“The Beatles hit white America like the biggest thing to happen maybe ever, and they hardly hit black America at all…” Elijah Wald in TIME, talking about How The Beatles Destroyed Rock’n’Roll (Oxford).
Erik Himmelsbach, LA Times
Michealangelo Matos, AV Club
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I am dubious.
Not a huge Beatles fan, but to give them their due, they did manage to use the established English Studio system as an instrument, rather than be used by it, and that may have been one of their biggest breakthoughs. The George Martin/classical orchestra/recording studio manipulation stuff they did on Sgt. Peppers, the White Album, and so on, did indeed have a HUGE effect on black american artists like Marvin Gaye, or George Clinton, and a lot of the Motown packaged acts followed their earlier teen hit formula pretty closely as well.
So to say that the did not effect black american music- I just dont see it.
But the reaction to the packaging of pop, even by the Beatles themselves, is probably their greatest legacy, and that hit both white and black bands in the 70’s.
At the same time punk rock was lashing out against radio hits, early rap and hiphop was doing the same thing.
In both cases, Mammon eventually won, and most post punk acts, as well as most hiphop acts, became more and more commercial, cause thats where the Benjamins are.
Which is not to say that there were not then, and are not now, groups that mix black and white musicians and influences. I remember 50’s and early 60’s pop music as being MORE segregated than post Beatles 70’s stuff as well- so I dont see how the Beatles, singlehandledly, somehow ripped apart a happy family.
And, now, of course, the number 1 musical genre among white teenagers is black music- rap.
The book sounds interesting nonetheless, and I will be buying it and reaidng it.