It’s early evening and my two brothers are in their rooms. My parents are watching the news.
My eldest brother Paul, who is intellectually handicapped, listens every night to the radio. As the small station called CFOX pounds out the hits one after another, he listens for his favorite band, the Beatles. He has every 45 and every album that the Beatles have ever released. He is, as some would say, a fanatic.
Paul feels he has an in with the band as he and Paul McCartney share the same birthday. My other brother John wants to play music like the Beatles. He starts to grow his hair, which my father dislikes tremendously, but he grows it long anyway. He buys Beatle boots and wears black jeans.
It’s the early sixties and I am too young to understand the influence that this band will have on our generation and many generations to come. Yet it seems my brothers are acutely aware of how important this band is. They are mesmerized by the melodies, lyrics, and harmonies of John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
They lock themselves away in their rooms each night listening to the radio. Paul sings along, while John analyzes the sound.
Beatlemania surely was a revolution, across continents and in homes everywhere. The music of the era – of the “British invasion” – resonates with many of the bands that perform today. It was the beginning of the end of the “Leave it to Beaver” lifestyle. No longer would we be satisfied with the tame melodies of the early sixties; now we wanted to hear crashing, pounding guitar solos. The Beatles’ “Revolution” kidnapped tribes of youths from every corner of every neighborhood, including my own. We collected Beatle cards and records and knew every lyric to every hit that they produced.
Even today I hear stories from friends and friends of friends of how my brother Paul would swing on the swings in the local park and sing in perfect pitch every song the Beatles had every recorded.
While my parents watched the news, history was being made, with the force of a seismic tremor that would forever change the world. There were those of us who knew on some level that the Beatles were the sound of that change, the sound of a revolution in rock.
Image Credit
“Revolutionsheet.jpg” – Wikipedia
Recent Martha Farley Articles:
- We're Just An Ordinary Family.....or Are We?
- What's Love Got to Do With It?
- Sunflower
- Where Did My Mom Go?
- A Little Magic
Thank you for your comments. It’s true, the Beatles really changed the way we felt about a lot of things. Ross, I will perhaps take you up on that and see where I can go with this story.
Love this article! I think one of the reasons I was kicked out of the seminary in 1964 is that I just couldn’t live without the Beatles; I still get goosebumps when I hear some of their songs.
I think this piece could )(and should!) be developed into a fascinating and moving personal essay.
I was part of the Beatlemania revolution, at the same time I believe there was a battle of the bands with The Beach Boys as well as the Stones. I cut out every article in the newspaper, purchased every album and still have them, every magazine, I think I have one still and watched every movie. Paul was always my favorite. Hard to believe I was only 14 when it happen. As the Beatles aged we saw a metamorphosis from smoking cigarettes to taking LSD, with a backdrop of the Viet Nam War influencing us all. As they became more conscious the youth did as well.
Awright, we got our revolution. How things did change. I was the oldest child in my family and didn’t really realize what was happening until 1970. Then I would walk to school with my radio in my arm listening to CKGM. The changes the Beatles went through show the difference in music over that time. It was very cool!