It's 1960, on a hot summer night, you hear a girl screaming, then another and another, you start to cry but tears of joy, as the lights start to go out they come on, one look and it's the Beatles. The Beatles were such an important band in the late 1950s and early 1960s because they played a key role in establishing the core attributes of the embryonic counterculture. The Beatles had a drastic impact on 1960s teen culture, changed the music industry, birthed the hippie movement, and later sparked the rise of the human rights movement. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Beatles' Unique Role in Cultural and Musical Change The Beatles were important because they not only had a major influence on popular culture but defined the music of the time. Rock 'n' Roll music had a great attraction for teenagers all over the world. The Beatles had a profound influence on America, changing the music industry forever. Writer Rudolf Helc writes about how for many young people, music has become a way of expressing themselves and the music of the Beatles helped them express their feelings. The Beatles took on the role of rock music revolutionaries through their original music that spoke of love, peace and a freedom that went against what older generations believed. Their music gave hope to those struggling against the pressures of the Cold War, the Vietnam War and racial discrimination. The Beatles not only influenced the music industry, but also influenced the social and cultural revolution for teenagers in the 1960s. The hippie movement protested against the war in Vietnam, which began in the early 1960s. Thousands of young men refused to join the army, many left their homes and lived in communities with other teenagers where they wanted to live in peace. Writer Adam Wojtanek delves into how the Beatles' views changed American teenagers in the 1960s and their way of thinking. Hippies were, in a sense, followers of the Beat generation. They rebelled against their parents' traditional values. The Beatles didn't just play good music or introduce new fashions from England, they brought new ideas that changed the world. They brought new awareness and many socio-political and political changes to the United States. The Beatles professed ideas of peace, love, civil rights, gay rights and freedom, which is what all hippies believed in. Many parents didn't believe in what the younger generations were doing, there was a huge age gap (baby boomers) which sparked a difference in how parents and teenagers behaved in the 60's. The Beatles were more than just music. They have influenced the lives of millions of people and their way of thinking. They were one of the first and most popular groups to fight segregation. For the first time ever, the Beatles made this first concert tour in the United States, where they played in Jacksonville. They discovered that their concert was segregated and refused to play for a segregated audience. Writer Bruce Mirken writes about how the Beatles were one of the most popular bands of the time to speak out and change the way people in America treated each other. The Beatles weren't afraid to speak out about what they believed in, they believed segregation was a horrible thing. The Beatles said: "We never play to segregated audiences and we won't start now", their beliefs aroused some.