Van LTE+ allLTET11:01 R*TIME - 3 HRSClass -XCLASS - 101) The Beatles not only sparked the British invasion of the US, they became a globallyInfluential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the United States had dominatedpopular entertainment culture through most countries of the world, via Hollywoodmovies, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and rollthat first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee.Many artists have acknowledged The Beatles' Influence and enjoyed chat successwith covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival mark the beginning of a new era; in1968 the program director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his Dis fromplaying any "free Beatles music, marking the defining line of what would beconsidered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album assomething more than just a few hits stuffed with "filler", and they were primaryinnovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which theyopened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55600 people, thenthe largest audience in concert history, Spitz describes the event as a "majorbreakthrough.... a giant step towards resetting the concert business. Emulation oftheir clothing and especially their halrstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, hada global impact on fashionThe Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced itsrole in their lives From what began as the Beatlemanla fad, the group's popularitygrew into what was seen as an embodiment of socio-cultural movements of thedecade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, they became a catalyst for activism invarious social and political Arenas, fuelling movements such as women's Uberation,gay liberation and environmentalism.According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in1966, The Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began arigorous effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness".​