The four members of the group, all born in Liverpool, were (James) Paul McCartney (b. June 18, 1942), John (Winston) Lennon (b. Oct. 9, 1940--d. Dec. 8,1980, New York City), George Harrison (b. Feb. 25, 1943), and Ringo Starr (original name Richard Starkey, b. July 7, 1940). Each came from a working-classbackground, and all had had experience in various other rock groups before they started performing together. The group began in the pairing of McCartney andLennon in 1956, joined by Harrison in 1957; the three (along with one member who died in 1962 and another who was later replaced by Starr) adopted the namethe Beatles in 1960, performing at clubs in Liverpool and in Hamburg, which served as a proving ground for popular musicians of the period. In 1962 the group,under the management of Brian Epstein, signed a recording contract and recruited Starr from another band. The subsequent commercial release (1962-63) of suchsongs as "Love Me Do," "Please Please Me," "She Loves You," and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" made them the most popular rock group in England, and early in1964 what soon came to be called "Beatlemania" struck the United States.
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