If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles (Aaron Copland) How accurate is this statement in relation to the development of popular music in Britain?

The first 200 words of this essay...

'If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles' (Aaron Copland)

How accurate is this statement in relation to the development of popular music in Britain?

The Beatles were a phenomenal success throughout the 1960s as they began a new era of music that changed the state of play in the music industry. Their simple chord structures, epitomised on 'Love Me Do', and intricate vocal harmonies led them to being a huge success in Britain, as well as the rest of the world. There was a "charge emitted by their music" (p1, MacDonald, 1998) and the new genre of music undeniably inspired other bands to write and perform in a similar style. However not all credit can be given to The Beatles for the development of popular music in Britain. Popular music from America was the initial influence as it "found its way into the UK via the ports" (BBC - h2g2) and as Liverpool was the main port into the UK from America, inevitably the music initially had an effect on musicians in the Merseyside area. This particularly had an effect on a four-piece skiffle group formed in 1956 by John Lennon,