John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs

The rock-and-roll group called the Beatles was formed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in 1960. Lennon and McCartney were respectively 16 and 15 when they met. They soon invited George Harrison (McCartney’s school friend) and Ringo Starr (the former drummer for the group Rory Storm and the Hurricanes) to join the group. They released their first single “Please Please Me” in 1962 and released their first album the same year under the same title. Their first recordings rocketed the group to the top of the UK charts. They soon began touring worldwide and rapidly earned global success and fame.

While the Beatles stopped touring in 1966, they continued to make music for the next several years. They unofficially split in 1970 but signed the legal paperwork to formalize the breakup in 1974. They are historically known as the most influential rock-and-roll musicians in history. Their bold, inventive style ushered in the cultural revolution and contributed to shifts not only in music but in discussions of religion, sexuality, and equality.