25 most memorable moments in Beatles history

The birth of the Beatles took place on July 6, 1957 on the grounds of a church ground in Liverpool. That's when Paul McCartney, who was 15 at the time, met at a 16-year-old John Lennon. Lennon was performing with his band, the Querrymen. The story goes that one of the band members was a classmate of McCartney's and took him back stage to meet the rest of group. 

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The Beatles signed on to record label Parlophone and started working on their first record in 1962. Then drummer Pete Best was fired from the band because he just couldn't cut it, and Ringo Starr was brought in in August 1962.

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On October 5,1962, the Beatles release "Love Me Do," their first ever single The song (it's b-side, by the way, was "P.S. I Love You") entered the U.K. charts, peaking at 17. 

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On March 22, 1963, Parlophone released "Please Please Me," the band's first album. It featured 14 tracks, eight of which were originally written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  

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"Meet the Beatles!," the band's sophomore effort, was released on January 20, 1964. The record, which featured iconic tracks like "I Want to Hold Your hand and the George Harrison-penned "Don't Bother Me," reached number one in the United States. 

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On February 7, 1964, the Beatles arrived at JFK airport in New York City for their first ever American visit. Thousands of fans greeted the band upon their arrival, which signaled what many consider to be the start of the "British Invasion."

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The Beatles made their American television debut on February 9, 1964, by appearing on "The Sullivan Show" for three episodes straight. An estimated 73 million people tuned in to watch the Fab Four. Among the songs performed were "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and "All My Loving."

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On July 6, 1964, seven years to the date Lennon and McCartney first met each other, United Artists released "A Hard Day's Night," the first of three films the studio would make with the band (the other two being "Help!" and "The Yellow Submarine"). The film and the accompanying record of the same name were both commercially successful. 

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On August 28, 1964, the Beatles meet Bob Dylan for the first time at the Delmonico Hotel in New York City. It's long believed that the band smoked weed and got high for the first time thanks to that meeting with Dylan. Within a year of that meeting, Dylan, known exclusively as a folksinger, would go electric. As per the Beatles, their music became a lot more experimental. 

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On August 15, 1965, the Beatles played for more than 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in Queens, N.Y. The concert was one of the biggest shows ever in terms of crowd size at the time. 

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On December 3, 1965, "Rubber Soul, "the band's sixth record, is released. It sells more than 1.2 million copies in the first day. Beyond its  massive commercial success, "Rubber Soul" is often considered to be one of the greatest records of all time. It's influence was so great that Brian Wilson, the creative genius behind the Beach Boys, made "Pet Sounds" – arguably the best record ever made – as a response to "Rubber Soul."

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The Beatles followed up "Rubber Soul"" with "Revolver," released on August 5, 1966. The record is yet another musical jump forward for the band thanks in large part to their incorporation of sounds achievable only through technology. Many critics have placed "Revolver" on top of their "best Beatles albums" lists. 

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It's not entirely clear when John Lennon first met Yoko Ono, the avant-garde artist that would later become his wife and, according to many fans, be the reason why the band split up– though the most commonly told version of the story is that Lennon attended one of Ono's art openings in November 1966. Lennon allegedly hated most of Ono's work. The two would correspond, and Lennon eventually left his wife for Ono in late 1968. 

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In August of 1966, teen magazine Datebook ran a cover quoting John Lennon as saying that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." Lennon did say that, though he did it in March 1966 to the London Evening Standard and there was no backlash then. Evangelical Christians staged mass burnings of Beatles records, and even the Vatican denounced Lennon. He would later apologize, most likely begrudgingly, wondering if the band would have received the same hate if he had said television instead of the Beatles. 

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On August 29, 1966, the Beatles played their last concert as a band at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Contrary to their show at Shea Stadium, Candlestick was halfway empty due in large part to Lennon's "more popular than Jesus" comment. 

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Remember how "Rubber Soul" inspired Brian Wilson to make"Pet Sounds?" Yeah, well, "Pet Sounds" inspired the Beatles to make "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Released on June 1, 1967, "Sgt. Pepper" is easily the band's most recognized album thanks in large parts to tracks like "When I'm Sixty-Four," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," and "With A Little Help From My Friends."

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In February 1968, the band traveled to India to study and meditate with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The spiritual trip was short lived, though the trip did inspire at least two songs – "Dear Prudence" (inspired by Prudence Farrow, Mia Farrow's sister, both of whom joined the band on the trip) and "Sexy Sadie" (inspired by the Maharishi's penchant for giving extra attention to his young female apostles). 

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On November 22, 1968, the band releases "The Beatles," their ninth studio record better known as "The White Album." Many of the songs featured on the double album were written during the aforementioned transcendental meditation retreat. 

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The Beatles album that inspired the most obnoxious rock-and-roll-related trend, "Abbey Road" was released on September 26, 1969. This was truly the beginning of the end for the band; just six days prior to the release, John Lennon had said he was planning on quitting. This would be the last time the Beatles would record together.

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On April 10, 1970, Paul McCartney announces via a press release that he is quitting the Beatles. The statement was sent to British journalist, along with copies of "McCartney," his first solo album. The record and the letter are both released a month before the Beatles' final album, much the chagrin of McCartney's fellow bandmates. 

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On May 8, 1970, the Beatles release "Let It Be," their twelfth and final studio album. Recording began before they put out "Abbey Road," and Lennon was either not present or mentally checked out during the process. At one point, George Harrison quit but came back. The band had an accompanying "making of" documentary of the same name, which highlighted just how fraught relationships among the Beatles had truly gotten.

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On December 8, 1980, John Lennon is shot and killed outside New York City's Dakota – his apartment building – by Mark David Chapman. Thousands of fans hold a vigil in remembrance of Lennon. 

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The Beatles are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 20, 1988. Of the remaining living Beatles, only George Harrison and Ringo Starr were present for the induction. McCartney skipped the ceremony entirely due to legal disputes still ongoing with the remainder of the band.

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On November 29, 2001, George Harrison dies in a friend's home after cancer in his lung spreads to his brain. He was 58-years-old. 

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In November 2010, Apple announced that they had reached an agreement to put the Beatles entire music catalog on iTunes. Five years later, during the 2015 Christmas season, their music became available on every streaming platform, ensuring that their legacy lives on. 

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