Trivia question – What is the date that The Beatles become The Beatles even before they were called“The Beatles?”

Wellthat’s up for interpretationbut here’s my take with a little descending wayback timeline.

August 181962 – Ringo officially joins The Beatles. This is the final lineup that would take the world by storm. Andthis is where the lads actually say when The Beatles really became The Beatles.

August 171960 – The “Silver Beetles” change their name to “The Beatles.”

May 51960 – John’s bandThe Quarrymen change their name to the “Silver Beetles.”

February 61958 – Paul’s friendGeorge is invited to join The Quarrymen.

July 20th1957 – Paul is invited to join The Quarrymen. For methis is the answer to the question. It’s only second in importance to February 91964, and if you don’t know that datewellsee the 2025 Beatle Anthology below to get up to speed on your Beatle history!

July 61957 – The Quarrymen play at St. Peter’s Church garden in Liverpool where John and Paul meet for the first time.

On December 31965The Beatles release their sixth studio albumRubber Soul accompanied by their double A singles release of  We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper also released on the same day. In the playlist this weekI feature Rubber Soul including two outtakes from their just released The Beatles Anthology 4, and the singles releases. Note- This Anthology 4 link is the entire new release on YouTube.

Here is also the link to the 2025 The Beatles Anthology on Disney+. I loved every minute of this nine episode series just released on Thanksgiving where that evening I got two episodes in before I passed out from a food and pie coma.

In listening to Rubber Soul this past weekI (like millions of fans) think of it as the first “progressive middle” album from their previous five. In 1966Revolver is the second middle leap forward that is often described as “transformative” if not revolutionary to the world of rock ‘n’ roll.

From Rubber Soul and RevolverThe Beatles would make six more incredible albums that would cement their legacy as the best band of any genre for all-time. 

My 1975 Perspective

Rubber Soul is released in 1965and ten years later I’m in the dorms as a junior in college at San Diego State. As mentioned in earlier postsI become fast friends with Mark Hunter as we are still very close friends to this day. We both bond over many thingsbut music is definitely in the top two of subjects.  We would endlessly talk about music and listen to records together in our college years together.

Guys on the floor would often gather in my door room and we would have discussions about all kinds of stuff. One dayMark and I are in my room with several other people in our 1st floor wing and we start talking about The Beatles.

One guy on our floora real alpha malewould often make subjective proclamations to the groupwhere many of us would shake our heads and then proceed to debate. On one occasionhe says and I paraphrase 50 years later that“The Beatles were a great band untilRubber Souland that they just got worse and worse with every album after.” WellMark and I nearly fell on the floor in disbeliefand laughter. We then proceded to point outit was just the opposite.

For this guyit seems that life stopped after 1965and was saying the 1975 version of MAGAthat let’s just make The Beatles great again. I say this because I was starting to experience more people with different political views and how that could even bleed into music. For exampleI began to understand why people in the South burned Beatle records after John’s 1966 comment that culturallyThe Beatles were more popular than Jesus.

College was such a wonderful learning experienceand I’m not talking about the classes I took. I was meeting new people and having stimulating conversations. Back in the dayyou could have a discussion where a group of people could come together from all backgrounds and come to a consensus that one could believe in Jesus and Science at the same time.

My 2025 Perspective

In Rubber Souleven though the majority of Beatle songs are still about boy-girl themesthose relationships are getting a bit more maturewhich of course leads to romantic complications spelled out in these 1965 songs.

I think the only song that doesn’t hold up in 2025 is Run for Your Lifea jealous-misogynistic song from John with the dreadful line“I’d rather see you deadlittle girlthan to be with another man,” but totally accepted 60 years ago. The Rolling Stones would follow in 1966 with their own male-dominance dittyUnder My Thumb – “Under my thumb is a squirmin’ dog who’s just had her day” and “It’s down to meyes it is / The way she does just what she’s told.”

In factRun for Your Life has a wonderful melody and Under My Thumb has such a catchy beatthat it’s hard not to be tapping my feet to those songs. I can image my unaware 10 year-old boy self saying“Everybody sing-a-long now”…”Catch you with another man / That’s the endahlittle girl.” 

ActuallyThe Beatles music is continually maturing in 1965 absorbing American soul and folk music to make their own“Rubber Soul” if you will. John Lennon’s Nowhere Man and In My Life are such big leaps forward from the band’s past pop standards. From Beatlemania as a cultural phenomenon to individual young peoplekids like my friends and me would continue to evolve with their band to a more world conscious view in the second half of the 1960’sthat would change us all.

Enjoy my Rubber Soul playlist my friends.

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