50 Years Ago Today (well, yesterday but who’s counting?)
I’ve lived through this feeling a lot of times since June 16, 1990—50 years since Hitler rode in triumph through the streets of Paris—the day of my birth and also the day my father was supposed to MC the boat races (he made it, I came at noon and he was back at the mike by 2.) Yesterday marked 50 years since two teenage under-achievers met in a church hall in a second rate English city. It’s more then a little odd comparing all those world-shaking events that have one by one slid past me for 17 years with so obscure an event. The fall of Paris changed the world forever, what has that got to do with a couple of third-rate juvenile delinquents?
Did the Beatles change the world? That’s hard to say and impossible to prove. They certainly changed the way a lot of kids saw the world and many of them didn’t forget it when they reluctantly grew up.
I honestly don’t think we would enjoy being nostalgic about the 60s without the Beatles. The 60s were actually a really horrible decade with war, societal upsets, prejudice, lynchings, assassinations, giant disruptive protests—non violent and otherwise—riots, police rampaging out of hand, brutality, and loss and blood, don’t forget lots and lots of blood. Only the music; the music that gave laughter and joy and even hope and the four young men, that particular four young men, who were having so much fun bringing their music to the world, to us.
Oh, soon there were other people, young also, with a girl or two among them, bringing more and more music. Music that empowered, music that could put small troubles out of mind. Even music that could make life seem worth living again. Music that never stopped being new.
Did the Beatles change the world? They changed the colors of the world we saw and that is no small thing!
July 7, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Did the Beatles change the world? They certainly made the world stop and focus on something besides the war, the assasinations, the unrest. They lead the way, or created the way people dressed, groomed themselves, and of course, what they hummed.
Is that changing the world?
the Beatles did certainly change the music industry. Pawn shops prospered, selling out every guitar they had. They probably helped create the “Publicity Machine” that is in place to this day. They did change the role of the artist in the record making process. I’m sure that Paul’s first solo album was among the first to be recorded partly at home, which is commonplace now.
Is that changing the industry, or just doing what has to be done?
Every song they recorded was basically a ‘positive’ song. Most had the word “Love” in them. (Except maybe Revolution!) I believe that is one reason that the music stands by itself now, 40 years later.
Did The Beatles change the world? “Nothing’s gonna change my world”….. unless I want them to. I think, collectively, we wanted them to.
July 7, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Well said!!
Jane
July 7, 2007 at 10:25 pm
All except the last paragraph; didn’t pull it together as neatly as I could have!
Darren