Beatles

The Beatles were the most influential popular music group of the rock era. They affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain, the United States and many other countries during the 1960s. Certainly they are the most popular group in rock history, with global sales exceeding 1.1 billion records. While they were originally famous for merseybeat, or what some labelled light-weight pop music which provoked complete hysteria in young women. Their later works achieved a combination of popular and critical attention. They were more than recording artists, influencing fashion and culture and branching out into film and sometimes political activism. They achieved an iconic status with far reaching effects. The classic Beatles lineup consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr Liverpool, England. Beatlemania began in Britain on October 13, 1963 with a televised appearance at the London Palladium, and then exploded in the United States following the appearances of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

Since at this time in history the role of the producer was becoming significantly important, the Beatles took full advantage of this. The role of producer George Martin was one of the crucial elements in the success of the Beatles. He used his experience to bring out the potential in the group. His earlier experience of producing recordings prepared him for the open-minded, experimental approach to the studio which the group began to develop as they became more experienced. Particularly notable, along with the use of studio tricks such as sound processing, unconventional microphone placements, and vari-speed recording, was the Beatles' use of unconventional instruments for pop music, including string and brass elements, Indian instruments like the sitar, tape loops and early electronic instruments. (This is no surprise since a good amount of their work took place in India)

Originally, The Beatles' work focused around themes of optimistic, giddy, love such as that of a boy who had just fallen in love. Such songs that represent this theme are "All My Loving", "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand". In the Beatles' later music, the pace of the songs tends to be moderate, with more of the interest usually coming from the melody and the orchestration than the rhythm. "Penny Lane" is a good example of this style. Their