What do you love most about Rock and Roll? The head-banging, the rebellious spirit, and the guitar solos? Yet, it all had to start somewhere and that is with the one rock group that changed the world: The Beatles. The Beatles (consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) are the most inspirational and greatest rock group in the history of music. They produced over twenty albums that still inspire bands today.
The Beatles were the first group to have a rebellious attitude. For example, they always answered press in a sarcastic and carefree manner. During an interview, someone asked the group after their first recording session if there was anything they didn’t like. George Harrison replied, "Well, your tie for a start…" Another trend they started for future rockers, was growing long hair. It was considered defiant to have unkempt hair, and long beards. They were also the first group to openly state that they had taken drugs. Paul McCartney was asked in an interview if he had taken LSD. He admitted that he’d taken it four times. Every member of the Beatles took drugs and openly admitted it. This was the first time that drugs and rock and roll went hand in hand. The last example of rebellious acts of the Beatles was their show on top of their recording studio in London. They blared their music across London from their rooftop without a permit and the police interrupted the show after a few songs.
Not only were their appearances and attitudes revolutionary to rock, but their music and lyrics too. Guitar and drum solos were very unpopular during the Beatles time. No music group before the Beatles included guitar/drum solos in almost every one of their songs. They were also the first to scream in their songs, and made harmonizing in the majority of their songs extremely popular. These techniques paved the way for future bands in forming their songs.
Many believe that other bands after The Beatles were the true role models for future rock groups, such as Led Zeppelin or The Who. However, I argue that point with the fact that these bands were directly influenced by The Beatles themselves. Both of these band’s images were young adults playing in a group that took drugs, had rebellious attitudes, and had complicated guitar and drum solos in almost every song. However inspirational both of these bands may have been, they were just following The Beatles example.
The Beatles didn’t just have one style of music, but created songs with many different genres. From rock-pop, to funk, and even to the earliest metal! This would influence later bands to have a wide variety of sounds. Their lyrics and overall message changed with time also. As an early band, most of their songs were about love and relationships. As the years passed on, their lyrics included messages for their audience’s time. As America went to war, The Beatles wrote lyrics that spoke of peace and love, using lines such as, "All you need is love." Future rock groups would use the same techniques. For example, The Who wrote songs about their generation, such as "My Generation."
The Beatles didn’t only influence a few rock groups after themselves, but started a cause that would affect hundreds of bands, making present day bands their posterity. They gave bands techniques such as screaming, harmonizing, effective song writing, and extensive guitar and drum solos. They were the role models of the first group to "stick it to the man", by being sarcastic, taking drugs, and growing their hair out. What you and I love about rock today, was started by one rock group more than forty years ago. The Beatles will be the instigators of rock for the bands of yesterday, today, and tomorrow!
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