In the winter of 1964, the Beatles, a British musical, packed up their electric guitars, drum kits, and rebellious ways and set off for America.
Two days later, more than seventy million people watched the group perform four of their hit songs on the Ed Sullivan Show. This was sixty percent of the American television audience. Here the Beatles sing one of those songs, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
The Beatles soon had the top five hit songs on the Billboard singles chart. Millions of fans became infected with Beatlemania. They rushed to stores to buy Beatles albums, wigs, clothes, dolls and lunch boxes.
The Beatles recorded more than twenty number one hits in America. A Beatles song was almost always at the top of the charts until the group's next hit replaced it. They played to more than fifty thousand fans at large sports stadiums. And they filmed several movies that made millions of dollars.
The Beatles were influenced by American singers including Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. Yet the group's music sounded completely new and different. The Beatles wrote more than two hundred songs that revolutionized American popular music.
In addition, young people saw the Beatles as spokesmen for their generation. They copied the band members' long hair and free-spirited ways. The band became so popular that in 1966 John Lennon said they were more popular than Jesus Christ.
Soon other musicians began writing their own music the way John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the Beatles songs.
Many other British groups followed the Beatles to America. This was known as the "British Invasion." They included the Dave Clark Five, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones.
The Rolling Stones called themselves the "World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band." The Stones first performed across America in 1964. This song was the group's first Top 40 hit in the United States.
In the spring of 1970, the Beatles released "Let it Be." But their fans were not celebrating. This was the last studio album the Beatles recorded as a group. It tells the story of the band's break up.
British小题1:______ “Beatles”
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Time and Place
| Events
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1964
| Get everything小题2:_____ and leave for America.
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After arriving in USA
| Over half of American TV audience watched their小题3:_____ of the most popular songs. And soon, the group had millions of 小题4:______ in USA.
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In America
| 1. They小题5:______ more than 20 number one hits in America;
2. They played a lot to many fans;
3. They filmed movies.
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1966
| Although American singers had小题6:______ on them, their music was 小题7:_____ new. 小题8:_____, the Beatles was小题9:_____ as models for the young people.
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1970
| The last group album “Let it be” was小题10:______.
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