The Beatles were one of the most successful and influential rock bands of the 20th century. The group was formed by the "Fab Four": John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals), and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). From Liverpool to Global Domination Formed in Liverpool in 1960, they dominated the British and international charts from 1962 to 1970. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity sparked a global phenomenon known as "Beatlemania." As their music grew in sophistication—led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney—the band evolved from pop idols into the embodiment of the 1960s counterculture. They experimented with psychedelia, Indian classical music, and studio techniques that changed the face of the recording industry forever. A Prolific Legacy The Beatles wrote over 200 songs (including 186 original compositions released during their active years). Their catalog includes timeless mast...
When George V died in 1936, his son Edward VIII became king of England. The new king abdicated after only ten months in order to marry an American woman, who had divorced, and his brother George VI ovent to the throne ruling country during World war. Because of Versailles' treaty signed in June 1919, Germany underwent a terrible economic crisis in the 1920s, which helped the Nazi Party's rise to the power. In order to avoid another world war, Britain ignored the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), the occupation of Austria by Hitler (1938) and Czechoslovakia, thankin Munich Agreement signed by Britain and France with Germany. When Germany invaded Poland on the 1st of September 1939 France and Britain declared war on Germany. In this way World War II broke out. In the first phase of the conflict Germany occupied France and most European countries, Italy entered the war on Germany's side (1940) and the United States were still neutral. In 1940 Britain had to bear the brunt of the...