Society

Retired Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield once said, "People are still looking at Picasso ... at artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original. In the form that they worked in, in the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive than The Beatles were."

What is the significance of this icon to American society?

Most of the sucess of the Beatles had to do with the time period in which they became popular. The significance of this icon to American society is that changed the world of pop culture. It also changed rock-and-roll forever. The Beatles wrote songs that expressed love, peace, individuality, and that dealt with the changing world during the time. They also gave a bit of optimism because they had arrived in the US shortly after Kennedy was assasinated. They also revolutionalized music because before the 1960s, music was "proper" but the Beatles were no where near that. They revolutuonalized rock and roll and made music that was creative and different. The Fab Four was also significant to American society in the sense that they had become the first band to make and popularize music videos which is a huge industry today and in the sense that they came around the time that most of the baby boomers were in their teenage years which began to influence individuality and rebellion. The Beatles were an outlet for individuality and rebellion, hence the popularity among teenagers. They also changed fashion with their long, shaggy hair. Their song lyrics are also extremely interesting and much more creative and fun to listen to then other artists of that generation. They also would not perform anywhere where blacks were discriminated for seats to their concerts, therefore trying to rid of de facto segregation (Sawyers).

What does symbolize?
It is a particularly American icon because of their immense influence over society and they embodied the spirit of the time period, of the peace era. They rock and roll has greatly influenced other songwriters and artists and continues to do so today (Starke 6).

It symbolizes the empowerment of women, "the whole was always greater than the sum of the parts" (Starke 5). The Beatles also symbolize rebellion and individuality. The Beatles brought different worlds together and in way brought people together no matter their race or age.

How have The Beatles changed rock-and-roll?

Before The Beatles were introduced, it was common for many rock bands to hire professional songwriters to write the songs, but The Beatles were different. They wrote their own songs even though they could not read or write music. The Beatles were also always experimenting with new ways to record music and John Lennon coined the term "flanging" which overlaps two copies of the same sound.The design of the album covers were also unique and have been replicated over the years. They also were the first band to film music videos (White).