The Beatles and the British Invasion

MUS 1240Fall 2014

The Beatles and the British Invasion

• The music industry had searched for the “Next Elvis” for several years after Elvis first hit the scene in the mid-late 1950s.

• Many different artists were given the opportunity to try and become the “Next Elvis”.

• What they didn’t see coming was that the “Next Elvis” would come from England…

Line Up

Other Important Beatle People

• George Martin (b. 1926) - The Fifth Beatle– Producer– Brian Epstein (1934-1967) – band’s manager

The Beatles and the beginning of the British Invasion

• The Beatles– If greatness is measured in commercial success and

popularity, the Beatles were the greatest popular musicians of the twentieth century.

• They started out in Liverpool, England as a performing band modeled on American Buddy Holly’s group, the Crickets.

Phases of the Beatles

• Same three phases as Beach Boys– Imitation– Emulation– Innovation

Early Beatles (Pre-Beatles)

• Liverpool• Quarrymen• Pete Best & Stu Sutcliffe

UK vs. US Beatles Releases

• The generally accepted sequence of Beatles releases is the series of LP’s and singles released in the U.K.

• The U.S. releases did not always contain the same songs as the UK releases, so they are not as good of an indicator of the Beatles’ career

Beatles Albums

UK Releases (Parlophone/Apple)• Please Please Me (3/63)• With The Beatles (11/63)• A Hard Day’s Night (7/64)• Beatles for Sale (12/64)• Help! (8/65)• Rubber Soul (12/65)• Revolver (8/66)• Sgt. Pepper (6/67)• Magical Mystery Tour (11/67)• The Beatles (White Album) (11/68)• Yellow Submarine (1/69)• Abbey Road (9/69)• Let it Be (5/70)

• Past Masters Vol 1&2 – (3(88)

US Releases (VeeJay/Capitol)• Introducing…The Beatles (1/64)• Meet the Beatles! (1/64)• The Beatles’ Second Album (4/64)• A Hard Day’s Night (6/64)• Something New (7/64)• Beatles ‘65 (12/64)• Beatles VI (6/65)• Help! (8/65)• Rubber Soul (12/65)• Yesterday and Today (6/66)• Revolver (8/66)• Sgt. Pepper (6/67)• Magical Mystery Tour (11/67)• The Beatles (White Album) (11/68)• Yellow Submarine (1/69)• Abbey Road (9/69)• Let it Be (5/70)

The Beatles

• During their extended apprenticeship period, the Beatles played at clubs in their hometown of Liverpool and elsewhere.– The Cavern Club – Liverpool (292 performances 1961-1963)

• In several trips to Hamburg, Germany, they performed an imitative repertoire that centered on covers of songs by the American rock ’n’ roll artists they most admired.

• Clip – Beatles’ first ever recording; “That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly 1959

Beatlemania

• When the Beatles toured the UK for the first time in 1962, through the time they came to the U.S. for the first time in 1964, the response from the public was so overwhelming it was dubbed “Beatlemania”.

• The band’s first appearance on U.S. television on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 was at that time the most watched television event in U.S. history.

Please Please Me

Listening: “Please Please Me” (1962)

• Written by Lennon and McCartney (actually just Lennon)• An excellent example of the Beatles’ early songwriting and

performing.• Second UK single, goes to #1 in Jan/Feb. 1963

– Released in the US on VeeJay - Feb 25, 1963 – does not chart– Released again about one year later and goes to #3, 2 weeks after

“I Want to Hold Your Hand”

• Straightforward, up-tempo love song in a typical AABA form– Was originally supposed to be a slow song in a Roy Orbison style

“Please Please Me” - lyricsA: Last night I said these words to my girl

I know you never even try, girlC'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon)Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you

A: You don't need me to show the way, loveWhy do I always have to say "love"C'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon)Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you

B: I don't wanna sound complainingBut you know there's always rain in my heart (In my heart)I do all the pleasing with you, it's so hard to reasonWith you, whoah yeah, why do you make me blue

A: Last night I said these words to my girlI know you never even try, girlC'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon), c'mon (C'mon)Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you

Tag: (Me) Whoa yeah, like I please you(Me) Whoa yeah, like I please you

With The Beatles

With the Beatles

• “All My Loving”– First song the Beatles performed on Ed Sullivan

• Several covers of early rock and roll songs as well as Motown– Roll Over Beethoven – Chuck Berry– Please Mr. Postman – the Marvelettes (Motown)– Money (That’s What I Want) – Barrett Strong

(Motown)

A Hard Day’s Night

Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964)

• Written by Lennon and McCartney• Number One in 1964• Title song of the Beatles’ first movie • Begins with dissonant guitar chord—effective

hook

Notable Films by the Beatles

• A Hard Day’s Night – 1964• Help! – 1965• Magical Mystery Tour – 1967

– Surrealist • Yellow Submarine – 1968

– Animation; seen as a landmark in animation as an art form. – Beatles did not actually participate except for last scene; they

were voiced by actors• Let it Be – 1970

• Also – Cartoon series that ran on ABC

Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964)

• Overall form is AABA More than the three traditional chords are

used. The chord changes don’t always happen in the

expected places.

Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964)

• A Blues-like twelve-bars– It’s been a hard day’s night…– It’s been a hard day’s night…– But when I get home to you…

• A – You know I work…– And it’s worth it…– So why on earth…

Listening: “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964)

• B When I’m home… bridge—new music• A—Exact repetition of first A• A—Instrumental—Guitar solo, eight bars• Voice enters for last four bars of section• B When I’m home… as before• A It’s been a hard day’s… as before

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70QfHtKdh_0

Beatles for Sale

Beatles for Sale

• “Eight Days a Week”• “I’ll Follow the Sun”• Several covers– “Rock and Roll Music” – Chuck Berry– “Words of Love” – Buddy Holly– “Honey Don’t” – Carl Perkins

Help!

Help!

• “Help!”• “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”• “Yesterday”

The softer side of the Beatles:“Yesterday” (1965)

• Romantic ballad with strong roots in Tin Pan Alley popular song tradition

Listening: “Yesterday”

• Instrumentation—acoustic guitar and strings• Distinguishing features of Beatles’ style: – Reference to popular style– Emphasis on melody– Imaginative instrumentation– Responsiveness to text

Listening: “Yesterday”

• Romantic ballad with strong roots in Tin Pan Alley popular song tradition

• Form: AABABA—variation of Tin Pan Alley thirty-two-bar AABA form

• Opening A section– 1. Yesterday– 2. All my troubles…– 3. Now it looks…– 4. Oh, I believe…

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONXp-vpE9eU

Beatles on the Road

• The Beatles were a touring band from 1962-1966– Final tour ended with a concert at San Francisco's Candlestick

Park - August 1966• From 1966-1970, the Beatles only worked as a studio

band, they did not tour anymore. – However, this period is when the Beatles most experimental

music was written, and where perhaps they built their massive influence on future musicians.

• Varied influences in their music, from 50s rock and roll, R&B, standard European classical, Indian classical music, psychedelia, Swing, jazz, Tin Pan Alley, etc.

Rubber Soul

Rubber Soul (1965)

• Marked a major change in the direction of the Beatles’ style and sound– This particular album more folk-influenced

• More influence of the 1960’s drug culture– In interviews, Lennon called it the “pot” album

• Use of Indian instruments such as the sitar; the influence of Indian music and spiritual practices would become a major influence.

• “Norwegian Wood”

Yesterday and Today – “The Butcher Cover”

Revolver

Revolver

• First Beatles album to lead off with a song by George Harrison (“Taxman”)

• “Eleanor Rigby”• “Tomorrow Never Knows”• “Got to Get You Into My Life”– Famous cover by Earth, Wind, and Fire

• “Yellow Submarine”

Listening: “Eleanor Rigby” (1966)

• Instrumentation: String quartet—violins, viola, cello• The lyrics describe two lonely people • The harmony emphasizes the feeling of loneliness by

alternating between two chords without reaching a goal.

• The melody does not lead anywhere; there is no sense of melodic development.

• Verse-Chorus form—alternation of a persistent refrain and narrative.

Eleanor Rigby• Ah, look at all the lonely people

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has beenLives in a dreamWaits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the doorWho is it for?

All the lonely peopleWhere do they all come from?All the lonely peopleWhere do they all belong?

Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hearNo one comes nearLook at him working. Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody thereWhat does he care?

All the lonely peopleWhere do they all come from?All the lonely peopleWhere do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely peopleAh, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her nameNobody cameFather McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the graveNo one was saved

All the lonely peopleWhere do they all come from?All the lonely peopleWhere do they all belong?

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

• Very revolutionary for the time• Concept album: structured as a performance– Beach Boys “Pet Sounds” first concept album, but Sgt.

Pepper’s perfected the art form• Redirected attention from single recording to record

album• Caused Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys to have a

nervous breakdown• Use of innovative recording techniques (ex. tape loops,

rewiring headphones to use as microphones, etc.)

Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles (The White Album)

The White Album

• “Back in the USSR”• “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” – Harrison– Guitar solo by Eric Clapton

• “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”• “Blackbird” – McCartney’s song about the civil rights

movement of the 1960s• “Helter Skelter” – a song often seen as one of the first

“heavy metal” songs• “Revolution 1” – mostly acoustic version of the more

well-known single “Revolution”

Tensions begin to tear apart the Beatles

• White Album (1968)– McCartney called it “unpleasant record to make”

• John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s relationship– Varying opinions on how this affected the Beatles

• Financial disagreements– Band did not have Epstein due to his death in 1967

• Band’s final two albums, Abbey Road (1969) and Let it Be (1970), were recorded under tension.– Abbey Road was actually the final album recorded, but Let it Be was the

final album released– http://www.abbeyroad.com/Crossing

• Beatles formally dissolved April 10, 1970…although McCartney had let the news slip in a late 1969 interview.

Final Performance - 1969

Abbey Road

Abbey Road

• “Come Together”• “Something” – Harrison• “Here Comes the Sun” – Harrison– Uses Moog synthesizer – another example of the

Beatles using newer technology– Also used on “Because”

• “The Abbey Road Medley” – B side– A collection of short, perhaps unfinished songs that

were stitched together to make one longer suite

Let it Be

Let it Be

• “Let it Be”• “Across the Universe”• “Get Back• “The Long and Winding Road”

• Producer: Phil Spector!!! – He added a lot of extra orchestral instruments,

etc. that not all of the Beatles were cool with.

After the Beatles

• All of the Beatles went on to successful solo careers – Paul McCartney being the most successful with his next

band Wings and his own solo career.• Tragedy– John Lennon’s assassination in 1980– George Harrison’s death from cancer in 2001

• Beatles Anthology – 1994– First release of “new” Beatles songs in 24 years– “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love”