When it comes to popular music of the 60's, the individuals known as George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr took the world by storm as The Beatles. No other group has had such an impact on music, then or now. The phenomena known as Beatlemania will never be repeated. It simply could not in this day and age.
Harrison, Lennon and McCartney got together in the late 50's with Stu Sutcliffe on bass and Pete Best on drums. They had all heard the great early Rock & Roll and Blues music coming from America and they absorbed it and put their own imprint on it, one that lasts to this day.
Sutcliffe left the group while they were getting their act together in Hamburg, Germany and Best was replaced by Starr just on the eve of their breakout. Collectively, they became a whole greater than the sum of their parts. This is not to denigrate any of their abilities, but together they had something special, something magical.
When John Lennon and Paul McCartney began writing songs together, they had a synergy that created music far beyond their enormous individual talents. Together they created a catalog of music that has stood the test of time and still sounds great.
The Beatles were pioneers in many different recording techniques. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was one of the first concept albums and its multilayered sonic palate, using a great deal of orchestration, was recorded by George Martin using only a 4 track recorder. That was the best technology available in 1967 and what they did with those 4 tracks is absolutely phenomenal.
The Beatles lead the British Invasion of the 60's and achieved huge popularity because of the quality and excitement of their music and the media relations abilities of their manager, Brian Epstein. Epstein knew how to keep The Beatles in the public eye and soon George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr became household names around the world as The Beatles.
Many of today's popular musicians owe a huge debt of gratitude to The Beatles for creating a unique, original sound with their highly original music. They not only reflected the mood of a generation, they even lead the generational consciousness expansion in many different areas beyond their music. John Lennon, especially, had a very large social consciousness, while George Harrison's interest in the music and spirituality of India lead many people to explore Eastern religions and meditation.
While The Beatles can never reunite, there are a huge number of tribute bands still playing their music to enthusiastic crowds. Many other bands still cover their music as The Beatles music is simply timeless and great to hear. That is the true mark of greatness in a band, to not only be popular in their own time, but for years to come. I believe The Beatles music will be heard for many more years.