Beatles Break Up Essay, Research Paper

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.

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.