Beatles music still inspires

There’s this video of me as a child that surfaces from time to time.

It’s of me, at age five, in a hot pink tutu and striped tights twirling around and singing all the words to The Beatles’ “Love Me Do.”

I’ve gotten a little taller, but that’s the only difference between this video and a normal weeknight.

There has never been a time when The Beatles were not a part of my life.

“Yellow Submarine” was one of the first movies I could quote beginning to end.

I fondly remember my dad singing “I’ve Just Seen a Face” to my mom.

Whether it was dancing to “When I’m 64” at my cousin’s wedding or driving down the California coast with the windows down, blasting “Good Day, Sunshine,” they’ve always just been around, providing the soundtrack to my life.

So what is it that makes The Beatles just so amazing?

What is it that makes everyone from The Black Keys to Sarah McLachlan cover the same songs again and again, each time providing a new little twist?

I have no earthly idea, but somewhere there’s a reason why I got choked up at the roses laid at Central Park’s John Lennon memorial “Strawberry Fields,” and why “She’s so Heavy” is one of the sexiest songs ever written.

George, Paul, John and Ringo set foot on stage at The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and, with a few notes, made pop culture history and forever changed the face of rock ‘n’ roll.

With their Liverpudlian accents and radically shaggy hair, the fab four charmed their way into the hearts of millions of squealing teenage girls.

By 1965’s album “Rubber Soul,” The Beatles had moved from Chuck Berry covers and squeaky-clean love songs to serious, introspective and experimental music.

As each album continued to push the lines, The Beatles themselves moved from inspiring squeals of joy to provoking screams of anger at serious social issues.

There will never, and can never, be another group like The Beatles.

With no argument, they were phenomenal musicians and incredible songwriters, but so are lots of people.

It was a combination of extreme talent and fantastic timing that provided The Beatles a level of success that no other band will ever achieve.

No other band will ever have movies based on their music forty years after their first record.

With hundreds of channels, record labels and radio stations, our view is expanded to thus that we hear thousands of musical clips every day.

Bands come and go quickly, regardless of talent.

We have no equivalent of The Ed Sullivan Show any longer.

The Beatles were incredible and continue to be incredible, as evident by the rampant success of the film “Across the Universe.”

The Beatles would succeed in today’s scene, yet I doubt they would last long enough to get past the screaming girls phase.

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