Remembering The Beatles

Just after I turned 14, a simply wonderful thing happened:

I saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.

No, not from Ed's audience -- but on our crappy black-and-white TV -- and my life hasn’t been the same since that moment.

At one time, most everyone on the planet knew who The Beatles were, although I’m sure there are new kids out there now who have no idea they ever existed.

Well, let me tell you kiddos: They DID exist, and they were THE BEST EVER.

I don’t believe that’s just me bragging about MY GENERATION, although there is plenty to brag about. The Beatles – and the British Invasion that followed them – changed music forever.

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Oh, there were earlier rock and roll pioneers, like Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee and Elvis, but The Beatles were the perfect package of talent, looks and charisma. And with their matching suits, signature haircuts and bowing to the audience after each song, they were just from another world.

John, Paul, George and Ringo. They couldn't have been cast more perfectly, but unlike The Monkees or New Kids on the Block, they weren’t cast. They were the REAL DEAL: Young men who were totally talented, lovable and who came together organically at just the right time and place in music history.

Their story will always be compelling: That fateful meeting of Lennon and McCartney at a street fair in Liverpool, their hometown Cavern Club days, their Hamburg all-night performances that sharpened their music, their “discovery” by manager Brian Epstein, their studio days under musical wizard George Martin, and their final concert on the roof of Apple Records.

And their later days, which has seen two of them – John and George – lost from this world in 1980 and 2001 respectively. John to an assassin’s bullet, and George to lung cancer – no doubt from his constant smoking in his youth.

Only Paul and Ringo – who I refer to as “the luckiest man in the world” – are still with us. And both still individually touring!

Incredible after 60 years!

Admittedly, The Beatles started their careers dishing out catchy, poppy love songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (how dated is that compared to today’s music?), but they soon morphed into something much, much deeper. Their Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sergeant Pepper, White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be disks are among the VERY BEST records ever made and still stand the test of time.

Timelessly great!

And their continuing careers after the 1970 break-up kept that greatness alive and attracted new fans to their music. John’s Imagine, George’s All Things Must Pass, and Paul’s Band on the Run were additional milestones in their ongoing amazing musical journeys.

And we Baby Boomers have been along for the ride. We BB’s don’t OWN them, and subsequent generations have also embraced The Beatles.

And we BBs will always welcome that loving embrace -- by new generations of fans -- of the music that began and blossomed under our watch.

Without a doubt, The Beatles changed many people’s lives for the better. They absolutely changed the life of a small town Midwestern boy who found a positive direction in his life: Playing and writing music.

Unlike them, I never became a famous musician. Mostly just a back porch/living room jammer hanging out with a few amateur musician friends.

But The Beatles made such an amazing difference in my life…

Like George said: All things must pass -- and The Beatles are slowly passing into ancient history.

But as long as there are people like me still around – and new fans not even born yet – they will never be forgotten.