Beatles Break Up
As they walked off the plane, thousands of people stood there to welcome
them.
They were screaming their names and singing their songs. Everyone
had heard of
them, they were the true meaning of rock and roll; they defined
it. They were
the biggest sensation since Elvis; they called themselves The
Beatles. They had
never expected to be the next sensation. No one ever
expects to become a great
legend in national or world history. It had taken
them two years to establish
the final four members, but once they joined
together they were known around the
world. Even though they were not the
greatest guitarists, drummers, singers or
musicians (Professor Joel Friedman,
personal interview). As a whole they came
together as a world champion team,
like a finely tuned machine. But just as
every dynasty has its finest hour
they came to an end, just like any great
thing. No one ever wanted or thought
this miraculous band would ever cease to
be. However, they did, but why is
the question many people still ask today. They
were four young men with a
dream to play in a band. The members consisted of
John Lennon, Paul
McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. The band was
created in nineteen
sixty, but the group was not fully established until
nineteen sixty-two. This
is when the name British Invasion first started to take
acclaim. They toured
around the world performing everywhere. Not wanting to ever
stop for a second
because of the love they all had for music and because of how
hard they had
worked to finally achieve what all human beings want, success.
They had
about seven great years together, at least from what the world new, but
soon
things started to change. The group began to have difficulties
within
themselves. Internal conflict is what brings all great things to stop
working
like clockwork. The question is what was so bad that this extremely
talented
group had to break up? There is much controversy to why the group
broke up. Many
people believed different things, the problems varied; the
problems ranged from
drugs to personal differences among one another. The
group gave many interviews
and had many discussions to why they had broken
up, but still there are debates.
People now are starting to come to the
conclusion, that there is not one
specific reason to why the exceptional band
ended. Could the Beatles just have
not had anything left to do with their
music? According to The Beatles, written
by Allan Kozinn, the Beatles had
given seven great years of music, but the whole
group wanted different
things. In a personal interview done with Professor
Friedman, the
possibilities were endless to why they ended. Lennon had begun
recording a
record with his wife and felt it was in his best interests to go
solo.
McCartney, one of the key writers for the band, began creating songs
solo.
The band no longer worked as a group to accomplish things; they
would just come
together as one when they needed to record. The band started
to feel that it
would just be better to go on their own paths and see where
they would end. Many
people say this reason could not be true because all of
the Beatles songs say
written by McCartney-Lennon. McCartney and Lennon would
no longer try to create
songs together, or try to put music to what they had
written. It got to the
point were the only reason the songs were
McCartney-Lennon was because Lennon
might give his opinion if McCartney
needed help, not because he wanted to help
him write (Friedman). According to
the web site, on March 30, 2000,
www.askjeeves.com, Harrison had wanted more
artistic freedom with his work,
which was not possible. Harrison had become
very interested in Indian music,
culture and philosophy; he wanted to
incorporate it into the Beatles music, but
Lennon and McCartney would
have no part of that. (Kozinn, 162). They believed
that they were the two
writers for the group, and did not want to incorporate
Harrison's music
into their band, therefore he felt as though he was being
shunned from the
group. This intimidated Harrison, which is not something that
helped the
band. When a member of a group does not feel 100% involved, it
causes
aggression and can lead to more controversy. Everyone in the group
wanted to put
in what they believed in, but they felt as though they could
not. Which causes
tension and controversy. Through out their entire career
the Beatles have always
had an idolization with Bob Dylan. While spending
more and more time with Dylan
the Beatles began to experiment in drug use
along with him. However, Dylan and
the Beatles are totally different
personalities. Dylan being able to use drugs
and still accomplishes his goals
and in contrast the Beatles were not able to
mix work with pleasure in that
respect (VH-1, Behind the Music). Lennon had
become too entangled into the
drug scene. Lennon was having a very tough time in
his life. He became bored
with all the things that he used to love, touring and
recording. He soon
found something to replace the feeling of emptiness;
experimenting with
drugs. He was no longer part of the Beatles world; he was in
his own. The
drug use started fights among the members and soon it was
impossible to
establish any kind of agreement (Orman 12-13). The Beatles were
soon unable
to work together. By all consuming drugs and having that one thing
in common
led to a split between members because they all had different
attachments to
it. Another main reason that was speculated to why the Beatles
had to come to
an end was because of marriage and/or girlfriends. Lennon became
very close
with Ono. The two lovers became inseparable. They also wanted to
start a
family together and move on in life instead of staying in the same
place.
Their time together began cutting into their recording time, which made
the
others frustrated. The fact that Lennon had began recording an album
with
Ono caused much tension among the group. The group preferred
recording in
privacy, which Lennon did not understand. According to Kozinn it
is ridiculous
to blame Ono for the break up. Though she caused much tension,
the reasons were
much more complex and way beyond her (Konzinn 175). The
group had always worked
alone, and once things got tough and the group began
to develop more and more
trouble, Ono began to interfere more with the group,
causing more problems
(Friedman). Also, Harrison and Starr were married, and
both of their families
lived outside of London, which made recording and
touring difficult. The Beatles
wanted to spend time with their families and
not have to leave all the time.
Lennon especially was a main factor in
the fact that the touring ended. He did
not like to go out on tours; he also
lost the desire to record music within the
band. It had become routine to
him, and he was sick of it. In an interview done
with George and John in 1967
referring to stop touring, it was said that it was
like an end of a cycle.
When they were in Liverpool, it was like they understood
the crowd, but once
out touring around the world, it was different. There was a
new different
type of audience each day; it was no longer what they were use
to
(www.askjeeves.com March 30, 2000). As many old bands experience today
when they
go on tour they seem to not have the same crowd following. There
include some
old fans, new ones, and other people who would just go to see
them because they
never saw them and figured it would be fun. They were
losing their fan base that
believed in their music, and gained fans that just
wanted to hear something.
According to John, "When we were away from it
for a while it was like
school holidays. You hadn't done any work for a bit
and you just remembered the
laughs. You looked forward to it again... until
you got back and were fed up.
But we've had enough performing now. I
can't imagine a reason that would make us
do any sort of tour ever again
(www.davidsbeatles.com). Though the fans were
disappointed and touring was
hard on the members in the band. They wanted to
make music and have fun, but
touring was no longer fun for them, which hence
forth, made creating new
music no longer fun. In reference to the web page,
www.ask.com as of March
24, 2000, in 1969 the group began to discuss ending the
group and going there
separate ways. Paul wanted perfection, John had Yoko,
George wanted more
artistic freedom and Ringo was tired of being just a drummer.
They all
urged for something more that could not be given to them if they kept
doing
what they were doing. Although it does not sound selfish and greedy it
really
was. Just as a dynasty begins to lose power because they want to
keep
expanding on what they already had their band lost power because of what
they
wanted to become. When Paul was asked to explain why the group had
broken up he
stated, "Personal differences, business differences, musical
differences,
but most of all because I have a better time with my family."
The other
questions those many during this time were wondering; was it
temporary or
permanent? Paul answered, "I don't really know." George Harrison
was
interviewed in 1971 about one year after the break- up. He stated that
Paul John
and himself have made so many songs of their own, that it is a good
idea if they
all go and make their own albums. Each of them wanted to play
their songs their
own way and not the way the others want. The only way to go
about it was for
them to break -up. George also said that they all have to
try something
different, and once they had maybe the Beatles' will work
together again. It was
all about compromise for George. Slowly the screams
started to fade and soon the
Beatles were no more. If only the group had
learned to compromise to what the
others wanted, and had stopped being
selfish, the miraculous band would not have
ended, but their stubbornness and
their inability to listen is where their
downfall was. There were so many
reasons to why the band had to end, but the
most prominent to me, was because
they no longer were a band together; they were
a band that had drifted and no
longer combined their work, they just did what
they had to do. Who knows
where and what they could have done with there
incredible talent. This
amazing band changed rock and roll forever, and they
will never be forgotten.
Though the screams have stopped and the fans no longer
are at the airport to
greet them when they get off the plane, they will always
be known as the band
that changed music for the better. They will always live in
the memories of
what once was and of what became. They changed music to better
suite the
people of the day and they laid the foundation for the future of
all
musicians across the globe from present to future. People should not sit
and
ponder about why the Beatles broke up, but should think about the great
memories
they have provided for the entire world. How they helped make music
what it is
today for all music fans and for the children who will once listen
to the great
sounds which come out of the same stereos which once played the
great music that
Lennon, Harrison, McCartney, and Star magically
fabricated.
Bibliography
Cording, Robert...Ed. In My Life. Fromm
International Publishing Co. New
York. 1998 This book talks about how the
Beatles influenced everyday peoples
lives. Which is important to how they
took the world by storm and how the people
felt when they fell apart. It was
because of the fans they were so great, so
what they think and how they felt
is substantial. Kozinn, Allan. The Beatles.
Phaidon Press Limited.
London, 1995 The Beatles whole history is recorded in
this book. It contains
how they started, became famous, and how they fell apart.
Orman, John.
The Politics of Rock Music. Nelson- Hall, Chicago. 1984 This book
deals with
the issues of John Lennon and his problem with drugs. This is an
alleged
reason that the Beatles broke up. www.ariz.com/beatles/index.html
March
7, 2000 The Beatles dominated rock music in the 1960s, eventually
broke up when
they felt their possibilities as a group were exhausted
http://www.getback.org/breflib/breakup.html
March 7, 2000 this site
explains why the Beatles broke up. It expresses that
each one of The Beatles
wanted to do there own thing. Paul had made the
announcement there was a
lawsuit issued by him. Which caused much controversy.
He also stated that
the Beatles would never again work together.
http://rollingstone.tunes.com/sections/artists/text/bio.asp?afl=&LookUpString=868
March
7, 2000 John Lennon had wanted to part from the group before there
actual
break- up in 1970. Just before the group broke up, he had started
recording with
Ono, his wife. Because of Lennon's relationship with Ono,
would cause great
tension among the Beatles. In April McCartney -- in a move
that Lennon felt was
an act of betrayal -- announced his departure from the
Beatles and released his
solo LP. From this point on (if not earlier), Ono
replaced McCartney as Lennon's
main collaborator. The Beatles were no more.
At the time, much attention was
focused on Ono's alleged role in the band's
end.