When we look back to bands from the 1960s who greatly influenced modern music, we find that their names are mentioned less and less as time goes on. This isn’t done disrespectfully, but even some of the most timeless music eventually has to fall into the endless abyss of time. These days, because of how accessible music is for people, it’s easier for legends to get lost in the sea of artists who contribute to the options on streaming sites.
When you think about bands who genuinely changed the course of music, such as Led Zeppelin, The Who and The Yardbirds, while they are still considered legendary musical outfits, they are mentioned less as the years pass. This is inevitable for most, but one band it doesn’t seem to affect is The Beatles.
The band remain just as relevant now as they were in the ‘60s. When news came out about The Beatle’s biopics that were getting made, people of all ages were excited by the announcement and immediately started guessing what actors could accurately portray the Fab Four. The same goes for when the band released ‘Now and Then’, a track that came out six decades after their first single and is still met with similar hype. Everybody loves The Beatles, and it’s time that we asked why.
“It’s like going to bed in a black and white world and waking up, and it’s turned colour,” said Ozzy Osbourne on his podcast when talking about the impact The Beatles had on his life. “That’s exactly what it felt like…don’t forget, we’d come out of World War 2, and the whole thing, we had strict rules to live by, and they broke the fucking doors down for so many people, and they gave freedom to the world.”
This sentiment is backed up by a number of Beatles fans from the ‘60s who believe that the band was one of the best things that happened in their lives. The love for them doesn’t stop there, though. Modern bands, despite how much music has progressed since The Beatles originally started playing, still have a lot of love for the boys from Liverpool, as their music is constantly played and their influence is ever cited.
In a recent interview with Far Out, The Lemon Twigs spoke about the bands who influenced their career. They paid homage to The Beach Boys but confessed they would be worried about trying to emulate a Beatle-like career because that would be impossible. After describing them as a “Finite thing,” the band elaborated, “I wouldn’t wanna model my career after them because it’s such a moment in time and combustible.”
So, why do people love The Beatles?
A number of factors contribute to The Beatle’s success, but the most obvious is the quality of their music. When you look at the solo albums each member of The Beatles released after the band split, you get great insight into just how talented each member was. The fact that these gifted minds could come together and create something cohesive meant that the end product would never be anything other than spectacular.
The members also didn’t complement each other like other bands do. Paul McCartney and John Lennon were one of the greatest songwriting duos of all time, but it wasn’t because their ideas flowed from one another as a result of their similarities. Instead, their differences allowed them to push each other in creative directions that the other might not have considered. Whenever one of them was stuck on an idea because of how differently their creative minds worked, it meant that they were able to untangle knots that other musicians would have left to fray.
Of course, it was their differences that also drove a wedge in The Beatles. After years of working together, they became too different to continue making music. However, without contrasting styles, many songs simply wouldn’t have come to fruition.
This desire to push each other also meant The Beatles were never left sitting on one particular style of music. They were always looking for different sounds and styles that they could explore throughout their work, which is why albums such as Rubber Soul, Sgt Pepper, and The White Album all sound so far removed from one another. That experimentation means most people have a Beatles album they can connect with on a personal level, leading to their worldwide popularity.
Additionally, it wasn’t just the band’s music that made them likeable, but the band themselves. The Beatles were viewed as a charming group of working-class boys from Liverpool, handsome, sweet and full of wit. People heard their music and fell in love, then saw the people responsible for it and fell even more in love. They were relatable, representing the human side of the creative world. Their accessible music and accessible persona meant they were treated like people’s friends rather than an untouchable band, and it made people like them even more for it.
This likeability persists in the modern day. Stories surrounding various other bands of the time emerge. Songs don’t age as well, and traditional views stop fitting in with a developing society, meaning it’s hard for young people to connect with them. However, the surviving members of The Beatles portray themselves in a (relatively) good light. Paul McCartney continues to support modern music and cares about his fans, while Ringo Starr might have his quirks, but overall, he is respectable and likeable.
Will The Beatles ever go out of fashion?
It’s tough to say whether The Beatles will be able to retain this level of popularity forever. It’s certainly not going away anytime soon, with Paul McCartney announcing a new tour and the biopics set to be released in the coming years; however, as the music we like changes and how we consume it evolves, those we consider legends may well fade into obscurity.
There is no telling what the future for the legacy of The Beatles holds, so rather than worry about it, we should do what people have been doing for nearly 60 years: enjoy it.
