Discussion Activities

Comprehension Questions and Points for Discussion

1. What are the distinctive features of rock'n'roll?

2. Tell the story of Elvis Presley. What was his background?

3. In what films did Presley appear? Have you seen any of them?

4. Why is Elvis Presley sometimes called The King of Rock'n' Roll? What was his contribution to the development of this type of music?

5. What accounts for the popularity of this singer during his life­time and later?

6. What recordings by Presley have you heard? What do you like or dislike about his singing?

THE BEATLES

The impact of the Beatles - not only on rock and roll but on all of Western culture - is simply incalculable. As musicians, they proved that rock and roll could embrace a limitless variety of harmonies, structures and sounds; virtually every rock experiment has some precedent on Beatles records. As a unit, they were a musically synergistic combination: Paul McCartney's melodic bass lines, Ringo Stair's slaphappy no-rolls drumming, George Harrison's rocabilly-style guitar leads, John Lennon's assertive rhythm guitar - and their four fervent voices. One of the first rock groups to write most of their material, they inaugurated the era of self-contained bands, and forever centralized pop. And as personalities, they defined and incarnated Sixties style: smart, idealistic, playful, irreverent, eclectic. Their music, from the not-so-simple love songs they started with to their later perfectionistic studio extravaganzas, set new standards for both commercial and artistic success in pop. Although many of their

sales and attendance records have since been surpassed, no group has so radically transformed the sound and meaning of rock and roll.

The Beatles became nationally famous in England in October 1962, when their first single record, Love Me Do, entered the Hit Parade at number 27. The famous four who recorded that song were, of course, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and drummer Ringo Starr. This was the original line-up of the band.

Three years before, when John Lennon was 19 and George Harrison approaching his seventeenth birthday, the group was offered its first "big job" - playing at the famous Star Club in Hamburg. In those days there were five Beatles: Pete Best on drums, Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and the mysterious fifth Beatle, Stuart Sutcliffe.

The Beatles returned to England penniless and exhausted. Stuart Sutcliffe left the group and stayed in Germany, where he died a few months later. The Beatles began a series of lunchtime concerts at Liverpool's Cavern Club. They were now playing better than ever.

The lunchtime concerts were a great success. The road outside the club was always crowded with girls who worked in nearby shops and offices. They came to see the Beatles during their lunch-break. Local shopkeepers often complained about the crowds and the noise. The man who ran the local record shop went to see what all the fuss was about. His name was Brian Epstein, the man who became the Beatles manager.

The first thing that Epstein did as manager was to sack Pete Best. There are many different stories about how this happened. Probably it was because there was a serious clash of personalities between Lennon and Best. Lennon said: "He goes, or I go." In Best's place came Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr), the drummer they met in Hamburg.

The job of producing the Beatles' records went to George Martin, an extremely nice and remarkably old-fashioned man who worked at the EMI studios in Abbey Road, North London. George Martin became the brains behind the recording successes of the Beatles ("although John Lennon never agreed with that).

Martin had some unusual and immensely successful ideas. He persuaded the group to have instruments on some of their songs that they didn't want to begin with: the cello on Yesterday, the violins of Eleanor Rigby, the oboe on You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.

During the sixties, it seemed that the Beatles were always in the news headlines. They made successful records and interesting films. Lennon caused anti-Beatle demonstrations in America by saying that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. Beatlemania was the word used to describe the reaction of fans all over the world.

When Epstein died in 1967, things began to be wrong for the Beatles' industry. The relationship between Lennon and McCartney became very difficult; they disagreed about music, they disliked each

other's wife, and they disagreed about who should be the new manager of their affairs.

Eventually, an American called Alien Klein bought a controlling interest in the group. This was the beginning of the end, as McCartney couldn't stand Klein.

During the seventies, the Beatles went off in their different directions. Lennon became a solo performer and then property speculator in New York, buying and selling expensive apartments. McCartney formed a middle-of-the-road pop group called "Wings" with his wife, Linda. George Harrison was rarely seen, but spent time raising money for charity. Ringo Starr began a surprisingly successful career as a film star. John Lennon was murdered in New York in December 1980.

In October 1982, 20 years after Love Me Do entered the British Hit Parade, a Beatles song was again in the Top Ten. The song was ... Love Me Do.

From: Modem English International

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1339