The book Read the Beatles, by June Skinner Sawyers provides history and opinions of the Beatles from the perspective of many different people. Ultimately the book begs to answer the question, “Why are the Beatles still relevant today?”
While the author never explicitly tells the reader the answer to this important question, the intention is clearly to leave the answer open to the subjective opinion of each individual reader. Although the impact of the Beatles on an individual level is subjective, it is undeniable that the Beatles continue to have an influence on many genres of music today.
Beatles Influence on Hip-Hop and R&B Music
While many Americans can probably name and sing a Beatles song if asked, it’s probable that the vast majority of people in general know a Beatles song—even if they don’t know it’s by the Beatles. We are surrounded by Beatle influences in so many forms of art, and music is no different. Whether it’s the commercial jingle or a remake of a Beatles tune like Yesterday or Imagine, the Beatles are everywhere in music.
Read the Beatles discusses how the Beatles made it quite clear that during their early career, African-American artists such as Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard heavily influenced them. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the music of the Beatles has heavily influenced some of today’s biggest hip-hop artists.
According to the June Skinner Sawyers, many rappers believe that Tomorrow Never Knows is the first electronic song. To hip-hop producer and musician ?uestlove, the Beatles personified the hip-hop aesthetic: “They would lay the music down, manipulate it…try to push it. In other words, they tested the limits of the studio technology of their day.”
Following the lead of the Beatles and their use of studio technology in music, in 2004 hip-hop music producer, Brian Burton took rapper Jay-Z’s The Black Album and bended it with The Beatles’ White Album to create The Gray Album. The rapper’s vocals were placed over various tracks from the White Album to create, according to Rolling Stone magazine, “an ingenious hip-hop record that sounds oddly ahead of its time.”
The use of the Beatles’ studio techniques, as well as their music, to advance musical artistry is evidence that the spirit of originality in music, first trail-blazed by the Beatles, is confirmation that the Beatles are relevant and have a place in today’s music scene.
Beatles Influence on Pop and Rock Music
In addition to the popularity of their music, the Beatles invented what we know as the contemporary rock band. According to Greg Kot, a music critic, the British Invasion led by the Beatles, created a blueprint for rock bands. The idea of two guitars, bass and drum lineup is still a staple in many groups today. With this configuration, the whole far surpassed the sum of the parts. Kot’s comments are important because they illustrate the impact of the Beatles on what it means to be a rock band today.
Although the Beatles made musical impacts on an individual basis after their breakup, most would agree that the sum of their individual contributions never equaled what they were as a group—not even after all these years. And so the legacy if one of the greatest bands in history continues to live on through the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who first heard the band play decades ago.
Source:
- Read the Beatles by June Skinner Sawyers ( ISBN-10: 0143037323)
Cheri Pearson - Cheri Pearson is a seasoned freelance journalist who holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of ...
