HOW THE BEATLES CHANGED THE WORLD

From their early performances in Liverpool to the present, this lavishly illustrated account examines the enduring influence of the Beatles on music and culture over the past 50 years.

Opening with their February 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, arguably “one of the most defining and indelible moments in the history of music, television and pop culture,” Sandler traces the progress of Beatlemania. He emphasizes that the Beatles transformed culture with music by performing without a lead singer, changing the nature of record singles, redefining the record album, revolutionizing album covers, finding “inspiration in almost everything around them” and expressing the mood of the times. Sandler moves chronologically through the Beatles’ career, tracking formative years in Liverpool and Hamburg, Germany, their phenomenal popularity in the United States, their rapturous concert tours, their breakup in 1970 and subsequent individual careers. Chapters on their impact on fashion, hairstyles, movies and religion reinforce the overall theme. Richly illustrated with period photos that capture career highlights, this chronicle of the 20th century’s lead music group is boldly printed on glossy paper in colors, typefaces and layout appropriately reminiscent of ’60s pop art.

A well-researched and attractively presented look in words and pictures at how the ever-popular Beatles did indeed change the world.