Michael Stipes’ controversial comments about the Fab Four
In a 1992 Rolling Stone interview, David Fricke asked Stipe if he was in any way influenced by 1960s bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Stipe replied “The Beatles were elevator music in my lifetime. ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy (I’ve Got Love in My Tummy)’ had more impact on me.” The fact that Stipe cared more about a widely hated song by Ohio Express than the Fab Four’s catalog upset many fans.
Stipe did recall some of the details of his exposure to the Beatles. He remembered how, when he was a child, a man named Mr. Pemberton who owned a record store would give him and his sister singles which did not sell. Pemberton gave Stipe singles by the Beatles, Tammy Wynette, and Elvis Presley. If Stipe still has those singles, they might be collectors items.
Stipe did care about one of the bands inspired by Beatlemania: the Monkees. According to Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture, Stipe said the Monkees mattered much more to him than the Fab Four. He said the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” was his favorite song as a child and remained a guilty pleasure. Stipe even cited the Monkees as a musical influence. Given that the Fab Four inspired the Monkees, Stipe did take some influence from the Beatles, just not directly.
same here. and the pinnacle for me were the jackson five and the osmonds. yep, loved bubblegum. archies and all. then i discovered albums and bought yes fragile. so here i am, i skipped the beatles too. except in the grocery store muzak tapes.
my mind doesnt have too much trouble with it. excellence is a marriage of skills and circumstances, time and space. the beatles were like some of my favorite doctors. they not only had decent skills and instinct, they had access to state of the art studios, etc. they were able to take their pencil sketches and turn them into dazzling technicolor motion pictures. thus SgtPLHCB
IOW, its not a matter of the beatles being the ONLY ones who could have done that, they just happened to be prepared for opportunity - the key to every success.