their cutesy early songs like "She Loves You" or "I Want to Hold your Hand".) There's no such thing as a band that's universally loved by everyone, by the way. Every band has its detractors. The same holds true for other sixties bands (the Stones, the Kinks, etc), or any other artist you care to name. As an aside, I was born in Paris, and was very surprised to find out that the Eiffel Tower was extremely unpopular there when it was completed in 1889. I seem to remember reading that it was dismissed as a "disgraceful skeleton" by intellectuals of the day. It took a while for people's perceptions to change, and now of course it's considered the symbol of Paris if not all of France. My point being, one person's masterpiece is another person's piece of crap. It's a subjective judgment, after all.

Answer 12

The reason the Beatles "happpened" as you so blatantly put is because they are one of the best bands ever and ever to be. When the Beatles came to America they brought something new (at the time many considered there music to be very crazy and socially unacceptable) like Elvis and also like Elvis they changed they changed Rock & Roll forever and we owe everything about the music world today to them.

This is why they "Happened".

Answer 13

In my opinion The Beatles first gained notority and popularity in their early years because they were 4 very attractive young men who sang to a young teenage audience that was searching for a new voice in music. Once they developed that fan base they were able to become the heroes in music that we view them as today. They took bold risks in evolving their sound, developed themselves as amazing songwriters, and for those reasons became one of the greatest bands of all time.

Answer 14

Once they attained the status of cult heroes, there was nowhere to go but down...



They really were that great. Listening to their oldest stuff, when they were still doing covers ~ they just had that electricity; charisma ~ call it what you will ~ it's that bolt of lightening that is indescribable to anyone who has not been 'struck'.



But then they took it one step further, and branched out into themes and sounds and songs and honestly expressed feelings and situations; psychedelica and transcendental meditation; love and understanding; embracing the cultures of other worlds, they brought the world a little closer together.



Come together, right now, over me.



They could see into the heart of the world and express what they saw in song. There'll never be another like them.

Answer 15

They are an amazing band! One of the best of all time, but just like all music not everyone likes them. They topped the charts for long periods of time when they were together. Of course they started to die off and all the craziness that happened. Yet, they are on of the greatest bands of all time.



Yes, they were an amazing band....they werent lousy or oversold...they were just good. The first british rock band to hit the US.



And they have not been forgotten....whoever told you that is a fool

Answer 16

I'm not here to bash the Beatles but i have a little different perspective they early in their careers were their labels puppets (almost a back street boys) first off they were signed not for their music but for their look and probably the first five or six albums they did were not really theirs they might have wrote their own songs but the label picked which ones were right and then forced them to do covers pretty much the producer had more influence on those records than the Beatles they were just boys on a string made to dance for all the teenage girls later in their career they did break away from their labels hold and produced some very good material

Answer 17

They were very appealing to the masses. I think they had a kind of "pretty-boy" image, kinda like Hanna Montana and all that now. The Beatles bore me. I like the Stones. They had balls and attitude.

Answer 18

i like the beatles im 23 years old they played real music good music they were very good band and if you like music youd like all music

Answer 19

What are you saying???? The Beatles are the BEST EVER!!!!!!!! They are the #1 Best rock band in the world!



Want proof?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4595384/



There's your proof.