Essay Example on The Beatles: The Greatest Rock and Roll Band of All Time

The Beatles are perhaps the greatest Rock and Roll band to have ever existed. Their popularity in the genre can only be compared to Elvis, the proclaimed king of rock and roll. The group consisted of four members; Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, and Ringo Star. Together, the four revolutionized the genre, making themselves worldwide legends besides people having initial doubts about their capability as guitarists, drummers, singers, and musicians. However, together they were able to work harmoniously to make some of the excellent music of their generation. News of the group's split, at the height of the band's popularity, came as a shock for their fans worldwide. At once, the great Beatles had ceased to be, and the question on everyone's mind was, why?

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The Beatles were first founded in 1960; however, it took them two years to establish themselves as a band. By 1962, they had started taking acclaim in Britain by playing their incredible music in pubs around Liverpool (Davies, 2016). Their music soon led to success in Britain, garnering them worldwide recognition leading to music performance tours around the globe. The Beatles visited cities back to back, performing for the love of music and the need to become successful. After seven great years together, they started experiencing internal difficulties, which ultimately lead to their split. These internal conflicts have been a topic of conflict and speculation with each member citing different reasons for their breakup.

It is vital to focus on John Lennon and Paul McCarthy to understand the issues within the group. Paul, alongside John Lennon, were the lead singers of the band. Creative differences between the two are the primary cause of the band's break up. Throughout the band's existence, the Beatles toured numerous venues around the world. One would imagine that having countless fans screaming their names as they performed was the validation that the group enjoyed; however, it was quite the opposite. According to Ringo, in many live performances, he felt that the band was unable to perform their best music because of screaming fans (Stevens, 2017). The noise he claims was so loud at one point that he had to look at the other member's body movements to get in sync with the song they were performing (Creasy, 2011).

As the touring continued, it only became more overwhelming for the band, and the majority of the members begun feeling fed up. These members included John, Ringo, and George; however, Paul was not convinced. For Paul, touring was integral to the success of the band. He claimed that live performances kept them sharp and their music alive. It was until not 1966 when the group had their worst touring experience in Cincinnati and St. Luis that Paul was convinced that they need not tour anymore (Creasy, 2011). They finished their 1966 touring schedule and did not schedule any new dates until the public realized they had quit touring.

After they stopped touring, the band took some time off the music, where John was able to focus on other solo ventures such as acting. When they returned to the studio, however, they were able to focus on more studio releases. The ample time to compose and take more risks with their music resulted in some of their greatest music albums, such as Sergeant Peppers. The lack of new live performances, however, had a negative implication on the group's mentality, specifically for John. He begun to imagine a life without the Beatles and therefore started to think of alternatives for his career (McIntyre, 2011). Paul's, however, love for touring came back, and this would be one of the crucial reasons for the band's demise.

The ultimate shift in the group's dynamic happened during the recording of their album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely-Hearts Club. The album's idea was entirely Paul's who envisioned it as the group's switch from their original image (Giuliano, 2005). John and George had doubts about the idea; however, since they did not, any alternative ideas had no choice to follow Paul's. In doing so, the group's dynamic changed and divides within the group started becoming evident with John and George contemplating leaving. During the making of the album that John began to express the idea of going. According to him, he had grown out of the whole idea of a band (McIntyre, 2011). Regardless of the conflict, Paul's view turned into a massive success worldwide; however, it is a success that could not mend the cracks in the group's relationship. As the Beatles basked in the rays of their success with the Sergeant Pepper album, their longtime manager Brian Epstein dies tragically in 1967 after an unintentional drug overdose. His death took a toll on the group, with each member being worried about the future of the Beatles.

With the hope of escaping the bore of domestic life, John left his wife Cynthia and begun to date Yoko Ono publicly (Stevens, 2017). He began to take her to the band's studio recording sessions, which were at the time highly confidential. John's decision to bring her on as a collaborator in 1968 would be the final nail in the coffin in the demise of the Beatles. Yoko Ono's presence in the studio begun to bring conflict within the group. She often shadowed John and begun having conflicts with Paul.

Further, John and Yoko were often abusing drugs such as heroin, which also affected John and Paul's ability to work together.

Further, George began having problems with Yoko's equal input in the group's affairs (Giuliano, 2005). As a result, he confronted John leading to an altercation that is rumored to have gotten physical. This issue left to George temporally and only coming back under new terms.

The situation worsened further in 1968 after the Beatles launched their new record label, Apple. Soon, Apple began to bleed money from the group's finances so much, so their accountant quit. Paul suggested they hire his father in law to represent their finances, as he was a New York attorney specialized in artist representation. The band was opposed to the idea, which led them to hire Alan Klein. John and Yoko had settled for Alan Klein and managed to sway the rest of the members into hiring him besides his horrible reputation in the industry (Yagi, 2015). Relentlessly, Paul agreed to hire Klein but refused to sign all his contracts, a move he would later be happy to have made.

In 1969, the Beatles released another record, Abbey Road, despite the group having different solo projects. John and Yoko at the time had performed lived with another group. These side projects gave John the confidence to announce to the rest of the members that he was breaking up the group, but Allan advised him not to go public with the news for marketing reasons (Cott, 2020). Paul, on the other hand, begun to work on a solo album after it was clear that the group was not going to get back together.

In 1970, he announced to the rest of the members that he was leaving the Beatles, but this was around the time the band was planning to release their album Let It Be. The grouped attempted to get Paul to postpone the release of his solo album for the sake of Let It Be; however, he considerably declined (Yagi, 2015). In April, just before his album debuted, he announced in a press interview that he was leaving the Beatles; John was upset as he wanted to be the one to announce the news of the group's end to promote the sale of Let It Be (Gilmore, 2009). Paul went a step further, trying to get rid of his commitment with their recording label Apple and Allen Klein. He sued Allen Klein and thanked for not signing any of his contracts; he won. From then on, not all of the Beatles would never perform together again.

Each member of the Beatles, however, successfully launched solo careers. Paul continued working on solo projects as well as collaborations with other bands between 1971-1981. Currently, McCartney has released 22 studio pop albums and five classical albums, which are believed to be worth $800 Million today. His also thought to be the most successful Beatles member since he maintained a constant presence in British as well as American Charts. Ringo pursued a solo musical career that saw him released a pre-rock standard album and a second one, which mostly consisted of country music collections. He is also an actor, director, and writer.

It is evident that the Beatles broke up due to an array of reasons; however, reviewing their events before 1970, it is clear which decisions led to their split. According to the public, however, John Lennon's second wife, Yoko Ono, is to blame for the breakup of the band (Gilmore, 2009). Her presence in the studio, shadowing John, and having numerous unwelcome inputs to their music significantly ruined the band's synergy. Her relationship with John is also credited with influencing John's horrible business decisions, such as hiring Allen Klein (Cott, 2020). It is, however, clear that the band was having issues long before she came into the picture. Yoko Ono, on the other hand, blames Paul's controlling nature for the breakup of the Beatles. She claimed that Paul's attempts to hold the group together were detrimental as everyone else wanted to leave.

Creative differences between Paul and John was also a primary cause of concern; Paul particularly enjoyed touring and performing live. As mentioned, he thought the live performance was a way to keep their skills sharp and their music alive (Creasy, 2011). In 1969, years after they had canceled performing live, Paul was still floating the idea of live performance. John heard this idea, and he was provoked and resulted in hurling insults at Paul and eventually breaking up the group.

Conclusion

The Beatles are perhaps the greatest Rock and Roll band to have ever existed. Consisting of four members; Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, and Ringo Star, the Beatles revolutionized music with albums such as Revolver, Sergeant Pepper and, Abbey Road. The band, however, only had eight years of success from 1962 to 1970, where they eventually broke up due to an array of reasons. Internal conflicts between members are the primary reason for the band's fall. Paul primarily favored touring while the rest of the members were fed up. The first signs of trouble became evident after the group quit touring in 1966. While on a break, they all worked on solo projects with John staring in various movies. After returning to the studio, however, they were able to release dramatic music with the release of sergeant pepper. Amidst the success of the album, various members were concerned over Paul's management of the album and begun considering a life out of the Beatles. Yoko Ono, who is believed to be the reason why the group broke up, was only a factor in the breakup. Her influence over John resulted in him making poor decisions while ultimately lead to the break of the group. After 1970 however, all the members went on to have successful solo careers. Paul McCarthy is considered the most successful of all the Beatles Paul continued working on solo projects as well as collaborations with other bands between 1971-1981. Currently, McCartney has released 22 studio pop albums and five classical albums, which are believed to be worth $800 Million today.

References

Cott, J. (2020). John Lennon: The Last Interview. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 April 2020, from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/john-lennon-the-last-interview-179443/.

Creasy, M. (2011). Beatlemania! The Real Story of the Beatles UK Tours 1963-1965. Omnibus Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NeaaAwAAQBA...