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 Beatles,
The, British rock music group, which revolutionized popular music
around the world in the 1960s by leading a movement in rock music
known as the British Invasion (see� Rock Music: The British Invasion).
From 1964 through 1969, the Beatles achieved unprecedented popularity
with 30 songs reaching the Billboard magazine top-ten popular music
charts. Formed in 1959, the Beatles were composed of four musicians
born in Liverpool, England: guitarist George Harrison, guitarist John
Lennon, bassist Paul McCartney, and drummer Peter Best. In 1962 drummer
Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey) replaced Best. Influenced by American
rock-and-roll artists of the late 1950s, such as Little Richard and
Buddy Holly, the Beatles styled their songs in the sophisticated manner
of Tin Pan Alley, an American tradition of popular-music songwriting
that peaked in the 1920s and 1930s. From the simple, fresh style of
their early songs, such as "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (1963) and "A
Hard Day's Night" (1964), the Beatles progressed to innovative, experimental
works�culminating in the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
(1967). Considered the first concept album (songs unified by a common
theme), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was also admired for
its haunting harmony and lyrics, unconventional musical phrases and
rhythms, and the integrated use of electronic music and the Indian
sitar. Other Beatles' albums include With the Beatles (1963), Beatles
for Sale (1964), Abbey Road (1969), and Let it Be (1970). In 1970
the Beatles split up and each member pursued another musical career,
either as a solo artist or as bandleader. Despite individual successes,
members were often approached with requests to reunite, fueling wide
speculation until John Lennon's murder in 1980. The Beatles won the
Grammy Trustees Award in 1972 and the group was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1995 the first volume of a
three-album retrospective of the Beatles, Anthology, was released,
accompanied by a television miniseries of the same name. The Anthology
album, which includes the previously unrecorded song "Free as a Bird,"
(written by Lennon and recorded by the surviving band members during
1994 and 1995), became one of the fastest-selling albums in the history
of popular music. The second album of the series, Anthology 2, was
released in 1996.
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