Letters to the Editor
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The Beatles will endure
Personally, I get more satisfaction out of "She Loves You" than I do out of the whole "Sergeant Pepper" album. That single grabs you by the ears and does not let you go until the final G6 chord. "Day Tripper," too. When it came to rock and roll singles, the Beatles had everyone beat.
I was 7 when they appeared on Ed Sullivan, but I didn't get excited about them until I was 11 or 12. They'd nearly broken up by then, and all my friends were getting into Cream, later Led Zeppelin and Santana. Nevertheless, I keyed in on the Beatles, learned to play guitar because of them, and I think I am a more open, expressive person because of them.
The early stuff is what gets me off. "Classic Rock" types dismiss it as bubblegum, but I have a limited tolerance for "Classic Rock." I love the chords and harmonies of the early Beatles songs. The distinctive sound, the seamless vocal blend, the undercurrent of sadness, reflection, even desperation (mostly Lennon's) that they always managed to transcend.
The great thing about the Beatles was that even though you knew you could never be one of them, it was easy to feel like you were in league with them. I think that explains their enduring influence. Obviously you can't be one of them today. Half of them are dead. But I know kids who feel like they're down with the Beatles the same way I did when I was 13. That is an incredible testament to their their charisma, of which their music was obviously the main part but not the whole story.
I really feel like they were dialed into something transcendent. Lennon said once that he was seeking "the peace that passes all understanding," and I believe it. I'll never get over them, and it's not Baby Boomer nostalgia. They added something real to my life, and I don't know who I'd have turned out to be without them.