Who Influenced The BEATLES?

The Beatles were and are the most influential band that has ever been. It’s a simple statement of fact to say that every artist you like loves or loved the Beatles. Their large, psychedelic shadow covers all of popular music, and their musical gifts continue to give, year after year, irrespective of musical or cultural trends.

But they, like all artists, didn’t just suddenly appear from a cloud of smoke, fully formed. The young Fab Four were hungry music fans who devoured all kinds of early influences, most of which went into that rich melange that was their kaleidoscopic musical output.

Today, I want to investigate some of those with you. Are you up for taking a little Pre-Magical Mystery Tour with me? If so, head straight up Penny Lane and I’ll meet you at the gates to Strawberry Fields…

They didn’t call him The King for nothing. Elvis’ stage presence and performance style was rightly famed, and left a massive impression on a young John Lennon. In fact, this is what he said about it: "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles".

High praise indeed, and you can see a direct connection there, particularly in early Beatles footage. But there were another two direct and clear influences on Lennon’s performance style…

Buddy Holly’s suit and glasses fashion style was immensely influential, not least on a fledgling Lennon. He took the style and ran with it, extending elements to the other Beatles after they’d worn out their ‘leather jackets phase’ in Hamburg.

Astrid Kerchherr was responsible for the leather phase and the ‘mop top’ look that replaced it, but the indelible influence of Buddy Holly was in there, too. I would also add that Holly’s specifically ‘unmacho’ persona was something that Lennon aspired to, and held as a template as he led his own troubled life.

Little Richard’s wild and exciting vocals left an impression on both of the Beatles’ lead vocalists. It’s maybe easier to hear it in Lennon’s voice (maybe it’s equal?), but Paul McCartney was as enthused about the extravagant and subversive singer. Little Richard is all over the early and mid periods of the Beatles’ music.

Like many of the artists on this list, The Beatles covered Chuck Berry during their famed Hamburg sojourn. Playing multiple long sets per day, every day of the week, tightened them as an ensemble and forged the sound of their early originals. Chuck Berry was a big musical influence here as they covered him, but also in his kinetic stagecraft and personality.

The Fab Four had their own thing without doubt, but it’s also okay to acknowledge that there was some ‘studying’ of live musicians too, and Chuck Berry’s onstage charisma definitely fed the Beatles’ own cultivated performance style.

Master sitar player and composer Ravi Shankar was an influence on all of the Beatles, but on George in particular. Harrison actually travelled to India for 6 weeks to study with Shankar in 1966, and the results can be heard on much of his output from then on, particularly on songs like Within You Without You. Interestingly, the only Beatle on this track is George!

Brian Wilson and his Californian pop legend brethren were a constant source of inspiration - and perhaps a little friendly competition - to the Fab Four throughout their career. Each band used the other as a yardstick to beat, with the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album famously inspiring McCartney to double down on his concept for Sgt Pepper’s. Beatles producer George Martin even once remarked: “No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian (Wilson)”.

Speaking of George Martin, he was often referred to as ‘the fifth Beatle’, thanks to his creative input and influence on how the band approached their music.

His classical background widened their sonic horizons (A Day in the Life’s huge ascending orchestral moments), and his aptitude for experimentation helped spawn creative masterpieces like Strawberry Fields Forever and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Billy Preston was a young up and coming R‘n’B singer when he toured with the Fab Four, and he must’ve left a real impression on them. Why? Because he ended up performing on Let It Be (whilst influencing the sound of that record) and was actually nominated by Paul as a possible full-time addition to the band! 

Liber & Stroller defined for John and Paul that classic dual songwriting partnership. Whilst they were more typically defined as composer and lyricist (Lennon and McCartney of course did both), their approach to both chart-friendly songs and more Broadway-orientated material gave the Beatles an important example of a fruitful writing duo.

Lieber & Stoller ended up writing more than 20 songs performed by Elvis, so the influence on the Beatles was strong and direct.

The above heading is a quote I love by Pablo Picasso. I think it speaks quite directly to The Beatles, and their extremely productive work ethic. They had their influences, and they mined for gold by taking the things they loved and working them into new forms, like musical alchemy. 

It’s always interesting to look back at the inspiration behind some of our favourite artists. Nobody arrives at great art without some level of prior influence, and the above acts were some (by no means all) of the strong flavours that helped make the Beatles into what they were.

However, it’s a mistake to leave aside each member’s own particular genius, their own creativity and of course, the inspired way in which they used and interpreted those influences into something boldly new. 

Are The Beatles the greatest ever band? Probably, and the people who deserve the credit for that are Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Darren ‘Ringo Starr’ Starkey and, I’d add, George Martin. The influences are all in there, but the magic belongs to the musicians themselves.

Genius does exist, and it found them working.