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John Lennon met 15 year old Paul McCartney at a church fete where his band was playing a set of music. He invited McCartney to join his group, a skiffle band the 'Quarrymen'.
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George Harrison, then 14, becomes the lead guitarist for the Quarrymen. -
Lennon’s friend Stuart Sutcliffe joins the band on bass and suggests the name Beatals as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. They briefly use that name, then the Silver Beetles, before becoming the Beatles in August of that year.
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Years active
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The Beatles replace drummer Pete Best with Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr. -
The Beatles get their first No. 1 single with “Please Please Me.” The band’s debut LP, “Please Please Me,” is released that March. -
The Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show (and simultaneously, their first performance on American soil). Per the Ed Sullivan show, "73m people gathered in front their TV sets to see The Beatles’ first live performance on U.S. soil. The television rating was a record-setting 45.3, meaning that 45.3% of households with televisions were watching. That figure reflected a total of 23,240,000 American homes." -
The Beatles release “Rubber Soul,” featuring more experimentation, like Harrison’s a sitar on “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown).” -
Capitol Records releases the compilation “Yesterday and Today,” featuring the Beatles dressed as butchers, surrounded by raw meat and baby dolls. The cover was quickly repealed and a new cover was painted over the original. Copies of the original version have sold for more than $10,000. -
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is released. The album took hundreds of hours to record and incorporated a 40-piece orchestra for “A Day in the Life.” -
The Beatles release the double LP “The Beatles,” which comes to be known as the White Album because of its cover. The recording process was troubled and Starr briefly quit during the process. Relations between McCartney and Lennon were strained as Lennon’s girlfriend, Yoko Ono, began attending recording sessions. -
The band begins work on “Abbey Road.” That same month Lennon released his first solo song, “Give Peace a Chance.” -
Lennon tells the rest of the band he’s leaving the group, but agrees not to publicly announce it until after “Abbey Road” is released later in the month.
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Abbey Road is released in the UK. -
“Let It Be” is released, with the documentary following a month later. -
Unhappy with Spector’s work, McCartney announces his departure from the band the same month his “McCartney” solo album is released. -
McCartney files to have the Beatles’ contractual partnership dissolved.
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John Lennon is assassinated in New York City.
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George Harrison passes away.
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The Beatles release 59 recordings on iTunes, “The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963,” featuring material that was about to fall into the public domain without an official release.