(Credits: Far Out / Apple Corps / Asylum Records)
Sun 18 January 2026 18:00, UK
The Beatles are frequently celebrated as some of the best songwriters in the world, and given their music still resonates with listeners today, that feels like a fair assessment.
Each member had their own unique style, and these styles came together in a way that resulted in some of the most beautiful songs ever written, which is all well and good, having musicians who think alike and complement one another, but what you really want are minds that differ enough to push their counterparts to the limit while keeping some form of cohesion. This is what The Beatles had (for a select period of time, anyway).
John Lennon and Paul McCartney didn’t think alike when it came to putting music together, quite the opposite. They had different approaches to writing songs, wanted to touch upon varying themes, and this meant that when one of the duo hit a creative wall, the other walked in with a sledgehammer and a penchant to knock it down.
The result is, without question, some truly great tracks, because, whether you’re listening to the band at the start of their career or near the end, you’ll come across songs that make you want to dance, cry, and tell someone you love them. This is hardly a hot take either, it’s a pretty well-established rule around the world, as music lovers everywhere, despite six decades passing, still have a lot of time for The Beatles.
Graham Nash put it best when he was talking about their song ‘A Day In The Life’, as not only did he call it one of their most adventurous tracks, he also said that it was proof the universe brought those four boys from Liverpool together.
“I don’t think there’ll ever be another Beatles; I think that the universe put those four kids in the right place at the right time and gave them the right talent to be able to move the hearts, minds and spirits of billions of people, and continue to this day,” he said. “With all due respect, within this Western scale of music, there’s what? Twelve notes? Are you kidding me? The Beatles were unbelievable, and I think we all knew it.”
Of course, it wasn’t just The Beatles’ songwriting ability that led to them becoming one of the most famous bands in the world, it was also their musicianship, since they didn’t just know how to write amazing tracks, but they could play them in a way that separated them from any other musical outfit at the time. Years spent playing in Liverpool, then in Germany, had raised their live show to the highest calibre.
You can hear their quality as musicians best when you listen to the covers that they did. Sure, they were excellent songwriters, but that didn’t mean there was no time to pay homage to some of their favourite artists every now and then. Chuck Berry, The Miracles, and Carl Perkins, all of them received The Beatles treatment, and for the most part, the band could hold their own. However, there was one artist with such a captivating sound that even the Fab Four fell foul of his standards, as Don Henley pointed out one cover that the band couldn’t hold a candle to.
“Buck Owens was actually born in my home state of Texas in a small town called Sherman, Texas,” said the Eagles singer. “He is primarily known and associated with the Bakersfield sound, Bakersfield, California. But he was born in Texas. One of his biggest hits was a song called ‘Act Naturally’ that was actually covered by The Beatles. Ringo Starr sang that song, and you know, that was a good version. But Buck’s version is my favourite.”
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