In Which WeMeet the Leading Players of Our Story

So, who were the Beatles? Even newbies most likely know the names of the band members: John, Paul, George, and Ringo. They probably also know that the Beatles were from Liverpool, England. But a Beatle fan should know a little more background info about who the band members were before they became the Fab Four.

John Winston Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, at Liverpool's Oxford Street Maternity Hospital to Alfred and Julia Lennon. Alf was a merchant seaman, and his frequent absences meant that the couple's marriage eventually foundered. In 1945, Julia gave birth to another man's child (the baby, a girl, was put up for adoption), and by 1946 she'd moved in with John "Bobby" Dykins, with whom she had two more daughters, Julia and Jacqui. At age five, John was asked who he wished to live with, his father or his mother, an agonizing choice no child should be forced to make. John chose to stay with his mother. But Julia was unable to get a divorce from Alf and legally marry Bobby. So her sister Mary Smith, known as Mimi, was able to wrest John away, insisting that he live with her and her husband, George, to spare John the indignity of being raised by a woman "living in sin."

Julia was forced to agree, but was able to see John on a regular basis as he grew up (though he would not see his father again until 1964). When John was bitten by the rock `n' roll bug in 1956, it was Julia who bought him his first guitar. Julia also taught him to play the instrument, teaching him banjo chords, as that was the instrument she knew how to play. John then started his own group, the Quarrymen. Unlike his aunt Mimi, Julia encouraged John's interest in music. He was devastated by her death on July 15, 1958, when she was hit by a car while walking to the bus stop, after a visit with Mimi.

James Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942, at Walton Hospital in Liverpool to James and Mary McCartney; he would always be known by his middle name, Paul. James was a cotton salesman, while Mary worked as a nurse and midwife. James also had a keen interest in music, playing piano and trumpet, and had been the leader of a semi-pro dance band, initially called the Masked Melody Makers and later Jim Mac's Jazz Band. When Paul became interested in music, his father first gave him a trumpet, but as rock `n' roll became a greater interest, Paul traded it in for a guitar.

The family grew to four when Peter Michael McCartney (like Paul, known by his middle name, Mike) was born in 1944. But the happy home was shattered when Mary died of breast cancer on October 31, 1956. Paul worked out his grief by spending more time practicing guitar. The following July he was taken to a church fair by his friend Ivan Vaughan to see a band whose members Ivan was friendly with — the Quarrymen.

George Harrison was born to Harold and Louise Harrison at the family's home, 12 Arnold Grove, in Liverpool, on February 25, 1944 (there's some confusion over the date of his birth; a report later stated that "family records" indicated he was born on February 24, but his birth certificate, as well as the recollections of family members and his second wife, Olivia, confirm that it was the 25). George was the youngest of four siblings: Louise, Harry, and Peter. His father worked as a ship's steward, but gave up life at sea to become a bus driver; his mother worked as a shop assistant. The family was close; of the four Beatles, George family's was the only one to have no disruptions. Like John and Paul, when he discovered rock `n' roll he was anxious to get a guitar. His mother gave him the money to buy his first guitar, and later helped him buy his first electric guitar. His first (short-lived) band was the Rebels, who only played a single show. He soon found another position with the Les Stewart Quartet, and regularly played with other musicians as well. One of those other musicians was Paul, who attended the same school as George. In 1958, Paul, now a member of the Quarrymen, started bringing George to the band's shows, and George eventually became a member of the band himself.

Ringo Starr was born Richard "Ritchie" Starkey on July 7, 1940, at the home of his parents, Richard and Elsie Starkey, at 9 Madryn Street, in the Dingle, one of Liverpool's poorest neighborhoods. Richard worked as a baker, and after the couple's divorce (when Ritchie was three), Elsie returned to her former occupation, tending bar in neighborhood pubs. When he was six, a burst appendix sent Ritchie to the hospital for several months; at age 13 he developed pleurisy and spent a further two years in the hospital. His education suffered, but it was during his second stay in the hospital that he first played drums, as part of a hospital band organized to occupy the young patients.

Ritchie's mother married Harry Graves in 1953, and he helped Ritchie get a job as an apprentice at a company that made gymnasium equipment. When rock `n' roll hit the UK, Ritchie and a fellow apprentice founded the Eddie Miles Band, later renamed the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, in 1957. His stepfather bought him his first (secondhand) drum kit; when his paternal grandfather helped him buy a brand new kit in 1959, he moved into one of Liverpool's top acts, the Raving Texans, soon renamed Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Ritchie's penchant for wearing jewelry led to the nickname "Rings," which then became "Ringo" — and then "Ringo Starr," so that his solo spots during the Hurricanes' sets could be called "Ringo Starr-time." Ringo was still playing with Rory Storm in 1962 when he was asked to join the band the Quarrymen had become: the Beatles.

The Band That Became The Beatles

The Beatles had their roots in John Lennon's skiffle group the Quarrymen, "skiffle" being a lively blend of jazz, blues, and American folk music. It was George Lee, a fellow student with John at Quarry Bank High School, who first suggested they start a skiffle group with another student, Eric Griffiths, who, like John, played guitar. John liked the idea, but decided to form his group with Griffiths, not Lee, later inviting Quarry Bank students Rod Davis and Bill Smith to join on banjo and washtub bass, respectively. John's best friend, Pete Shotton, was drafted in to play washboard (an "instrument" played by strumming the washboard with thimble-capped fingers).

The group was initially known as the Blackjacks for about a week; some accounts say there was already a band in Liverpool with the same name, while the book John Lennon: The Life says John's friend Pete Shotton suggested a name change to something "more in tune with the skiffling ethos of hoboes and chain gangs." Either way, the Quarrymen was a reasonable choice, given that the band's founding members all attended Quarry Bank; the school anthem, "Song of the Quarry," also features the lines "Quarrymen, old before our birth/straining muscle and sinew."

As is typical of many bands, there were various lineup changes during the early days. Smith soon stopped showing up for rehearsals, so John simply took the washtub bass from Smith's garage one day, and the role of bassist passed between Quarry Bank student Nigel Whalley (who later took over as the group's manager), Ivan Vaughan, and eventually Len Garry, both of whom attended another local high school, the Liverpool Institute. Rod and Eric also managed to rustle up a drummer, asking a friend of theirs, Colin Hanton, if he'd join the...