The Beatles

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

Ringo Starr
Paul McCartney
John Lennon
George Harrison

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.

Mick Jagger inducts The Beatles

Mick Jagger inducts The Beatles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Mick Jagger inducts The Beatles

00:04:02
Beatles Acceptance Speeches

00:07:05
"I Saw Her Standing There"

00:02:56
"Come Together"

00:04:15
"Let It Be"

00:05:09
"With A Little Help From My Friends"

00:03:30
"I Wanna Be Your Man"

00:04:26

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

2 New Exhibit

Get Back to Let It Be

Come experience one of the most iconic moments of the 20th Century by stepping inside The Beatles’ January 1969 rehearsals, studio sessions, and legendary Apple Corps rooftop concert, the band’s final live performance.

This groundbreaking exhibition curated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an immersive complement to Peter Jackson's docuseries, “The Beatles: Get Back."

Exhibit is now open - and we're celebrating all year long. Get all the details here.

Let It Be Acetate, 1969. The Beatles. Collection of Glyn Johns. Johns had an idea for an album giving the listener a fly-on-the-wall insight into the Beatles at work in the studio. He mixed several tracks and made acetates for each Beatle to review.

John Lennon's 1965 Epiphone Casino guitar. John Lennon used this guitar extensively during the Let It Be sessions and played it during the Beatles' final public performance on the rooftop of the group's Apple Corps headquarters in London on January 30, 1969.

Glyn Johns Diaries, 1969. Collection of Glyn Johns. These diaries document all of Glyn Johns’ recording sessions, meetings and events related to the Let It Be sessions, including the Beatles’ rooftop performance at the band’s headquarters in London and the Rolling Stones’ live concert recording at Madison Square Garden. Johns also noted appointments with featured Let It Be musician Billy Preston, as well as dinner with Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman.

Ringo Starr Jacket and Trousers, 1969. Pants design by Gedal. Collection of Richard and Barbara Starkey. On January 30, 1969, the day of the rooftop concert, it was cold outside. John Lennon remarked that his hands were too cold to play a chord on the guitar. Ringo Starr borrowed his then wife Maureen Starkey’s red Lurex rain jacket for extra warmth. Lennon borrowed Yoko Ono’s fur coat.