by Art West

Created on: March 04, 2009   Last Updated: March 05, 2009

I was nearly 6 years old and my parents were visiting some friends. Their friends had 3 kids: an 8 year old girl that hung around with my 8 year old brother and a 4 year old boy that hung around with me. Oh yeah, they also had a 12 year old girl who had been talking for weeks about The Beatles and that they were going to be appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show.

It was Sunday night, the 12 year old girl went to a friends house and since it was normal for us to watch Ed Sullivan, that's what was on. I remember laying on the floor watching The Beatles and wondering what the big deal was.

In August of 1967 our family moved out to the country. Our neighbors that lived across the road had a 13 year old son that became friends with my 11 year old brother. He would come over and talk about The Beatles and their new album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I was too busy playing with my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars to pay much attention to him.

I remember riding the bus to school in 1971, I heard a song on the radio and really liked it but I didn't have a clue who sang it. The name of the song was "Another Day" by Paul McCartney. In 1972 I heard "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" and loved that song. I learned Paul and Linda McCartney sang it, but I still didn't have a clue who Paul McCartney was.

For Christmas 1972, I bought an 8 track tape for my brother; it was The Beatles:1962-1966. I heard some of the songs as he played the tape in his room. I thought they were pretty good. I began sneaking into his room when he wasn't there to listen to the tapes. That is when I began realizing how great The Beatles were and still are.

It was a fun journey as I discovered the songs of The Beatles. The first single I bought was "And I Love Her" because I thought it was "She Loves You". I was surprised to hear a ballad when I put it on the record player. I continued buying singles and noticed that when I played the "B" side I was still hearing great music. I began buying albums and slowly accumulated all of The Beatle albums.

There aren't many artists of whom I can say I like every song, but The Beatles were the first group that I could say that about. I am not crazy about Revolution 9, but I still find it interesting.

It has been 36 years since I officially discovered The Beatles and their music is still fresh today. It amazes me how great their songs were as I realize they were only in their 20's when they were writing these songs. There is absolutely no doubt that The Beatles are the greatest group of all-time. Their music will last forever.

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