The members, all born in Liverpool, were John Lennon (1940-1980, rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (1942-..., bass, vocals), George Harrison (1943-..., lead guitar, vocals), and Ringo Starr (formerly Richard Starkey, 1940-..., drums). Using songs written largely by Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles dominated rock music and pop culture in the 1960s. The Beatles gained early experience in Liverpool and Hamburg, West Germany. They had a top-30 hit with their first record, Love Me Do 1962, followed by Please Please Me which reached number two. Every subsequent single and album released until 1967 reached number one in the UK charts. At the peak of Beatlemania they starred in two films, A Hard Day's Night 1964 and Help! 1965, and provided songs for the animated film Yellow Submarine 1968. Their ballad Yesterday 1965 was covered by 1,186 different performers in the first ten years. The album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967, recorded on two four-track machines, anticipated subsequent technological developments. The Beatles were the first British group to challenge the US dominance of rock and roll, and continued to influence popular music beyond their break-up in 1970. Of the 30 songs most frequently broadcast in the USA 1955-91, 13 were written by members of the Beatles. They pursued separate careers with varying success. George Harrison's biggest hit, My Sweet Lord 1970, fell victim to a plagiarism suit. His album Cloud Nine 1987 was particularly well received, and in 1988 he became a member of the Traveling Wilburys, a group that also includes Bob Dylan. Ringo Starr has appeared in a number of films, and his album Ringo 1973 came close to being a Beatles reunion. See separate entries for John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
