Transcript The Beatles and The Sixties

The Beatles and The Sixties
The Beatles
The Sixties
Hippies
THE BEATLES AND THE SIXTIES
In the Sixties there was the birth of the hippie movement, a youth movement that drew inspiration from the countercultural
values of the “ Beat Generation”.
These guys created their communities who listened to psychedelic rock, and they made use of drugs like LSD, marijuana or
cannabis.
The fashion and the hippies’ values influenced popular music, TV shows, the cinema, art and literature.
Both men and women usually wore jeans, they had long hair, and they wore sandals or they walked
barefooted.
Most hippies preferred to travel by hitch-hiking, because it was cheap, ecological and
a it was a sure way to meet other people.One of the symbols of this old movement is
the VW bus (See above) painted with psychedelic pictures and the Wolksvagen
symbol became the symbol of peace.
Some of the groups that they loved are for example: The Who,Jimi Hendrix, Janis
Joplin and the Beatles.
The Beatles
In 1957 in London the Beatles were born, a group bound to become the most famous group of the Sixties. It was composed
by 4 men: John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.
During the first period The Beatles played in 4 different pubs in Liverpool, but they weren't famous yet. They became
famous in January 1960 with the first concert where there were a lot of fans for them: this concert was in "Town Hall
Ballroom" and it was the first very important concert for the group. In their career they published 23 albums. In their
songs they talked about love, life, problems of the world. In particular they talked about drug, alcohol and other similar
problems. Their albums had peculiar covers which had hidden messages according to the critics. And if you listen to some
songs of theirs contrariwise, you'll find a lot of hidden messages. In the 1965 a legend was born according to which Paul
McCartney was dead. In fact the critics found a lot of connections with their covers, their songs, their messages in lyrics.
But it was only a legend because Paul McCartney is still alive. Towards the end of 1969 the situation of the group was
very heavy and on 10th of april 1970 because of a quarrel the group dissolved itself.
John Lennon
Ringo Starr
Paul McCartney
George Harrison
John Lennon
was one of the most famous songwriters, singers and
guitarists of ever. John Winston Lennon was born in 1940 in Liverpool from a
humble family. His aunt Mimi took him into her and her husband's custody as
she believed that John's mother was naive and imprudent. When John was
seventeen, he lost his mother in a car accident. That marked him profoundly, so
that he wrote later: -I lost my mother twice. Once as a child of five and then
again at seventeen. It made him very bitter inside-. He attended Liverpool
College of Art for his artistic skills. In that period of his life he began to be keen
on music and in particular on rock'n'roll, so he made his first band called The
Quarrymen. In a concert of this band he knew Paul McCartney and they
established The Beatles. He always had an important role in the group and he is
considered the leader of it jointly with Paul. He wrote in fact the first successes
like Please Please Me and She Loves You. After he got married with Cynthia:
Julian was born from their union. However he always behaved with him in a
detached and cold way. Meanwhile he was more and more successful and
popular. After some years Cynthia charged him for using drug and betraying her
with Yoko Ono, so they divorced. Besides John cooperated in Plastic Ono Band
with artists like Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Alan White. After knowing
Yoko, John split progressively from Beatles until he completely separated in
1970. He spent the rest of his life with Yoko Ono, a Japanese composer and he
sided actively in favor of the pacifist cause. In New York John was killed by one
fan of his, Mark Chapman, a lunatic, in 1980. His songs concern peace in every
place of the world, brotherly love among all the people and lack of countries and
religions. He preached for the disappearance of greed, hunger and any kind of
property.
Richard Starkey, known with the pseudonym Ringo
Starr, derived from his custom to wear lots of rings,
was the drummer of Beatles. He was born in 1940 in
Liverpool. He was hospitalized for several times.
That affected his childhood and adolescence.
However he became self-confident and he started
playing drums. After he broke away with his
previous group he entered the Beatles and he became
famous. After the Beatles dissolved he started a solo
and actor career.
Paul McCartney is a key figure in contemporary culture as a singer, composer, poet,
writer, artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, and holder of more than 3 thousand copyrights.
He is in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for most records sold, most covered
song, "Yesterday," largest paid audience for a solo concert. He is considered one of the
most successful entertainers of all times.
James Paul McCartney was born in Walton Hospital in Liverpool, England on18th June
1942.
At the age of 15, McCartney met John Lennon in Woolton on 6th July 1957.
He formed a close relationship with Lennon and they collaborated on many songs, they
formed a new group with Harrison and Ringo Starr, and they became the popular group
“The Beatles”.
McCartney was 28 when he started his solo career, and formed his new band, “Wings”.
His first solo album, "McCartney," was a #1 hit and spawned the evergreen ballad
"Maybe I'm Amazed”.
George Harrison was the guitarist of The Beatles. He
was born in Liverpool in 1943 from a menial family.
His passion for electric guitar was early, he spent a
lot of time to exercise himself so he got very skillful.
When Paul listened to him he was struck and he
facilitated his entry into the group. His first song
designed in the group was Don't Bother Me. Even if
George Harrison was considered the third Beatle, his
presence was fundamental for the musical
development of the British group. He always looked
for new sound expressions. He attributed an
important role to electric guitar in rock'n'roll
phrasing. The meeting with Ravi Shankar was
particularly important for him because he knew
Hindu instruments like sitar, sarod and tampoura
that he used afterwards. He embraced Hindu culture,
religion and life philosophy. He died in 2001.
HIPPIES MOVEMENT
The Hippies movement was born in the Sixties in the United States.
The word Hippy derives from “hipster”, that means “man of the world”.
The Hippies culture became popular in 1967 after a youth meeting in San
Francisco.
This movement grew especially in the United States.
The revolution spread all over the world and every nation created its own version
of this countercultural movement.
The fashion and the Hippies’ values influenced popular music, television, movies,
literature and art. At the beginning the Hippies movement was composed of white
youths and teenagers. They rejected institutions, nuclear weapons and the
Vietnam war.
The Hippies embraced Eastern philosophy, they promoted sexual freedom and
psychedelic drugs and they were often vegetarians and ecologists.
They used alternative arts as street theatre, popular music, psychedelic sounds.
The Hippies believed in love, peace and personal freedom.
After 1965 the Hippies’ morals influenced the Beatles and other groups in Great
Britain and Europe.