Jaclyn Maria Fowler
Dr. Jackie
English 101
23 May 2022
Week 4 Assignment Example
Writing the Body Paragraphs
Thesis statement:
The Beatles impacted the future of rock and roll because of their iconic looks, their timeless lyrics and music, and the way they mentored younger rockers.
Sporting mop-top haircuts and updated youthful clothing, the Beatles unveiled a look that made them stand-outs among other rock and roll groups. But the mop-top was an accident; in other words, it was not done by the group members to purposely market themselves as different. In the early days when money was tight, George Harrison’s girlfriend cut his hair. Although the other members of the band made fun of his new look, it did not take long until Paul McCartney tried it out too (Davies 102). The look stuck. As for the clothing, it was the style at the time in Liverpool, England, where the members of the band lived (Davies xlii). On their first visit to America, the clothing seemed fresh and new, and the success of the Beatles helped make the style popular in the US too. In the end, the members of the Beatles became associated with their unique style, but it was their music that made them superstars.
The Beatles created music with a timeless appeal. In fact, Clydesdale wrote that each member of the group brought something unique to the process of making music, and it was this mix of creative genius that helped the Beatles write songs that remained relevant over the long stretch of years (1). Even at the beginning of their meteoric rise, however, their music was recognized as something new and different, and writers and reviewers of the day recognized its importance to the music industry. For example, writing in 1968, one critic wrote that both the edgy poetry-feel of the lyrics and the enduring value of the music were important both to the success of the Beatles in particular and to the music industry in general (Rorem 33). Something in the way their music and lyrics meshed made the Beatles’ music ageless, and it is this something that generations of musicians looked to as they developed their own techniques and tastes.
Young rockers often imitated the Beatles’ style, expanding it to fit their own musical preferences. According to Gropnik, the Beatles had a profound influence on some of the most famous musicians from Bob Dylan to Billy Joel to Bruce Springsteen (para. 2), and their power was recognized by music lovers all over the world. In fact, in a worldwide survey done in the early 2000s, the Beatles maintained the titles of best loved and most influential musical group of all time even though their last album, Let it Be, had been released thirty years earlier in 1970 (Davies x). Because of their ageless appeal, the Beatles have not only influenced new musicians but also mentored them, according to Barshad, and they are ranked among the most successful mentors based on the quality of the musicians they helped launch (para. 1).
