# What year was "Peak" Beatles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859 "2018-05-09T13:33:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/21 "2018-05-09T16:59:10Z")
I’m going to be the outlier and vote 1964. I was around for the Sullivan shows that broke the Beatles in America. Nothing was ever that big again, and I include the release of _Sgt. Peppers_, which is not their best album. WordMan probably has that right with _Rubber Soul_ and _Revolver_. (If “Strawberry Fields” and “Penny Lane” were actually on Pepper I might change my mind, but they were a separate single. But _Hard Day’s Night_ might be better yet…) They changed everything in 1964. They changed record buying. They changed the charts. (All five of the top five on Billboard! Nobody’s ever comes close.) They changed what rock movies could be. The \*Hard Day’s Night \*album was, in the English version, fourteen songs written by them, each a masterpiece for the day. They started the British invasion and caused the careers of a dozen other major acts because of their breakthrough. 1964 was the 10 on the Richter scale. All the other quakes, however large, were just aftershocks. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/22 "2018-05-09T17:14:06Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > I know it’s gauche to quote oneself, but as I was writing a reply to this I realized I had already made a similar point about a year ago in the [“Am I the only one to find Sgt. Pepper’s overrated?”](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=825294) thread: Ah, and I was even in that thread, too! Looks like I’m at least somewhat consistent from last year, calling it my #4 or #5 Beatles album, depending on the day you ask me. (_Hard Day’s Night_ being the album that sneaks into the #4 spot for me.) ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/23 "2018-05-09T17:20:25Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > 1964 was the 10 on the Richter scale. All the other quakes, however large, were just aftershocks. Yes, you could make that case. In 1964, The Beatles were a tree in a wood of saplings. By 1967, the musical landscape had changed and they were now in a forest of other, albeit smaller, trees. So while their tree may have grown taller, they were not, in relative terms, as pre-eminently conspicuous in the musical forest canopy. ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/24 "2018-05-09T18:04:13Z")
I wound up voting 1967 because of all the furor over _Sgt. Pepper_. But for me personally 1964 is almost as important, because the band’s first appearance on Ed Sullivan was a HUGE deal, even for a 9-year-old kid in small-town west Texas (the fact that my older sister was 13 then, and thus a prime candidate for Beatlemania, didn’t hurt either). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/25 "2018-05-09T18:23:51Z")
If I had to rank the years, they would go: 1. 1967 - Artistic and Commercial zenith. 2. 1964 - Beatlemania, when it was all fresh and exciting 3. 1966 - Artistic peak (though not really recognized as such until much later) 4. 1969 - The last peak 5. 1965 6. 1963 7. 1968 8. 1970 9. 1962 ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/26 "2018-05-09T18:52:51Z")
1968 with the White Album ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/27 "2018-05-09T21:25:23Z")
My favorite albums in order are Revolver, A Hard Day’s Night, With the Beatles, Sergeant Pepper, and Abbey Road. So I went with ‘66. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/28 "2018-05-09T21:38:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Tritto. Quadritto. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/29 "2018-05-09T22:07:49Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’m going to be the outlier and vote 1964. I was around for the Sullivan shows that broke the Beatles in America. Nothing was ever that big again, and I include the release of _Sgt. Peppers_, which is not their best album. WordMan probably has that right with _Rubber Soul_ and _Revolver_. (If “Strawberry Fields” and “Penny Lane” were actually on Pepper I might change my mind, but they were a separate single. But _Hard Day’s Night_ might be better yet…) > > They changed everything in 1964. They changed record buying. They changed the charts. (All five of the top five on Billboard! Nobody’s ever comes close.) They changed what rock movies could be. The \*Hard Day’s Night \*album was, in the English version, fourteen songs written by them, each a masterpiece for the day. They started the British invasion and caused the careers of a dozen other major acts because of their breakthrough. > > 1964 was the 10 on the Richter scale. All the other quakes, however large, were just aftershocks. I totally get this. Every now and then, I listen to _Please Please Me_, and it catches me in a "can you _imagine_ what it would be like for this being the first or second song you ever heard from the Beatles, new, when the context was Motown, Brill, and some Surf? I love that stuff, but man, _everything_ about that song is perfect. Then, when I realize I feel the same way about I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, and on and on, I mean, it’s just not fair. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/30 "2018-05-09T22:52:02Z")
I’ve got to go with 1967, although 1966 is close. I agree that Revolver is a great album, But I think Sgt Pepper represents their creative peak, even if the highs of Revolver soar higher. I believe there was more experimentation and innovation on Sgt. Pepper. But it’s really close. After 1967 there were flashes of greatness, but they were individual flashes. The Beatles as a coherent group working together clearly peaked in 1966/1967. ---
**Author:** ![bionic\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@bionic\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bionic_man)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/31 "2018-05-10T01:25:34Z")
I voted 1964 but their best album in my opinion was let it be…i think their tours with all their screaming fan"s(mostly teenage girls)is what they are remembered for. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/32 "2018-05-10T07:53:16Z")
If I could only listen to one Beatles album the rest of my life, I’d choose _Revolver_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/33 "2018-05-10T11:43:15Z")
I have two people who said they voted 1964, but only one vote for 1964… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/34 "2018-05-10T23:20:53Z")
I was always a White Album man myself, but you can’t deny that Sgt. Pepper was the peak for those boys. Lennon was driving around in a psychedelic painted Rolls Royce, McCartney was dropping acid on TeeVee, Harrison taught America what a sitar was and Ringo was still in the band! Peak! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/35 "2018-05-11T05:19:54Z")
Gonna have to agree with \*\*Exapno \*\*- peak Beatlemania was peak Beatles. But then I’m not a huge fan, so am not going by when they released which album. ---
**Author:** ![Skinnybones\_Lampshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skinnybones_lampshade/32/2872_2.png) [@Skinnybones\_Lampshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skinnybones_Lampshade)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/36 "2018-05-13T00:50:50Z")
For me, their whole career was the peak: Isn’t it unique that one group could have so many artistic and cultural accomplishments that people like us, some 50 years after the events in question, would be engaged in a lively discussion about which of at least six of their nine great years was the greatest? So little time, so much joy. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/37 "2018-05-13T02:16:21Z")
Semi-related trivia: The album “1” was the best-selling album of the decade (2000-2009) worldwide. So, even 30+ years after whatever “peak” you choose, they were still the toppermost of the poppermost. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/38 "2018-05-14T03:23:43Z")
I believe that George Martin said that to him, Revolver and Sgt Pepper were together one long album. I think those two were the peak Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/39 "2018-05-14T11:35:31Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’m going to be the outlier and vote 1964. I was around for the Sullivan shows that broke the Beatles in America. Nothing was ever that big again, and I include the release of _Sgt. Peppers_, which is not their best album. WordMan probably has that right with _Rubber Soul_ and _Revolver_. (If “Strawberry Fields” and “Penny Lane” were actually on Pepper I might change my mind, but they were a separate single. But _Hard Day’s Night_ might be better yet…) Fair enough — but we’re not going for ‘album’, but for ‘year’, right? So I figure ‘67 is everything on _Sgt Pepper’s_ plus the Double-A-Side of _Penny Lane_ and _Strawberry Fields Forever_. I figure ‘67 is everything on _Sgt Pepper’s_ plus stuff ranging from _Hello, Goodbye_ to _All You Need Is Love_. I figure ‘67 is _Sgt Pepper’s_ plus One Too Many Songs For Me To Handwave Away. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859/40 "2018-05-14T11:54:27Z")
I choose 1967 because that was the year they released Sgt Pepper, an album that revolutionized pop music and separated the Beatles forever from all the other long haired British pop groups that wanted to ride their coattails. Surprising to me, however, is that Abbey Road, released in 1969, was actually their #1 album in sales. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-year-was-peak-beatles/813859.md?page=3)