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Preface
IthasbeenfiftyyearssincethenameoftheBeatleswasserendipitouslycon-
ceivedinthesummerof1960.Historydidnotactuallystartatthatmoment,
sincethreeoftheLiverpudlianshadbeenplayingtogetherforsometime
already,butitcertainlymadeamemorableturn.Intwoyearsthebandreleased
theirfirstsingle,ayearlater–theirfirstalbum,afterwhichitwasnotlong
beforetheworldheardaboutBeatlemaniaandthe“Aeoliancadences”.
TheBeatlesworkedunderthisintentionallymisspellednameforonlyadecade,
buttheimpactofwhattheymanagedtoachieveinthisrelativelyshortspanof
timegoesfarbeyondthemerehistoricalsignificancewhichmightbeofinterest
onlytotheculturalhistoriansofthe1960s.
Fiftyyearslater,weseemtohaveasuitableperspectivetojudgehowinfluential
theBeatleswereinalltheirroles,andthereweremanyofthem:pop,rock,and
avant-gardemusicians,lyricists,graphicartists,filmactorsandcomedians,trend
setters,teenageidolsandculturalicons,entrepreneurs,gurusandsocialreform-
ers,iconoclastsandculturalambassadors.Thelistcanbecontinued.
Thepassingtime,despiteitsoftenlabyrinthineandreactivecourse,hasdemon-
stratedthepersistenceoftheBeatles’culturallegacy.Theirrecordsarestill
availableandsellverywell,withthewholeBeatles’cataloguerecentlyre-
masteredamidstamuchhypedandpublicizedcampaign.Butmorethanthis,
despitethefactthattheylastplayedtogetherin1969,everyfewyearsthe
Beatles’cataloguehasbeenenrichedbythepublicationofnewlydiscovered
recordingsofhithertounpublishedtakesorversionsoftheirsongs.
EveryaspectoftheBeatleshasnowbecomeasubjectofacademicresearchand
scholarlystudies.Thelibraryofbooksontheirhistoryandachievement,even
whenweignoretheoverproductionofcoffee-tablepublications,countsnowin
hundredsandiseverexpanding,includinghighlyspecialized,professional
studiespublishedbyuniversitypressesandprestigiouspublishinghouses,to
mentiononlyWalterEverett’stwovolumemonographTheBeatlesasMusi-
cians,JonathanGould’sgroupbiographyCantBuymeLove.TheBeatles,
BritainandAmerica,orMatthewSchneider’sculturalstudyTheLongand
WindingRoadfromBlaketotheBeatles.
TherearemanyreasonswhytheBeatlesstillmeritourcloseattention,apart
fromthemerefactthattheyhavesimplysucceededinauthoringsomeofthe
