The Beatles and The Sixties The BeatlesThe SixtiesHippies

THE BEATLES AND THE SIXTIES In the Sixties there was the birth of the hippie movement, a youth movement that drew inspiration from the countercultural values of the “ Beat Generation”. These guys created their communities who listened to psychedelic rock, and they made use of drugs like LSD, marijuana or cannabis. The fashion and the hippies’ values influenced popular music, TV shows, the cinema, art and literature. Both men and women usually wore jeans, they had long hair, and they wore sandals or they walked barefooted. Most hippies preferred to travel by hitch-hiking, because it was cheap, ecological and a it was a sure way to meet other people.One of the symbols of this old movement is the VW bus (See above) painted with psychedelic pictures and the Wolksvagen symbol became the symbol of peace. Some of the groups that they loved are for example: The Who,Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Beatles.

The Beatles In 1957 in London the Beatles were born, a group bound to become the most famous group of the Sixties. It was composed by 4 men: John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. During the first period The Beatles played in 4 different pubs in Liverpool, but they weren't famous yet. They became famous in January 1960 with the first concert where there were a lot of fans for them: this concert was in "Town Hall Ballroom" and it was the first very important concert for the group. In their career they published 23 albums. In their songs they talked about love, life, problems of the world. In particular they talked about drug, alcohol and other similar problems. Their albums had peculiar covers which had hidden messages according to the critics. And if you listen to some songs of theirs contrariwise, you'll find a lot of hidden messages. In the 1965 a legend was born according to which Paul McCartney was dead. In fact the critics found a lot of connections with their covers, their songs, their messages in lyrics. But it was only a legend because Paul McCartney is still alive. Towards the end of 1969 the situation of the group was very heavy and on 10th of april 1970 because of a quarrel the group dissolved itself. John Lennon Ringo StarrPaul McCartney George Harrison

John Lennon was one of the most famous songwriters, singers and guitarists of ever. John Winston Lennon was born in 1940 in Liverpool from a humble family. His aunt Mimi took him into her and her husband's custody as she believed that John's mother was naive and imprudent. When John was seventeen, he lost his mother in a car accident. That marked him profoundly, so that he wrote later: -I lost my mother twice. Once as a child of five and then again at seventeen. It made him very bitter inside-. He attended Liverpool College of Art for his artistic skills. In that period of his life he began to be keen on music and in particular on rock'n'roll, so he made his first band called The Quarrymen. In a concert of this band he knew Paul McCartney and they established The Beatles. He always had an important role in the group and he is considered the leader of it jointly with Paul. He wrote in fact the first successes like Please Please Me and She Loves You. After he got married with Cynthia: Julian was born from their union. However he always behaved with him in a detached and cold way. Meanwhile he was more and more successful and popular. After some years Cynthia charged him for using drug and betraying her with Yoko Ono, so they divorced. Besides John cooperated in Plastic Ono Band with artists like Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Alan White. After knowing Yoko, John split progressively from Beatles until he completely separated in He spent the rest of his life with Yoko Ono, a Japanese composer and he sided actively in favor of the pacifist cause. In New York John was killed by one fan of his, Mark Chapman, a lunatic, in His songs concern peace in every place of the world, brotherly love among all the people and lack of countries and religions. He preached for the disappearance of greed, hunger and any kind of property.

Richard Starkey, known with the pseudonym Ringo Starr, derived from his custom to wear lots of rings, was the drummer of Beatles. He was born in 1940 in Liverpool. He was hospitalized for several times. That affected his childhood and adolescence. However he became self-confident and he started playing drums. After he broke away with his previous group he entered the Beatles and he became famous. After the Beatles dissolved he started a solo and actor career.

Paul McCartney is a key figure in contemporary culture as a singer, composer, poet, writer, artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, and holder of more than 3 thousand copyrights. He is in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for most records sold, most covered song, "Yesterday," largest paid audience for a solo concert. He is considered one of the most successful entertainers of all times. James Paul McCartney was born in Walton Hospital in Liverpool, England on18th June At the age of 15, McCartney met John Lennon in Woolton on 6th July He formed a close relationship with Lennon and they collaborated on many songs, they formed a new group with Harrison and Ringo Starr, and they became the popular group “The Beatles”. McCartney was 28 when he started his solo career, and formed his new band, “Wings”. His first solo album, "McCartney," was a #1 hit and spawned the evergreen ballad "Maybe I'm Amazed”.

George Harrison was the guitarist of The Beatles. He was born in Liverpool in 1943 from a menial family. His passion for electric guitar was early, he spent a lot of time to exercise himself so he got very skillful. When Paul listened to him he was struck and he facilitated his entry into the group. His first song designed in the group was Don't Bother Me. Even if George Harrison was considered the third Beatle, his presence was fundamental for the musical development of the British group. He always looked for new sound expressions. He attributed an important role to electric guitar in rock'n'roll phrasing. The meeting with Ravi Shankar was particularly important for him because he knew Hindu instruments like sitar, sarod and tampoura that he used afterwards. He embraced Hindu culture, religion and life philosophy. He died in 2001.

HIPPIES MOVEMENT The Hippies movement was born in the Sixties in the United States. The word Hippy derives from “hipster”, that means “man of the world”. The Hippies culture became popular in 1967 after a youth meeting in San Francisco. This movement grew especially in the United States. The revolution spread all over the world and every nation created its own version of this countercultural movement. The fashion and the Hippies’ values influenced popular music, television, movies, literature and art. At the beginning the Hippies movement was composed of white youths and teenagers. They rejected institutions, nuclear weapons and the Vietnam war. The Hippies embraced Eastern philosophy, they promoted sexual freedom and psychedelic drugs and they were often vegetarians and ecologists. They used alternative arts as street theatre, popular music, psychedelic sounds. The Hippies believed in love, peace and personal freedom. After 1965 the Hippies’ morals influenced the Beatles and other groups in Great Britain and Europe.