Something in the Way They Played

The end of an era.

That phrase keeps coming up, from music fans and commentators, in the outpouring of affection following the passing of George Harrison. And the suggestion may be true psychologically for millions of longtime Beatles fans.

By reminding us of our own mortality, another piece of the innocence the Beatles helped instill in us was chipped away last week when Harrison died of cancer.

But the real legacy of Harrison and the Beatles is the music itself--and its energy, celebration and idealism live on in ways more enriching and profound than anyone could have imagined when the band first walked into our lives on Ed Sullivan’s TV show in 1964.

The Beatles era won’t end until rock ‘n’ roll itself ends. The group has left us not only with its own music but also with its inspiration.

The Beatles’ songs are as beloved today as they were four decades ago when the band ruled as the undisputed kings of the pop world.

For years, the most impressive sign of that unprecedented popularity was the Beatles’ hold on the top five spots on the Billboard magazine singles chart for the week of April 4, 1964--plus seven more elsewhere in the top 100. “Can’t Buy Me Love” was at No. 1, followed in order by “Twist and Shout,” “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Please Please Me.” The Beatles held the top position on the chart for five months that year.

But more recently, the dramatic success of the Beatles’ “1,” an anthology collection, may be an even greater feat. Since its release in November 2000, the disc has sold almost 8 million copies, more than any other album has sold during this period.

It wasn’t just old Beatles fans buying “1,” but teenagers and parents of preschoolers, whose children also responded to the brightness and warmth of those songs. Audiences today also continue to be enthralled by the exuberance and humor that the Beatles captured so memorably in the film “A Hard Day’s Night.”

For all our love of the Beatles, however, the greatest gift of John, Paul, George and Ringo is their inspiration--the way they, along with Bob Dylan and others, established rock ‘n’ roll as an art form that enabled musicians to reflect on our life and times the same way novelists and filmmakers do.

It was remarkable to see the group grow creatively from the simple rock celebration of the Sullivan performance to the immense ambition and craft they exhibited in such landmark albums as “Rubber Soul,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “The Beatles” (the so-called “white album”) and “Abbey Road.”

Though the Beatles loved Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and the other key ‘50s rockers, they weren’t content to simply repeat their own hit formula, as those heroes often did. They wanted to challenge themselves as artists.

In interviewing rock musicians, I’ve often been struck by how many times the same names are cited as influences. The Beatles and other ‘60s musicians invariably pointed to Presley, Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard and perhaps half a dozen more of the hitmakers that preceded them. In interviews with ‘70s musicians, the same names from the ‘50s continued to be put forward as influences, but ‘60s musicians also began cropping up--and no one with more frequency than the Beatles.

In recent years, new generations of musicians tend to refer less and less to the ‘50s pioneers as influences, but there is no decline in the acknowledgment of the Beatles’ role in shaping their dreams.

Two nights serve, for me, as the most striking testimonies of this lingering legacy. The first was Kurt Cobain’s funeral seven years ago in Seattle. As the leader of Nirvana, Cobain wrote about alienation and desire with insights and candor that made him the most captivating American rock artist of the ‘90s. But the music was often so extreme in its emotional urgency that few vintage Beatles fans felt any connection. Few could understand why Cobain was described as the John Lennon of his generation.

At the end of the services, a tape of Cobain’s favorite songs was played--a tape he assembled and played late at night when trying to find inspiration and comfort from the demons that drove him to suicide. The first song on the tape was the Beatles’ poignant “In My Life.”

The other reminder of the Beatles’ legacy was U2’s concert last month at Staples Center. I’ve long felt that U2 was a band with the talent, insight, ambition and competitive instincts to have stood alongside the Beatles and the other great rock groups of the ‘60s.

If U2 had been on the scene four decades ago, they and the Beatles would have waited for each other’s new singles and albums and then tried to top them, both creatively and on the charts. Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson have often spoken of that kind of chess match between the Beatles and the Beach Boys during the ‘60s.

But the U2 concert--in the shadow of Sept. 11--was the Irish band at its absolute best: relevant, heartfelt and inspiring.

In the night’s most touching moments, you felt the flame of rock ‘n’ roll and the Beatles still aglow. As long as that remains true, the era hasn’t ended.

Robert Hilburn can be reached at robert.hilburn@latimes.com.