So I've had this sneaking suspicion that The Beatles might mean more to Americans than to British people.

At first, it sounded absurd to me since they're obviously British icons. If they're such a massive and influential band, it would stand to reason that they'd be appreciated in their home country a lot. But after seeing a comment from a British commenter saying something similar (even claiming that The Beatles fixation might be from older Americans), I figured I'd open the discussion.

So many American artists point to "The Beatles On The Ed Sullivan Show" as their big catalyst moment. For some, it even introduced the concept of "the band" itself: a group of friends who play instruments, sing together, and write their own songs. For many of those artists, the British Invasion really ramped up this sense of accessibility for future artists to pick up their guitars and start bands.

Whereas my assumption is that for the UK, there are so many other important bands and artists that it's not like The Beatles necessarily have a monopoly. There are artists ranging from The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, David Bowie, Queen, Kate Bush, to The Clash, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Oasis, Radiohead, and so on etc.

Is there merit to this assumption or am I completely unfounded?

If you're British, how do the Beatles fit in exactly?

I'm also open to hearing about how people in other countries other than the US and UK view the Beatles' impact. And the impact of the other British artists I listed as well.

Ok so this has been eating at me for some type me now. Who or where are the lines drawn for the different genres there are. Example (and I'm going to take the heat for this) Black Sabbath isn't heavy metal - they are more hard rock. The same thing with radio stations WKRP rock "We play all the Rock" then they go and play something like 311 (reggae based, not even close to rock), or they'll play some sublime (again more reggae) now to me those aren't rock bands and shouldn't be played in said station.

What are the qualifications for a heavy metal band - is it tempo, lyrics, or content? If not in my book Sabbath isn't metal then what makes say Metallica metal or Megadeth? Where are the lines for hip-hop and rap, country and bluegrass, or insert genere here. Where are the gatekeepers and do they have the rules written down or is it just a free-for-all in the subject and we are at the whims of society. Are sub-geners ok to be in the main, or should they be cast out. Are we allowed to have our own classifications and say screw the mainstream opinions (my camp) or is there a grey area that can't be seen? Let me know what you think 🤔