In the eyes of many, The Beatles are one of the most influential groups of the 20th century. They have influenced me in my daily life as have so many great musicians over the last 50 years. This fact alone makes it difficult to imagine that they were influenced by anyone else. By doing some research, I discovered various artists who influenced them from the beginning to the very end of their careers. In the following paragraphs, I will share with you some of the artists I thought were most influential in the Beatles' extremely successful career and why I thought they were so influential. In their youth, the Beatles were avid followers of early forms of Rock and Roll. Skiffle was a form of music popular in post-war Britain in the 1950s, a mixture of folk, country and blues. Ringo Star Richard Starkey actually started his own group in 1957, known as The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group. This form of music seemed to be the beginning of Ringo and the rest of the Beatles' love of music. While John Lennon was at Liverpool College of Arts, he began to hate the conformity around him. His distaste for conformity led John to seek asylum in Rock and Roll. Paul McCartney's love of music began at an early age thanks to his multi-talented musician father who had his own band. Finally, George Harrison's admiration for rock came to him in the form of a revelation. One day, when Harrison, 13 or 14 at the time, was riding his bike around his neighborhood, he heard Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" playing from a nearby house. George was amazed and captivated by his first meeting with Elvis. The Beatles found influence for their music through many artists, but the earliest influence for most of the Beatles was...... middle of paper ...... here many inspirations throughout their 10 years together as a band, they wouldn't be considered one of the most influential bands of all time like they are today. Works CitedBuskin, Richard. “The influence of Elvis Presley on John Lennon.” John Lennon. HowStuffWorks.com, July 3, 2007. Web. April 13, 2014. Hall, Russell. “The Making of John Lennon: Eight People Who Profoundly Influenced the Late Beatle as a Songwriter.” The Making of John Lennon: Eight People Who Profoundly Influenced the Late Beatle as a Songwriter. Gibson, May 21, 2010. web. April 19, 2014.Tranquillo, Armando. “Chapter 2: Pioneers of Rock and Roll.” The Beatles: a magical historical tour. Miami: Songs of the Big Toe, 2012. . Print.Miles, Barry. Paul McCartney: Many years from now. New York: H. Holt, 1997. Print. Very good, Jason. Harrison by the editors of Rolling Stone. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. Print.