The Beatles began their journey from modest origins but eventually transformed the music world. Although they initially started as a pop group delivering simple and agreeable messages, once they captivated a frenzy of enthusiasm, the Fab Four swiftly shifted their musical direction toward a more complex and ornate style.
While talking about the Beatles, Leonard Bernstein compared The Beatles to Robert Schumann. He said, “This new music is much more primitive in its harmonic language. It relies more on the simple triad, the basic harmony of folk music. Never forget that this music employs a minimal musical vocabulary; limited harmonically, rhythmically, and melodically. But within that restricted language, all these new adventures are simply extraordinary. Only think of the sheer originality of a Beatles tune.”
When they left the scene, right at the beginning of a new decade, it was the task of the emerging acts in the 1970s to continue the journey of musical advancement. John Lennon found his musical legacy carried on by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Discussing Jeff Lynne’s group on WNEW Radio, John Lennon communicated his stance that “Showdown” was an excellent song, and he had visualized it becoming a table-topper. However, he felt that United Artists (UA) didn’t put in enough effort to boost it.
Additionally, he mentioned: It’s a nice group, I call them ‘Son of Beatles’. Although they’re into the things we never explored. He recalls that they wanted to continue from where the Beatles left off with ‘Walrus,’ and they succeeded in it.
Undoubtedly, Lynne clearly mentioned their goal to start from where the Beatles stopped and continue the live performances. Classical composers were a significant source of inspiration for him. He openly admitted that he was also highly influenced by the Beatles’ sound in 1968 and 1969.
ELO, much like how Bernstein saw the Beatles, took the familiar language of pop music and gave it an orchestral twist in their songs. The song, at its core, is secretly a blues track, but a mix of musical elements surrounds it, creating a unique pop song.
ELO’s origin story began when Roy Wood and he met at Birmingham nightclubs. At the time, he was in the Idle Race, and they were discussing adding strings to their music. They thought it was a unique idea because they hadn’t heard many groups using strings. They talked about it and eventually found a way to mix blues with orchestral elements. This resulted in a sound that John Lennon saw as a natural progression from The Beatles.
