The Beatles

By Diane Forrest

My son was home this past weekend visiting. So I asked him to tell me about the Beatles.  Even though he was born long after the band broke up, he was a big fan when he was in high school.  He loved listening to their music and even learned a few of the songs when he played the saxophone at his school's band.  When I asked him to tell me about them he only answered that I should have asked him when he was 19.  I guess that meant that his musical tastes have changed since high school.

I must admit, I have never been much of a Beatle's fan; mostly what I know is about the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.  It was rumored that the song was about the drug LSD, but in reality, it was about a picture that John Lennon's son drew at school.  A picture of a little girl classmate whom he had drawn stars around that looked like diamonds and thus the song was born.

According to osholidays.com, June 25th is Global Beatles Day, an annual celebration of the phenomenon and music of the Beatles that originated in 2009. And at the center of it is “All You Need Is Love,” both the song and the words. “The purpose is to have a globally recognized day to thank and acknowledge the Beatles for all they have done to change the world,” says Faith Cohen, the originator of the idea.

According to wikepedia.com, they are the best-selling band in history, EMI Records estimate that the Beatles have sold over one billion units worldwide. They have had more number one albums on the British charts, 15 and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. They ranked number one in Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary. As of 2012, they hold the record for most number one hits on the Hot 100 chart with 20. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 177 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people.

So today, on Global Beatles Day, after a hard day's night, I just wanna hold your hand and lay in strawberry fields forever with Lucy in the sky, or either take a ride in a Yellow Submarine with Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band.  Listen to some of their old tunes and remember their contribution to the music industry.

(Photos from Google)