The Beatles were a highly influential band formed in 1960 in Liverpool, England. They gained popularity after appearing on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 and had many #1 hits. Their album 1, released in 2000, compiled all of their #1 singles in chronological order from 1962-1970, showing their musical progression. It includes popular songs like "Hey Jude" and "All You Need Is Love" and has sold over a million copies. The document discusses the importance of this album in showcasing the songs that propelled the Beatles to fame and their impact on the genre of rock music.

1. Maddie Schmit
The Beatles 1
The Beatles were a group of four young men that formed the group in 1960
(before Ringo), but didn’t hit the charts until 1962 with “Love Me Do” (with Ringo). The
band started playing mainly in a club in their home town of Liverpool, London known as
The Cavern ( Beatles Tribute Bands). After The Beatles hit the charts, they headed to
America. There they starred on the Ed Sullivan Show on three separate occasions.
After that, The Beatles sky rocketed towards fame and were the number one band in
the world. Until their final performance on top of the Apple building in January of 1969
(The Beatles Bible) . The Beatles put out so many different albums that it would take
forever to go through them all. But in my personal opinion, I believe the album 1 was
their most important album. And on this album some of the songs I believe especially
stand out are Hey Jude and All You Need Is Love.
The album 1 (one) was recorded between September 1962- April 1970, but
wasn’t released until November 13th, 2000. This is because 1 is a collection of The
Beatles number one hit singles. The songs on the album are in chronological order,
which allows the listeners to listen to the songs as they came out. It also allows the
listeners to hear how much The Beatles progressed from performing in The Cavern to
their last days in the recording studio. 1, which was sold originally as a CD but can now
be bought on almost any form of media, still sells up to one thousand copies a week
(Forbes).
The album art is a completely red case with a yellow number one on the front.
Some versions are the same colors but opposite orientation (yellow case with red

2. number 1). The album also includes art on the inside of the case. On the inside you can
find pictures of all four of the Beatles in psychedelic colors and tones. The album is a
collection of The Beatles songs that were almost all of their number one hits.
The song Hey Jude, a ballad by Paul McCartney, was written for John Lennon’s
son Julian as a way to comfort him during the divorce of his parents. The song originally
was entitled “Hey Jules”, but was changed to Jude in order to fit the song better. The
song tells the listener to not worry about the small things in life and that not everything is
not your fault. The overall meaning of the song is to relax and to enjoy the life you have
been given.
The song begins with Paul McCartney singing alone with a piano playing the
basic rhythm of the song. The guitar is then added in the second verse. The third verse
changes to a minor key and then changes back to a major key in the end of the verse.
The piano then echoes the last verse. Towards the end, more people join in singing a
verse repeatedly until the song is over. The singer then sings a verse of improve over
top of the echoing of people. At the end, as the music slowly gets quieter, all of the
instrumentalists change to a more upbeat rhythm and overall tone.
The song All You Need Is Love, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney,
was written for Our World which was the world’s first televised satellite link-up between
25 countries worldwide (The Beatles Bible). The song is about telling people that all
they need in life is love. And they can’t do anything to replace that love.
The song begins with La Marseillaise which included trumpets, piano, and a
drum roll. The song then changes to the main rhythm of the song. The words “All You
Need Is Love” are sung on repeat during most of the song. Some of the instruments

3. include vocals, drums, cello, sax, trumpet, trombone, accordion, piano, and guitar. But
the instruments also include some unconventional ones including Lennon on
harpsichord, McCartney on double bass, and Harrison on violin (The Beatles Bible).The
chorus of the song is a repeat of the title. The verses all have the same format but
different words. As the song ends, the outro is a combination of many different songs
including The Beatles own “She Loves You”, and Glenn Miller’s “In the mood”. The
song is well known for having many different forms and key signatures throughout the
whole piece that changes many times. I believe the combination of the words and music
bring a great piece that can have a different meaning to each person. The music
changes so often that it can be hard to follow and the words are almost all the same and
a relatively easy to follow.
I believe this album is an important part of not only the history for The Beatles,
but for the history of rock and roll in itself. This is because I personally believe The
Beatles were a major part of the basic creation for rock and roll and they were one of
the biggest bands of all time. This album showcases all of their great hits. And therefore
shows the songs that made they big, their style of music, and their overall messages
that they wanted to portray to their fans.
Link to playlist of songs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTS-
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