E X T E N S I O ROCK GROUPS C N U2 definitely acquired the status of one of the greatest bands in rock history after the album ACHTUNG BABY, and with the Zooropa tour they were considered by most music fans and critics the heirs of The Rolling Stones who have been able to gather stadium-wide audiences at any concert in a long lasting career. Of course many rock bands had a great impact on music fans throughout the last forty years and it would be very difficult to choose and list the most representative. Here are four groups that through a very different music style, represent the spirit of rock music. The Beatles The four boys from Liverpool, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, revolutionized the music industry and touched the lives of all who heard them. From 1964 they literally dominated the music scene with countless hits that became standard pop-songs all over the world. Yesterday, Hey Jude, Help, Let It Be are just a few examples of titles we are all familiar with. Even though they split up in 1970 their supremacy as rock icons remains unchallenged to this day. The Beatles set up the prototype for the self-contained rock group that wrote and performed its own material. As composers, their craft1 and melodic inventiveness were second to none. As singers, both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were among the best and most expressive vocalists in rock. As performers, they were exciting and photogenic. The influence they had on teenagers was so massive that a new youth culture based on enthusiasm for pop singers, hedonism and love songs was established. Unfortunately the fabulous four (as they were nicknamed) today are only two, because George Harrison died of cancer in 2001, and John Lennon was murdered in 1980 by a fan who had gone mad after John had declared he wanted to stop making music. The Beatles records contained ageless melodies and immediately accessible lyrical messages that continue to captivate new generations of listeners. Moreover they continue to be covered and quoted by rock and pop artists through the present day. X 1. craft: skill. 66