The Beatles' influence on popular culture
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The Beatles' influence on rock music and popular culture was—and remains—immense. Their commercial success started an almost immediate wave of changes—including a move from U.S. global dominance of rock and roll to UK acts, from soloists to groups, from professional songwriters to self-penned songs and to changes in fashion.
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[edit] Music
[edit] Album format and covers
Prior to the Beatles' influence record albums were of secondary consideration to singles ("45s") in mass marketing. Albums contained largely "filler" material (unexceptional songs) along with one or two hits. The Beatles rarely incorporated singles as part of their albums, thus defining the album as more important.
Several Beatles album covers have been copied or parodied, for example:
[edit] Music videos
In the middle of the 1960s the Beatles began filming promotional music videos for their songs, which they sent to television networks, instead of appearing in person.
"Strawberry Fields Forever" was made in 1967. It used many techniques previously only seen in experimental film, including intricate jump-cuts that rapidly alternated between night and day, reversed film and other avant-garde devices. These techniques were later copied and the use of such film and videos started the (now common) practice of releasing a video clip to accompany singles.
[edit] Cover versions
In May 1966 Lennon said of people covering their songs: "Lack of feeling in an emotional sense is responsible for the way some singers do our songs. They don't understand and are too old to grasp the feeling. Beatles are really the only people who can play Beatle music."[1]
The list of people that have covered the Beatles' songs is long. The following artists are the most notable and had hits.
Jimi Hendrix
On 4 June 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last show in England, at London's Saville Theatre,[2] before heading off to America.
The Sgt. Pepper's album and single had just been released days prior, and two Beatles (Paul McCartney and George Harrison) were in attendance at the show, along with a roll-call of UK rock stardom: Brian Epstein, Eric Clapton, Spencer Davis, Jack Bruce, and pop singer Lulu.
Hendrix opened the show with his own rendition of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which he had learned in the few days leading up to the show. Harrison and McCartney were extremely impressed by this, and especially because it was played on the Sunday after the release of Sgt. Pepper the previous Friday. McCartney had publicly endorsed Hendrix for months, before Hendrix broke into the UK music scene.[3]
Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker's first album was called With a Little Help from My Friends and contained a song with the same name. He had completely revamped the Lennon/McCartney song by changing the original easy-listening tune to a 12/8 blues/rock song. The Beatles heard it before its release, as the producer was uncertain as to how they would react to such a radical overhaul of one of their tracks. All the Beatles agreed that it was a great version.[citation needed]
Cocker's version was later used as the theme song for the TV show The Wonder Years.
Keith Moon
In 1976, Keith Moon of The Who covered the Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four" for the soundtrack of the documentary All This and World War II, and sang backing vocals (with many others) on "All You Need Is Love".[4] Moon also covered "In My Life" on his album Two Sides of the Moon.
Moon once approached the Beatles' table at a London nightclub. "Can I join you?" he asked. "Yeah, sure," said Starr, as he pulled up a seat for Moon. Moon then said, "No, can I join you?!" (Meaning that he wanted to join the band.) Ringo replied with, "No, we've already got a drummer."[citation needed][5] The last photo of Lennon and McCartney together was owned by Moon.
Moon's final night out was as a guest of McCartney at the preview of the film The Buddy Holly Story. After dinner with Paul and Linda McCartney, Moon and his girlfriend - Annette Walter-Lax - left the party early and they returned to his flat in Curzon Place, London. He later died in his sleep.[citation needed]
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers recited the lyrics of "A Hard Day's Night"[6] (1965 - UK # 14) in a "shakespearian" voice, (in the style of Laurence Olivier playing Richard III) with minimal backing music.
He deliberately changed the tempo and dynamics of the original lyrics to make them comical. He left definite pauses between words, such as:
"But when I get home to you... I find the things that you do... will make me feel (pause) all right."
This was re-issued in 1993, and reached Number 52 in the UK Top 75 Singles chart. He covered several other Beatles hits, including "Help!" and "She Loves You".
Sellers had casual friendships with Harrison and Starr. Harrison told occasional Sellers stories in interviews, and Starr appeared with Sellers in the anarchic movie, The Magic Christian (1970), whose theme song was Badfinger's cover version of McCartney's "Come and Get It". Starr also gave Sellers a rough mix of songs from The Beatles' White Album. The tape was auctioned, and bootlegged, after his death.
Other successful cover versions
- Elton John collaborated with John Lennon in 1974 and recorded "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", while Elton John appeared in Lennon's "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night". (For more information, see Lucy_in_the_Sky_with_Diamonds#Elton_John_version.)
- Earth, Wind & Fire recorded "Got to Get You into My Life".
- Stevie Wonder covered "We Can Work It Out".[citation needed]
- Frank Sinatra covered George Harrison's "Something" even though he once famously said (at a live concert) that it was his favourite Lennon and McCartney song.[citation needed]
- Wet Wet Wet had their first Number 1 hit with "With a Little Help from My Friends" in 1988.
[edit] Fashion
[edit] The mop-top haircut
The Beatle haircut, also known as the mop-top (or moptop) - because of its resemblance to a mop - or Arthur amongst fans, is a mid-length hairstyle named for and popularised by the Beatles. It is a straight cut - collar-length at the back and over the ears at the sides, with a straight fringe.
Prior to the mop-top, perhaps the most popular young men's hairstyle was the "Duck's Ass", which was a haircut style popular during the 1950s. It was also called the Ducktail, or simply DA.
As a schoolboy in the mid '50s, Jürgen Vollmer had left his hair hanging over his front one day after he had gone swimming and kept it that way. John Lennon is quoted in The “Beatles Anthology” as follows: “Jürgen had a flattened-down hairstyle with a fringe in the back, which we rather took to.” In the fall of 1961 Vollmer moved to Paris. McCartney said in a 1979 radio interview: “We saw a guy in Hamburg, whose hair we liked. John and I were hitchhiking to Paris. We asked him to cut our hair like he cut his." McCartney also wrote in a letter to Vollmer in 1989: “George explained in a 60s interview that it was John and I having our hair cut in Paris which prompted him to do the same…. We were the first to take the plunge.” [7]
Because of the immense popularity of the Beatles, the haircut was widely imitated worldwide between 1964 and 1966. Their hair-style led toy manufacturers to begin producing real-hair and plastic, "Beatle Wigs".[8] Lowell Toy Mfg. Corp. of New York was licensed to make "the only AUTHENTIC Beatle Wig." There have been many attempts at counterfeiting, but in its original packaging this wig has become highly collectible.
In the movie A Hard Day's Night, Harrison is asked in an interview, "What would you call that, uh, hairstyle you're wearing?" He replied, "Arthur."
Mikhail Safonov wrote in 2003 that in the Brezhnev-dominated Soviet Union the fashion to mimic the Beatles hairstyle was seen as extremely rebellious. Young people were called "hairies" by their elders, and were arrested and forced to have their hair cut in police stations.[9]
In 1967, most memorably on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, all four of the Beatles sported mustaches. This look signalled a new, more mature image for the "mop tops." By the late 1960s, the Beatles generally had much longer hair than they had during the Beatlemania era, and often wore full beards.
[edit] Suits
In the early Beatle-mania years, the Beatles would occasionally wear black, and then later grey, Edwardian collarless suits.[7][10] This style of suit was adopted from the Mod youth cult, then at its peak in the UK.[11] These suits (instead of leather trousers, plaid shirts and slacks) became extremely common for new bands to wear after 1964.
Later, during the psychedelic era of 1966-1968, the Beatles popularised bright colours, and wore paisley suits and shirts and trousers with floral patterns. The Beatles also popularised Indian-influenced fashions such as collarless shirts and sandals.
By the late 1960s, the Beatles had adopted trends toward more casual fashions, with t-shirts, blue jeans, and denim jackets. Lennon also popularised wearing solid white suits, reflecting an interest in minimalist design that also influenced the cover of the White Album. This mixture of casual wear and unconventional formal clothing is exemplified on the cover of Abbey Road, with Harrison in denim, Starr in a vintage men's suit with a paisley tie, McCartney wearing a suit with no tie and walking barefoot, and Lennon in a white suit.
[edit] Other
The style of hat worn by Lennon and his wife Cynthia on the Beatles' tour of the U.S. in 1964 was adopted widely by both men and women. (See John Lennon hat.)
In 1966, during the filming of How I Won the War, Lennon adopted round, thin-rimmed "granny glasses," which became a signature element of Lennon's look. This style of eyewear is still popularly known as "John Lennon glasses."
[edit] TV
[edit] Absolutely Fabulous
The hit UK TV show Absolutely Fabulous, better known as "Ab-Fab", filmed a whole episode based on finding the "Lost Tapes" of the Beatles. Robert Lindsay played a fictional tape engineer who used to work at Abbey Road Studios during the time that the Beatles worked there.
A long scene was filmed in the Abbey Road Studios: Joanna Lumley pressed the record button by mistake on the reel-to-reel recorder while she was looking for a second bottle of champagne in the control room. In the meantime, Jennifer Saunders unknowingly sang over the tapes, and they were lost forever. When Robert Lindsay played the tapes at the party and realised that they were lost forever, he promptly collapsed on the floor.
[edit] The Simpsons
In the The Simpsons Season 5 opening episode, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", Homer, Skinner, Apu, and Barney form a group called the Be-sharps, which rapidly rises to the top. There are numerous references to the Beatles, such as Barney dating a Japanese singer (a parody of Yoko Ono), and the Be-Sharps claiming they were bigger than Jesus. It ends with them singing on the rooftop of Moe's bar. The episode even includes a cameo by George Harrison, who meets Homer, and later appears in a limousine while the Be-Sharps sing on the rooftop, remarking that "It's been done." Another notable moment, was when Homer states to the crowd, "I hope we've finally passed the audition." But Barney is the one who doesn't understand what he means.
In the Season 8 episode "Bart After Dark", the couch gag is a parody of the cover of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, featuring a large crowd of regular characters, and the family standing in front of the couch, front and center; Homer turns to look at the crowded scene behind him.
In the Season 14 episode "Bart of War", Bart and Millhouse break into Ned Flanders' house when chasing after their fly-on-a-string and stumbling into Ned's private collection of Beatles memorabilia. Among Ned's item collection was the following: A DIY book titled Learn Carpentry with the Beatles (with John Lennon on the cover saying 'I'm fixing a hole ... in my drywall!'), a Yellow Submarine standing cardboard cut-out; a Mop-Top-Pop featuring the flavors 'John Lemon,' 'Orange Harrison,' 'Paul McIced Tea' and 'Mango Starr'; the Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show suits; knee-high Beatles figures; a Beatles wastepaper basket; and a Beatles-themed pinball machine.
Bart later takes a drink of a 'John Lemon' flavored can of Mop-Top-Pop and sees a psychedelic transformation of Milhouse through John Lennon's career; from the early years of a suit and mop-top to the "Sergeant Pepper"-era uniform to a more rebellious hippie-look with grannie-glasses to the controversial Rolling Stone magazine cover with a nude John Lennon next to Yoko Ono. Afterwards, Bart quotes 'Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye' from The Beatles' song "I Am The Walrus".
After Bart and Millhouse destroy the Beatles' room, Ned and Homer have a conversation. Homer mentions he never knew Ned was such a Beatles fan. Ned answers "Of course I am! They were bigger than Jesus. But your boy went Yoko and broke up my collection." This is a reference to the infamous 'We're bigger than Jesus,' quote of John Lennon and the common belief that the separation of the Beatles was due to John Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono.
The three living Beatles - since 1990 - recorded their voices for The Simpsons. Ringo appeared on Brush with Greatness, Paul and Linda McCartney on Lisa the Vegetarian, and George on the Homer's Barbershop Quartet episode. The John Lennon song "Mother" appeared in one episode, thus all the Beatles have made a vocal appearance on the Simpsons.
[edit] Other
- The Beatles (TV series), a late 1960s American animated television series featuring the musical misadventures of The Beatles.
- The Rutles, a mid-1970s series of sketches on the BBC television series Rutland Weekend Television, which would lead to the 1978 mockumentary film All You Need Is Cash
- The 1997 episode of Mister Show, "Please Don't Kill Me", features a mockumentary style skit entitled The Fad Three, in which a Beatlesque trio is shown appearing on stage at various gigs in front of screaming (and fainting) fans. The three are shown playing no instruments what so ever, but are instead shown simply standing in place for a few moments before the curtain closes; poking fun at the extent of the Beatles' popularity and the numberous times they had been drowned out by the cheering of their own fans.
- Sesame Street feature a parody band called "the Beetles", a group of four bugs with Liverpool accents and Beatle hair performing parodys of thier songs, such as Letter B and Hey Food.
- In the The Powerpuff Girls episode "Meet the Beat-Alls", Mojo Jojo, "Him", Princess Morbucks and Fuzzy Lumpkins form a group of supervillain named "The Beat-Alls". In addition to that, there are many references to the Beatles, their history, song and albums throught the episode
[edit] Film
- The 1996 film That Thing You Do! tells the story of a fictional one-hit wonder rock band and makes many (indirect) references to The Beatles' career. (See That Thing You Do!#References.)
- The 1978 television film All You Need Is Cash (based on a mid-1970s sketch series called The Rutles) traces the career of a British rock group called The Rutles in mockumentary style.
- The film Spinal Tap also pokes mild fun at the Beatles. In a flashback to the band's early days as a skiffle group (which the Beatles actually had roots in), they sing a song in the same style as older songs. They are also dressed similarly, with a gray, collarless suit and white collared shirts.
[edit] Beatlesque
Beatlesque (pronounced /ˌbi:təl'ɛsk/) is a term used to describe rock and pop bands and musicians who were influenced by The Beatles and make music that is very similar. New bands are promoted as being "The next Beatles" or "The new Fab Four", and members of the media refer to musical acts as being "Beatlesque".
Badfinger
Badfinger was a Welsh rock/pop band that formed in the late 1960s. They became closely associated with The Beatles due to their close work relationship with Beatles members and producers. The Beatles' producer George Martin was also their producer, and the band released their records on the Beatles' Apple Records label. Their interpretation of the song "Come and Get It" was based on Paul McCartney's demo version. Their song "No Matter What" is Lennon-inspired. George Harrison also worked with Badfinger, not only producing much of their music but also contributing the slide guitar solo on the song "Day After Day".
Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra, also known as ELO, was a successful British rock music group of the 1970s and 1980s. They recorded a tribute song called "Beatles Forever", but it is still unavailable, as band member and Beatles fan Jeff Lynne was reportedly embarrassed by it.[citation needed] "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" (on The Mike Douglas Show) with a quartet and horn section is very Lennon-like and included the line, "I saw the ocean's daughter", a play on the name of Yoko Ono, whose name means "Ocean child".
Frontman Jeff Lynne later produced George Harrison's Cloud Nine album, worked with him on the Traveling Wilburys albums, and completed Harrison's final work Brainwashed. Lynne also produced the new songs for the Beatles' Anthology.
Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon is the son of John Lennon. The songs "Valotte", "Saltwater", and "Too Late for Goodbyes" are all Beatlesque. The music video for the song "I Don't Wanna Know" features Julian and his band dressed up as the Beatles. Julian also covered "When I'm 64", which was originally sung by Paul McCartney.
There was wild media speculation that a Beatles reunion might take place with Julian Lennon in his father's place, even though neither Lennon nor the remaining Beatles ever endorsed the idea, and the remaining Beatles denied that there had ever been any truth in the reports. (Anthology.) More recently rumours have arisen of a recording project called "Here Come The Sons" which includes Julian and Sean Lennon, James McCartney, Dhani Harrison and Zack Starkey, and is produced by Gilles Martin.
The Monkees
The Monkees were a pop-rock quartet specifically created by U.S. television in 1965 in order to replicate the style and music of the Beatles at the height of Beatlemania. At the peak of their success, the Monkees out-sold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined, selling over 35 million records, and having four consecutive Number 1 albums in the year 1967 alone. The craze has become known as 'Monkeemania', as the remarkable teenage craze had not been seen since the peak of Beatlemania. Much controversy has been put down by the "Pre-fab" four as the public believed they did not play their own instruments; but aside from their first two LPs, this was not the case. (See The Monkees#From TV to stage)
Oasis
Oasis have often cited the Beatles as a strong influence.
Oasis have covered numerous Beatles songs during their career. The first was a live performance of "I Am The Walrus", first released on the 1994 single "Cigarettes & Alcohol" and later released on the B-sides compilation The Masterplan. Since then they have released studio covers of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and "Helter Skelter". Noel Gallagher himself performed "Help!" on some of his 1998 acoustic sets.[citation needed]
Noel has also been involved in a number of collaborations of Beatles songs, beginning in September 1995 with "Come Together". The song was recorded with Paul McCartney and Paul Weller under the guise of the Smokin' Mojo Filters and was recorded at Abbey Road and released on the HELP album. In May 1996, Noel and his brother Liam were guests on a live cover of "Day Tripper" at an Ocean Colour Scene" gig. In 1999, he provided acoustic guitar for Claire Martin's cover of "Help!". In September 2000, he sang and played guitar on performances of "Tomorrow Never Knows" (with Johnny Marr and Cornershop) and "All You Need Is Love" (as part of a group finale) as well as backing vocals and acoustic guitar on a cover of "I'm Only Sleeping" with the Stereophonics. These three performances were part of a John Lennon tribute show, performed at George Martin's AIR Studios, and broadcast on Channel 4 in September 2000. In August 2002, he was recorded singing parts of "Eleanor Rigby" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" during a soundcheck for a live performance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien show. Noel also performed "Strawberry Fields Forever" on November 2006, with Gem Archer and Terry Kirkbride, for a charity gig at Koko in Camden, London and continued to perform it for the remainder of the Stop The Clocks semi-acoustic tour. The piano intro to "Don't Look Back in Anger" from the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is very obviously lifted from John Lennon's solo single Imagine from the album of the same name.
Oasis have also occasionally slipped in small parts of Beatles songs in live performances. They have regularly ended live performances of "Whatever" by singing parts of "Octopus's Garden". Bits of "Got To Get You Into My Life" found their way into a couple of October 1995 performances of "Round Are Way". A riff based around the vocal melody of "Tomorrow Never Knows" was integrated into an extended intro for live performances of "Cigarettes & Alcohol" in 2000 and 2001.
Their current semi-official drummer Zak Starkey is the son of Ringo Starr. Starkey joined in early 2004 after Oasis longtime drummer Alan White left the band. He performed on their latest album Don't Believe the Truth (2005) and subsequent 2005-2006 world tour, but he wasn't signed as a new bandmember and didn't participate in interviews and photoshots.
Noel Gallagher sat on a panel in 2004 to decide on the most influential of pop artists to be included in the UK Music Hall of Fame, and was quoted as saying "They [the Beatles] inspire me more now than they did when I was a kid and are still the greatest."[12]
The end of the song "She's Electric" (What's the Story Morning Glory-Oasis) is the same progression of the transition from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" into "With a Little Help From My Friends" (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band-The Beatles).
Other artists having a Beatlesque musical style
- Bourgeois Tagg[citation needed]
- Cheap Trick
- Crowded House
- Tears for Fears
- The Knickerbockers
- Emitt Rhodes
[edit] References
- ^ Flip Magazine, May 1966
- ^ JIMI HENDRIX Sunday At The Saville Theatre at eil.com
- ^ Jimi Hendrix at britannica.com
- ^ Magical Mystery Tour product page on jr.com
- ^ Link no longer valid on 2007-03-06: noblepress.co.uk
- ^ Youtube video: Richard III
- ^ a b Miles. p77.
- ^ I love 1964 - Fashion - Wigs. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
- ^ Confessions of a Soviet moptop. Mikhail Safonov, The Guardian (August 8, 2003). Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
- ^ Beatles suits at liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
- ^ Hewitt, Paolo. 2003. The Soul Stylists: Fom Mod to Casual. Mainstream Publishing, UK.
- ^ Beatles fly flag in hall of fame. news.bbc.co.uk (September 9, 2004). Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
- Miles, Barry (1998). Many Years From Now. Vintage-Random House. ISBN 0-7493-8658-4.
[edit] External links
- Have you Heard The Word - The Fut
- Article Analysing the ways that the Spice Girls' success mimicked that of The Beatles
