Biography of The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band that was formed in Liverpool in 1960. The group's members included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr; the four musicians became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era.^[1] Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In 1963, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania," and the group's music grew in sophistication in subsequent years. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the lads from Liverpool came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the counterculture of the 1960s.
Stuart Sutcliffe initially served as bass player, and the Beatles built their reputation when they performed at clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period beginning in 1960. The core of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison went through a succession of drummers that included Pete Best. After Best was dismissed in 1962, the threesome asked Starr to join them, and the rest is history. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, which greatly expanded their popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, "Love Me Do", was released in late 1962. They acquired the nickname "the Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain the next year, and by early 1964 they became international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market. From 1965 onwards, the Beatles produced increasingly innovative recordings, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (commonly known as the White Album, 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). After the group disbanded in 1970, the four individuals enjoyed successful musical careers of varying lengths. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. Surviving members McCartney and Starr remain musically active.
The Beatles are the best-selling band in the history of popular music, with estimated sales of over 800 million physical and digital albums worldwide. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act. They are also the best-selling music artists in the United States, with 178 million certified units. In 2008, the group topped Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful artists; as of 2017, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with twenty. They have received seven Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and all four main members were inducted individually from 1994 to 2015. They were also collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the twentieth century's 100 most influential people.