Pages

Friday, December 3, 2010

Research Paper on The Beatles

Research Paper on The Beatles

In the Webster’s New Dictionary, ‘mania’ is defined as “unreasonable desire, excitement, or enthusiasm.” That describes Beatlemania almost perfectly. In that brief, but unforgettable time The Beatles found their way into almost every facet of life. The hold that the band had over the public has yet to be matched in popular culture. Though the group changed drastically over the near-decade they were together, they remain to be one of, if not the most influential bands in history.

It all started in Liverpool. On July 7, 1940 Ringo Starr was born as Richard Starkey. Not much later, on October 9, 1940 John Lennon was born as John Winston Lennon. Two years later, Paul McCartney was born as James Paul McCartney on June 18. Then on February 25, 1943 George Harrison was born. The early days of the Beatles were as a small group called the Quarry Men. John formed the group with his school friend Pete Shotton in March 1957; a few months later Paul joined (Spencer 12). In February 1958, George meets John and Paul and is invited to join the band.

The Quarry Men get a gig in August 1959 to play the newly opened Casbah Club, which is run by a woman named Mona Best. One of John’s friends from art school, Stuart Sutcluffe, joins the group on bass guitar (Turner 16). They start to be known variously as the Silver Beetles and the Silver Beats. The Silver Beetles then get a job touring Scotland playing for Johnny Gentle. Then they get a job at the Indra Club in Hamburg, Germany for 48 nights. By now they are the Beatles.
__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

In late 1961, during a trip to Paris, John and Paul get a new hairstyle, the Beatles trademark – the ‘mop top.’ Then, in early 1962, the Beatles sign a management contract with Brian Epstein. A few months later, Stuart Sutcluffe dies of a brain hemorrhage. On June 4, 1962 the Beatles sign a contract with EMI. Ringo Starr joins the Beatles two days after they dismissed Pete Best and the first John, Paul, George, and Ringo concert was held at Hulme Hall on August 18. Later in 1962, the Beatles released their first single, “Love Me Do” quickly followed by the release of the single “Please Please Me” (Buskin 28). John based the lyrics for “Please Please Me on a song his mother used to sing to him as a child, “oh please, lend your little ear to my pleas, lend a ray of cheer to my pleas, tell me that you love me too.” John liked the homophones “please” and “pleas” (Turner 21). On Feb. 11, 1963, the Beatles release their debut album, Please Please Me. After an appearance at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Paul meets actress Jane Asher for the first time (Buskin 36).

By 1964, about the middle of their career as Beatles, they had released three albums: Please Please Me, With The Beatles, and A Hard Day’s Night. By now the world was at the height of Beatlemania. For example, when the Beatles arrived in Adelaide, Australia, on June 12, 1964, about 300,000 people gathered outside their hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of a Beatle on the balcony (Buskin 13). This frenzy was only fueled when, on February 9, 1964, the Beatles make an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show to an estimated audience of 73 million viewers.

The Beatles had to tour Denmark, Holland, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand without Ringo in June of 1964. He was hospitalized with tonsillitis and pharyngitis Jimmy Nicol substituted drumming for Ringo. When they got to Melbourne, Ringo re-joins the Beatles. In August, the Beatles went on their second tour of America and in New York City they were introduced to Bob Dylan and smoked marijuana for the first time (Reeve 34). From February to May 1965, the Beatles film their second feature film, Help!. During that time, Ringo marries Maureen Cox and then on Christmas Day George got engaged to Pattie Boyd. The Beatles made their first appearance at Shea Stadium, with the attendance of almost 56,000 makes it the biggest pop concert ever. John and George start experimenting with LSD in March of 1965 and in August, they go on an LSD trip in the company of Peter Fonda (Reeve 50).

On March 4, 1966, John was interviewed by Maureen Cleave and claims that the Beatles are “more popular than Jesus.” The interview was published in London’s Evening Standard. When his comments reached America, a Beatles backlash swept through the Bible Belt states. Later on that year, the Beatles began recording Revolver, their seventh album. The Fab Four then went on a Far Eastern tour that spanned from Germany to Japan in late June. On August 12, 1966 the Beatles began their final tour, beginning in Chicago. The last ever concert performance by the Beatles takes place at Candlestick Park, San Francisco on August 29, 1966.

Later that year John begins filming How I Won the War; during that time he met Yoko Ono, a Japanese artist, for the first time (Turner 69). In November of 1966, the Beatles enter Abbey Road to record one of the best albums ever: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. John’s son, Julian, inspired the song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. He came home from school one day with a painting of classmate Lucy O’Donnell. He painted her flying in the sky surrounded by diamonds. John was fascinated with the painting and also with Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll. He used the painting for the title and the “Wool and Water” chapter of the book to come up with the song (Turner).

Then, June 1, Sgt. Pepper’s was released in America. Not long after, Paul becomes the first Beatle to confess to having taken LSD in a Time cover story. About a month later, London Times publishes a petition with the Beatles signature on it regarding the legalization of cannabis (Turner 78). August 24, the Beatles attended a lecture given by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London. The next day, at the invitation of the Maharishi, the Beatles traveled to Bangor, North Wales, for a session in Transcendental Meditation. Two days after that, Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager, died. On September 22, 1967 the Beatles made the cover of Time magazine. Near one month later, John’s film, How I Won the War had its world premiere. Then on Christmas Day, 1967, Paul announces his engagement to Jane Asher. Late 1967 the Beatles filmed the Magical Mystery Tour.

Towards the end of the Beatles career, things began to go downhill. On January 5, 1968, the Magical Mystery Tour premiered on BBC. The following month, John, Cynthia, George, and Pattie flew to India to join the Maharishi to study meditation. A few days later, Paul, Jane, Ringo, and Maureen join the rest of the Beatles in India. A few months later, Paul met with Linda Eastman when he and John flew to New York to announce the formation of Apple. That same month, John began his affair with his future wife, Yoko Ono. Between May and October, the Beatles recorded The Beatles, more commonly known as “The White Album.” Then on July 20, Jane Asher announces that her engagement with Paul is off. To continue the personal problems of the Beatles, John and Yoko get arrested on a charge of drug possession, after which John’s wife Cynthia divorces him. Coincidentally, a couple months later, Yoko Ono and her husband get a divorce as well and a month later, she and John got married. Around the same time, Paul gets married to Linda Eastman (Buskin). On January 2, 1969 the not-as-Fab Four began filming what will eventually become the documentary Let It Be.

A strange thing happened in October or 1969. Paul McCartney was allegedly killed in a fiery car crash during the winter of 1966 and was replaced by a double, the winner of a Paul McCartney look alike contest. It started when a man called a radio station in Detroit and told the disc jockey if he played a Beatles record backwards, he would hear a suggestion of Paul’s death. The d.j. did as he was told and was soon swamped with calls from the radio audience. Within a very short while, the rumor spread across the globe. Paul refused to respond to the allegations, which only intensified the rumors. Finally, Paul denounced the rumor via telephone, but that was not enough for the hundreds of thousands of fans who believed he was dead. Television programs, newspapers, radio stations, and magazines gave the rumor coverage while hordes of household detectives tried to uncover secret messages. College campuses became clue centers where students devoted a lot of time towards unearthing secret messages. Life magazine made the rumor the cover story of its November 7 issue. Paul’s many denials along with Time’s photographs showed Paul to be alive and kicking. Still, the clues were there, and there were about 70 clues ranging from pictures, to album covers, to lyrics. Then, other rumors surfaced about the Beatles and their record label. Fans thought, perhaps it was just a huge marketing hoax in order to sell more albums. And sales did indeed skyrocket in the final few months of 1969, though both the Beatles and their label denied the allegations (Reeve).

August 20, 1969 would be the last time all four Beatles would be together in a recording studio, shortly later Abbey Road, their final album, would be finished. The Plastic Ono band, consisting of John, Yoko, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman, and Alan White, debuted in Toronto just under a month later. The song “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” off of the Abbey Road album, was inspired by a girl who used a ladder and climbed into Paul’s bathroom window one day he was out. Once she got in, she opened the door for the rest of her friends waiting outside. They rummaged around and took some clothes and pictures, nothing of much importance (Turner).

January 4, 1970, was the final taping of Let it Be. Followed shortly by the announcement by Paul that he was going to quit the Beatles due to “personal, business, and musical differences.” At the end of 1970, Paul files a suit against the Beatles and Co to dissolve the partnership (Buskin).

Between 1962 and 1970, four friends with a mutual love for music totally revolutionized the music industry. From their first album, Please Please Me, aimed mainly at teenage girls, to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, their most experimental album, to Abbey Road, their extremely philosophical album, the Beatles became almost the exact opposite of the teen idols they once were. And with their change in appearance, they changed in style as well. The farther away they drifted from the socio-norm, the less of an audience they had. Even with a 180-degree turn in style and appearance in eight short years, the Beatles are still arguably the most influential and popular group ever.

___________________________________________________________
Warning!!! All free online research papers, research paper samples and example research papers on The Beatles topics are plagiarized and cannot be fully used in your high school, college or university education.

Order Custom Research Paper on The Beatles
If you need a custom research paper, research proposal, essay, dissertation, thesis paper or term paper on your topic, EffectivePapers.com will write your research papers from scratch. Starting at $12/page you can order custom written papers online. We work with experienced PhD. and Master's freelance writers to help you with writing any academic papers in any subject! High quality and 100% non-plagiarized papers guaranteed!
___________________________________________________________