The Beatles—What else is there to say about the most successful and influential rock band of all time? Frankly, it seems everything about The Beatles has been said, and to say more is seemingly just adding a whack to an already busted piñata. Talking about The Beatles’ impact on popular music is like talking about the wheel’s impact on transportation and logistics. In other words, The Beatles are just that important.
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The question isn’t “Who was influenced by The Beatles?” Rather, it’s “Who wasn’t influenced by The Beatles?” Trying to escape the sonic inspiration of The Beatles is like trying to escape water during a hurricane; it’s nearly impossible. That being said, a good deal of musicians in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and so on have been deeply influenced by the Fab Four, including the Swedish pop duo ABBA.
The Beatles Could Do It All, So ABBA Wanted to as Well
One of the most illuminating characteristics of The Beatles is their diversity. They went from teenie-boppers to rock ‘n’ rollers, then from psychedlic scientists to bona fide epic legends. They did it all, and their sound and likeness were never the same. Sonically speaking, there are only a few musicians and bands to accomplish such a feat. ABBA tried, and to some, accomplished that very feat.
The Beatles and ABBA don’t seemingly have a ton in common on the surface. However, pulling inspiration from another doesn’t strictly mean apparent similarities. Instead, it simply means that a part of the prior lives in the present. With that in mind, this is how The Beatles influenced ABBA and motivated them to diversify their sound.
Talking with Record Collector, Benny Andersson stated, “They were always with their style in a way, much more than we were, but what they did was, you heard a song with them, then the next single was nothing close to the previous one, or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth.” “So, you have ‘Fernando,’ you want a song like ‘Dancing Queen’ or ‘My Mama Said,’ or whatever on that album, to give it some listening value,” added Andersson.
So, yeah, there you go, the Swedish pop group is just another example of how The Beatles’ influence arguably exists in every piece of pop and rock music made since their formidable and illustrious career ended. Will music ever escape The Beatles’ influence? To us, hopefully, not.