Imagine you are driving down a road and a Beatles song comes on the radio. The song takes you back to the days of the civil rights movement. A time when the power of the Ku Klux Klan, racial prejudice and segregation controlled the lives of many individuals. The song tells a story and implores the listener to stand up for what is right and end the war on race. It gives you a sense of empowerment to change the world. This is what the Beatles did back when they were performing together. The Beatles contributed to the civil rights movement with their concerts, songs and lifestyle. The Beatles were a boy band formed in Liverpool, England (1963 A New Civil War Raging); the group consisted of John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The Beatles were a pop rock group formed in 1960. Their music influenced many people all over the world, having several number one singles and selling many number one albums. The Beatles influenced the likes of Oasis, Pink Floyd, The Byrds and many other artists and bands. The Beatles were together for a short time after only 10 years together. Although the Beatles had broken up, they had come to America in 1964, just 11 weeks after the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. On February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their first appearance on American television on the Ed Sullivan Show. This episode of The Ed Sullivan Show had an audience of 73 million views (Wikipedia). The Beatles were very unpopular with adults and newspapers (1963 A New Civil War Raging). Even though adults and newspapers hated the Beatles, teenagers and young adults were very popular and had already booked concerts to tour America......middle of newspaper......both in the music industry and around the world. history of the civil rights movement. Works Cited 1963 A new civil war rages. October 25, 1993. April 25, 2014. Black Bird. May 2, 2014. Mirken, Bruce. 1964 Civil rights and the Beatles. April 23, 2014. Oberiam, Sky. The Beatles said there was no way to separate the audience. September 19, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2014. Sullivan, Jim. The Beatles' American invasion. January 1, 2014. May 1, 2014. When the Beatles fought for the civil rights movement. September 20, 2011. May 1 2014 .