The Beatles: Assessing the music and recorded sound that lead to Beatlemania

We all know the Beatles, I could probably play a song and right away know that it was indeed a Beatles song, many of you could probably even sing along to the song. These Fab Four became a phenomenon almost over night. The question is why. How did 4 guys from Liverpool become a house hold name in 6 months. McLuhan states in his book that “Myth means putting on the audience, putting on one’s environment. The Beatles do this. They are a group of people who suddenly were able to put on their audience and the English language with musical effects—putting on a whole vesture, a whole time, a Zeit” The Beatles did do this. Their use of technology and a time ready to take the message where able to attract audiences and have not lost them even today 60 years later.T he use of multi-track recordings lent the Beatles a new sound never heard before. As the technology developed, they were able to experiment more and more coming up with new sounds that elevated their message and their music. Beatlemania lay in making fans producers of their own culture with machines such as tape recorders, portable record players, and instant cameras, and in allowing them to connect with one another through the burgeoning fan press. This allowed them to have McLuhan’s sense of “All-at-once-ness”  expanding their popularity not just in England but simultaneously around the world. This even today has made the Beatles not just a one hit wonder band, but a band that has transcended throughout time.