Running Head: CHANGING OF POP MUSIC 1

Changing of Pop Music

Introduction

Pop music is the music, which name has been derived from abbreviation of the word

popular. The main concept of this genre of music was derived from rock and roll music and

originated in early 1950s (Simpson & Weiner, 1989). Nowadays, the concept of popular music is

said to be used in the definition of music, which is seen to be popular across all genres. For

music to be called pop, there are some features which music must possess. These features

include short-medium length. Chorus should be repeated uphold verse-chorus structure posses

a sound which is melodic and have hooks which are catchy. Numerous changes have taken place

over the years (Simpson & Weiner, 1989). One group that changed pop culture is The Beatles.

How the Beatles changed pop music

The Beatles came into limelight by changing the whole idea of pop music in the world.

This was after they overwhelmed the world with their creativity in sound making, which showed

their integrity with what was referred to as “fab four’s success” (Frith, et al, 1990). The group

comprises of George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. This

new mix sound, which was developed by Beatles, was a mixture of rock and roll with black

rhythm and blues. Their unique sound comprised of sounds, which were easy to sing along with

the lyrics. Their music made youths be interested to listening to music again as they had

influenced individuals in both America and Britain. They were the first British group to

become successful and popular in America (Gillet, 1970).

The popularity and revolutionizing of music by the Beatles was encouraged by their

mainstreaming into success globally. Before they came into limelight, most musicians who

were famous always sang solo and their bands were never given consideration. Some solo artists
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include Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Elvis (Denisoff & William, 1986). However, their

impact and success encouraged most solo groups to venture into music business. Therefore,

before looking at some of the influences, it would be better if the paper looks at some important

aspects behind the formation of the Beatles.

The Beatles emerged from Liverpool and changed the lifestyle, music, clothing style and

political attitude. They had energetic lyrics that were accompanied by funky beats, which had

youths all over the world singing along to them (Frith, 2004). They did not only influence people

into their new dress code and singing, as they were involved in political affairs by preaching

peace while hallucinogenic of drugs. Moreover, they also borrowed the Indian mysticism

of meditation to the society. Their lead singer John Lennon started singing when he was 17, and

he had already started his own band in the name of Black Jacks. His band was comprised of

members from his class who studied in Liverpool’s Quarry Bank Grammar School (Frith, et al,

1990). When they were representing their school, they were known as Quarry Men. Paul

McCartney was introduced to the band in 1957 during a preparation of their performance in the

church hall. He officially joined the band in October same year after auditioning.

In 1958, the band changed their music from normal sniffle and jazz where they ventured

into rock and roll. Their banjo player who decided to leave the band took this badly, and George

Harrison took his part. The Quarry Men could not establish itself, and early 1959 witnessed their

break up (Denisoff & William, 1986). The three managed to attain a contract of playing at

Casbah Coffee Club found in Liverpool. Shortly, the club owner’s son called Pete Best who was

a drummer joined them. They tried out some names before settling for The Beatles. In June

1962, the band went for an audition at Parlophone Records situated at Abbey Road Studios,

which was owned by George Martins. He loved the band and their songs. However, he was
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not comfortable with Best who had already started to fall out with the group. Therefore, Ringo

Starr had the opportunity of joining the band from another popular band from Liverpool. That is

how Beatles was formed, and this led to revolutionizing of music and culture. Their fame came

into limelight in late 1962 after their first single “Love Me Do”. They had started out as support

performances during concerts (Hatch & Millward, 1987). However, in the year, 1963 “Beatle

mania” hit the main stream, and they starred in Royal variety show where they were highly rated.

The Americans had not yet embraced their music, and some adults were still skeptic

about music. The song “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was released in January 1964 in United

States, and it was only three weeks in the chart before it was at number one spot. When Beatles

stepped down in Kennedy International Airport on seventh February of the same year, thousands

of fans greeted them, and it took 110 police officers to control them. Their greatest debut into the

American market was encouraged by their appearance on television screens of America on

February 9 of 1964 on Sunday (Frith, 2004). An estimated 73 million Americans saw this

interview. In the same year, they received a lot of criticism, but they still managed to garner two

Grammy awards. The Beatles later held top five slots on the Billboard list as they sold most of

their singles worldwide. In April 1964, fourteen of the top one hundred songs on the Billboard

were from Beatles.

The other influence they brought into pop culture was popularizing of music videos.

Their song “A Half Day’s Night’ was a full length film which made the group popular though it

was short in black and white. This feature was released before they went on their second tour of

United States. Their song “Help” was released later in more color and was found to be

interesting compared to their first film. Later, they released to albums in two years “Rubber

Soul” and “Revolver” in the years 1965 and 1966 respectively (Hatch & Millward, 1987). The
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albums were unique since they were a combination of country-western, eastern, classical and

soul, which were like a breakaway from usual rock and roll.

The Beatles also had the opportunity of influencing the dress code of individuals in both

America and Britain. Their code they had defined who they were and fitted their status. Their

dressing had a theme of Mod and rocker in their fashion. After their dramatic twist of 1966

where they were deemed antichrists due to the remarks of John Lennon against Christianity and

Jesus, they decided to have palettes that were brighter which were an inspiration from Indian

garb (Gillet, 1970). Moving towards 1980s, they decided to maintain their facial hair, which

depicted that they had grown from boys to men. This influenced the dressing style for most of

pop music lovers as they kept long hair and started wearing clothes with bright colors.

Conclusion

The Beatles are referred as the greatest band group of all time. They took over the pop

culture and changed it within a few years after their emergence. They were the first band to

be popular which inspired many people venture into bands or groups since most pop musicians

had solo performances. In accordance to Billboard charts, they were able to overwhelm the world

by three songs in the top ten rating and twelve top songs in top one hundred rating. The pop

group also managed to influence adults and youth at the same time since they had a combination

of certain genres of music. Their popularity enabled them to influence the fashion industry since

individuals wanted to look like them.

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References

Denisoff R. & William L. (1986) Tarnished Gold: the Record Industry Revisited 3rd Ed. New

Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Frith, S (2004) Popular Music: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies, Routledge.

Frith, S. Straw W. & Street J, (1990) the Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock, Cambridge:

Cambridge University.

Gillet, C, (1970) the Sound of the City. The Rise of Rock and Roll, Outerbridge & Dienstfrey.

Hatch D & Millward S. (1987) From Blues to Rock: an Analytical History of Pop Music

Manchester: Manchester University.

Simpson J. & Weiner E. (1989) Oxford English Dictionary Oxford: Oxford University.