Why the Beatles were, and are, the Greatest band in history
This is still a view of umpteen millions of people from all ages and backgrounds worldwide, musicians and not. Though any Art form is subjective, here are a few reasons and points why I personally think they were and still are the greatest. They changed popular/rock music forever.
British classical composer Howard Goodall examined their music in detail (their use of modulations, key changes, cadences, etc), praising their originality, complexity... and importance.
The Beatles' creativity pushed their engineers and producers to pioneer double tracking, back masking, feedback, vocal phasing, multi-tracking audio loops, stereo, overdubbing, distortion etc etc. Nearly every modern stereo recording technique grew from The Beatles’ innovation.
They were the first band in most, if not all of these, to:
Become a studio-only band (stopping touring in 1966)
Print lyrics on an album (Sgt Pepper)
Popularise non- ‘’pop’’ songs (more instrospective songs)
Pioneer aspects of an album (Sgt Pepper: joining tracks, the dog whistle, the run-out groove noise, etc)
Create a double “A” sided single (Day Tripper/We Can Work it Out)
Perform the first stadium show (Shea, 50,000 fans)
Double album to go number one (‘’White Album’’ 1968)
Write, play AND sing most, then ALL of their own music in the early 60's
Wrote the Stones' second single (I wanna be your Man)
Mainstream Indian music in songs
Spend over 50 consecutive weeks at #1
Include a full orchestra in popular music
Album with a blank cover (The ''White Album'', 1968)
Occupy all five top singles on the US Billboard's Top 100
Occupy 14 in the US Top 100 (Elvis had 9)
Make promo music videos as opposed to film clips
• They were incredibly talented, the two major singer-songwriters (and a 3rd very good one) were able to play multiple instruments each. They were not just a band of great melodies and harmonies, and they composed new chord arrangements with often complex lyrics.
• They never rested on their immense fame in a commercial market when they easily could have, chalking up way more than their record-breaking 17 no.1 UK singles in just SIX years. Instead, artistically pushing boundaries.
• Their musical peers (and music critics) in showbiz thought extremely highly of them - mimicking and struggling to follow their lead in style, sound, content and huge success.
• They wrote the Rolling Stones' second single- I wanna be you Man- and, in an age of having lyrics written for you (as Elvis etc did), they wrote half of their own songs and rapidly outgrew their heroes (Elvis, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, etc).
• Their musical versatility is legendary – able to play different instruments and styles of music successfully, L&M playing a range of different traditional and non-Western instruments
• After 1965 they were solely studio-based and repeatedly broke new ground experimentally with new sounds, complex arrangements and instruments- leaving their ''rivals''/friends lagging far behind artistically and in complexity.
• They were ground-breaking even in 1962-3, even their band name broke the mould at the time. Most bands were then a leader’s name ‘’and the’’ so-and-so.
• They were incredibly productive - new and pioneering songs released regularly. By 1964, so rich was their creative stream that they released stand-alone A-side singles that were not even needed for their albums (ie. Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper, ''White album'')
• They had witty and deprecative humour, boundless creativity, infectious charisma and raw talent.
• They smashed world records with a plethora of no.1 singles (17) & staggering commercial sales then and ever since- and still get high fan interest.