The Beatles

In February 1964, the Beatles preformed for a frantic crowd, and immediately became stars in America. .
             Their first albums were half original material, half covers. The Covers included many of the groups that John revered as a boy, like Chuck Berry, The Miracles, The Cookies, and The Shirelles. However, the Beatles original material was far better than the covers. But one can not dismiss the covers, for it was singles like "Twist and Shout" that gained them international fame. Their first album "Please, Please Me" was both a commercial and critical success. It was followed by "Meet The Beatles". This album followed the same format, half original material, half covers. It was not until 1964 when The Beatles released "Hard Days Night" that they came into their own regarding song writing. They wrote eleven of the thirteen songs on the album that would be a soundtrack for their feature length film by the same title. They again followed the same format with "Help", releasing an album along side a movie of the same name. This proved to be an ingenious marketing scheme. These movies extenuated The Beatles charisma, while promoting their album. The movies ended up being hits, exposing The Beatles to millions of viewers and listeners in the process. However, as time progressed they began to shy away from this overexposure, concentrating more on their music. "Help" as an album is very contradictory, containing pop love songs like "You"re Going To Lose That Girl" juxtaposed with the more serious material. Lennon's ode to Bob Dylan "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", and McCartney's timeless "Yesterday" are far better songs than they made in the past. Although the album had some standout tracks, it lacked the conceptual fullness of The Beatles later work. This step would be taken sooner than later, as The Beatles released "Rubber Soul" on December 3, 1965.
             This was the beginning of The Beatles greatness.