The genre(s) of early Beatles
The Beatles were fans and admirers of American girl groups, and they acknowledged their influence on their music. John Lennon once said: "We wanted to be like them. We wanted to be accepted. We wanted to be like those people who sing those great songs." Paul McCartney also said: "We loved all those girl groups. We loved all that stuff. It was very important to us."
In the clip below, John himself explains that most of their early records were aiming at a Black American sound but their Northern England non-Black upbringing turned it into a new kind of soul music. Hit that red YouTube button and listen now. It's only 55 seconds of pure Lennon.
He doesn’t say it exactly this way, but our deep B60 insights into the period allow us to grasp the difference as they themselves would’ve experienced it. At the end, he tires of trying to explain it to Jann (Rolling Stone Magazine). With our current perspective, we might have jumped in and suggested that a third element was their training in 50s rock/rockabilly. The so-called Mersey sound they created was maybe one-third pop R&B, one third rockabilly, and one third growing up in North West England.
This is an oversimplification. He would know that. We know that. Paul’s musical tastes (especially) were broader. But it can be shown that the early Beatles were inspired most of all by Black American music. For more on the topic, see our recent episode “Beatles’ first LP fails brilliantly.” This one (below) is 45 minutes of audio. Make some tea before you kick back and listen.
Four Roots
My (no doubt untestable, but maybe interesting) formulation for describing the early Beatles' genre(s) is pretty basic. I identify four roots: Aiming + training + base + past = early Beatles music.
(1961-64) Aiming for... Pop R&B, girl group sounds especially
(LATE 1950s-1961) Trained in... 50s rock, country, rockabilly
(POST-WAR) Based in... Simply growing up in North West England
(DEEP PAST) (to cover all influences)... Mostly through Paul, this is often referred to as "granny music." They wouldn't have been the Beatles without various olden day pop forms: Music Hall, Vaudeville, Folk from the British Isles and Ireland, Folk of West African origin, American folk (already combines both into various forms such as Ragtime, Bluegrass, etc.), Continental folk, and so on. Old pop/folk music.
You can find big, long lists of songs that influenced the Beatles on the Dustbin Prophesies page.
Here's a podcast with music, all about the Please Please Me album...
The influence of American girl groups on the Beatles in 1963, especially on their first two albums on Parlophone, was significant and evident. Some of the ways they were influenced were:
• They covered songs by American girl groups, such as "Boys" by the Shirelles, "Baby It's You" by the Shirelles, and "Chains” by the Cookies, on their first album Please Please Me. They also performed other songs by American girl groups live or on radio shows, such as "Please Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes, "Devil in His Heart" by the Donays, and "Twist and Shout" by the Isley Brothers (originally recorded by the Top Notes with a female lead singer).
• They imitated or adapted the vocal styles and harmonies of American girl groups, such as the call-and-response technique, the use of falsetto or high-pitched voices, and the incorporation of doo-wop and soul influences.
• They were inspired or influenced by the songwriting and production of American girl groups, especially those associated with Phil Spector and his "Wall of Sound" technique, such as the Crystals, the Ronettes, et al. They admired Spector's use of orchestration, echo, reverb, and multiple instruments to create a dense and powerful sound. They also learned from the songwriting skills of composers such as Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich, and Jeff Barry, who wrote many hits for American girl groups.
I don’t really have an ending for this article. What we need is some ongoing discussion on the topic. Come and discuss with us in the B60 Facebook group.
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