Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Just How Impactful Were The Beatles?



“When The Beatles arrived, from then on, a thousand different things arose.” 

–Peter Townshend, The Who        



Earlier today, I published a blog entry 

Well, I decided to explore a little more just how much of an impact the Beatles actually did have. And despite knowing that they indeed had made a great impact, it was amazing to see just how profound an impact the Fab Four actually had.

The band had already become quite huge before they came to America. Yet it was when they crossed the Atlantic and proved to be phenomenally popular on a level that could hardly be imagined then, and can hardly be expected to duplicated now, that they transcended to a whole new level of success and influence. Arguably, it began with their now legendary performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Here is what Ed Sullivan himself thought of it:

“The Beatles first appeared on our show on February 9, 1964, and I have never seen any scenes to compare with the bedlam that was occasioned by their debut. Broadway was jammed with people for almost eight blocks. They screamed, yelled, and stopped traffic. It was indescribable … There has never been anything like it in show business, and the New York City police were very happy it didn’t – and wouldn’t – happen again.” 

–Ed Sullivan, host of The Ed Sullivan Show

Rolling Stone magazine also helped to put the influence that the Beatles had into perspective:

“The impact of the Beatles – not only on rock & roll but on all of Western culture – is simply incalculable … [A]s personalities, they defined and incarnated ’60s style: smart, idealistic, playful, irreverent, eclectic…. [N]o group has so radically transformed the sound and significance of rock & roll. … [they] proved that rock & roll could embrace a limitless variety of harmonies, structures, and sounds; virtually every rock experiment has some precedent on Beatles record.”  

–Rolling Stone

A couple of authors, including one of my personal favorites, also discussed the impact of the Beatles:

“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, ‘The Beatles did.'”  

–Kurt Vonnegut


“The Beatles were my favorite group. This is the nearest I will ever get to being a Beatle.”  

–J.K. Rowling, author


Okay, so the Beatles were wildly popular and had a big impact on some people. But just how big could their influence possibly be, really? Well, some people - and not just nutcases who have no idea what they are talking about, but prominent people who would understand precisely the kind of impact that the legendary band actually had - credit the Beatles, more than anything else, for helping bring about the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union. And these are people who probably know what they are talking about. Take a look at these three quotes:


 “More than any ideology, more than any religion, more than Vietnam or any war or nuclear bomb, the single most important reason for the diffusion of the Cold War was … the Beatles.”  

–Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union  


“The West spent millions on undermining communism but it had much less impact than The Beatles. The Beatles, Paul, John, George and Ringo have done more for the fall of Communism than any other western institution. They alienated a whole generation of young, well-educated, urban Soviet kids from their communist motherland.”  

–Artemy Troitsky, Russian journalist/music critic


“The Beatles had this tremendous impact on Soviet kids. The Soviet authorities thought of The Beatles as a secret Cold War weapon. The kids lost their interest in all Soviet unshakeable dogmas and ideals, and stopped thinking of an English-speaking person as an enemy. That’s when the Communists lost two generations of young people. That was an incredible impact.”  

–Dr Yury Pelyoshonok, Soviet Studies professor


Wow. 

Other legendary musicians also chimed in. This includes Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, both musicians who themselves enjoyed legendary careers. Yet, look at how glowing some of their thoughts on the Beatles proved to be:

“We were driving through Colorado, we had the radio on, and eight of the Top 10 songs were Beatles songs…’I Wanna Hold Your Hand,’ all those early ones. They were doing things nobody was doing. Their chords were outrageous, just outrageous, and their harmonies made it all valid… I knew they were pointing the direction of where music had to go.”  

–Bob Dylan  


“This was different, shifted the lay of the land. Four guys, playing and singing, writing their own material … Rock ‘n’ roll came to my house where there seemed to be no way out … and opened up a whole world of possibilities.”  

–Bruce Springsteen


Sometimes, certain bands are claimed to have been even greater than the Beatles, at least for a time. The most common ones which I have heard over the years are Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys. Yet, here are some quotes from members of those bands which help to put their own thoughts on The Beatles in perspective:


“If it hadn’t been for The Beatles, there wouldn’t be anyone like us around.”  

–Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin  


“There’s no outdoing The Beatles.”  

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is probably the greatest single album I ever heard.”  

“the Beatles ultimately “eclipsed a lot [of what] we’d worked for … [they] eclipsed the whole music world.” 

 –Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys


“The Beatles were the first to actually find that middle path between the artistic and the intellectual, and at the same time still be on the street.”  

–Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones  


“The four-headed monster.”  

“They gave us our first big hit in England, which was a song they wrote “I Wanna Be Your Man.” And we were very grateful for that because it really broke us in England.”  

“Their success in America broke down a lot of doors that helped everyone else from England that followed, and I thank them very much for all those things.”  

–Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones


Both in the words of other legendary musicians, as well as figures who understood history and culture enough to feel, with legitimacy, that the Beatles had such an impact that they helped to bring down communism and had a not insignificant role in ultimately ending the Cold War, these quotes really help to put into perspective just how profound the impact and influence the Fab Four actually had. What a band!

More recent rockers - musicians and bands who came well after the Beatles broke up - also chimed in. Here are more thoughts on the enduring influence of the Fab Four, and why their music and legend continue right into the present:


“From one generation to the next, The Beatles will remain the most important rock band of all time.”  

“The Beatles are the foundation of everything we do.”  

“If it weren’t for The Beatles, I would not be a musician.”  

–Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters


“I think The Beatles are the reason I’m a musician.”  

–Sting, the Police  


“John Lennon has been my idol all my life.”  

–Kurt Cobain, Nirvana


“Michael Jackson can sell records until the end of time, but he’ll never matter to people as much as The Beatles did. Every record was a shock when it came out. Every single was an event.”  

–Elvis Costello, Elvis Costello & the Attractions


So it seems that the Beatles transcended even music. They influenced how the world itself changed. History might have been very different without them. That is pretty amazing. Growing up and listening to the Beatles, I had simply thought of them as a band that made really good music, and who were regarded as standing above their peers, if you will, in terms of popularity. They were my personal favorite band as a child, but even then, I did not fully grasp their power or influence.

Yet the older I get, the more it seems clear to me that, in fact, they were quite a bit more than that first impression I had of them was, even though it was favorable. The Beatles were not merely the biggest band of their time, but they have become one of the most iconic musicians, and probably even artists, in all of history. And that's no exaggeration.

There are two things that got me onto this topic. One was the quote from Pete Townsend, which I placed right at the beginning of this blog entry. Then there was this little Facebook post that I ran into recently, and which got me on this topic to begin with. This is Bono of U2 fame, and he knows a little something about achieving fame through music, and even transcending music. Here he is, explaining just how huge the Beatles were for him:


BONO EXPLAINS WHY THE BEATLES ARE "UNTOUCHABLE" 

As the lead vocalist of U2, Bono has enjoyed a hugely successful career, winning 22 Grammys and earning a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Irish rock band released their first album, Boy, in 1980, before finding their first UK number-one record with War three years later. After a few years of recording and touring, U2 were an internationally acclaimed act. Throughout his career, Bono has frequently discussed one of his biggest musical influences, The Beatles, who he once described as his “earliest memory of music”. Taking to U2’s website, Bono wrote a fan letter to the beloved Liverpudlian band, stressing the significance of the first time he heard ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ when he was three years old. He wrote: “I associate the song with the smell of freshly cut grass as I was lying on my back on the damp green patch after my Da had cut the lawn.” He added: “It was the spring of 1964… the song on the radio felt like life force… like I was for the first time conscious that I was alive and that being alive was a really, really great idea!” The musician also claimed, “In my head it felt like the universe was singing to me directly… and I still feel that now when listening to most of your songs.” Appearing on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports, Bono declared his adoration for the Liverpool lads, referring to them as “untouchable”. Referring to his U2 bandmates, he explained: “We still look to [The Beatles] as models of what can be achieved when four people get into a room and start experimenting.” He continued: “It’s sad that two of them are gone now. […] It’s always worth reminding ourselves how lucky we are to be alive at a time when we grew up with the Beatles.” “When you’re in a band, it’s like you against the world. If you come from a neighbourhood in Dublin or Liverpool and you come to America, and you discover the roots of soul music and blues and stuff, that may or may not have influenced you but certainly has opened your ears and eyes up – they were the first to do that.” Bono’s love for The Beatles has never dulled over the years. In 2007, he appeared in the film Across the Universe, portraying Dr Robert in a rendition of ‘I Am The Walrus’ and ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’. He even claimed that watching the Fab Four making music in the documentary Get Back was like witnessing Jesus writing a sermon.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=421399737321890&set=a.127293623399171




Here is where I got the quotes used in the above blog entry. There are many more quotes from many other prominent people and sources which I did not use, in the interest of time and space. However, please feel free to check this link out and explore more of these quotes yourself, if you feel so inclined to do so:


Quotes About The Beatles by HyperScapes

https://hyperscapes.com/quotes-about-the-beatles/

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