Editing The Beatles (section)

== Legacy ==
{{Main|Cultural impact of the Beatles}}
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| caption1  = ''[[The Beatles Monument (Almaty)|The Beatles Monument]]'' in [[Almaty]], Kazakhstan
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| caption3 = [[Abbey Road#Abbey Road crossing and "Paul is dead"|Abbey Road crossing]] in London is a popular destination for Beatles fans. In December 2010 it was given [[Listed building#Grade II|grade II listed]] status for its "cultural and historical importance"; the Abbey Road studios themselves had been given similar status earlier in the year.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12059385 |title=Beatles' Abbey Road zebra crossing given listed status |date=22 December 2010 |work=BBC News|access-date=27 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720174732/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12059385|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref>
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Former ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine associate editor [[Robert Greenfield]] compared the Beatles to [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]], as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original&nbsp;... [I]n the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive&nbsp;..."<ref name="CNN Gross" /> The British poet [[Philip Larkin]] described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of Negro rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism" and "the first advance in popular music since the War".<ref>{{cite book |last=Drabble |first=Margaret |author-link=Margaret Drabble |title=The Oxford Companion to English Literature |edition=6th |pages=76–77 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-866244-0 |url=https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=16096298022&searchurl=isbn%3D0198662440|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202025140/http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=16096298022&searchurl=isbn%3D0198662440|archive-date=2 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1964, the Beatles' arrival in the U.S. is credited with initiating the [[album era]];<ref>{{cite web |first=Ann |last=Powers |authorlink=Ann Powers |title=A New Canon: In Pop Music, Women Belong at the Center of the Story |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/07/24/538601651/a-new-canon-in-pop-music-women-belong-at-the-center-of-the-story |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=24 July 2017|access-date=10 March 2020|archive-date=22 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122040554/https://www.npr.org/2017/07/24/538601651/a-new-canon-in-pop-music-women-belong-at-the-center-of-the-story|url-status=live}}</ref> the music historian [[Joel Whitburn]] says that LP sales soon "exploded and eventually outpaced the sales and releases of singles" in the music industry.<ref>{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2003 |title=Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 |publisher=[[Record Research]] |isbn=978-0-89820-155-0 |page=xxiii}}</ref> They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=277}} they became a globally influential phenomenon as well.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=8}} From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] films, [[jazz]], the music of Broadway and [[Tin Pan Alley]], and later, the rock and roll that first emerged in [[Memphis, Tennessee]].{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=9}} The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people whom they most associated with UK culture.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shakespeare 'a cultural icon' abroad |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27110234 |agency=BBC |date=9 April 2017|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913230807/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27110234|archive-date=13 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Culture, attraction and soft power |url=https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/as-others-see-us-report.pdf |publisher=British Council |date=9 April 2017|access-date=9 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403042324/https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/as-others-see-us-report.pdf|archive-date=3 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=8}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vega |first=Luis Daniel |title=Una idea descabellada: instantáneas del rock en Bogotá (1957–1975) |url=https://bibliotecadigitaldebogota.gov.co/resources/3648839/ |access-date=11 April 2024 |website=bibliotecadigitaldebogota.gov.co |language=es |archive-date=27 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327113242/https://www.bibliotecadigitaldebogota.gov.co/resources/3648839/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with [[List of cover versions of Beatles songs|covers of their songs]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=BBC Radio 2 |title=60s Season&nbsp;– Documentaries |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/60sseason/documentaries/sgtpeppers.shtml#tracklist |access-date=25 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211073431/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/60sseason/documentaries/sgtpeppers.shtml#tracklist |archive-date=11 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's [[WABC (AM)|WABC]] radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered [[oldies]] on American radio.{{sfn|Fisher|2007|p=198}} They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "[[filler (media)|filler]]",{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=91}} and they were primary innovators of the modern music video.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|pp=609–610}} The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their [[The Beatles' 1965 US tour|1965 North American tour]] attracted an estimated 55,600 people,{{sfn|Lewisohn|1992|p=181}} then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough&nbsp;... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business".{{sfn|Spitz|2005|pp=576–578}} Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=345}}

According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of sociocultural movements of the decade. As icons of the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s counterculture]], Gould continues, they became a catalyst for [[bohemianism]] and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as [[feminist movement|women's liberation]], [[gay liberation]] and [[environmental movement|environmentalism]].{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=8–9}} According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness".{{sfn|Lavezzoli|2006|p=176}}

Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their sociocultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness.<ref name="Gimore (RS Beatles/Dylan/60s)" /><ref name="Leopold (Beatlemania/CNN)">{{cite web |last1=Leopold |first1=Todd |title=Beatles + Sullivan = Revolution: Why Beatlemania Could Never Happen Today |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/beatles-ed-sullivan-50-years-anniversary/ |publisher=CNN|access-date=23 February 2018 |date=31 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223110942/https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/beatles-ed-sullivan-50-years-anniversary/|archive-date=23 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Referring to their appearance on ''the Ed Sullivan Show'' Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution&nbsp;... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964."<ref name="Leopold (Beatlemania/CNN)" /> According to Gilmore:
{{blockquote|Elvis Presley had shown us how rebellion could be fashioned into eye-opening style; the Beatles were showing us how style could have the impact of cultural revelation&nbsp;– or at least how a pop vision might be forged into an unimpeachable consensus.<ref name="Gimore (RS Beatles/Dylan/60s)" />}}

Established in 2009, [[Global Beatles Day]] is an annual holiday on 25 June each year that honours and celebrates the ideals of the Beatles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Beatles Day: What is it and why is it celebrated |website=[[The Indian Express]] |date=25 June 2018 |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/global-beatles-day-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-celebrated-5232622/ | access-date=26 July 2020 | archive-date=4 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804084855/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/global-beatles-day-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-celebrated-5232622/ | url-status=live}}</ref> The date was chosen to commemorate the date the group participated in the [[BBC]] programme ''[[Our World (1967 TV program)|Our World]]'' in 1967, performing "[[All You Need Is Love]]" broadcast to an international audience.<ref>{{cite web |last=Christensen |first=Doreen |title=World Beatles Day: Free streaming of all 12 Beatles albums for Prime members |website=[[Sun-Sentinel]] |date=25 June 2018 |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/deals-shopping/fl-bz-world-beatles-day-free-streaming-free-music-20180625-story.html | access-date=26 July 2020 | archive-date=26 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726073851/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/deals-shopping/fl-bz-world-beatles-day-free-streaming-free-music-20180625-story.html | url-status=live}}</ref>