The Beatles have revolutionized the music industry with their captivating songs, inspiring many musicians to also reach greater heights.
Here, you’ll discover the Fab Four’s journey to greatness, starting from their humble beginnings to the grand stages.
So, continue reading as we get a blast from the past with the band’s unforgettable experiences and achievements throughout history!
John Lennon claimed the Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
Lennon made the controversial claim back in March of 1966, stating that Christianity would eventually become obsolete and that rock and roll would outlast the religion.
John’s statement then led to protests against the band across the US, along with records being burned and radio stations refusing to play their songs.
Also, little did John know that his comment about religion would eventually lead to his passing. Mark Chapman, who was a Christian Beatles fan, admitted that it was one of the reasons why he took John’s life away.
The Beatles were first called The Quarrymen.
John Lennon and his high school friends made a skiffle band in March 1956, naming it after their school: Quarry Bank High School.
John then met Paul McCartney in July of the same year, which paved the way for Paul to become The Quarrymen’s second vocalist and rhythm guitarist.
With George Harrison, though, he first discovered The Quarrymen after his friend, Paul, invited him to watch the band’s performance.
But unlike Paul, George had to audition for the role before becoming their lead guitarist in 1958. In true eccentric British fashion, the audition was held on top of a double-decker bus!
Twenty Beatles singles reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Some of the band’s 20 singles that reached first place on the Billboard Hot 100 are “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Come Together,” and “Let It Be.”
This was a huge deal for the band, as topping Billboard’s charts wasn’t an easy task, let alone doing it multiple times.
As of 2024, the Beatles have achieved more number-one hits than any other artist. Mariah Carey ranks number two with nineteen hits, and Rihanna ranks third with fourteen.
The Beatles’ final official concert was held in San Francisco in 1966.
Exhaustion from tours, declining popularity, and infighting between band members left the Beatles with little choice but to stop playing live music.
With this in mind, they all agreed that their concert at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966, would be their last performance.
Their final show was a bit of a flop, with 7,000 seats left unsold. This was largely the result of Lennon’s “more popular than Jesus” claims.
Ringo Starr wasn’t able to play in the Beatles’ 1964 world tour.
The day before the Beatles were set to begin their tour, Ringo collapsed with tonsillitis and pharyngitis and had no choice but to stay behind in England and rest up.
As a result, the band needed a temporary replacement and fast.
Luckily, their producer, George Martin, knew a drummer who was worthy of being a part of the Beatles’ tour. His name was Jimmie Nicol, and he was paid £2,500 (with a £2,500 bonus) for every time he performed with the renowned English rock band.
Jimmie played for the band up until June 14, as Ringo was finally healthy enough to play again.
Oh, and speaking of replacements…
The Beatles’ original bass guitarist came up with the band’s name.
Stuart Sutcliffe was the band’s very first bassist, and he joined the band in January 1960.
He suggested naming themselves after an insect, like Buddy Holly and the Crickets, which led the band to be named the Beatles.
Before they finally settled on the Beatles in August 1960, they had gone through several alternatives, such as Beatals, The Silver Beetles, and Silver Beatles.
In 1961, Sutcliffe left the Beatles to pursue his painting career – sadly, he passed away a year later due to a hemorrhage of the brain.
The band had a number of drummers over the years.
Pete Best is known as the first drummer of the Beatles. What most fans don’t know, though, is that two session drummers actually played drums for the band before Pete: Tommy Moore and Norman Chapman.
Pete ended up playing for the band from 1960 to 1962. He ultimately left because George Martin wasn’t satisfied with his skills.
This led to Brian Epstein, the band’s manager, replacing Pete with Ringo Starr, who became the permanent drummer of the Beatles. However, even Ringo got replaced occasionally for different reasons too.
Besides being substituted by Jimmie, Ringo was also temporarily replaced by Andy White because Ringo didn’t meet Brian’s expectations at that time.
“Hey Jude” was written by Paul McCartney for Lennon’s son.
Titled “Hey Jules” at first, the iconic song was dedicated to Julian, Lennon’s son, after Lennon left his wife for artist Yoko Ono from Japan.
Paul was the only one who wrote the song. However, due to the Lennon-McCartney partnership, he had to share the credit for “Hey Jude” with John.
The song was an instant success, ranking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 29, 1968, for nine weeks in a row. No other song would top this until 1977.
Fans threw jelly beans at the band at one of their concerts.
The lead guitarist once said in an interview that he liked a type of soft candy called Jelly Babies.
It wasn’t that prevalent in the US back then, so fans threw jelly beans, a much harder candy, at them instead.
Unsurprisingly, the band was upset with the behavior of the fans.
So, when George received a letter from a 15-year-old fan in 1963, he took the time to reply and tell her that he didn’t actually like Jelly Babies or other candy like it and complained about being hit in the eye by one.
The Beatles met Elvis Presley in 1965.
The Beatles got to finally meet their idol on August 27, 1965. Unfortunately, there are no photos or recordings of the meeting, as the band didn’t want the press to be involved.
According to the band, their conversation with the “King of Rock and Roll” was quite awkward at first.
That all changed, though, when Elvis decided to jam with the Beatles, singing “I Feel Fine” with them and even playing the bass guitar for a while – a rare treat, considering Elvis rarely played bass!
Bands that resembled the Beatles were called “Beatlesque”.
It’s a term used by some music enthusiasts and Beatlemaniacs to refer to bands that often played pop, rock, and psychedelic music in a similar fashion to the Beatles.
They also mention this when they see bands who aren’t afraid of experimenting with the music they’re creating.
Simply put, Beatlesque is a word that best describes bands that followed in the footsteps of the famous English band.
Some examples are The Bangles, Cheap Trick, and The Byrds – the last two were also referred to as the American Beatles.
Pete Best’s stepbrother made a Beatles museum.
Despite Pete not being a part of the band during its peak, his stepbrother Roag still made the effort to build the Liverpool Beatles Museum for the band.
It was built on July 13, 2018, in Liverpool, where everything started – and where other Beatles museums are located.
The museum is also referred to as the “Magical Beatles Museum,” which contains numerous authentic personal items of the band members, such as Paul’s bass speaker, Lennon’s customized egg chair, and even gifts from Elvis Presley!
“Yesterday” is the most covered song of all time!
Paul wrote this amazing musical piece, but he initially hesitated to record it since he thought he was experiencing cryptomnesia.
For those wondering, cryptomnesia is a phenomenon wherein people believe an idea is theirs when it’s actually an idea they’ve encountered in the past and have forgotten.
Anyhow, “Yesterday” has been loved and sung by many people to the point that the Guinness World Records stated in January of 1986 that it had already been officially covered over 1,600 times!
Decca Records rejected the Beatles in 1962.
The Beatles auditioned on New Year’s Day early in the morning, singing some songs like “Hello Little Girl,” “Like Dreamers Do,” and “Searchin.”
Decca Records rejected the Beatles as the record label believed guitar groups wouldn’t thrive.
This may have been a way of politely letting the group down, as they signed another guitar group called Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, who auditioned the same day.
Ringo Starr was the first Beatle to release a solo album.
Ringo was never known for his songwriting skills, as he seldom helped write songs for the band.
So, it was really a total shocker for the fans when Ringo released a solo album after the band broke up in 1970.
Sadly, Sentimental Journey, Ringo’s first album, didn’t amount to much.
“Love Me Do” was the Beatles’ first true hit.
The song was released on October 5, 1962, and eventually reached the 17th spot in the UK Charts and and number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
It was written by Paul with the help of John, paving the way for Beatlemania – a term used for the band’s peak in the 1960s.
Fun fact: you can play Love Me Do with just three guitar chords!
The Beatles participated in five films.
Those five films were Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, Help!, Let It Be, and A Hard Day’s Night.
Of all the band’s movies, though, fans consider A Hard Day’s Night to be the best.
A musical comedy, the 1964 film portrayed the band’s lifestyle before preparing for a television performance.
The Beatles broke the record for the highest-attended concert in 1965.
On August 15, 1965, the Beatles performed at a sold-out concert in New York City’s Shea Stadium.
It was one of the most unforgettable live performances of the band, as the concert had more than 55,000 fans in attendance!
Eight years later, their record was broken by Led Zeppelin, who performed on May 5, 1973, in front of 56,800 fans.
The band wrote one the earliest diss tracks.
John and George went to Rishikesh, India, on February 15, 1968, to take Maharishi’s training course about transcendental meditation.
During their stay there, though, claims of Maharishi attempting to use his power for his own gain led John to create one of the earliest forms of diss tracks.
It was initially titled “Maharishi” and had some much more extreme lyrics. To make it into a workable song, George Harrison suggested changing it to “Sexy Sadie.”
The band had an impromptu final concert at Apple Corps in 1969.
Despite stating that their 1966 concert in San Francisco, California, would be their last, the band still gave one last push. On January 30, 1969, they performed on the rooftop of Apple Corps, the multimedia company the group founded.
In addition to the usual members, renowned keyboardist Billy Preston also played along with the band.
Just imagine how lucky bypassers felt, watching some of the best musicians to have ever lived for free!
The Beatles were formed in the 1960s, yet their songs remain to capture the ears of fans who weren’t even born during their reign.
It proves how timeless their songs are and how talented each member is with their respective instruments.
They’ve been at the top of the pinnacle for the longest time, which makes you wonder… will anyone ever be as big as the Beatles?
