Ep.11: The Beatles – Top 10 Albums
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
Today's episode is on one of the most iconic bands in history The Beatles. Hailing from Liverpool in London the group formed in 1960. From there they grew and became the juggernaut they referred to as “Beatlemania”. This popularity was ably assisted by sagacious manager Brian Epstein and musical genius George Martin.
Today’s mnemonic will be on the Beatles top 10 albums.
So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Summary
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time[1] and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form.[2] Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting, and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.[3]
Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation by playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before inviting Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after signing with EMI Records and achieving their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four". Epstein, Martin or another member of the band's entourage were sometimes informally referred to as a "fifth Beatle".
By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market. They soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). A growing desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with the challenging nature of their concert tours, led to the band's retirement from live performances in 1966. During this time, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). They also enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). The success of these records heralded the album era, as albums became the dominant form of record consumption over singles. These records also increased public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art, and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal former members enjoyed success as solo artists, and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active.
The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide.[4][5] They are the most successful act in the history of the US Billboard charts,[6] holding the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 documentary film Let It Be), and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was individually inducted between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stone's lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people.
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles]
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beatles_ad_1965_just_the_beatles_crop.jpg
Mnemonic
The Beatles – Top 10 Albums Mnemonic – MRS MA PLATH
(Picture Mrs Ma Plath looking after the Beetles every need whilst on tour, and they all call her Ma, short for Grandma)
1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Revolver
3. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. Meet The Beatles!
5. Abbey Road
6. Please Please Me
7. Let It Be
8. A Hard Day’s Night
9. The Beatles (White Album)
10. Help!
Five Fun Facts
1. The Beatles got the inspiration for their name from Buddy Holly and The Crickets who they admired. An insect name was agreeable to the band and a small alteration in the spelling by John Lennon added to the intrigue.
2. Obtaining their first record contract was not smooth sailing, with Decca Records rejecting them, sighting guitar groups were old hat. In the end, EMI signed on the dotted line.
3. John Lennon and Paul McCartney shared songwriting credits, even if a song was written by only one, as was “Yesterday” by McCartney, and “The Ballad of John and Yoko” by Lennon.
4. John Lennon idolised Elvis Presley. Lennon would mimic his fashion and hairstyle which was the main reason he pursued show business. He eventually met him and they jammed together, however, Lennon did not find him that personable.
5. The cover of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has a myriad of celebrities (about 70) on the cover. Some include Mae West, Edgar Allen Poe, Bob Dylan, Aldous Huxley, Marilyn Monroe, Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde, Marlene Dietrich, and Albert Einstein.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beatles_Trenter_1963.jpg
Three Question Quiz
Q.1. Who was the band’s original drummer?
Q.2. Who was the producer of the Beatles music who loved classical music and played the piano?
Q.3. Who was the Beatles manager?
Bonus Q. For what crime was Paul McCartney deported from Germany? Options are arson, assault, or prostitution?
Bonus Q. What year did the Beatles break up and which Beatle announced the breakup?
Mnemonic Recap
The Beatles – Top 10 Albums Mnemonic – MRS MA PLATH
(Picture Mrs Ma Plath looking after the Beetles every need whilst on tour, and they all call her Ma, short for Grandma)
1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Revolver
3. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. Meet The Beatles!
5. Abbey Road
6. Please Please Me
7. Let It Be
8. A Hard Day’s Night
9. The Beatles (White Album)
10. Help!
Three Question Quiz
Q.1. Who was the band’s original drummer?
A. Pete Best
Q.2. Who was the producer of the Beatles music who loved classical music and played the piano?
A. George Martin
Q.3. Who was the Beatles manager?
A. Brian Epstein
Bonus Q. For What crime was Paul McCartney deported from Germany? Options are arson, assault or prostitution?
A. Arson – Paul McCartney and Pete Best were arrested and deported for arson in 1960 after they set fire to a condom in a concrete corridor
Bonus Q. What year did the Beatles break up and which Beatle announced the breakup?
A. 1970 – Paul McCartney. Apparently, after this happened, there were disgruntled calls all around the world of “ONO! ONO!”
Word of the Week
yore
[ yawr, yohr ]
noun
Time past.
Example
Beatlemania in the sixties is now around sixty years ago and just a legend of yore.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
Website: https://www.themnemonictreepodcast.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mnemonic-tree-podcast/id1591795132
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3T0LdIJ9PBQMXM3cdKd42Q?si=WQ1SnHo5QgOawX-mxS6yUA
References
https://www.musicinminnesota.com/15-facts-the-beatles/
https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/beatles-45-fab-facts/