The Beatles are arguably the most influential band in the history of popular music; this comes as little surprise to anyone, as the band’s discography is jam-packed full of an almost countless list of hits and classics (not to mention an even longer list of impressive deep cuts) . With so many important and beloved songs to choose from, it can be incredibly difficult to select a favorite.
If you are new to this legendary band, however, here are a few essential cuts to get you started.
The song that basically started it all for the Beatles, “I Want to Hold your Hand” was met with a deafening wave of screams as it rung in the band’s first live US television appearance. The song had quickly shot to #1 on US charts, and was met with much fanfare upon its performance. Its charming ode to young love resonated with fans of all ages, who absorbed it as the ultimate feel good song of the time. Today, the song remains a classic, with older listeners using it as a doorway to an unprecedented period of passion and fandom in US music history.
One of the most regarded Beatles songs written by George Harrison, “Here Comes the Sun” is said to have been written on one of Eric Clapton’s acoustic guitars. Harrison, a friend of Clapton’s, had been walking through Clapton’s garden, reflecting on the coming of spring and his liberation from a day of work at Apple Records. These emotions are clearly conveyed through the song’s melodic acoustic plucking and soothing percussion, with a strong theme of hope and revival serving as its undercurrent.
The Beatles’ overwhelming international popularity is still regarded as one of the biggest phenomenons in music history, and justifiably, this fame started to take a toll on the band’s members — especially John Lennon. “Help,” the Lennon-penned title track of the band’s fifth studio album, strove to purge this desperation by quite literally calling out for help from peers. The urgency of the lyrics may be easy to miss amidst the song’s bouncy, upbeat melody, and this juxtaposition — a tactic employed much more in later Beatles songs — is what makes “Help” stand out as an essential Beatles cut.
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” can be found early into “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” a masterpiece that many cite as the first major concept album. The song finds the Beatles swaying through hypnotic synth-driven verses, breaking periodically for an uptempo, harmonious chorus. Lyrically, “Lucy” is one of the band’s most abstract and psychedelic hits, painting a profound array of images with lines like “follow her down to a bridge by a fountain, where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.”
Perhaps the heaviest Beatles song ever recorded, “Helter Skelter” was written to emulate the “raucous, loud” style of hard rock bands gaining popularity at the time. The Who, in particular, served as partial inspiration for Paul McCartney’s writing of the song, with the song’s lyrics paying ode to a spiraling amusement park ride literally called a Helter Skelter. The band is said to have been in rabid hysterics while recording the song, and this is evident from the song’s vicious distorted guitars and rough-edged vocals.
