The Beatles

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The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison were joined by Ringo Starr two years later. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, they later experimented with musical styles ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. They incorporated classical elements and unconventional recording techniques. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings. Beatlemania took hold in 1963, as the group began to embody the ideals shared by the counterculture of the 1960s. They led the British Invasion of the US pop market in 1964. After their break-up in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers, in which McCartney and Starr remain active. (Lennon was shot and killed in 1980; Harrison died of cancer in 2001.) The Beatles became the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide, and they top various sales and most-played lists, including most UK singles sold and most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart. (Full article...)