Originally posted 12th February 2014

Of course, this past Sunday was the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ historic American performance debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.  As someone who has been a Beatles fan for more than 20 years, I can honestly tell you that these four guys from Liverpool have been amongst my biggest inspirations as a singer/songwriter.  My favourite songs by the Beatles include Hello Goodbye, Hey Jude, and I Feel Fine to name a few examples.

CBS broadcast a Grammys tribute to the Beatles last Sunday night, and while it may have brought back a lot of great memories of crushing on John, Paul, George, and Ringo for a lot of the women who were young girls 50 years ago, for me, the show featured a lot of fab (no pun intended) performances, ranging from Maroon 5’s show-opening performance of All My Lovin’ to the last two surviving Beatles’ closeout rendition of the group’s biggest hit, Hey Jude.  Among the performances that stood out the most for me are Stevie Wonder’s version of We Can Work It Out (which is my favourite non-Beatles version) because he rocked the house, John Legend and Alicia Keys’s joint rendition of Let It Be because their harmonies and piano work were extraordinary, and of course the solo performances by Ringo Starr, now 73, and Sir Paul McCartney, 71, because they show that almost 44 years after their band broke up, the music of the Beatles still stand the test of time.  Ringo sang the classics Yellow Submarine and Boys in his trademark Beatles baritone voice, while Paul played his signature Hofner bass guitar and wrapped his golden voice around tunes like Get Back, Birthday, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, after which Ringo joined him on With A Little Help From My Friends.

The Beatles did more than just play rock ‘n roll.  They did more than just create music that will never be forgotten.  They changed music history forever with their Ed Sullivan Show performances, their 20 US Number One hit singles (a record that no other artist has broken to this day), and an estimate of over 600 million record sales worldwide.  Even though the Liverpudlians’ influence reflects on the music of such artists as the Bee Gees, the Bangles, Michelle Branch, yours truly, and of course, Paul’s son, James McCartney, the Beatles’ musical legacy is undeniable and will never truly be matched.  Their music truly is a revolution.