Beatles Break Up
As they walked off the plane, thousands of people stood there to welcome them.
They were screaming their names and singing their songs. Everyone had heard of
them, they were the true meaning of rock and roll; they defined it. They were
the biggest sensation since Elvis; they called themselves The Beatles. They had
never expected to be the next sensation. No one ever expects to become a great
legend in national or world history. It had taken them two years to establish
the final four members, but once they joined together they were known around the
world. Even though they were not the greatest guitarists, drummers, singers or
musicians (Professor Joel Friedman, personal interview). As a whole they came
together as a world champion team, like a finely tuned machine. But just as
every dynasty has its finest hour they came to an end, just like any great
thing. No one ever wanted or thought this miraculous band would ever cease to
be. However, they did, but why is the question many people still ask today. They
were four young men with a dream to play in a band. The members consisted of
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. The band was
created in nineteen sixty, but the group was not fully established until
nineteen sixty-two. This is when the name British Invasion first started to take
acclaim. They toured around the world performing everywhere. Not wanting to ever
stop for a second because of the love they all had for music and because of how
hard they had worked to finally achieve what all human beings want, success.
They had about seven great years together, at least from what the world new, but
soon things started to change. The group began to have difficulties within
themselves. Internal conflict is what brings all great things to stop working
like clockwork. The question is what was so bad that this extremely talented
group had to break up? There is much controversy to why the group broke up. Many
people believed different things, the problems varied; the problems ranged from
drugs to personal differences among one another. The group gave many interviews
and had many discussions to why they had broken up, but still there are debates.
People now are starting to come to the conclusion, that there is not one
specific reason to why the exceptional band ended. Could the Beatles just have
not had anything left to do with their music? According to The Beatles, written
by Allan Kozinn, the Beatles had given seven great years of music, but the whole
group wanted different things. In a personal interview done with Professor
Friedman, the possibilities were endless to why they ended. Lennon had begun
recording a record with his wife and felt it was in his best interests to go
solo. McCartney, one of the key writers for the band, began creating songs solo.
The band no longer worked as a group to accomplish things; they would just come
together as one when they needed to record. The band started to feel that it
would just be better to go on their own paths and see where they would end. Many
people say this reason could not be true because all of the Beatles songs say
written by McCartney-Lennon. McCartney and Lennon would no longer try to create
songs together, or try to put music to what they had written. It got to the
point were the only reason the songs were McCartney-Lennon was because Lennon
might give his opinion if McCartney needed help, not because he wanted to help
him write (Friedman). According to the web site, on March 30, 2000,
www.askjeeves.com, Harrison had wanted more artistic freedom with his work,
which was not possible. Harrison had become very interested in Indian music,
culture and philosophy; he wanted to incorporate it into the Beatles music, but
Lennon and McCartney would have no part of that. (Kozinn, 162). They believed
that they were the two writers for the group, and did not want to incorporate
Harrison’s music into their band, therefore he felt as though he was being
shunned from the group. This intimidated Harrison, which is not something that
helped the band. When a member of a group does not feel 100% involved, it causes
aggression and can lead to more controversy. Everyone in the group wanted to put
in what they believed in, but they felt as though they could not. Which causes
tension and controversy. Through out their entire career the Beatles have always
had an idolization with Bob Dylan. While spending more and more time with Dylan
the Beatles began to experiment in drug use along with him. However, Dylan and
the Beatles are totally different personalities. Dylan being able to use drugs
and still accomplishes his goals and in contrast the Beatles were not able to
mix work with pleasure in that respect (VH-1, Behind the Music). Lennon had
become too entangled into the drug scene. Lennon was having a very tough time in
his life. He became bored with all the things that he used to love, touring and
recording. He soon found something to replace the feeling of emptiness;
experimenting with drugs. He was no longer part of the Beatles world; he was in
his own. The drug use started fights among the members and soon it was
impossible to establish any kind of agreement (Orman 12-13). The Beatles were
soon unable to work together. By all consuming drugs and having that one thing
in common led to a split between members because they all had different
attachments to it. Another main reason that was speculated to why the Beatles
had to come to an end was because of marriage and/or girlfriends. Lennon became
very close with Ono. The two lovers became inseparable. They also wanted to
start a family together and move on in life instead of staying in the same
place. Their time together began cutting into their recording time, which made
the others frustrated. The fact that Lennon had began recording an album with
Ono caused much tension among the group. The group preferred recording in
privacy, which Lennon did not understand. According to Kozinn it is ridiculous
to blame Ono for the break up. Though she caused much tension, the reasons were
much more complex and way beyond her (Konzinn 175). The group had always worked
alone, and once things got tough and the group began to develop more and more
trouble, Ono began to interfere more with the group, causing more problems
(Friedman). Also, Harrison and Starr were married, and both of their families
lived outside of London, which made recording and touring difficult. The Beatles
wanted to spend time with their families and not have to leave all the time.
Lennon especially was a main factor in the fact that the touring ended. He did
not like to go out on tours; he also lost the desire to record music within the
band. It had become routine to him, and he was sick of it. In an interview done
with George and John in 1967 referring to stop touring, it was said that it was
like an end of a cycle. When they were in Liverpool, it was like they understood
the crowd, but once out touring around the world, it was different. There was a
new different type of audience each day; it was no longer what they were use to
(www.askjeeves.com March 30, 2000). As many old bands experience today when they
go on tour they seem to not have the same crowd following. There include some
old fans, new ones, and other people who would just go to see them because they
never saw them and figured it would be fun. They were losing their fan base that
believed in their music, and gained fans that just wanted to hear something.
According to John, “When we were away from it for a while it was like
school holidays. You hadn’t done any work for a bit and you just remembered the
laughs. You looked forward to it again… until you got back and were fed up.
But we’ve had enough performing now. I can’t imagine a reason that would make us
do any sort of tour ever again (www.davidsbeatles.com). Though the fans were
disappointed and touring was hard on the members in the band. They wanted to
make music and have fun, but touring was no longer fun for them, which hence
forth, made creating new music no longer fun. In reference to the web page,
www.ask.com as of March 24, 2000, in 1969 the group began to discuss ending the
group and going there separate ways. Paul wanted perfection, John had Yoko,
George wanted more artistic freedom and Ringo was tired of being just a drummer.
They all urged for something more that could not be given to them if they kept
doing what they were doing. Although it does not sound selfish and greedy it
really was. Just as a dynasty begins to lose power because they want to keep
expanding on what they already had their band lost power because of what they
wanted to become. When Paul was asked to explain why the group had broken up he
stated, “Personal differences, business differences, musical differences,
but most of all because I have a better time with my family.” The other
questions those many during this time were wondering; was it temporary or
permanent? Paul answered, “I don’t really know.” George Harrison was
interviewed in 1971 about one year after the break- up. He stated that Paul John
and himself have made so many songs of their own, that it is a good idea if they
all go and make their own albums. Each of them wanted to play their songs their
own way and not the way the others want. The only way to go about it was for
them to break -up. George also said that they all have to try something
different, and once they had maybe the Beatles’ will work together again. It was
all about compromise for George. Slowly the screams started to fade and soon the
Beatles were no more. If only the group had learned to compromise to what the
others wanted, and had stopped being selfish, the miraculous band would not have
ended, but their stubbornness and their inability to listen is where their
downfall was. There were so many reasons to why the band had to end, but the
most prominent to me, was because they no longer were a band together; they were
a band that had drifted and no longer combined their work, they just did what
they had to do. Who knows where and what they could have done with there
incredible talent. This amazing band changed rock and roll forever, and they
will never be forgotten. Though the screams have stopped and the fans no longer
are at the airport to greet them when they get off the plane, they will always
be known as the band that changed music for the better. They will always live in
the memories of what once was and of what became. They changed music to better
suite the people of the day and they laid the foundation for the future of all
musicians across the globe from present to future. People should not sit and
ponder about why the Beatles broke up, but should think about the great memories
they have provided for the entire world. How they helped make music what it is
today for all music fans and for the children who will once listen to the great
sounds which come out of the same stereos which once played the great music that
Lennon, Harrison, McCartney, and Star magically fabricated.
Bibliography
Cording, Robert…Ed. In My Life. Fromm International Publishing Co. New
York. 1998 This book talks about how the Beatles influenced everyday peoples
lives. Which is important to how they took the world by storm and how the people
felt when they fell apart. It was because of the fans they were so great, so
what they think and how they felt is substantial. Kozinn, Allan. The Beatles.
Phaidon Press Limited. London, 1995 The Beatles whole history is recorded in
this book. It contains how they started, became famous, and how they fell apart.
Orman, John. The Politics of Rock Music. Nelson- Hall, Chicago. 1984 This book
deals with the issues of John Lennon and his problem with drugs. This is an
alleged reason that the Beatles broke up. www.ariz.com/beatles/index.html March
7, 2000 The Beatles dominated rock music in the 1960s, eventually broke up when
they felt their possibilities as a group were exhausted http://www.getback.org/breflib/breakup.html
March 7, 2000 this site explains why the Beatles broke up. It expresses that
each one of The Beatles wanted to do there own thing. Paul had made the
announcement there was a lawsuit issued by him. Which caused much controversy.
He also stated that the Beatles would never again work together. http://rollingstone.tunes.com/sections/artists/text/bio.asp?afl=;LookUpString=868
March 7, 2000 John Lennon had wanted to part from the group before there actual
break- up in 1970. Just before the group broke up, he had started recording with
Ono, his wife. Because of Lennon’s relationship with Ono, would cause great
tension among the Beatles. In April McCartney — in a move that Lennon felt was
an act of betrayal — announced his departure from the Beatles and released his
solo LP. From this point on (if not earlier), Ono replaced McCartney as Lennon’s
main collaborator. The Beatles were no more. At the time, much attention was
focused on Ono’s alleged role in the band’s end.
