The Impact Of The Beatles On Music And Society

For this paper, I chose to interview my father. He created my love for oldies and drilled an appreciation for good music in my brothers and I. When I mentioned this paper to him, he lit up with a smile and laughed. He said to me, “You know the answer to that question. ” And I did. Simply, his favorite band in the world is The Beatles. My dad was the child of immigrants, he was raised in a house where work was the most important thing. You work for freedom was the motto he learned at a young age. Music was his escape. The Beatles brought bliss to his overworked and stressful young adult life. “I listened to music when doing homework, I would blast the Beatles in my room after a long day of school and work,” said my dad. I remember constantly listening to my dads' music on my way to school. I loved “Hey Jude,” and “I’ve just seen a face,” by the Beatles when I was very young. He showed me, Across the universe (A Beatles musical), and instilled how important the Beatles were for music and the music I would be listening to when I was older.

He taught me the basics, the Beatles were a rock/pop band that was originated in 1957 and they rocked the USA when they came over for their first television concert. He told me about how the Beatles were inspired by Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. Elvis Presley, the king of rock n roll. He was flamboyant and cared about style. He greased his hair and danced across stages while performing. His voice was unique in that, his high tenor voice added a light touch and with the basic rhythm striking a much more supple groove to his music. The Beatles dressed refined when they were first created, but slowly went into their own fun style. Neon and psychedelic fashion with a hippie edge. Both Elvis and the Beatles drove girls crazy and had fangirls for days. 'Nothing affected me until I heard Elvis. Without Elvis, there would be no Beatles', said John Lennon. The Beatles looked up to Elvis Presley and met him only once.

Chuck Berry was someone I had never heard of before talking to my father. When learning about him, the father of rock n roll. He started performing music in 1952. He was marketed as an eternal teenager because he always sang to white teens. His song 'roll over Beethoven', was covered by the Beatles and majorly blew up. “From the first minute we heard the great guitar intro to ‘Sweet Little Sixteen,’ we became fans of the great Chuck Berry,” Paul McCartney wrote, “His stories were more like poems than lyrics—the likes of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ or ‘Maybellene. ’ To us, he was a magician making music that was exotic yet normal at the same time. We learned so many things from him which led us into a dream world of rock ‘n’ roll music. ” The Beatles majorly admired Berry and appreciated his impact on music.

The Beatles impact on music was moving. Eleanor Rigby in 1966 was a huge movement of rock songs becoming sad songs also. This song put the first idea out that rock songs always did not have to be happy and upbeat. Also that they did not have to have the traditional guitar and drum sound of rock music, to be rock music. I want you (she’s so heavy) from 1969 changed the idea that music had to be complex to be impactful. This song was a blues song took to rock and spread out for eight minutes. The song was incredibly powerful and passionate. Describing the intense love and need for someone, so intense only few words could be used to describe it. This paper was interesting to refresh my memories of my childhood and music. My father was my role model growing up and still is. His love of music will forever warm my heart. And I know music will forever warm his, as he said, “I love music so much it hurts. I want to listen to it every moment of every day. ” I aspire to have this level of love for music like he does. I am constantly learning about music and what it means to me.