The Beatles were no doubt a special band that influenced generations of musicians and consistently do so to this day. However, they weren’t so special that they didn’t take inspiration from other musicians. All of The Beatles’ members have cited Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, and Little Richard as major influences. Though that was primarily in their early career, one band that influenced them later in their career was The Who.
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The Who and The Beatles walked side-by-side in the 60s. Their music certainly had a lot of similarities, and consequently, they shared a lot of the same fans. That being said, McCartney publicly praised The Who and also acknowledged that they inspired The Beatles’ heavy metal-esque track, “Helter Skelter”—one of the Fab Four’s most beloved, and controversial tracks of their career.
How the Loud and Proud Band the Who Struck McCartney With Inspiration
“Helter Skelter” is without a doubt The Beatles’ most violent, loud, and rambunctious tune in their catalog. As a matter of fact, many people attribute this song to being the start of the heavy metal genre. However, the idea for it wasn’t totally crafted out of the blank space of Paul McCartney’s mind. Rather, Pete Townshend and The Who had a major role in the crafting of the song.
Regarding the influence The Who had on McCartney, he once said that he was fond of how rambunctious they were.
“Umm, that came about just ‘cuz I’d read a review of a record which said, ‘And this group really got us wild, there’s echo on everything, they’re screaming their heads off,’” said McCartney of “Helter Skelter” and The Who per Beatleswiki. “And I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, it’d be great to do one. Pity they’ve done it. Must be great— really screaming record.’ And then I heard their record and it was quite straight, and it was very sort of sophisticated.”
Given The Who’s violent sound, McCartney felt the desire to let loose and do the same.
“‘Oh well, we’ll do one like that, then,’” McCartney divulged. “And I had this song called ‘Helter Skelter’ which is just a ridiculous song. So we did it like that, ‘cuz I like noise.”
Up to this point, Paul McCartney as a composer had always been tight and clean-cut. I’m not saying his music wasn’t groovy, but everything was seemingly air-tight and was put into practice for a very deliberate reason. However, it seems The Who made McCartney and The Beatles break this mold, as “Helter Skelter” is about the most free-flowing and chaotic songs of all time.
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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