People who love music often envision their lives accompanied by a continuously playing musical soundtrack. It there were a soundtrack of the 1960s, it would be the exuberant, distinctive, Innovative sound of the Beatles. The unsettling, skeptical, and exciting period we call the Sixties actually began In 1963. The era .was launched by two landmark events — the assassination ot John F. Kennedy and the emergence of the Beatles.

The death of JFK swiftly ended the nation's calm optimism, the deceptively carefree feeling that all was right with the world. The yoang, it particular, felt a distinct loss of leadership and of direction. They also had feH a crumbling of taste and values In the music to which they were listening. The void was filled by a British rock 'n' roll band. Just as most people can remember exactly what they were doing when Kennedy was killed, many can also remember the first time they heard the Beatles. Host people learned about them in stages. First was the TV news coverage of a strange phenomenon called Beatlemania that was occurring in England. Four odd-looking rock 'n' roll guys In outrageous mop-tops and pointed high-heel boots were creating a sensation, surpassing the hysteria that gripped pop music fans of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. And then came the first song — "I Want To Hold Your Hand." Many beard It the way all great rock classics probably should first be heard — on an AM car radio. For some, the first reaction was skepticism. Many didn't see where they were doing anything much different from what they had heard before. In particular, there were distinct five-year-old echos of Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. And then came the Beatles' official launching — the first of several appearances on the Ed Sullivan show. From that moment there was no stopping the juggernaut. In the 1950s and 1960s, Ed Sullivan was the great equalizer. His Sunday night television variety show was something teen-agers and parents could sit down and watch together. In colleges throughout the country, dormitory lounges were jammed with students, crowded around black-and-white TV sets. And when Sullivan introduced the quartet on Feb. 9, 1964, reactions ranged from silent shock, the beginnings of adulation, nervous laughter (have you ever SEEN such hair!), to puzzlement. Older people, in particular, looked on bemused and slightly afraid.

America was beginning to fall victim to one of the most ingenously organized and operated publicity campaigns In entertainment history. It was the brainchild of a thenunknown promoter named Brian Epstein, the manager of the Beatles. But as brilliant as it was, the campaign only got the Beatles in the door. It was the group's own talent and wit and originality that took them to the top and kept them there. Before the Beatles launched their international careers that Sunday night, the first age of rock was in its death throes. The raw energy and originality of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry had given way to weak, BEATLES IN HEY-DAY— TheBeatles, from left, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, get together for a watered-down miiktoast rock music. The record industry was in trouble. Many predicted the death of rock.

The No. 1 record In the country the year before the Beatles was Jimmy Gilmer's "Sugar Shack," pabulum that summed up the depths the music had reached. Only the beginnings of Motown — tb« jupremes, Martha and the Vandellas, and the Temptations — brought any semblance of excitement and originality to the music scene. The Beatles first were seen and heard as a group. It would be several months before the widely varying personalities of the Fab Four would develop followings. It was a classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. But eventually we learned that the handsome lad with big eyes. *ho played his bass guitar left-handed, was Paul McCartney, one of the two key songwriters In the band. His vocals ranged from Little Richard sound-a-likes, to melodious ballad offerings. His writing partner was a more astute fellow named John Lennon. He played rhythm guitar and shared the lead singing chores. Eventually people could tell which voice was which; John's was a bit thin, slightly adenoidal, but always strident and white-rock soulful. The best early tunes featured dual harmony vocals by Lennon and McCartney. Lead guitarist George Harrison was the most threatening looking in the quartet. He had a thin, slightly pockmarked face, and his hair always seemed to have the portrait at the beginning of their career as one of the world's most successful rock groups in this 1964 photo roughest edges. His guitar playing was equally lean and threatening, but his singing was nondescript and not especially appealing. He also was a slow achiever, but he eventually developed into an interesting, under-used songwriter.

And then there was Ringo. Everyone loved Ringo Starr. The group's drummer was a jovial, unassuming chap. There was a tendency to dismiss his drumming as pedestrian at the beginning, but listeners eventually saw his talent for simplicity and rhythm. The group also would tailor occasional songs for Ringo — usually rock or rockabilly classics that didn't require much range. In fact, it's not stretching things to talk about the four Beatles in terms of the .classic four elements. Paul McCartney was "water," George Harrison was "air," Ringo Starr was "earth." And John Lennon? He was "fire." In retrospect, the seven-year Beatle era seemed to fly by in a rush. But the group's impact on musiCj art, and lifestyle developed gradually. Eventually their-lnfluence created a way of life — from the superficial exterior sign of longer hair, to the more important consciousness-raising and self-searching philosophies of the day. The group was a major impetus in the tremendous increases in personal freedom among the young — a freedom manifested by the sexual revolution and the drug culture. The next big surprise was the Beatles' first movie, "A Hard Day's Night.' .. Directed by Richard Lester In a madcap, cinema vertte fashion, the film chronicled a day In the life of the Beatles. It was far, far superior to any previous rock V roll film. Most

Importantly, the Beatles showed originality and Improvement with every record. The music got better and better They also were a major Influence on other musicians The Intelligence of Beatle lyrics, for example, convinced folk artists like the Byrds, and, more Importantly, Bob Dylan, that they could meld their messages to rock. The Beatles also made rock 'n' roll an International music — paving the way for virtual waves of musical groups making the transatlantic crossing. The group's first songs, "Please Please Me" and "She Loves You," were simple, straight-ahead rockers, though "She Loves You" had a spectacular rave-on chorus of "Yeah, yeah, yeah." But within two years, Lennon and McCartney were writing things like "And I Love Her," the first in a succession of great oft-recorded ballads, and "Can't Buy Me Love," with its unusual rock melody. In the rocker "I Feel Fine," the long opening twa-a-a-ang featured Lennon employing the first use of guitar feedback In music history. The purposeful use of what previously had been considered a mistake — the overampllflcatlon of the electronic guitar sound — became a rock trademark for years to come. The following year brought the single most popular Beatle song of all time, "Yesterday." The many recordings of that ballad would have been enough alone to support Lennon and McCartney for life. The song was another breakthrough, because a string quartet was employed to support the ballad. It wasn't the first use of strings in rock music (The Drifters had done that several years earlier), but it was a interesting expansion of the known Beatle concept. It also marked the growing Influence of their musical producer, George Martin, who arranged many of the orchestrations. Growth continued as the music became more sophisticated. At the end of 1965, the Beatles released "Rubber Soul," the first of a landmark triumvirate of albums. It was followed by "Revolver" and the shattering "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." In each successive album, the Beatles had pushed the boundaries of rock and pop music unimaginable distances.

At the time, Sgt. Pepper seemed the most Important. Indeed, its release in June 1967 was a watershed day In rock history. The Beatles had stopped touring, and had decided to make their mark totally in the recording studio. Sgt. Pepper was the result of that sort of thinking, an amazing collection of songs and sounds and sensations, the keystone of the psychedelic period. The album also launched the era of intensely produced concept albums that has stayed with the Industry to this day. In such cases, the musicians spend months upon months in the studio, perfecting the recordings, and constructing thematic ties among the various songs. An album as current as Bruce Springsteen's "The River" was produced following techniques pioneered