The Chuck Taylor All Star Converse, first introduced to the public in 1949, is arguably the epitome of the “classic” shoe. This sneaker set the foundation of the shoe as versatile. It could be dressed up, dressed down and overworn without others batting an eye. What makes this shoe so timeless? Is it the black and white balance that matches anything worn above them? Is it the circular logo that has gone unchanged since its release? The shoe never goes out of style, and will live on regardless of the ebbs and flows of our trending material culture.
The 1940s: The decade that birthed the four English men that transformed music and continues to hold a grasp on our current generation. The Beatles, since their debut album “Please Please Me,” are the Chuck Taylor All Stars of the music industry.
Their debut studio album “Please Please Me” (1963) was recorded in a single day. This time frame of recording, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., affords the rawness of these tracks. A concoction of playfulness, grit and yearn, the album sets in stone the Beatles sound, which will remain sturdy through their evolution of genre and experimentation. The love song storytelling is concise and layered, with the energetic “I Saw Her Standing There,” to the sappy “Misery” back to back. The album’s hits lie in the upbeat, playful tracks, where listeners can Twist and Shout to the melodies. “Please Please Me” set the foundation for decades of refined sound that shaped the pop-rock industry.
The first ever converse shoe, tailored for the baseball player, was a rougher version of what we picture today. Soon, this dusty brown canvas shoe would evolve into a sleeker, stronger and popular everyday wear. “Please Please Me” was just the beginning for Paul, Ringo, John and George: a raw cut of their further potential in the music scene.
Their next album affirms this new potential, with clearer production and musical focus while maintaining similar call and response and layered vocal harmonies. The Motown / rock ‘n’ roll combination of “With the Beatles” (1963) mellows out the previous energetic one, while showcasing a versatility in the band’s potential.
Their sound kept a steady pace throughout the mid ’60s, with their release of the albums “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Beatles for Sale” and “Help!.” These three albums were the sounds of my household in the early 2000s, with my 6 year old self bopping my head over my cereal bowl reciting the lyrics to “Ticket to Ride,” looking over at my brother screaming “My baby don’t care!!” The beautiful “Yesterday” on “Help!” (the most streamed song in their discography up to this point in their releases) remains a classic ballad of hurt, yearn and loneliness.
What makes the Converse shoe so timeless? Maybe it’s the sturdy foundation of this sneaker: the rubber sole that gives the breathable canvas head a sturdy footing and a layer of support. Luckily for me, one of my favorite Beatles albums is their 1965 record “Rubber Soul” (it’s just too easy). The opening track “Drive My Car” transports me into the backseat of my dad’s old Toyota, struggling to crank the windows down on the highway to feel the track through the breeze. The second track, “Norwegian Wood,” adds a short folky snippet to the introduction of this record. This song, one of the most streamed on this album, has inspired many other forms of art such as Haruki Murakami’s nostalgic novel of love and loss titled, of course, “Norwegian Wood.”
The year of 1967 was big for the sound of The Beatles. With major drug influence within the recording process, the four released the psychedelic rock album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” It was not until my sophomore year of high school, driving through upstate New York with my dad, that I learned “Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds” was about LSD (my childhood was ruined that day, thanks Dad). This album also coined an iconic friendship phrase by singing about getting by (and high) with a little help from their friends.
The classic “The Beatles” 1968 album includes the iconic tracks “Blackbird,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” all contrasting in sound from one another but nonetheless major hits that are still played constantly today.
The last studio album recorded by The Beatles, and probably the most well-known, is “Abbey Road” (1969). This record is the laces of The Beatles, tying together all the years of sound, poetry, and performance into one perfect piece. This is where all elements and impacts of the Beatles on the industry of music “Come Together.” The most streamed Beatles song, “Here Comes the Sun,” instills a hope and light conveyed through written word and the song’s upbeat strumming pattern. Plus, what is the first day of spring without this song? “The End,” the last track on their last album, is the perfect departing bow. “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” The double knot in the laces that secures and encloses the Beatles’ impactful and eternal career.
Listen… Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Chucks will never leave! And neither will The Beatles.
