MUS321H1

The Beatles

In The Ultimate Encyclopedia Of Rock, it was written of the The Beatles that “From three-minute pop classics to the psychedelic extravaganza of ‘Sgt. Pepper’, their songs soundtracked the Sixties. They were the greatest group in history. They probably always will be”. In addition to a survey of the group’s history, their recordings, and their films, this course aims to answer two basic questions: (1) what made the songs of The Beatles so successful? (2) in what ways did the band’s artistic output “soundtrack” the 1960s? No prior background in music or ability to read music is required.