The Beatles

The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—formed in Liverpool in 1960 and became the defining cultural force of the 20th century. Their 1964 arrival in America sparked the "British Invasion" and permanently altered the landscape of popular music. Between 1964 and 1969, they released 20 number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100—more than any other act. Albums including "Revolver" (1966), "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967)—widely considered the greatest album ever made—"Abbey Road" (1969), and "Let It Be" (1970) pushed the boundaries of studio recording and lyrical sophistication. "Sgt. Pepper's" won the first Grammy for Album of the Year awarded to a rock record. In November 2023, "Now and Then"—completed using AI to restore a 1978 Lennon demo—debuted at number one in the UK, making The Beatles the only act to have number-one singles in six consecutive decades. They have sold an estimated 800 million records globally, the most of any music act in history, and their catalog continues to accumulate over a billion streams annually.