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Mariam Mukhammad

Professor Intawiwat

07 December 2017

Cause and Effect Argument Essay

Rough Draft

The Beatles Take Over

The Beatles were the boy band that brought about a culture shock and seemed to bring

together millions of people. The group originated in Liverpool, England where they became

quite popular but at first didnt seem to reach much of the audience in the Western Hemisphere.

However, the Beatles quickly gained world-wide recognition after their arrival in the United

States in 1964. The gang consisted of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and

Ringo Starr. The four young men were perceived as the biggest thing in Rock n Roll as they

were greeted by a mass of thousands of fans at their arrival at JFK airport for the very first time.

This first impression shaped not only their perception of themselves as a band, but also

influenced the opinions of millions of other people around the world (Sneed). The Beatles

transformed the American culture with their boyband style, original compositions, and outreach

to millions of people.

One of the most noticeable influences that the Beatles made in American culture was

what later became the famous Beatles look which was adopted by millions of young men

around the world. The band made it acceptable for men to have long hair and the previous stigma

against long hair had almost completely dissolved (McGasko). Many boys and men of that

generation wanted the collarless jackets and boots that the Beatles were known for. The
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Beatles style that once might have been perceived as unkempt or eccentric, became a normal

part of the culture for those times.

The biggest influence, however, reached the American culture through the bands music.

The Beatles are sometimes referred to as Americas light at the end of the tunnel because they

came about after the JFK assassination and the Cuban missile crisis and ignited a new hope in

millions of people that seemed to be lost among the crises (Sneed). After the tragic events of

1963, the rise of televisions came about and the Beatles arrived just in time to take advantage.

They played their famous song All You Need is Love and it was the first live, globally

televised performance; it was estimated in reaching around 350 million viewers (Daily News).

The band was also one of the earliest to create music videos to go along with their songs and

were some of the first to record several films of them playing sets of songs from their albums.

The group also approved the first ever pop music cartoon called The Beatles that was based on

them and featured their music with the aim to relate to a younger audience (McGasko). The

bands music was clearly well appreciated since almost every time the Beatles would release a

single, it would become a hit. For a couple months in 1964, the top five of the American

Billboard Top 100 songs consisted solely of tracks from the Beatles (McGasko). This shows how

great of an impact the group made on the music choices of Americans from the time. It

exemplifies the take-over of pop music and the Beatles on American culture in the 1960s and

1970s.

The Beatles were never exclusive to any age group and because of that, were adored by

millions. Paul McCartneys well known song Yesterday has racked up thousands of cover

versions of it and is said to be one of most recorded songs in history. With over 1,200 weeks

spent on the charts, the band also has fifteen number 1 hits under their belt (Daily News). Almost
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no other band in history has racked up such a legacy. However, the thing that makes the Beatles

stand out most is their musics ability to stay relevant throughout the decades. Different genres

and styles of music have come in and out of date, but the Beatles songs are still recognized by all

generations.

As the years pass and different styles of music and fashion become obsolete, the iconic

Beatles songs continue to be introduced to different age groups. What cant be said for most boy

bands of that era and any era thus far, is that it seems as if the Beatles will continue to

remembered as great influencers in American music and music all over the world for years to

come. As they started out, the boy band didnt expect to blow up in the United States and all over

world in the way that they did. However, the time of the Beatles became an important milestone

in adapting a pop style of music that was adored and is still adored by people in the United States

and across the world.

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Works Cited

News, Daily. 10 Ways the Beatles Changed American Culture. Daily News, Daily News, 28

Aug. 2017, www.dailynews.com/2014/02/06/10-ways-the-beatles-changed-american-

culture/.

McGasko, Joe. We Love Them, Yeah Yeah Yeah: 7 Ways the Beatles Changed American

Culture.Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 7 Feb. 2014,

www.biography.com/news/we-love-them-yeah-yeah-yeah-7-ways-the-beatles-changed-

american-culture.

Sneed, Tierney. How America Changed the Beatles. USNews.com, U.S. News & World Report

L.P., 24 Jan. 2014, www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/24/the-beatles-changed-

american-music--and-america-changed-the-beatles.