Emerging out of the Liverpool, England, rock scene of the 1950s, the Beatles became the most successful and best known band of the twentieth century. In 1956, a Liverpool local named John Lennon formed the Quarrymen. At one of their first performances, John met another guitarist, Paul McCartney. The two hit it off immediately: Paul was impressed by John's energetic performance, and John was impressed that Paul knew how to tune a guitar, knew more than three chords, and could memorize lyrics. John and Paul developed a close friendship based on their enthusiasm for rock'n'roll, their ambition to go "to the toppermost of the poppermost," and a creative rivalry which drove them to constant improvement and experimentation. The pair soon recruited Paul's friend George Harrison to play lead guitar and nabbed a friend of John's, Stu Sutcliffe, to play the bass (though he did not know how...