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I was just four years old when the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, but I vividly recall my parents sitting there before our black and white TV set; shaking their heads in disbelief. I wasn't sure whether the music itself or the long hair was the cause for their reaction. Truth be told, I imagine it was a little bit of both. I was mesmerized, and for the next quarter of a century, I aspired to be a rock and roll star. I had to pretend for a while, because I wouldn't get my first real guitar until many years later; at 15. Nevertheless, for the next five years, I followed every move these moptops from Liverpool made. I read magazines, bought ther 45 RPM singles, and even watched an animated TV show that depicted them. Like the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus today, the Beatles were a main topic of conversation among my school peers.

Years later, after I took up the bass guitar and despite the fact that I then preferred hard rock, the music of the Beatles continued to be one of my major influences. By my 20's, I was in a band that covered many of their songs. Until the dreams of countless millions of fans were shattered in one split second on December 8, 1980, the day John Lennon was senselessly assassinated, I too hoped that somehow; someway, the Beatles would reunite again. l believe that to this day, a reunion of some sort would have been inevitable. Maybe a one-off concert would have taken place. Perhaps a new album. It also becomes interesting to speculate how music in the 1980's may have evolved if Lennon had lived, for he was just emerging from a five year sabbatical from the public eye.

When the band officially broke up in 1970, I continued to follow each member's music for a few years, but very little of their solo work could match the timeless quality of their music as a collective unit. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that Beatlemania, as the time they made their mark upon the world was dubbed, lasted for only six years; from 1964 to 1970. By today's standards in the music industry, such a time frame serves as the mere blink of an eye. I don't refer to lasting fame. There are plenty of one-hit wonders out there. What I instead refer to are the drastic changes in the Beatles' music from their beginnings to their breakup in such a relatively short period of time. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Come Together" were recoded just six years apart. Such a progression of style today can take thirty or more years to be recognized.

I still have my old Beatles albums. Some of them are now in CD format. The music is now over forty years old, but I'll put it up against anything today. I will also boldly proclaim that in forty years hence, there will still be nothing that comes close to what Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison accomplished while together.

There has never been a cultural phenomenon to equal the Beatles before or since. Those four guys comprised a magical potion whose ingredients were separated in 1970 and further destroyed a decade afterward. The formula is gone, but the memories will be forever preserved. I am forever grateful that I was there to witness the magic; the spectacle of those lads who called themselves the Beatles.

I pity those of you who weren't there; for if you were, then you'd understand.

Learn more about this author, Patrick Sills.
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