This is for people who love the Beatles. Yes, there are millions. But not as many as there used to be. You remember.
If you’re still reading this, you’re different.
Chances are you remember when they were a band. And if you’re lucky enough to remember when they came to America in 1964, you remember the Mania. You remember how they dominated the charts. You remember how they dominated the media. You remember how they stormed the culture.
You remember how absolutely crazy we were about them. We joined bands. We knew all the songs. They seemed to have a hit almost every month. You knew the words. And you knew which Beatle sang which song. We dressed like them. We grew our hair. You even knew their birthdays for goodness sake.
Nobody knows that stuff anymore.
You realize the years have eroded much of Beatlemania. Most people know the name “Beatles”, but many don’t even know their names. Some may recognize Paul. Maybe Ringo.
But these days, lots of folks can’t even remember who’s who. Some ask, “Aren’t they dead?” They remember somebody got killed. They don’t even know the difference between the Beatles and Wings or even the Traveling Wilburys.
But you haven’t lost the love. You still find the thrill of hearing the early stuff, the later stuff, the solo stuff. You have your favorites, but you appreciate it all. Except Revolution #9. (It’s not even a song. But you love them anyway.)
When you’re around “normal people”, they act like you’re a bit of a freak. They don’t say it, but they wonder why you’re so hung up on one group. But they haven’t really listened. If they had, they’d know the Fabs have so many different sounds. First of all, they have four singers. Secondly, they’re freaking geniuses. They were able to produce so many different styles.
Listen to “All My Lovin’”. Now listen to “Come Together”. Then “Here Comes the Sun””. And “Yellow Submarine”. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say those songs were sung by four different artists.
But you know better. You know they’re the same group with four different singers. You also know this is just the tip of the iceberg. There so many more examples. In My Life. Taxman. Eleanor Rigby. I Am the Walrus. Hello, Goodbye.
You know there’s enough material between the group and solo material to cover a whole format. (See The Beatles Channel – Sirius XM) You understand there have been lots of other great artists over the years, and you’ll often partake of them.
But you always come back to where it all started. You return to the band that influenced the bands of today. Heck, they influenced the bands who influenced the bands of today.
So let them think what they want. Chances are they don’t think about it at all. And maybe that’s the problem.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go practice “Blackbird” on my guitar.