Beatles

The Beatles led the mid-1960s musical 'British Invasion' into the United States. Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and homegrown skiffle, the group explored a great variety of genres ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, hairstyles, and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

Early on, the band consisted of George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best. The band got its first major break playing in Hamburg, Germany at some rather seedy nightclubs. While in Germany, they also met Klaus Voormann, who would later design the cover of the group's 1966 album Revolver. Stuart remained in Germany after the others decided to return to England, and became engaged to fellow artist Astrid Kirchherr, only to die a few years later of a brain hemorrhage. Later, Pete Best was replaced by Ringo Starr, the drummer from another big Liverpool band known as Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Ringo was supposed to play on their first single, "Love Me Do", but producer George Martin had Alan White, a session drummer, play instead Ringo can be heard on the album version of the song. Brian Epstein heard their sound and was thrilled enough to sign on as their manager.

In 1963, The Beatles initiated a craze known as "Beatlemania" in the UK with the song "Please Please Me." Their first album of the same title was recorded in just one day. This fame spread internationally and, in February of 1964, they arrived in the United States. Their first appearance in the States was on the Ed Sullivan Show, following "I Want to Hold Your Hand" going 1 in the States. With this success, the Beatles released two feature length films within the space of two years: "A Hard Days' Night" and "Help!". The songs from both films were penned by Lennon and McCartney, and albums followed their release. In "Help!", the Beatles were given greater creative freedom, deciding for example to head to the exotic location of the Bahamas simply to shoot one scene.

The Beatles were comprised of four members in the long run: John Lennon vocals, rhythm guitar, Paul McCartney vocals, bass guitar, George Harrison lead guitar, vocals, and Ringo Starr percussion, vocals. Lennon and McCartney were the main songwriters and singers, although songs penned by George started showing up more frequently on later albums. Ringo traditionally sang one song on each record. George Martin produced most of the Beatles' records, and was a highly influential part of the band's sound on most of their records.

For years, The Beatles showed an amazing talent for writing hit after hit. In 1966, they ceased performing in concert apparently they could no longer hear themselves play over the crowds and began exploring new sounds in the studio. This is especially apparent in albums such as Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles, sometimes known as "The White Album." The White album has since become notorious via its alleged influence on Charles Manson and is considered the band's most experimental. The strange sounds featured are perhaps due to the growing presence of Yoko Ono Lennon's wife, as demonstrated by the song 'Revolution 9', and the band's increasing use of hard drugs. The song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" off of Sgt. Pepper's was rumored to be an ode to LSD, although the band vehemently denied any link; they instead insisted that it described a drawing made by John Lennon's son, Julian. After the death of Brian Epstein, the Beatles began to unravel at the seams. The Beatles officially split at the dawn of 1970; Lennon had unofficially quit the previous year and the band had maintained the front of being together to protect their business interests. McCartney, who was the first to announce that he had officially "quit" the band and that they no longer existed, was often blamed for the band's ending although by the end he was the only one willing to carry on and was, by stating the group no longer existed, admitting to the facts.

The Beatles never reunited properly in the 1970s as they never fully recovered from the acrimony associated with their breakup. They did, however, make two new records in 1994, despite Lennon's 1980 death, for the Anthology project. "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" were based on demo tapes made by Lennon and sent to McCartney by his widow Yoko Ono. They charted in the UK at 2 and 4 respectively.

George Harrison passed away in 2001. Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney continue to make music. Ringo released "Choose Love" and Paul released "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" both in 2005. Paul's latest release is imminent - "Memory Almost Full".

In 2006 a Beatles 'Love' show was created for performance by the famed Cirque du Soleil, showing only in Las Vegas. The accompanying album is composed of new takes on original Beatles recordings, spliced together and creating new feels for several of their songs. The project was put together by renowned Beatles producer George Martin and his son Giles.

The mash ups included in the Love album also contain never before heard recordings of the Beatles original music, along with new orchestral backings written by George Martin.