There certainly has never been a music group as charismatic or prolific as the Beatles. From the time their manager Brian Epstein cleaned up their scruffy image and dressed them in matching suits, the Beatles set the style for the youth culture of the sixties. As songwriters, John Lennon and Paul McCartney produced an amazing volume of songs – over a seven year period they recorded more than 200 of their own compositions in addition to writing several hits for other recording artists. From the start, Lennon and McCartney agreed to publish their material together, although few of their songs were actual collaborations. Usually, whoever wrote the song sang the lead vocals, and since both vied for the spotlight, the arrangement inspired a creative and (mostly) friendly competition as each one tried to outdo the other. Feeding off each other’s energy, they wrote fresh, stylistic tunes that usually avoided the insipid sentimentality of most Tin Pan Alley music and created an artful, commercially popular synthesis of white and black pop music.
Jefrey D. Breshears, Ph.D., is a former university history professor and the president of The Areopagus, a Christian education ministry that sponsors forums and semester-length seminars on issues related to Bibliology, history, Christian apologetics, literature and the arts, and contemporary cultural issues. He is the author of several books including: "Introduction to Bibliology: What Every Christian Should Know About the Origins, Composition, Inspiration, Interpretation, Canonization, and Transmission of the Bible", "Why Study Christian History? The Value of Understanding the Past", "Natural Law. The Moral Foundation for Social and Political Civility", "The Case for Christian Apologetics", "American Crisis: Cultural Marxism and the Culture War - A Christian Response", and "C. S. Lewis on Politics, Government, and the Good Society".