Rock History Guides: Artist Info

Artist Information

Each Rock History Reference Guide also contains an extensive section of general information about the artists, both as a group and as individuals.

Click on The Beatles or any of the four musicians below to get a feel for the depth and variety of profiling information.

		Original Members with Replacements Noted	B	D
THE BEATLES English Band formed in 1960 (year of first recordings - 1962)	Guitar Bass Guitar Drums	John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison Ringo Starr (replaced Pete Best in '62)	10/9/40 2/25/43 6/18/42 7/7/40	12/8/80

The Beatles ...the band that named itself the Quarrymen, Johnny and the Moondogs, The Silver Beatles, and finally just The Beatles. The name was a take-off on Buddy Holly's Crickets. John Lennon, the wordsmith in the group, changed the 'Beetles' to 'Beatles' to pick up on the beat of the music.

...the band whose famous name was initiated by a short-term member of the group, Stu Sutcliffe. Stu was an art college friend of John's who was in the band as its bassist even though he could hardly play. He was in the band from 1960 to 1961 for less than a year. It was Stu who wrote down 'beetles' as a name idea in his notebook. John changed it to 'beatles' to play off the 'beat' of the music.

...a band that, according to a couple of its members, was best before the world found out about them. Both John Lennon and George Harrison have said that the bands' earliest gigs, in Hamburg and Liverpool in 1961, were the Beatles at their best. George said, the 'people who came to see us were drawn in simply by our music and whatever atmosphere we were able to create.'

...the British band that owes some small debt of gratitude to a man named Raymond Jones. As a 19-year-old in 1961, it was Raymond who came into Brian Epstein's family department store and asked for the disc 'My Bonnie' with singer Tony Sheridan backed by the Beatles. Epstein hadn't heard of it but became intrigued. A couple of weeks later, he went to the nearby Cavern Club where the band happened to be playing. Within six weeks, Epstein is signed on to manage them.

...the supergroup that was turned down by Decca records in 1962 because, according to then Decca recording chief Dick Rowe, 'groups featuring guitars were on the way out.'

...the band of musicians from England who, in order to play their first shows in the U.S., had to obtain limited two-week work permits that said they could work in the U.S. (quote) 'so long as unemployed American citizens capable of performing this work cannot be found.'

...the British band that wasn't taken seriously by most of the press during its first visit to America in 1964. NEWSWEEK wrote in its cover story in February of that year, 'Musically [the Beatles] are a near disaster: guitars and drums slamming out a merciless beat that does away with secondary rhythms, harmony and melody. The lyrics (punctuated by nutty shouts of 'yeah, yeah, yeah') are a catastrophe.'
[47 other items about the band appear in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]

John Lennon ...the songwriter whose lyrical contribution to the Beatles' songs was usually tougher, sharper and more cynical than his partner Paul.

...the man who was born in October 9, 1940 at 7:00 in the morning while Liverpool was under heavy attack by the Nazis.

...a man who, as a youngster seemed to always be losing close family members. His parents separated when he was 3, his mother had little to do with raising him until he was a teen, his favorite uncle died suddenly when he was 12, his father disappeared, his mother was killed by a drunken bus driver when he was 18. It's little wonder John Lennon grew to be cynical and emotionally closed...elements that eventually became apparent in his music.
[Many other items on John Lennon can be found in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]

Paul McCartney ...a man who, according to one of the Beatles publicists, would have made a great public relations man calling Paul 'a professional charmer, a prolific ideas man [and] the most commercially aware [of the Beatles].'

...a man who, like his partner John Lennon, was something of a contradiction. While John has been described as tough on the outside but soft on the inside, Paul McCartney was, according to one author, misconstrued as the soft romantic. 'McCartney was always the tougher of the two,' writes Ray Coleman, '[who] totally outstripped John when it came to business acumen, planning his life with a fine eye for detail that later made him popular music's richest man.'

...the Beatle who, as a youngster, says he enjoyed listening to old music on the radio and songs from old films. This helps explain Paul's leanings toward show tune styles in some of his songs ('When I'm Sixty-Four,' 'Your Mother Should Know,' 'Honey Pie,' 'Rocky Racoon').
[Many more items on Paul McCartney in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]

George Harrison ...a man who, as a youngster, had his future determined by the chance of riding the same bus to and from school with Paul McCartney. About a year and a half after McCartney met Lennon, he introduced George to John and the rest, as they say...is rock history.

...a man who was perhaps the most dedicated instrumentalist of the Beatles, but who was less animated on stage than the other four...he was more into 'squeezing out the most perfect licks he could manage' (wrote Nicholas Schaffner).

...a man who was not a natural musician and was frustrated early on by the difficulty he was having learning the guitar. His mother says he was determined though and sometimes he practiced all night until his fingers bled.
[Many more items on George Harrison in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]

Ringo Starr ...a man who, as a child, became infatuated with the idea of drumming in a band while in the hospital for one of many childhood illnesses. Until his parents finally bought him a set of drums at the age of fourteen, Ringo made do with tin cans and pieces of wood for a drum kit.

...the Beatle who, while trying to stay in the background, became one of the darlings of the fans because of his unusual name, his heavily ringed fingers and his large nose.

...the Beatle who might never have become a Beatle had someone in the Houston Chamber of Commerce been more aggressive in responding to an inquiry from the young Liverpool man. Ringo had written to the chamber for information about cowboy careers when he was a struggling drummer in 1961. He always liked the cowboy life and country music... which is easy to hear when you listen to some of his vocals for the Beatles ('Act Naturally') and on his solo albums.
[Many more items on Ringo Starr in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]

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The Beatles	...the band that named itself the Quarrymen, Johnny and the Moondogs, The Silver Beatles, and finally just The Beatles. The name was a take-off on Buddy Holly's Crickets. John Lennon, the wordsmith in the group, changed the 'Beetles' to 'Beatles' to pick up on the beat of the music.
	...the band whose famous name was initiated by a short-term member of the group, Stu Sutcliffe. Stu was an art college friend of John's who was in the band as its bassist even though he could hardly play. He was in the band from 1960 to 1961 for less than a year. It was Stu who wrote down 'beetles' as a name idea in his notebook. John changed it to 'beatles' to play off the 'beat' of the music.
	...a band that, according to a couple of its members, was best before the world found out about them. Both John Lennon and George Harrison have said that the bands' earliest gigs, in Hamburg and Liverpool in 1961, were the Beatles at their best. George said, the 'people who came to see us were drawn in simply by our music and whatever atmosphere we were able to create.'
	...the British band that owes some small debt of gratitude to a man named Raymond Jones. As a 19-year-old in 1961, it was Raymond who came into Brian Epstein's family department store and asked for the disc 'My Bonnie' with singer Tony Sheridan backed by the Beatles. Epstein hadn't heard of it but became intrigued. A couple of weeks later, he went to the nearby Cavern Club where the band happened to be playing. Within six weeks, Epstein is signed on to manage them.
	...the supergroup that was turned down by Decca records in 1962 because, according to then Decca recording chief Dick Rowe, 'groups featuring guitars were on the way out.'
	...the band of musicians from England who, in order to play their first shows in the U.S., had to obtain limited two-week work permits that said they could work in the U.S. (quote) 'so long as unemployed American citizens capable of performing this work cannot be found.'
	...the British band that wasn't taken seriously by most of the press during its first visit to America in 1964. NEWSWEEK wrote in its cover story in February of that year, 'Musically [the Beatles] are a near disaster: guitars and drums slamming out a merciless beat that does away with secondary rhythms, harmony and melody. The lyrics (punctuated by nutty shouts of 'yeah, yeah, yeah') are a catastrophe.' [47 other items about the band appear in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]
John Lennon	...the songwriter whose lyrical contribution to the Beatles' songs was usually tougher, sharper and more cynical than his partner Paul.
	...the man who was born in October 9, 1940 at 7:00 in the morning while Liverpool was under heavy attack by the Nazis.
	...a man who, as a youngster seemed to always be losing close family members. His parents separated when he was 3, his mother had little to do with raising him until he was a teen, his favorite uncle died suddenly when he was 12, his father disappeared, his mother was killed by a drunken bus driver when he was 18. It's little wonder John Lennon grew to be cynical and emotionally closed...elements that eventually became apparent in his music. [Many other items on John Lennon can be found in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]
Paul McCartney	...a man who, according to one of the Beatles publicists, would have made a great public relations man calling Paul 'a professional charmer, a prolific ideas man [and] the most commercially aware [of the Beatles].'
	...a man who, like his partner John Lennon, was something of a contradiction. While John has been described as tough on the outside but soft on the inside, Paul McCartney was, according to one author, misconstrued as the soft romantic. 'McCartney was always the tougher of the two,' writes Ray Coleman, '[who] totally outstripped John when it came to business acumen, planning his life with a fine eye for detail that later made him popular music's richest man.'
	...the Beatle who, as a youngster, says he enjoyed listening to old music on the radio and songs from old films. This helps explain Paul's leanings toward show tune styles in some of his songs ('When I'm Sixty-Four,' 'Your Mother Should Know,' 'Honey Pie,' 'Rocky Racoon'). [Many more items on Paul McCartney in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]
George Harrison	...a man who, as a youngster, had his future determined by the chance of riding the same bus to and from school with Paul McCartney. About a year and a half after McCartney met Lennon, he introduced George to John and the rest, as they say...is rock history.
	...a man who was perhaps the most dedicated instrumentalist of the Beatles, but who was less animated on stage than the other four...he was more into 'squeezing out the most perfect licks he could manage' (wrote Nicholas Schaffner).
	...a man who was not a natural musician and was frustrated early on by the difficulty he was having learning the guitar. His mother says he was determined though and sometimes he practiced all night until his fingers bled. [Many more items on George Harrison in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]
Ringo Starr	...a man who, as a child, became infatuated with the idea of drumming in a band while in the hospital for one of many childhood illnesses. Until his parents finally bought him a set of drums at the age of fourteen, Ringo made do with tin cans and pieces of wood for a drum kit.
	...the Beatle who, while trying to stay in the background, became one of the darlings of the fans because of his unusual name, his heavily ringed fingers and his large nose.
	...the Beatle who might never have become a Beatle had someone in the Houston Chamber of Commerce been more aggressive in responding to an inquiry from the young Liverpool man. Ringo had written to the chamber for information about cowboy careers when he was a struggling drummer in 1961. He always liked the cowboy life and country music... which is easy to hear when you listen to some of his vocals for the Beatles ('Act Naturally') and on his solo albums. [Many more items on Ringo Starr in the ROCK HISTORY REFERENCE GUIDE- Volume 1]