Assignment 7-Eliot Smith

     On October 5th, 1962, British men, women, boys, and girls heard for the first time the now familiar voices of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, also known as The Beatles.  Their single "Love Me Do" debuted in the United Kingdom and was an instant sensation, reaching number seventeen on the charts, and reaching number one on the American charts in 1964.  This single was the starting point of the extreme popularity experienced by the Beatles that existed from the debut of "Love Me Do" to their dissociation in 1970.
     The Beatles had an immense effect on the popular culture of wherever their music was played.  Where the Beatles went, their style followed.  When the group of four ventured to the States, commonly known as the British Invasion, the American citizens quickly adapted to all parts of the British rock star nature.  The Americans changed their hair, their clothes, even their diction to match that of their favorite band. Quickly, American bands started to recognize the Beatles as a threat, and even tried to tweak their genres to match the pop-rock trademark of the Brits.
     The legacy of Paul, John, Ringo, and George continues to live on today, which is something that I am rather thankful for.  As a teenager who doesn't particularly care for current music, I am frequently saved from this elongated stream of profanity by turning on classic rock stations on the radio, a place where the Beatles receive much air time.  The Beatles often appear in my memories, whether it is my 8th grade music class recital where I played lead guitar for the song "I Feel Fine" or whether it is watching home videos of my father singing "Blackbird" as my infant self repeatedly tries to crawl on top of his guitar and pick at the strings, they have always been a band that I can nonchalantly listen to and reflect on my day whilst remembering my past accomplishments.