1966 was the year of change. You could see it in the faces of the Beatles. Out with the clean-shaven faces, in with the facial hair. Out with the shades, in with the granny glasses. Out with the (moderately) short hair, in with the longer hair. Three out of four of the Beatles were now married (John to Cynthia, Ringo to Maureen, and George to Pattie), the other having a steady girlfriend. The clothes started to get somewhat abnormal for those days. Their music to a big change. It was during one of their tours that year that John made his infamous remark about the Beatles being more popular than Jesus. The reaction to this was inhumane. Beatle record burnings, riots--it was terrible. John's remark to this was ''I'm not saying that we're better, or greater, or comparing us to Jesus Christ as a person, or God as a thing, or whatever it is...I said what I said, and it was wrong". But perhaps the most memorable, yet, saddest thing that happened in 1966 to the Beatles was that they gave their last live concert as a group. They were entirely sick and tired of not being able to hear themselves, the long, ENDLESS tours.....everything. John said later on that "I hated all the social things. All the horrible events and presentations we had to go through. All false. You could see right through them and all the people there. I despised them." Their last performance was on August 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California....the last stop of their last tour ever. They were now on to the Studio Years.

By the time Revolver was released in 1966, everyone knew for sure that the Beatles had stepped into something new. The question as far as the fans were concerned was: was it a step up or a step down (as silly a question as it may seem now)? They had not had a number one in the US and Britain for a while (the only number one they had in the US in 1966 was "We Can Wok It Out"). The again, Revolver had a completely different atmospere from the other albums (including Rubber Soul). George was certainly developing his writing skills(as heard in "Taxman"), as were the other Beatles(as heard in "Eleanor Rigby"). The immortal "Tomorrow Never Knows" was a sound that no one had ever heard. The drumming, the lyrics, the voice....it was magnificent. "Yellow Submarine" was a questionable song. It was a very strange tune, with Ringo singing and many sound effects. It wasn't about love, it wasn't about hate, it was about.....well.....all living in a yellow submarine. But then again, being different was GOOD. The melody was impossible to get out of your head, and some people thought that this song was a result of their drug use (which isn't true. Paul came up with the tune one night when he was half-asleep). Had the Beatles taken a step up or a step down? Tomorrow never knows.....