Relevance of the Beatles - An Essay Sample

The Beatles have been likened to Music Shakespeare, an exaggeration perhaps given the stature of William Shakespeare. The comparison, however, exemplifies the manner in which the Beatles electrified the music industry some 50 years ago. The Beatles sold close to 200 million albums in the US. In 1964 the British band made a performance in the US that is still celebrated up to date and touted as a Columbus landing. The CBS gave the Beatles tribute, A Grammy Salute to the Beatles. In the 60's and 70's, it was a band that ruled the airwaves with symbolic lyrics, creative oversights, and innovative music (Olsen, 2014). Their split in 1970 marked the decline of their prominence. The relevance of the band is usually put into question.

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The music landscape has changed drastically in the past 50 years, and it is not surprising that the band that was so celebrated in the US in 1964 doesnt make headlines anymore. To make headlines in the industry, you must be making music that is revolutionary. The lack of recognition by the much younger generation does not mean that they do not appreciate what the band was doing half a century ago. Their music influenced a subsequent generation of music like Bruno Mars stated that "every previous gen influences current gens" when asked about the band's relevance to modern music. From the above statement, it is clear that the music icon did not want to indicate that the band is influential in the current landscape.

The change of time has rendered what was the greatest music band of the 60's uninfluential in modern times. This can partly be partly attributed to the fact that during the 60s it was a period of culture fluidity and the manner in which they were able, to sum up, American rock 'n' roll gave them a big American audience that eclipsed their home audience in England. Data show that in their native England they sold 28 times less album compared to the records sold in the US (Hooton, 2015). It is also argued that in the 60s the music industry was devoid of good music and any band that made different music to what people were accustomed to was destined for greatness.

Perhaps in modern times, Paul McCartney is more popular than the band he once represented. After the band split in 1970, the individual members found it hard going alone with only Paul making it meaningful. He is regarded as one of the greatest music writers and critics suggest that he was the driving force of the band; the relative inability of the other member to making meaningful music thereafter compounds this theory. Criticizing the Beatle band to the extent of regarding their music as 100 years old is perhaps too harsh. The industry is made of critics, and the band deserves some good reviews given the inspiration they gave the world in their exciting days.

The advancement of other music genres especially in the US has drastically reduced the influence of bands like the Beatles to the public. Also, the success of other bands after the split of the Beatles may have played a key role in dwindling their influence. The mainstay of classic rock music in the US are bands like Rolling Stones, Foreigners, U2, Rush and surprisingly Beatles are nowhere in the top ten (Olsen, 2014). There cannot be more evidence that the Beatles are no longer popular in the US than statistics showing other bands are more popular. Music like hip hop which was relatively unknown during the Beatle days is one of the most popular music genres in the world.

Conclusively it is fair to say that a band that was regarded as music Shakespeare has little influence on the industry today. This, however, does not mean they were not a great band, only that the world has changed and moved away from the Beatles time.

Reference

Hooton, C. (2015, July 14). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/hip-hop-is-the-most-listened-to-genre-in-the-world-according-to-spotify-analysis-of-20-billion-10388091.html

Olsen, E. (2014, September 14). The 10 best rock bands ever. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from Today, http://www.today.com/popculture/10-best-rock-bands-ever-2D80554936