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The Beatles were a English rock and pop group formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. During their years of stardom, the band consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, piano, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and skiffle, the group worked with different musical genres, ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, style and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

Returning to Liverpool following periods of Hamburg residency during 1960, 1961 and 1962, the group appointed Brian Epstein manager, and he negotiated a record contract with EMI’s George Martin; Epstein would manage the band until his death in 1967, and Martin produced all but one of the group’s studio albums. The single “Please Please Me” achieved UK chart success in late 1962. The group attracted fervent interest, termed “Beatlemania”, during tours of the UK and Europe throughout the next year. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” found U.S. chart success at the close of 1963, spearheading the group’s international popularity, and they toured the U.S. and other countries over the next three years. During this period, Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr were each honoured with an MBE. In 1966 the group found themselves mired in controversy, including widespread antipathy in the U.S. after a magazine published a quote from Lennon’s remarks on Christianity. They ceased to perform commercial concerts after the 1966 U.S. tour, concentrating instead on studio work and enjoying continued international chart success. In 1967 the group met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who introduced them to Transcendental Meditation. The same year, Epstein died from an overdose of a prescription drug. The group spent time in India, treating the Maharishi as their guru for a short time, but became disillusioned with him. Increasingly dominated by conflict, and further alienated from one another by a disagreement about the appointment of a new financial adviser, the group disintegrated in 1970. All four members embarked upon successful solo careers.

The Beatles sold between 600 million and one billion records internationally. In the United Kingdom they released more than 40 different singles, albums, and EPs that reached number one, earning more number one albums (15) than any other group in UK chart history. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, they have sold more albums in the United States than any other artist. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked them number one in its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and four of their albums appeared in the top ten of the magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. According to that same magazine, The Beatles‘ innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s, and their influence on pop culture is still evident today. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of top-selling Hot 100 artists to celebrate the chart’s fiftieth anniversary, with The Beatles at #1.The Beatles were collectively included in Time magazine’s list of The Most Important People of the 20th Century.

Formation
In March 1957, John Lennon formed a skiffle group called The Quarrymen. In July of the same year, Lennon met Paul McCartney, who agreed to join as a guitarist. McCartney invited George Harrison to watch the group during February 1958, and Harrison joined as lead guitarist.The group’s drummer, Colin Hanton, left in 1959, after which they had difficulty finding a permanent replacement. Stuart Sutcliffe, a fellow student of Lennon’s at the Liverpool College of Art, joined on bass in January 1960. During the year they went through a succession of name-changes. Sutcliffe suggested “The Beetles” as a tribute to Buddy Holly and The Crickets, and for the first few months of 1960 they were known as “The Beatals”.Other names included “Johnny and the Moondogs”, “Long John and The Beetles” and “The Silver Beatles”. The band finally became “The Beatles” in August 1960.The lack of a permanent drummer posed a problem when the group’s unofficial manager Allan Williams booked them to perform as resident band for a period in Hamburg, West Germany.

Along with June Christy, Helen O’Connell, and Julie London, Chris Connor epitomized cool jazz singing in the 1950s. Influenced by Anita O’Day, the torchy, smoky singer wasn’t one for aggression. Like Chet Baker on the trumpet or Paul Desmond and Lee Konitz on alto sax, she used subtlety and restraint to their maximum advantage. At the University of Missouri, Connor (who had studied clarinet at an early age) sang with a Stan Kentonish big band led by trombonist Bob Brookmeyer before leaving her native Kansas City for New York in 1947. Quite appropriately, she was featured in the lyrical pianist Claude Thornhill’s orchestra in the early ’50s. After leaving Thornhill, Connor was hired by Kenton at Christy’s recommendation, and her ten-month association with him in 1952-1953 resulted in the hit “All About Ronnie.” Connor debuted as a solo artist in 1953, recording three albums for Bethlehem before moving to Atlantic in 1955 and recording 12. Connor reached the height of her popularity in the 1950s, when she delivered her celebrated versions of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” and George Shearing’s “Lullaby of Broadway,” and recorded such excellent albums as The Rich Sound of Chris Connor and Lullabies of Birdland for Bethlehem and Chris Craft and Ballads of the Sad Cafe for Atlantic. Connor made a poor career move in 1962, the year she left Atlantic and signed with a label her manager was starting, FM Records — Connor had recorded only two albums for FM when they folded. Connor’s recording career was rejuvenated in the 1970s, and she went on to record for Progressive, Stash, and Contemporary in the ’70s and ’80s. Connor maintained a devoted following in the 1990s and continued to tour internationally. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

* Born: November 08, 1927, Kansas City, MO
* Active: ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s
* Genres: Vocal Music
* Instrument: Vocals
* Representative Albums: “Warm Cool: The Atlantic Years,” “A Jazz Date with Chris Connor/Chris Craft,” “Chris Craft”
* Representative Songs: “All About Ronnie,” “Lullaby of Birdland,” “I Get a Kick Out of You”