It was 58 years ago today..

[BlacknTan]

that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play...

February 7, 1964.. The British Invasion of the US took place. The Beatles landed at JFK airport via PanAm, in NYC. My cousin in Wales had been sending me Beatles singles for months, so I knew they were coming. What a time for a kid to grow up! This was the first release over here..

Here, the original live performance on The Ed Sullivan Show..

 

[chazt]

My older cousins were aware of them as early as the Fall of ‘63. By that November, even a 5 year old chazt was aware. My folks let me stay up late both Sunday nights in February to see them on Ed Sullivan. My life was forever changed. Thanks for the clip!

 

[Northam Saint]

I have always liked The Beatles and the latest re-releases and the recent Documentary Film have been fantastic for me. I love the banter and messing around in the Abbey Road studio. I appreciate they aren’t for everyone, but what does bug me is Beatles haters always come up with that “over rated” comment, they had a massive impact on music which still is there today.

 

[Geofnay]

I lived just a short walk away from the Abbey Road studios (and an even shorter walk from the BBC Maida Vale studios) in the 90s. I always enjoyed seeing the 'pilgrims' re-enacting the album cover on the zebra crossing and reading the homage 'graffiti' on the 'garden' wall.

 

[Chris]

I must admit that I don't get all the fuss over The Beatles, but then they broke up five years before I was born. I don't really know much about the musical and social landscape in 1960, I know a lot of bands have cited them as an influence but not having lived through the era I haven't seen it first-hand. As a child of the 80s I had thoroughly missed the boat and I wonder how many of the people calling them over-rated are in a similar position.

 

[Vacumatic]

A friend who is a DJ really dislikes the Beatles, mainly because most of their music is very difficult to dance to.

The Beatles were a huge influence and a catalyst for change in music and society, they stepped up the production quality of music which must have influenced the Beach Boys and Tamla.

And wasn't the recent film Yesterday just great.

I have a good memory of Beatles songs. At the end of summer about 20 years ago I had a few days holiday untaken and found a cheap holiday in Italy for a week. It was in a small hotel where everyone talked and we got into the habit of meeting up at a small cafe in the town centre for a coffee before they closed at 5pm. For the final night the very elderly cafe owners agreed to keep the bar open. 20 of us turned up and the wine started flowing, someone found a guitar and we started singing Beatles songs, then some German students turned up, we gave them some wine and they sang the same Beatles songs, the Police came (politzia not Sting) saw we were not doing any harm, so they had a bottle and sang and danced along.

Everyone knew the words, young and old, no one sang in key but thanks to the Beatles we all had a great night

 

[Rufusdog]

I grew up with the Beatles and like most of their music. However, I like the Stones (aka Mick and the boys) better; they sure do have staying power. A few years ago I attended a Stones’concert in Toronto, and despite my “advanced” years I was enthralled by 21/2 hours of non-stop Mick. I never a saw the Beatles live, but I’m sure in the early days their show would have been just as electric. The only other concert I’ve attended was an Elton John one in 1986, which was disappointing; perhaps because I still see him as Reggie Dwight. Unlike the Beatles and the Stones his music never resonated with me.

 

[Paper Plane]

@Vacumatic the point your DJ friend has missed, is that The Beatles (and others at the time) were showing that popular music can, and to my mind should, be more than just a noise to dance to.

steve

 

[Wayne]

Not strictly Beatles related but someone mentioned the Stones. There is a story on the Soul scene that Mick and the rest went into the 100 Club in London just after their first album was released.
The DJ saw them in the crowd and set about playing the original records of all the songs they covered on the album.
Once they twigged what was happening, they left out of embarrassment.

 

[SLNY]

While I always liked The Beatles -- and was born a touch too late to experience them when they were together -- over many years, their music has demonstrated staying power, even as other music that I loved when I started listening to music in the mid-late '70s from contemporary bands seems more and more creaky and dated. But that's not just me. Interestingly, all my daughters (who were born from 1998 through 2006), as well as daughter's friends, know and listen to The Beatles. They don't listen to, and really hardly even know the Stones, The Who, the Kinks, The Beach Boys, the Doors, Airplane, or Dylan (etc) and any other number of bands/performers. And it's not just my kids. If you look at the best selling albums or streamed music in 2021, every one of those bands/ performers I just listed (aside from The Beatles) don't make the charts. Among (loosely defined) oldies, there are The Beatles, Elton John, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, and Abba -- of whom, three still perform, of course: https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-biggest-albums-of-2021__34858/