The Beatles

1
  • Year:
    1988
  • Inducted by:
    Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones)
  • Category:
    Performers

Introduction

The Fab Four—John, Paul, George and Ringo, no last names needed—kickstarted the British Invasion in the U.S. like Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley before them.

However, the Beatles spoke to a younger generation, and ushered in a modern era of rock & roll where experimentation, transformation and taboo topics became de rigueur.

Hall of Fame Essay

1988

Michael Hill

Historically speaking, the birth of the Beatles has been traced  time and again to Saturday afternoon, July 6th, 1957, at the St. Peter’s parish garden fete in Woolton, a Liverpool suburb. 

Seventeen-year-old John Lennon was performing there with a group of school chums who called themselves the Quarrymen. They were a product of the skiffle craze - a fad inspired by the primitive wash­board-band sound of  Lonnie Donegan’s hit "Rock Island Line”  —  but they displayed a pronounced rock and roll bent. 

Watching the Quarrymen was fifteen-year-old guitarist Paul McCartney, who was introduced to the band afterward. What broke the ice between the more mature Lennon and the cocky McCartney was their mutual enthusiasm for an Eddie Cochran song. 

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 1988
1 of 3
the original way they crafted their songs wasn’t lost on us.
Mick Jagger