One fact about the Beatles that should not be overlooked is how little calendar time it took them to effectively change the course of music forever.

They officially formed in 1960 (counting the years before the permanent lineup was created) and split up precisely 10 years later — not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things — and yet, their influence was unmatched. Plenty of other artists spend their entire lives crafting a legacy like that, while the Fab Four did it in a decade.

Because they only worked together for a relatively short amount of time, the Beatles only released 13 albums, but each of them paints a different picture of a band working hard to develop something groundbreaking, whether they realized it at the time or not.

The full story of the Beatles is told through these 13 albums, but if we absolutely had to narrow things down to the "Big 4," these would be our selections.
1. A Hard Day's Night (1964)

From the opening chord of A Hard Day's Night, it's clear that the Beatles were not and never would be a "normal" rock 'n' roll band — few '60s acts at that time would be willing to start an album with such a bizarre sound, one that would leave guitarists wondering for decades how on earth it was made.

Of all of the Beatles' early albums, A Hard Day's Night is the one that showcases their burgeoning talent as songwriters — the famous Lennon-McCartney duo, with a sprinkle of George Harrison's contributions in there, too — and their penchant for thinking just a bit outside the box. Take, for example, the augmented B7 chord in "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You." This isn't your average teeny-bopper music. There's also "Things We Said Today," which draws melodically from jazz and classical music, the sort McCartney was brought up on at home in Liverpool, and changes between major and minor keys.

Source: ultimateclassicrock.com/Allison Rapp

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Sir Paul McCartney says his 14-year marriage to Nancy Shevell works so well because they are total opposites.

The Beatles legend tied the knot with Nancy back in May 2011, with the pair beginning their relationship in 2007 as Paul was finalizing his acrimonious divorce from second wife Heather Mills.

Paul, 83, says he and Nancy, 66, are so happy together because they are “nothing like each other” and that works well for their relationship.

Speaking on the Song Exploder podcast, he said: "We’ve known each other quite a long time and it’s a very interesting relationship. We’re nothing like each other. I’m English, she’s American. She’s very practical, gets things done, I’m much more sort of whimsical. I will get things done but maybe not in as practical a way.

“We know each other and we know how to be with each other.” Paul has dedicated the song Ripples in a Pond to Nancy from his new number one album The Boys of Dungeon Lane. McCartney was thinking about how “blessed” he is to have Nancy as his wife when the lyrics and chords began to flow.

Paul - who lost his first wife Linda to breast cancer in 1998, when the photographer was 56 - said: “I was thinking about my missus Nancy and thinking how lucky I am to know and love someone like her. “I was just thinking about how blessed I am. Anyone who is in a good relationship with someone is inevitably really blessed and it’s nice when you’re thinking that to introduce that idea into a song.”

Nancy is the perfect romantic partner for Paul, and he also revealed his greatest ever musical partner was his late Beatles bandmate John Lennon.

Source: yardbarker.com

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On this day (June 22) in 1966, the Beatles topped the UK Singles Chart with “Paperback Writer.” It gave the band their tenth consecutive No. 1 in their home country. The song stood out from anything else they had ever released in two important ways. First and foremost, it was the loudest song they had ever recorded. It was also the first song from the Fab Four to feature a boosted bassline.

“Paperback Writer” came at a pivotal time for the band. Brian Epstein and George Martin had formulated a release schedule for the Beatles early in their career. They planned to push four singles and two albums each year, believing this would keep public interest in the band alive. At the same time, it would deliver enough new music to keep up with fans’ demands. According to Beatles Bible, this single marked the end of that release plan.

More importantly, it marked a new period for the band. They were less motivated by commercial gains. Instead, they wanted to experiment and expand their musical horizons. The Fab Four wanted to break the mold they’d made for themselves and explore new sounds and topics. “Paperback Writer” was an example of studio experimentation.

Source: americansongwriter.com/Clayton Edwards

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It had been a long and gruelling tour and, by the end of August 1966, The Beatles had had enough. Since their formative years, which by this point spanned back almost a decade, they had been performing endlessly, and had amassed an estimated 2,000 hours on stage. The 33 minutes they spent on a cold San Francisco stage on 29 August 1966 were the last they would ever spend together in front of a paying audience. The North American tour that had begun 18 days earlier was merely the final leg of a round of touring that had begun on 24 June with a series of shows in West Germany – including one in Hamburg, where they had met up with people they’d known from their pre-fame days when they had regularly played all-night session night in nightclubs. From West Germany they flew to London to take a flight to Tokyo.

In Japan, controversy greeted them, with protests about their booking to play at Tokyo’s Budokan, a martial arts arena. Opening the sacred site to what some saw as a negative influence on Japan’s youth and culture proved too much for many hardline Japanese nationalists, who threatened to disrupt proceedings. In the end, an estimated 35,000 police were deployed to protect the group.

From Japan, they flew to Manila, where they were due to play two concerts at a football stadium. At the airport, the four Beatles were ushered by armed guards into cars, separated from their manager and road crew, and taken against their will to the luxury yacht of a wealthy businessman. Eventually they were able to free themselves, and made it to their hotel, where more controversy awaited them on the morning of their concerts.

 Having issued an invite to The Beatles to come to a reception at their palace, President Marcos and his wife seemingly refused to accept that they had turned it down, and took very public offence when The Beatles failed to show. Live TV pictures showed children crying as The Beatles didn’t arrive. The next morning, their security had been removed, while the newspapers were fronted with stories condemning the group for snubbing the President and First Lady. Hundreds turned out at the airport to vent their displeasure, and The Beatles and their entourage feared for their lives before eventually making a terrifying exit from the country.

Source: classical-music.com/Paul McGuinness

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John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison had all become fathers by 1978. Several of the Beatles' children pursued music, while Paul McCartney's daughter Stella built a successful career in fashion

The Beatles changed music forever, but their legacy extends far beyond the recording studio. As Beatlemania swept the globe in the 1960s and transformed John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr into international icons, they were also building families behind the scenes. Lennon and Starr both welcomed sons before the band's fame reached its peak, and by 1978, all four Beatles had become fathers.

In the decades since, their children have forged paths of their own — sometimes embracing the spotlight and sometimes avoiding it altogether. Several followed their famous fathers into music, including John and Paul's sons, while others found success in different creative fields. Paul's daughter, Stella McCartney, became one of the world's most influential fashion designers.

John was the first of the Fab Four to become a father. His older son, Julian Charles John, was born in 1963 while John was married to his first wife, Cynthia Lennon. The couple divorced in 1968.

Like his iconic father, Julian went on to become a successful musician, releasing seven studio albums. His debut, 1985's Valotte, earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. He is also a film producer, photographer and children's book author.

Source: yahoo.com/John Russell, Samantha Stutsman

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The world of pop and rock music was dominated by the Beatles for almost the entire 1960s until their breakup in 1970. Their debut hit “Love Me Do” launched them to superstardom almost immediately in 1962, and when their success in the UK was later matched by success in the U.S., the band for a time became—in the infamous words of John Lennon, at least—“more popular than Jesus.”

But, perhaps understandably for a band as big and influential as the Beatles became, their true story, impact, and reputation have long been muddled with myth and legend. Ultimately, music historians and fans alike will forever be faced with setting straight the endless misconceptions and misunderstandings that have emerged over the years.
Misconception #1: They Were Basically Just a Manufactured Boy Band That Got Lucky

Not everyone is a Beatles fan, of course, and their style of music isn’t for everyone either. But if there’s one thing some non-fans like to claim, it’s that the band was little more than a jumped-up, poppy boy band—or, in more generous terms, a basic rock-and-roll covers band that got lucky.

It’s certainly true that good fortune and good timing helped the band’s meteoric rise to fame, and were they not spotted in their early days by their eventual manager Brian Epstein, it’s at least possible they would have remained stuck on the British club circuit for rather longer than they did (leaving an opportunity open for another band to take their place on the A list).

It’s also true that their early lineup and sound were shaped by both Epstein and their producer, George Martin, in some ways that resemble how boy bands are manufactured by labels today. But though the band’s early discography was filled with covers of rock-and-roll standards, this was by no means a simple covers band or boy band pieced together by an enterprising management team.

The band consisted of self-taught musicians who honed their playing and songwriting craft over many years, and who had many hours of performance experience behind them before earning their place on the charts. The band was also continually experimenting with new sounds and writing techniques; tellingly, within just over three years of recording a cover of the rock standard “Twist and Shout” in 1963, they were writing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, now widely hailed as one of the most groundbreaking and experimental albums of all time.

Source: mentalfloss.com/Paul Anthony Jones

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