The early 60's were not great years in American history... contrary to current 'memory' of history, we had an unpopular president (John F. Kennedy) who, in 1962, had stood up to, and held his own against Nikita Khruschev and the Soviet Union...
The Doomsday Clock was about at close to MidNight as I guess it has ever been... The USSR was shipping missiles with nuclear warheads to Cuba, and Kennedy threatened reprisal if the missiles were delivered and installed. Khruschev blinked, the vessels actually turned around, and the world breathed a bit easier.
There was also the cluster-fucked 'Invasion of Pigs' fiasco in Cuba in 1961, which was aided by the CIA, and encouraged by the American government as a means of deposing Fidel Castro.
Add to this the strife associated with the Civil Rights Movement that was taking place...
Then on November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, and just days later, Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of JFK, was shot and killed while being transported by authorities to a "safer" location...
Our country had been pulled and torn in about as many ways as it could have been...
So what does this have to do with The Beatles?
On February 9, 1964, this group of kids from England, appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time... and they seemed to take our focus away from the horrible things that had happened... and things that were going on... maybe they were a nice diversion...
This was when I remember falling in love with guitars... unlike many of today's performers, these guys had worked together for quite a few years, performing a great deal in Hamburg, Germany, before being 'discovered'...
The BeaTles about 1960
Pre-Ringo Days (Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best)
And for me... music was never the same...
The footage added here is from the fourth appearance by The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1965... I was always in awe of how well they sounded live on TV... and their singing harmonies are STILL the best (for me, anyway)... That first song, "I Feel Fine," during the guitar intro, they seem to just pop right into place... they knew their parts and timing... AUGH!!!
I am just blown away by this footage... two guitars, a bass, a drum set, and amps... no effects pedals like we all have today... just great songs and great voices... they just counted the songs off, one-two-three-four, and went with it...
I've always thought of them as a great example of synergy... the right guys coming together at the right time...
Who would have guessed that they were already toward the end of playing together in Live settings... I think that is the importance of the Apple Studio Roof Top Sessions... in that they were playing together Live again...
This has already been a Life Time ago...
*sighs*
~shoes~
It's me Charlene. I remember that first appearance by the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. My mom and grandmother thought it was the end of the world. I don't remember JFK being unpopular though before his election in our Baptist community it was shocking that a Catholic might be President.
ReplyDeleteThe Beatles were a massive influence on my music tastes while growing up in the '60's. I still enjoy a lot of their stuff even now, and with an old tune can still bring about an emotion that I felt on first hearing....or even the person I was with at the time.
ReplyDeleteWhen JFK was assassinated, the news broke at the Youth Group I was attending at the time. We had to stop a game of table tennis to listen to the group leader as he broke the news.
ah, and I remember this video event very well...sigh, age does show! The early Beatles music remains my favorite, although I know most people prefer the later years when they each created individualized music; I like the harmony of the four diverse minds.I recently downloaded most all the Beatles on my Ipod...just makes me smile!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Shoes. I was young was raised with 4 older brothers who loved Rock and Roll so I had an early appreciation for the Beatles. They were and always will be for many, the greatest band ever and yet they were only together for a short time compared to the Stones, ZZTop, Moody Blues etc. Even my 9 year old granddaughter likes hearing old Beatle Songs. Doesn't get any better than that!
ReplyDelete@ Good morning, Charlene... I wish blogger would get things straightened out so some of their uses wouldn't have to comment as 'anonymous'... grrr.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom LOVED The BeaTles... it was my oldest sister that had issues with them. She still can't believe how much money they made from writing 3 minute songs... HA!
As for History, reputations/memories/'facts' tend to change over time. History today shows Abraham Lincoln to be possibly the best president ever, whereas, even a great number of Northerners at the time didn't care for him.
I think that is one of the areas where we aren't fair to History... we tend to evaluate/re-evaluate people and events from the Past based on today's standards... not the standards of the Time...
@ Leah... I KNOW!!! When I see some of these clips, especially the Ed Sullivan ones, I still remember all of how that time felt!
Re: JFK, we were at noon recess here, and when we returned to the classroom, the teachers were telling us to get seated, and to be quite, and listen... the news was playing over the P.A. system. When the radio clip was played announcing that JFK was dead, I recall many of the students cheering... and I was shocked. I know my Mom and Dad didn't care for him as president, but I couldn't imagine anyone (at least at that age) cheering for someone's death. Of course, I was elated when I heard that bin Laden had died... so I guess we change over time.
@ Pat... yeah, I do think of their music as 'Feel Good' music. I seem to feel better when it is playing. Of course, soon The Rolling Stones were making the rounds, and they were being compared as the Good (BeaTles) versus the Bad (Stones)... Hahaha!!! I loved ALL of it!!
@ Bouncin' Barb... Yeah, I've been amazed at how long some of the musical groups have hung around... some of them still tour on their Past and really, are no longer currently 'relevant'...
I like all of those groups you mentioned above... and listen to them on a regular basis...
I would say your 9 year old granddaughter has GREAT musical taste.. :oD
~shoes~
They truly were a blessing. One thing that drives me nuts about our culture, though, is that when we like something, we drown ourselves in it. We like fast food, we become obese. We like the Kardashians, they're on every freaking show. We like the Beatles, we play them constantly on the radio. I did burn out and, in fact, got to thoroughly disliking them and that was purely because I'd heard them so much that it was like your parents telling you to clean your room for the fifth time, you just turn it off when you hear it. Enough time has gone by now that when I hear one of their songs, it stands on its own and I can hear the true beauty of the lyrics. I'm glad I got the feeling back for them. I hated being numb to them for the 70s and 80s.
ReplyDeleteWell, I watched the entire video. I love The Beatles, but I viewed the clip studying the details you mentioned. Amazing. I think I mentioned to you the book I was listening to on CD. One of the other things the guy said is this: there is no stopping an idea whose time has come. Once all of the forces of the universe are in alignment with an idea, that idea has forward momentum and it will come to fruition. The Beatles were an idea whose time had come. Nothing and no one were going to stop them. They were a force of nature all there own. There is no stopping an idea whose time has come. I love knowing that it works for good stuff, too.
ReplyDeleteI 'member the beatles. great music.
ReplyDeleteMm. Something else about the Beatles.
ReplyDeleteTheir stuff transcends several generations, at least in our family. My grandparents liked their songs (although not that LONG HAIR!!) and my children love their music. Of course my parents do, and so do I.
Also, it totally changes a song, but some of their stuff makes a really great transition into choral music.
I didn't find them wonderful musicians, but wonderful songwriters. And love them still.
I love The Beatles and hearing that crowd on the Ed Sullivan Show still gives me tingles and makes me smile.
ReplyDeleteBig Bootie Bob and the Backside Kickers (band to which I am rather a groupie) recorded a demo. They trashed it. I would have. It sucked. Lacked all the energy and synergy of their live performance. They feed off both those things. It cannot be replicated with technology. Rightfully so.
ReplyDeleteAnother great post my friend!