Imagine...a world without the Beatles...

[Taverner]

Rock never progressed since Elvis...

The Rolling Stones stayed a blues band....

Fleetwood Mac, same...

The Beach Boys never released "Pet Sounds"...

Booker T and the MGs and the Motown orchestra never record their classics...

Music is forever dominated by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and other fossils from the 50s...

No Pink Floyd, No Stone Roses, No Kinks, No Oasis, No British Invasion...

Jimi Hendrix never takes LSD...

Ken Kesey's Acid tests never happen, hence, no Grateful Dead...No Phish...No Yes...

Consequently, no Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult...

Every single artist had to be better, because, love or hate the Beatles, they raised the bar...

[madinmaryland]

1. ... and people would be worshipping RUSH today.

:puke:

[Taverner]

6. There would have been no 2112 if there were no Sgt Pepper

Just sayin'

[MrsBrady]

2. I can't. n/t

[Throd]

3. Imagine there's no Yoko....

[Throd]

4. then we would have only The Locust

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37GOdU-gUAw&feature=relmfu

[Taverner]

7. Yoko got a bad rap

Yes, she distanced John from Julian, but other than that, she was blameless...

In 'Let it Be' they show her as an omnipresent monster...

In reality, John begged her to come to the Beatles' sessions

She didn't want to go, but John made her, so she read magazines while waiting to go home...

[Maccagirl]

5. My life would suck more than it already does

and my youth would have been really boring.

[Taverner]

9. Macca and John changed the world. Whether some parties would accept that or not. nt

[MiddleFingerMom]

8. On the other hand, if there had never been a Ringo, we would never have had to deal with...

.
.
.
... Marilyn Manson and his ukelele.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skU-jBFzXl0
.
.
.
OMG, Hawn was HAWT!!!!!
.
.
.

[kentauros]

10. So, Les Paul had no influence on rock?

You're missing all sorts of musicians and their bands that came along before the Beatles. For all we know, rock would have evolved in such a way that Corporate Rock would have never existed because Iggy Pop and Brian Eno become popular instead :P

[Taverner]

11. Yes, but you have to admit there is a difference between pre-Beatles and post-Beatles

[kentauros]

12. Only if you listen to the Beatles.

I was never much of a fan, but I seriously doubt that the individual members wouldn't have found fame in some way. George Harrison alone probably would still have gone on to the kind of fortune he saw after the Beatles. Likely the same with Paul. Don't know about the others.

You're also leaving out the influence of jazz, including experimental jazz. Jimi Hendrix could have been influenced by them instead of the Beatles, too ;)

[Taverner]

13. Ah but Jimi Hendrix needed the Beatles to encourage him to do what he did...

Yes, he went above and beyond...but he admitted himself that the Beatles gave him inspiration...

[Taverner]

14. Let me add that Jimi @ Woodstock is pure Jimibliss....

[kentauros]

15. However,

you're asking us to imagine a world without the Beatles, so I am doing just that ;)

I'm figuring he'd have gotten his influence then from jazz and possibly musique concrete (avant garde music.)

One of my favorite guitarists, Caspar Brötzmann, has a rather famous free-jazz musician of a father, Peter Brötzmann. I'd say just from those two, that jazz can be a serious influence on a guitarist, and not just because they happen to be related :)

Caspar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghWncQCN-A4

Peter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=737wIJKfO3I

[kentauros]

16. Why?

If the Beatles hadn`t existed he`d have gotten his imfluence from someone else. I don`t know who, but it would have happened. You can`t stop talent, no matter the circumstances :)

(Did this on my Kindle, so forgive the typos, please.)

[frogmarch]

17. Imagine a world without Mrs. Miller singing

Beatles hits like "A Hard Days Night"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2wheSpxL94&feature=related

(gasp)

[Ishoutandscream2]

18. Thank God for the Beatles and the 1960s

And yes, they were and still are bigger than Jesus.

[Taverner]

19. +100

:thumbsup: