Beatles

The Beatles became a big cultural phenomenon, from changes in hairstyles and fashion to reshaping the roles of women to the acceptance of drug use for creative purposes, they had a powerful role in the sixties. Their music had a big effect on mass consciousness and social trends. In February 1964, when the Beatles landed in New York City, Beatlemania took the country by storm and, within a year, the world. The Beatles went on to become the biggest entertainment act in history and brought rock music to a new level. Unlike the previous rockers, the Beatles soon revealed themselves to be more than just entertainers. As cultural icons and modernists, they would be willing to critique the past. The defining moment came in 1966 with a remark made by John Lennon at a time when public demand for the Beatles seemed insatiable. Concerning Christianity, Lennon said: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that. I'm right, and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus Christ right now. I don't know which will go first, Rock and roll or Christianity". The importance of this statement cannot be underestimated, for it challenged the basic fabric of Western society. The gauntlet was thrown down by the biggest pop icons of the age. The Beatles were the first British band to break into the American market. Their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show reportedly led to a dip in the crime rate to a 50-year low as 73 million people or 40% of Americans tuned into watch. They performed the songs All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand. The band appeared twice on the Ed Sullivan show and their performances still rate as the second and third most-watched programs in the history of US TV. In February 2004, the Beatles were given the President's Award at the Grammys to mark the 40th anniversary of what became known as "Beatlemania".

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