The Beatles (Graphic Biography)

7/25/2019 The Beatles (Graphic Biography)

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The

Beatles


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Saddlebacks Graphic Biographies

Copyright 2008 by Saddleback Educational Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any

means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any

information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the

publisher.

ISBN-10: 1-59905-216-4ISBN-13: 978-1-59905-216-8

eBook: 978-1-60291-579-4


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THE BEATLES 1

The thing is, were all really the same person. Were just fourparts of the one. Paul McCartney

The Beatles charted 20 number one singles in the UnitedStatesthree more than Elvis.


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2

Liverpool is theindustrial city in

England where the

Beatles grew up. Inthose days therewere more peopleout of work there

than in any otherplace in the country.

Merseyside was asection of Liverpool. It

had many clubs wheresmall bands played for

teenagers. As many as350 bands played there

for very little money.

The MerseyBeatwas anewspaper known only to localbeat music lovers until the

Beatles made Liverpool, and thenewspaper, famous.

Liverpool had one of the firstrock concerts. Alan Williams,the Beatles first manager, helda fourteen hour pop concertoutdoors.

Williams also owned the Jacarandaand the Cavern Club where the

Beatles played.


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THE BEATLES 3

John Lennon Stay until the baby is born.

John Lennon was born in October 1940. His fathercame and went from his life frequently.

John went to live with his auntand uncle when he was about 5years old.

See, Aunt Mimi, Ive writtena story for you. And I drewa picture too.

John liked to draw. He alsoenjoyed listening to music.

When John was eleven, he heard BillHaley and the Comets on records.Then he discovered the records of

Elvis Presley.

Are you listeningto Rock Aroundthe Clock again?

No, somethingI just got. Asinger namedElvis Presley.Hes American

and great!

Im glad youcame to see me.I want to ask

a favor, Mum.Could you buyme a guitar?

Well, Luv, ifI can find aninexpensive

one, itsyours.

A guitars all right, John,but youll never earn aliving from it.

When he was sixteen, John formed a musical group called theQuarrymen. In 1958 his mother was killed by a car. An unhappy John

was comforted by his friend Paul McCartney.


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4

Paul McCartney was born in June 1942. Hewas a good student, but bored in school.

Paul McCartney

Paul, you can do

much better thanthis.

I guess I was

thinking aboutmusic.

His mothertaught him toplay the piano,banjo, andguitar.

For a nurse,youre a prettygood piano player.

For a smart talkingboy, youre not sobad yourself.

Pauls mother died whenhe was fourteen. Heplayed the guitar, so he

would not feel so sad.

I need anotherguitar player forthe Quarrymen.

How aboutjoining us?

Yeah! Maybewe couldwrite some

music too.

So Paul joined theQuarrymen when

he was fifteen.


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THE BEATLES 5

George, whatswrong at school? Imgetting bad reports.

I dunno. Trouble justfinds me, I guess.

George Harrison was born in February 1943. He hada happy home but was a troublemaker at school.

In his teens,George was a

British teddyboy, a toughguy.

My folks are great.But Ive got to beindependent.

My folks dont careif Im alive or dead.

George had no interest in musicuntil he was fourteen. Then Paul

McCartney helped him learn toplay the guitar. George joined the Quarrymen in1958.

John changed the name of the Quarrymen to the Silver Beatles then to theBeatles. The beat in Beatles stood for beat music.

George Harrison

It tookyou a longtime to getinterestedin music.

Yeah, but I amnow. Im goingto ask mum fora guitar.

George isnt tooyoung for us.I wasnt mucholder when I

joined last year.

Hes mightygood on thatguitar. So, okayGeorge.


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6

The Beatles played at many of the clubs at Merseyside. John, Paul, andGeorge were joined by Stuart Sutcliffe on guitar and Tommy Moore on thedrums.

In 1960 Allan Williams, their manager, got them a date to play at a musicclub in Hamburg, Germany. Tommy was replaced on the drums by Pete

Best.

Theyremaking so

much noise.They canthear us.

They dontunderstand the

words in Englishanyway. Justpound the chordsand scream thelyrics.

Okay, imitatethe German

soldier! March,march!

Lets allimitate the

soldiersby high-stepping.

The Beatles were overtired, often playing for eight hours a day, sevendays a week. They lived in run-down apartments behind the club where

they performed.

The Germans loved to see theBeatles fool around and make fun

of Hitler.

At their drinking and dancing clubsthe Germans wanted loud musicwith a good beat. The Beatles gave

them this.


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8

You shouldrealize thatthe Beatleswill be biggerthan Presley.

Go back to yourstore business,Brian.

Epstein tried to interest severalrecording companies in theBeatles. They turned him down.

Finally Epstein persuaded GeorgeMartin of EMI to listen to the Beatles.

They have

something! Yes, Illbe their recordingmanager.

John, Paul, and George began tobe a little upset with Pete Best.

Were agroup. Peteforgets that.

He acts likehes a one-man band.

Martin insisted that Pete Best didnot fit into the group. Epstein likedPete but had to let him go.

Im sorry, Pete.But we have to dowhat EMI says.

Ill findwork.

In August 1962Ringo Starrbecame the

Beatles drummer.He was latercalled theluckiest unknowndrummer in the

world. But as

the fourth Beatle,Ringo Starr heldhis own with theothers.


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10

Music groups had alwaysrecorded material writtenby someone else.

I cant find asong I like forthe Beatles!

Martin let the Beatles record LoveMe Do, written by John and Paul.

A group has

never recordedtheir own songbefore.

Someday all music

groups will recordtheir own songs.

In January 1963 the Beatles recording of Please Please Me reachednumber one on the UK (United Kingdom) charts. In February they went on

their first national tour.

I dont bel ieveall this!

Blimey! I wishthere weremore police!

In May, on their third tour,

they had top billing. It wasthen that Beatlemaniathe fansscreaming, fainting, and riotingbegan.


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THE BEATLES 11

In October the Beatles appearedon British TV.

When they returned from asuccessful tour of Sweden, theairport was mobbed.

Blimey! Ive neverseen anything likethis in my life!

In November they appeared on The Royal Variety Show.Queen Elizabeth,the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Lord Snowden attended.

Those of you in thecheaper seats clap yourhands, and those of you inthe expensive seats justrattle your jewelry.

There were 250,000 advanceorders for the Beatles secondalbum, With the Beatles,beating

Elvis Presleys Blue Hawaii.

There were one million advanceorders for their single I Want

to Hold Your Hand.

In December after the BeatlesChristmas Show, the London Timescalled the Beatles the outstanding

English composers of 1963.

The Sunday Timescalled themthe greatest composers since

Beethoven.

They bloody

well better letme in. Ive beenhere all day.

The show was called Sunday Night

at the London Palladium.Thetheater was mobbed all day.

F 9 1 1 6 9 7 3 9 2 7 4 B C 7 8 D 9 A 4 A 1 F 9 F B A 1 7 9


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12

On February 9,1964, seventy-

three millionpeople watchedthe Beatles onthe EdSullivanShow.

I just lovethem!

Theyre toonoisy to hearus.

When theyscream, Ijust pretendto sing thewords.

After two sell-out shows at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Beatlesappeared on asecondEd Sullivan Showin Miami Beach.

This isthe life! We thought you should

see what most of Americais like.

The Washington Coliseum wasjammed for their concert.

After the concert, the BritishEmbassy gave a party for them.One girl cut off a piece of Ringos

hair.

After it was over, they rested on aprivate boat.

The police sergeant who was incharge of their security invited

them to his house for dinner.

I love theiraccents!

When the Beatles had four solid hits in America, Brian Epstein bookedtheir first United States visit. Ten thousand fans greeted them at KennedyAirport.


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THE BEATLES 13

The Beatles were mobbed ontheir return to England.

How muchmoney istheir policeprotectioncosting?

It doesntmatter. Theyare the bestexport weever had. I sayGod bless theBeatles!

Ive already readit but want myown copy.

All over the world boys were copying the Beatlestheir hairdo, the button-down shirts, knitted ties, and Cuban-heeled boots.

Their records were all hits.And so was John LennonsbookIn His Own Write.

My mumwants acopy. And sodoes Granny.

The Beatles toured Europe,Hong Kong, Australia, and NewZealand. They were met by

record crowds and screamingfans wherever they went.

Jeff Locklear


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14

In 1964 the Beatlesfirst movie, A HardDays Night, opened.The reviews wereexcellent. It wasdirected by RichardLester.

They have the kind ofmagic that the MarxBrothers have.

Movies with popstars in themhave always

been poor. Thisis different. Itsoriginal!

A Hard DaysNightwas about

the Beatlesthemselvesbutmaking fun of

themselves.

It was about how they felt imprisonedby their own success. In the movie

they were always being chasedby fans; they dealt with reportersnonsense questions; and they were putdown by people in power.


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THE BEATLES 15

I wish we couldreally see someof the placeswere visiting.

We have acampaign tostamp outDetroit.

How do youand Johnwrite music?

We do twothings to writea song. First wesit down. Thenwe think about

writing a song.

The Beatlesactually slept

on these!

After the Beatles stay in onehotel, the owner cut up their

pillows into 160 tiny squares.He sold each one for a dollar.

Anyone working herewith a Beatle mop-

head hairdo has towear a hairnet.

In England boys who wore theirhair like the Beatles had to wear

hairnets in many working places.

Everywhere in the world fans bought Beatle posters, books, magazines,fashions, and wigs.

In August 1964 they made their first big American tour. The Beatles gavethirty-one performances in twenty-four cities. All attendance records werebroken.

The press found the boys well behaved but odd and funny.

Everything the Beatles touched turned to money.

I still feel as ifsomeday theylltear me apart.

What aboutthe movementin Detroit tostamp out theBeatles?


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AfterA Hard Days Night,the Beatles musical style changed. They sangmore ballads and the music was not as simple.

I still love their first records.

She loves you, yeah, yeah,yeah.

Have you heardthe albumRubber Soul?

Their music was praised by Duke Ellington and Leonard Bernstein.

The Beatles?Great, man. Justgreat.

The Beatles were different from most other singers and pop groups. They

were liked by almost everyone: males, females, children, parents, andgrandparents.

But have you heardPauls song Yesterday?Its about lost love.

The Beatles? Themost original groupto come along inyears. Great!


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THE BEATLES 17

Im afraid that some fanmight pull Zak right out ofhis pram and kidnap him!

Ringo married his Liverpoolsweetheart, Maureen Cox. They

had two sons at the time, Zakand Jason.

What are youdoing here?

We wantedto see Johnswife and son.

Theyvebrought alot of moneyand fame toEngland.

Just four luckylads fromLiverpool. Weexport coal butthe Queen did

not honor theminers withmedals.

Many former winners objectedto a pop group being so honored.Some sent their medals back.

After their 1966 tour of the United States, all the Beatles weremillionaires. They loved their fame, but it brought troubles too.

In 1965 the Beatles were awarded the MBE, Members of the MostHonorable Order of the British Empire, by Englands Queen Elizabeth.


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We love you, Beatles.Yeah! Yeah!

In August 1965 the Beatlesappeared at Shea Stadium in New

York. The police were keeping

busy by picking up fainting girls.

Luckily they dontknow this is ourlast British tour!

Wed havea riot.

In December the Beatles madetheir last personal appearance tour

of England.

Also in August 1965 the Beatles movie Help!was released. RichardLester also directed this movie. It was well received and funny but notas successful asA Hard Days Night.

Help!was a take-off of the British spy stories. It centered on a ringthat Ringo was wearing. A mad scientist wanted the ring.


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THE BEATLES 19

In 1966 the

Beatles went ona world tour. Itwas to be theirlast world tour

together.

We lovethem here!

But the Beatles made some people angry when John made a foolishremark.

They insultreligion!

Then John made a public apology. He explained that he had not meant tobe disrespectful.

The Beatles

are now morepopular thanJesus Christ.

Everybody lovesthe Beatles, evenwhen they cant

understand theirwords.


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In 1966 George Harrison marriedPatti Boyd, a top British model.Later they went to India.

This is what I wantto play, a sitar.

How shall wefree ourselves?

Meditateevery day.

They continued to produce hit records and songs: Revolver, Sgt. PeppersLonely Hearts Club Band,Strawberry Fields Forever, Being for the

Benefit of Mr. Kite, and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

People try to findmeanings in oursongs. Sometimeswe dont even knowwhat they mean.

In July, 150 million viewers watched the Beatles TV show,Our World.

The lyrics for Beingfor the Benefit of

Mr. Kite were takenfrom an old Englishmusic hall poster.

And the lyrics forLucy in the Sky with

Diamonds came frommy son, Julian. Thatswhat he called one ofhis drawings.

Look, they are usingharpsichords and sitars. Theyrealways full of surprises!

In India, the Harrisons studiedwith the Maharishi, a well-knownreligious teacher. Later all theBeatles worked with him.


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THE BEATLES 21

Brian Epstein died suddenly in August 1967. The Beatles missed hisfriendship and management.

In December1967 The MagicalMysteryTour

was shown onBritish TV. Written,directed, andstarring the Beatles,

the film showedtheir inexperience

in movie-making.Reviews were poor.

We need a

business manager.

Aside from recording their ownmusic, they planned to help other

people with good ideas.

Apple Corps closed in August 1968.It had been a disappointment.

We were too generous with ourmoney. And the people we trustedwere untrained.

In early 1968 all theBeatles went to Indiato study.

Well, we are notalone. The Maharishihas quite afollowing: Hollywoodmovie stars, bigshots, and us.

In England they havea Mystery Tour.You dont knowwhere youre goinguntil you get there.That gave me theidea for this film.

After this TV, show the Beatlesannounced plans for their newcompany, Apple Corps. Paul was

the head.


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In July 1968 a cartoon movie of the Beatles was released. It was calledThe Yellow Submarine.

This movie showed that music and joy could overcome the enemies ofhappiness. The Beatles films were unique.

This is an easy

movie to make. Wejust watch while theartists draw us.

Well, we do appearfor a few minutes.And they use ourvoices.


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THE BEATLES 23

In 1969 John Lennon was marriedto Yoko Ono.

Paul McCartney married LindaEastman, an American photographer.

If you do, itwill hurt thesales of LetIt Be.

I want to releasemy solo albumMcCartney.

More andmore, the

Beatles weregoing thereseparate

ways.

I dontlike ourmanager,AllenKlein.

Well, he helpedus with our oldcontract withEpstein.

Lets talk aboutsomething nicelike our lastalbum AbbeyRoad.

John returned his MBE medal as aprotest against the wars in Biafra andVietnam. He also appeared in an anti-war movie.

John has changed.

He is interestedin strange causesnow.


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The Beatles made several albums separately from the group.

And now I am acomposer too. AllThings Must Pass isdoing okay.

I may not have records,but I am in the moviesas an actor.

Any other group could have gotten a replacement for a member who left.But the Beatles were made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, GeorgeHarrison, and Ringo Starr. No one else would do.

In May 1970 the Beatles movie Let It Bewas released. None of theBeatles attended the premier. This was a semi-documentary, showing theBeatles working together and fooling around. It also showed John andPaul disagreeing with each other.

They never finishtheir sentences. Yetthey understand eachother perfectly!

In December1970 Paul fileda suit in courtdemanding that

the Beatlesno longer beconsidered agroup.

In this scene, lets Thats a good idea!

My albumMcCartneyisdoing well.

And so is mysingle GivePeace a Chance.

I didnt leavethe Beatles. TheBeatles have leftthe Beatles, but noone wants to saythe party is over.


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THE BEATLES 25

JOHN LENNON

On December 8, 1980,Lennon was shot and

killed in New York City.The 1971 song Imagine

took on a whole newmeaning after his death.

Starr is active in music,television, and film. Many

drummers today listRingo as an influence.

RINGO STARR

Harrison died of lungcancer on November21, 2001. He often said,Everything else can waitbut the search for Godcannot wait, and love oneanother.

GEORGE HARRISON

Sir Paul is still active in

music: classical, electronic,pop, and film scores. Hewas knighted by QueenElizabeth II in 1997.

PAUL MCCARTNEY


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