The Beatles

Another success story for the internet and its “long tail”! Back in the 1960’s there was an obscure British pop band called The Beatles. Critics loved them, but fans never really caught on, especially in America, where teen music lovers said “we’re perfectly happy with Bobby Rydell, but thanks for your interest” (they didn’t say this metaphorically, they actually said it – there was a t-shirt and everything.) So it wasn’t until the band got its own video game a few months ago that these Beatles finally won over the mainstream.

And now that they’re here, man, they’re everywhere! I thought it was time to learn more about the group and their biggest hit, “Revolution 9.” And the Wikipedia article on “Revolution 9”, to borrow a Beatles phrase, didn’t let me down:

At over eight minutes, it is the longest track on the album, as well as the longest Beatles track ever officially released, excluding the unreleased track “Carnival of Light”

Maybe back in the 60’s people weren’t sure if an unreleased song could be the longest released song in a band’s catalog. Just imagine how big the Beatles might have been if Wikipedia had been around to clear up things like this!