Are The Beatles a "Boy Band"?

[Jesse]

I ask this because our lovely Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper has a poll out this week on the greatest "Boy Bands" of all time and has the Beatles listed with more stereotypical Boy Bands such as Boyz 2 Men, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and Menudo. I'm not a big Beatles fan and whenever a discussion of them comes up, my opinions are usually shut down because I was born 2 years after they broke up so "what the hell do I know?" In any event I figured this might be an interesting discussion for those who were around when the Beatles were producing music and loved the product they put out. You Beatles fans are nothing if not passionate and this forum has been boring of late. So, since I know nothing about the Beatles, I'm asking:

Were the Beatles a "Boy Band" in the same sense of the word as NSYNC, Menudo, Backstreet Boys, ETC? Were they, maybe, a "Boy Band" in a different sense of time and place? Or is the Philadelphia Inquirer just plain fucking retarded?


(BTW-The Monkees were also listed in their poll.)

[kim]

I'm going to have to get back to you on this one Jesse.

It's late in the day, dinner is in the oven and Bolt is getting
ready to run the 100m.

Great post Jesse!...
...owll be bach.... ;D

Thanks
Kim

[Equinox]

Did the girls go crazy over the Beatles early on? Yes! And their look was unique, which I'm sure attracted the girls also. So if that's what narrow criteria is being used to constitute a boy band, I suppose.

Musically though, the Beatles were ground breaking, and their popularity was much more universal.

In fact, I would say the young girl fascination faded for them as their music became more complex and deep, unlike the boy bands that have the same fans twenty years later and no new ones.

[spacel0rd]

It depends on your definition of a boy band.
To me, a boy band is 3-7 kids who mostly play no instruments, but sing and dance. Normally the “band” is formed by an outsider, such as Maurice Starr. This outsider will put together a cash cow, piece by piece…like a puzzle. When he feels he has all the right parts, he writes some lame pop songs for them, puts their pretty faces on TV…and Wa-La: A Boy Band is created to make the young girls scream. But it only lasts until those girl-fans grow up. Then the next batch of girls that take their place need their OWN boy band.
So, no. Even though they were young and good looking….and the girls went nuts for them, they were no more a boy band than the Rolling Stones.

[Equinox]

Aug 6, 2012 9:40:53 GMT -5 spacel0rd said:

It depends on your definition of a boy band.
To me, a boy band is 3-7 kids who mostly play no instruments, but sing and dance. Normally the “band” is formed by an outsider, such as Maurice Starr. This outsider will put together a cash cow, piece by piece…like a puzzle. When he feels he has all the right parts, he writes some lame pop songs for them, puts their pretty faces on TV…and Wa-La: A Boy Band is created to make the young girls scream. But it only lasts until those girl-fans grow up. Then the next batch of girls that take their place need their OWN boy band.
So, no. Even though they were young and good looking….and the girls went nuts for them, they were no more a boy band than the Rolling Stones.

^ Good post!

You can see how the Monkees would fit this description also.

[Frank]

I dont think they were a Boy Band. I could see how one might think that.

[bluecheer]

The Beatles are not a boy band.

The Monkeys were though.

[spacel0rd]

The Monkees were put together by a couple of TV producers just for a TV show. So yea...they are a boy band.
By the way...Stephen Stills auditioned for the Monkees and didin't make it because of "bad teeth." Thank God.

[bucky]

Okay, here's my take...I would say if you say these words to someone: "The Beatles", the image that would pop into the head of 8 out of 10 people would be the 4 clean cut lads with matching suits,ties,& mop head hairstyles singing songs such as "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" & "She Loves You". This was the era which the the look,music,& merchandise were aimed at teenage girls & there is no denying that...or is there? Surely, that image of them from that era could possibly scream out "Boy Band!" But if you take a step back a bit further here was that same band playing the clubs in Hamburg Germany in leather jackets ripping out rocking numbers by Chuck Berry & Little Richard kicking ass causing the crowds to go nuts.The thing is during that supposed boy band era between say '62-'66 the band was still kicking ass. If you want proof check out their performance on their 'Live at the Hollywood Bowl' album which was recorded in '65.

After the Beatles called it a day there were 2 greatest hits double records released known as the Red album & the Blue album.
The red double album is all of their hits from their popish era of '62-'66. It's a great album but if you want to get a best of from those days try to find the double 'Rock & Roll Music' album which is filled with some great originals not on the Red album & a bunch of rocking cover tunes which originally appeared on their early albums.

I won't even get into the albums & music from '67-'70 because their look & music from that era is proof enough that they were no boy band

[Frank]

Aug 10, 2012 10:42:47 GMT -5 bucky said:

Okay, here's my take...I would say if you say these words to someone: "The Beatles", the image that would pop into the head of 8 out of 10 people would be the 4 clean cut lads with matching suits,ties,& mop head hairstyles singing songs such as "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" & "She Loves You". This was the era which the the look,music,& merchandise were aimed at teenage girls & there is no denying that...or is there? Surely, that image of them from that era could possibly scream out "Boy Band!" But if you take a step back a bit further here was that same band playing the clubs in Hamburg Germany in leather jackets ripping out rocking numbers by Chuck Berry & Little Richard kicking ass causing the crowds to go nuts.The thing is during that supposed boy band era between say '62-'66 the band was still kicking ass. If you want proof check out their performance on their 'Live at the Hollywood Bowl' album which was recorded in '65.

After the Beatles called it a day there were 2 greatest hits double records released known as the Red album & the Blue album.
The red double album is all of their hits from their popish era of '62-'66. It's a great album but if you want to get a best of from those days try to find the double 'Rock & Roll Music' album which is filled with some great originals not on the Red album & a bunch of rocking cover tunes which originally appeared on their early albums.

I won't even get into the albums & music from '67-'70 because their look & music from that era is proof enough that they were no boy band

Very good points

[kim]

First off, I’d like to state that it’s been difficult trying to log into
the site lately…

I tried numerous times to log on only to be denied?
I find it's a hit and miss as of late and I'm wondering if some
of our illustrious members have been denied access to this
board as well, for reasons unbeknownst to us?

Anyway, now that I'm able to log in, on to the question
at hand.

"Are The Beatles a "Boy Band".

Simply put, in my opinion, YES and NO…haha.
Howz that for a definitive answer? haha.

Did they put out "boy band" music? Sure they did.
They did so however in a manner that included a plethora
of raw talent that kept them moving towards the band that
that they eventually ended up being...one that was largely responsible for influencing rock and roll as we know it today.

Yeah...John, Paul, George and Ringo started out crooning the gals when they hit the world stage. Here's the kicker though, most bands back then, for the most part, catered to one or the other gender...The Beatles catered to everyone back then and continued to do so throughout their entire short lived career.

If you ask any 60 year old person today that has any
remote liking to the early Beatles, they will tell you...they just don't make music like that anymore...and that was from their supposed "Boy Band" years...when 16 year old girls back then had the same maturity of today’s 25 year olds!
THAT may be the difference in my humble opinion.

Granted, behind any decent band lies a silent force, and in the case of The Beatles,
they had George Martin in their camp. This supposed “5th Beatle”, did things that
elevated their musical prowess to another level. It was the “perfect storm” in a musical
sense so to speak which allowed the Fab Four not only to experiment in the studio, but
had the then unheard of technical wizardry, wisdom and insight to make these guys
come off sounding as well as they did back in the day. Proof of that was the fact that
after 1966, and no further concert venues, proved that a group of this talent could continue to excel at their chosen craft…influencing up and coming groups and artists
along the way without ever having to leave the studio for the most part.

The Beatles progressed in the early days to the point where I honestly don't believe that they knew what the hell they were doing, other than what they felt in their collective hearts at the time and in doing so, turned the musical scene back in the day on it's head 180 to eventually 360 degrees and saying "THERE!!!!!!!!!...what more can we do for you?"

I could be mistaken, but even if you consider their output on an individual basis, there
hasn’t been a “Boy Band” since that has reached the heights that The Beatles did on their
own over the years after their demise. I honestly believe that the combined collection of talents that these guys possessed at the time, proved that they were a force to be reckoned
with then, afterwards, and even to this day, where we still hear of their influence to some degree, even if it is not mentioned.

It’s little wonder why there has been so many books written about The Beatles in whole
and in part. These guys “kinda sorta”, started out as a Boy Band, but if you go back
and listen to the music, you realize that they were just honing their collective chops
for bigger and better things to come…and so they did.

Thanks
Kim

[Trexx]

A: Yes.

Their popularity went world wide once they were packaged up and toured. Their original image was expertly contrived by management and their PR gurus. Once a household name, they had the power to create imagery and music the way they saw fit.

[BBoysp]

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