John Lennon Said These 1958 Songs Were Better Than Anything By The Beatles

Even though he was one of the Beatles' main songwriters, John Lennon never hid his admiration for the artists who shaped his youth. In several interviews, he stated that some songs released in 1958 had an energy and authenticity that surpassed even many recordings made by the Beatles. Among Lennon's most admired songs were American rock and roll hits that directly influenced the band's formation in Liverpool. The musician especially highlighted recordings by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, artists who served as models for the British generation of the 1960s. Lennon believed that songs like "Johnny B. Goode", "That'll Be the Day" and other classics from that period carried a revolutionary force that completely changed the history of popular music. For him, those records were so impactful that they often seemed superior to what the Beatles themselves had later achieved. The former Beatle used to say that without these 1958 recordings the Beatles simply wouldn't exist. More than musical references, they represented the foundation on which the entire cultural revolution of the following decade was built.