John, Paul, George and Ringo, collectively, The Beatles, made the world go round… and not just the world of music.

The Beatles have revolutionized the music industry with their captivating songs, inspiring many musicians to also reach greater heights.

Here are some things you might not have known about the Beatles.

1. The Beatles were first called The Quarrymen.
John Lennon was the founding member of the Beatles. Way before the world knew them as The Beatles, a teenage Lennon kickstarted a band named The Quarrymen way back in March 1956. The Quarrymen was The Beatles' original name!
John then met Paul McCartney in July of the same year, which paved the way for Paul to become The Quarrymen's second vocalist and rhythm guitarist.
In February of 1958, the group needed a new guitarist and Paul suggested they audition George. Lennon was not thrilled, as he didn't want a 14-year-old kid in his band. But he agreed to give him a chance, and an audition was organized.

2. Prior to reaching superstardom, Paul McCartney worked as an electrician, a field in which he later admitted to being "hopeless" at.

3. The Beatles' original bass guitarist came up with the band's name.
Stuart Sutcliffe was the band's very first bassist, and he joined the band in January 1960.
He suggested naming themselves after an insect, like Buddy Holly and the Crickets, which led the band to be named The Beatles.
Before they finally settled on The Beatles in August 1960, they had gone through several alternatives, such as Beatals, The Silver Beetles, and Silver Beatles.

4. Twenty Beatles singles reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Some of the band's 20 singles that reached first place on the Billboard Hot 100 are "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Come Together," and "Let It Be."
As of 2024, the Beatles have achieved more number-one hits than any other artist. Mariah Carey ranks number two with nineteen hits, and Rihanna ranks third with fourteen.

5. "Yesterday" is the most covered song of all time!

6. Bands that resembled The Beatles were called "Beatlesque".
Simply put, Beatlesque is a word that best describes bands that followed in the footsteps of the famous English band.

7. The Beatles participated in five films.
Those five films were Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, Help!, Let It Be, and A Hard Day's Night.

8. Pete Best is known as the first drummer of The Beatles.
What most fans don't know, though, is that two session drummers actually played drums for the band before Pete: Tommy Moore and Norman Chapman.
Pete ended up playing for the band from 1960 to 1962. He ultimately left because George Martin wasn't satisfied with his skills.
This led to Brian Epstein, the band's manager, replacing Pete with Ringo Starr, who became the permanent drummer of The Beatles. However, even Ringo got replaced occasionally for different reasons too.

9. "Hey Jude" was written by Paul McCartney for Lennon's son.
Titled "Hey Jules" at first, the iconic song was dedicated to Julian, Lennon's son, after Lennon left his wife for artist Yoko Ono from Japan.
Paul was the only one who wrote the song. However, due to the Lennon-McCartney partnership, he had to share the credit for "Hey Jude" with John.
The song was an instant success, ranking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 29, 1968, for nine weeks in a row. No other song would top this until 1977.

10. Fans threw jelly beans at the band at one of their concerts.

11. John Lennon claimed The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
John’s statement then led to protests against the band across the US, along with records being burned and radio stations refusing to play their songs.
Also, little did John know that his comment about religion would eventually lead to his passing. Mark Chapman, who was a Christian Beatles fan, admitted that it was one of the reasons why he took John's life away.

12. Decca Records rejected The Beatles in 1962.
According to Beatles manager Brian Epstein, a Decca executive said that "guitar groups are on their way out."

13. "Love Me Do" was the Beatles' first true hit.
The song was released on October 5, 1962, and eventually reached the 17th spot in the UK Charts and and number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

14. Ringo Starr wasn't able to play in The Beatles' 1964 world tour.
The day before The Beatles were set to begin their tour, Ringo collapsed with tonsillitis and pharyngitis and had no choice but to stay behind in England and rest up.

15. The Beatles met Elvis Presley in 1965.
The Beatles got to finally meet their idol on August 27, 1965. Unfortunately, there are no photos or recordings of the meeting, as the band didn't want the press to be involved.

16. The Beatles broke the record for the highest-attended concert in 1965.
On August 15, 1965, The Beatles performed at a sold-out concert in New York City's Shea Stadium.
It was one of the most unforgettable live performances of the band, as the concert had more than 55,000 fans in attendance!
Eight years later, their record was broken by Led Zeppelin, who performed on May 5, 1973, in front of 56,800 fans.

17. Ringo Starr was the first Beatle to release a solo album.
Sadly, Sentimental Journey, Ringo's first album, didn't amount to much.

18. The Beatles' final official concert was held in San Francisco in 1966.
Their final show was a bit of a flop, with 7,000 seats left unsold. This was largely the result of Lennon's "more popular than Jesus" claims.

19. The band had an impromptu final concert at Apple Corps in 1969.

20. John Lennon considered the death of Beatles' longtime manager Brian Epstein as the beginning of the end for the group.

21. In 2008, the Catholic Church forgave John Lennon for his provocative statement in 1966 that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." The official Vatican newspaper stated that "after so many years, it sounds merely like the boasting of an English working-class lad struggling to cope with unexpected success."

22. Pete Best's stepbrother made a Beatles museum.
It was built on July 13, 2018, in Liverpool, where everything started – and where other Beatles museums are located.
The museum is also referred to as the "Magical Beatles Museum," which contains numerous authentic personal items of the band members, such as Paul's bass speaker, Lennon's customized egg chair, and even gifts from Elvis Presley!

Sources
Wikipedia - More popular than Jesus / Ultimate Classic Rock / SFGate / Huff Post / Penn State University / Wikipedia - The Beatles / Wikipedia - Hey Jude / Frieze / Daily Mail / Culture Sonar / BBC / Wikipedia - Beatles Museum / Far Out / Wikipedia - Decca audition / Showbiz Cheat Sheet / The Collector / NME / Wikipedia - Beatles in India / Billboard / Wikipedia - Beatles Rooftop Concert / The Fact Site