The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band that formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era. Rooted in skiffle, beat and
1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelic and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania", but as the group's music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era's sociocultural revolutions.

The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act and producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. They acquired the nickname "the Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market. From 1965 onwards, the Beatles produced what many consider their finest material, including the innovative and widely influential albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (commonly known as the White Album, 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). After their break-up in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr, the surviving members, remain musically active.

According to the RIAA, the Beatles are the best-selling music artists in the United States, with 178 million certified units. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act. In 2008, the group topped Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful "Hot 100" artists; as of 2015, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with twenty. They have received ten Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. Collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the twentieth century's 100 most influential people, they are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide.

You can get further information here: http://www.thebeatles.com/

The most common songs are: 

The Who

The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964. Their classic line-up consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, selling over 100 million records worldwide and establishing their reputation equally on live shows and studio work.

The Who developed from an earlier group, the Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements, featuring auto-destructive art by destroying guitars and drums on stage. Their first single as the Who, "I Can't Explain", reached the UK top ten, followed by a string of singles including "My Generation", "Substitute" and "Happy Jack". In 1967, they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and released the US top ten single "I Can See for Miles", while touring extensively. The group's fourth album, 1969's rock opera Tommy, included the single "Pinball Wizard" and was a critical and commercial success. Live appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight Festival, along with the live album Live at Leeds, cemented their reputation as a respected rock act. With their success came increased pressure on lead songwriter and visionary Townshend, and the follow-up to Tommy, Lifehouse, was abandoned. Songs from the project made up 1971's Who's Next, which included the hit "Won't Get Fooled Again". The group released the album Quadrophenia  in 1973 as a celebration of their mod roots, and oversaw the film adaptation of Tommy in 1975. They continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at the end of 1976. The release of Who Are You in 1978 was overshadowed by the death of Moon shortly after.

Kenney Jones replaced Moon and the group resumed activity, releasing a film adaptation of Quadrophenia and the retrospective documentary The Kids Are Alright. After Townshend became weary of touring, the group split in 1982. The Who occasionally re-formed for live appearances such as Live Aid in 1985, a 25th anniversary tour in 1989 and a tour of Quadrophenia in 1996. They resumed regular touring in 1999, with drummer Zak Starkey. After Entwistle's death in 2002, plans for a new album were abandoned. Townshend and Daltrey continued as the Who, releasing Endless Wire in 2006, and continued to play live regularly.

The Who's major contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall stack, large PA systems, use of the synthesizer, Entwistle and Moon's lead playing styles, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by several hard rock, punk rock and mod bands, and their songs still receive regular exposure.

These are the most important of their songs:

And this is their web site: http://thewho.com/

Change and break-up

Daltrey took a break in 1980 to work on the film McVicar, in which he took the lead role of bank robber John McVicar. The soundtrack album is a Daltrey solo album featuring members of the Who, and was his most successful solo release.

The Who released two studio albums with Jones as drummer, Fas¡ce Dances (1981) and It's Hard (1982). Face Dancesproduced a US top 20 and UK top ten hit with the single "You Better You Bet", whose video was one of the first shown on MTV. Both Face Dances and It's Hard sold well and the latter received a five-star review in Rolling Stone. The single "Eminence Front" from It's Hard was a hit, and became a regular at live shows.

By this time Townshend had fallen into depression, wondering if he was no longer a visionary. He was again at odds with Daltrey and Entwistle, who merely wanted to tour and play hits and thought Townshend had saved his best songs for his solo album,Empty Glass (1980). Jones' drumming style was very different from Moon's and this drew criticism within the band. Townshend briefly became addicted to heroin before cleaning up early in 1982.

Townshend spent part of 1983 writing material for a studio album owed to Warner Bros. Records from a contract in 1980, but Townshend found himself unable and at the end of 1983 paid for himself and Jones to be released from the contract. He focused on solo albums such as White City: A Novel (1985), The Iron Man, (1989, featuring Daltrey and Entwistle and two songs credited to the Who), and Psychoderelict (1993). Townshend wanted the Who to stop touring and become a studio act; Entwistle threatened to quit, saying, "I don't intend to get off the road ... there's not much I can do about it except hope they change their minds." Townshend did not change his mind, and so the Who embarked on a farewell tour of the US and Canada with the Clash as support, ending in Toronto on 17 December.