Beatles blog 1 - BME

As time went on and their fame progressed, The Beatles became icons of the British and American youth.  If they were to have their hair a certain way, boys wanted to have hair like them.  If they sang in a particular style, bands wanted to copy them.  Just as Paul, George, and John had wanted to copy their predecessors Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley, new bands and young people wanted to copy The Beatles. They were the ultimate form of cool and everything that young people at the time wanted to be.  Their looks and style weren’t the only things on their minds and certainly weren’t the only things however, especially in the later years of their music career.  After going to the British Musical Experience I felt as though my hypothesis about counter-culture of the 1960’s being influenced by the Beatles who fed off of previous culture was becoming more valid.   As cultural icons, The Beatles directly influenced young people to change their music taste, hair-styles, fashion sense, become more liberal, and overall change their outlook on life and their future.

While at the BME, I spent the most time in the rooms that involved music of the late 50’s up to the early 70’s.  My reasoning for being in those rooms the most wasn’t just because they’re the time we’re learning about but also because that period is one of my favorite spans of time for music.  And I think a lot of people would agree!   In each room at the BME, there were large monitors displaying images that you could scroll and click on.  Each image came with a short story, video or clip from what seemed to be a magazine or newspaper.  I found quite a few of them to be interesting and really inspiring.  One in particular that caught my attention was entitled “Beatnik Behavior”.  Although it doesn’t involve The Beatles directly, I felt as though they were indirectly but accurately represented by the term “Beat Generation”.  As the artists of the time transformed their styles from traditional jazz into skiffle bands that morphed into the more rock and roll genre, their audiences followed.  Those who didn’t agree with the culture that came along with the music, stayed in the traditional jazz phase or as the BME exhibit referred to them as, ‘trad-dad’s’.  But those who did (quite possibly those considered to be baby boomers), we’re in it for good.  The fans of the Beatles were so dedicated they would even change their overall style to be like them.  As the music became less conservative, so did the clothing.  Beatnik style was considered appropriate by the counterculture age but not so much by the adults.  Overtime, The Beatles progressively seemed to become more open with their political views.  Through their songs and sometimes their actions, they showed the world that they were against the war and all about peace, love, and happiness.  As the Beatles and other bands with similar views made more music about the subject, war protestors seemed to be quickly coming out of the woodwork.  Although John Lennon was the most well known for being against the war and completely liberal, his band mates felt the same way.  Another thing article that I found while at the BME was one on the Bed-In Protests made by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.  This was another example of the Beatles publicly showing their views on the war and young people accepting it and following the trend.

The Beatles and other bands of the 1960’s influenced so many young peoples lives at the time and I’d love to see how the bands of today can compare to them with my generation in the years to come.  Although The Beatles are still insanely popular today, the evolution of musical influence on teenagers can’t stop at The Beatles…or can it?