How did the Beatles change popular music?

The Beatles changed popular music in several linked ways. They treated the recording studio as a creative instrument, helped make the album rather than the single the main form of music consumption, encouraged bands to write their own material, and opened the American market to a wave of British acts. Their songwriting also grew more sophisticated across the 1960s. Wider social forces played a part too, and the sources describe the band as one driver among several. [1] [2]

When the Beatles began recording professionally in 1962, two-track recording was still the industry norm. Abbey Road had four-track machines by the early 1960s, but they were seen as unnecessary for pop, and the band did not use them until 1964. Working with producer George Martin and engineers, they then pushed the technology quickly. Artificial Double Tracking for vocals was invented by Abbey Road's studio manager Ken Townshend. For Strawberry Fields, two takes in different keys were joined by altering tape speed, a solution prompted by John Lennon's wish to combine them. [3]

Rolling Stone notes backwards guitars and tapes on Revolver. The Conversation argues that the work with Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick made the record, rather than the underlying song, the key text in pop, and moved record production from a technical job into a creative one. Before this, it says, producers were rule-bound functionaries and engineers were effectively lab assistants. [4] [1]

Rolling Stone describes Sgt. Pepper as inventing the rock-era concept album and notes that an entire side of Abbey Road was given to a seamless suite. Wikipedia's summary credits the group with elevating the album over singles as the dominant way to consume records, and with innovations in sleeve design and music videos. [4] [2]

The Lennon–McCartney partnership displaced the Denmark Street tradition of in-house songwriters in Britain. In the US, the combination of writer and performer threatened professional writers such as those of the Brill Building. Rolling Stone's editors are quoted as saying the band inaugurated the era of self-contained bands. Musically, the Beatles used modal mixture, wider chord palettes and extended forms, and bridge sections became ubiquitous after their breakthrough. Rolling Stone calls them arguably the first major rock band to write its own material, which is a qualified claim. [2] [4]

About 70 million Americans watched the band on the Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February 1964, which triggered the British Invasion. In 1963 just one of 114 songs on the US charts was a British hit, and by 1965 it was 36 out of 110. Bands such as the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks and the Animals followed them to US success. [5]

Explanations for their reach vary. Popular accounts stress genius and luck, while some musicologists point to their absorption of varied traditions, such as George Harrison's sitar on Norwegian Wood. Other writers stress their cultural impact, including reviving film musicals and providing a soundtrack to 1960s upheaval. They also started their own company, Apple, and moved away from touring toward studio work. [5]