The Beatles: Today . . . and Tomorrow

The Beatles played an important role in the lives of many young people in the second decade of the 21st century. Whether exposed to the Beatles through parents, grandparents, or popular culture, they had not experienced the Fab Four as part of some distant past but as part of their own childhood and growing up. Many colleges and universities now expose students to the Beatles through academic study, making the group an important part of these students’ experience. This chapter illustrates the ways these students have connected with the music of the Beatles and discovered how it can help them cope with and better understand their own lives. As they continue to pass along their love and knowledge of the group, the Beatles’ relevance and popularity will not decline anytime soon. Evidence from online listening and music subscription services reinforce the idea that the Beatles and their music will continue to live on.