Will society ever go hysterical over a celebrity again?

[MikeyPatriot]

Whenever I watch old clips of Elvis and the Beatles, it amazes me how nuts everyone was over them. You mostly remember the clips of girls screaming and crying with excitement, but it definitely encompassed all young people of both genders. When I try to think of examples of artists that come close to that level of popularity in the past 20 years, I think of N'SYNC/Backstreet Boys, Nirvana/Green Day, and Michael Jackson, but I don't feel like any of them come close to what Elvis and the Beatles did (I think MJ probably comes closest).

So, have I missed anyone? Do you think something like the popularity of the Beatles/Elvis could happen again?

[Klompy]

I think the only way it could happen is if someone came out with a completely new brand of music that they had to their self. The problem is that there'd be like 4 clones of whoever it is after they started to gain even mild success. This kills the potential for the superstar.

[Rootabager]

I heard this was one of the reasons the beatles stopped touring.

I dont think it will ever happen again. Beatles at one time had the top 5 chart songs at the same time.

I think also in that year they accounted for 51% of all music sold.

I cant see that ever happening again.

[benza13]

[ QUOTE ]
I heard this was one of the reasons the beatles stopped touring.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Beatles did stop touring because of their fans and the noise they created, but this was related to the poor quality of speakers at the time, as the speakers were drowned out by crowd noise, which could never happen today. I believe they later toured again when speakers had improved, although I am unsure about this or whether they stopped touring once again.


Harry Potter is a good example of a media phenomenon today that garners similar levels of attention. The cheers aren't quite the same, but many people would not miss a premier and the opportunity to dress up.

[NNNNOOOOONAN]

Brad Pitt? didn't he just get "attacked" by a crazed fan that hugged him and wouldn't let go and there were thousands of people there?

[MikeyPatriot]

Totally forgot about NKOTB. I think them >>> NSYNC/BSB, but I still don't know if it compares to the Beatles/Elvis (especially since they primarily drew females only).

HP is a good example, but I'm more looking for individuals or groups that garner that much attention. People don't swarm airports when JK Rowling visits the states, nor does a majority of Americans tune into to Letterman or Leno when Daniel Radcliffe is the guest.

Maybe I shouldn't restrict things to individuals or groups though.

[Klompy]

[ QUOTE ]
People don't swarm airports when JK Rowling visits the states, nor does a majority of Americans tune into to Letterman or Leno when Daniel Radcliffe is the guest.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who?

[JackInDaCrak]

According to someone I believe, girls would get so excited over the Beatles that the ones close to the stage would cum in their pants and leave wet spots on the seats.

[esad]

Part of the reason we'll never really see this again is because of overexposure. Today, there are endless TV shows, videos, interviews, etc.

Back when the Beatles did Ed Sullivan they had hardly been seen by most people in America. Their music had become popular but nobody had really gotten a good look at them in the states. Plus, back then if you wanted to see the Beatles perform you had to go to the concert. It's not like there were a gazillion live versions of their songs on MTV1,2,3 and whatever.

We give people too much of want they today and now everyone gets sick of anything new very quickly.

That and talentless PR and Marketing wienies run most of the music labels and are just trying to cash in as soon and often as possible. New groups don't show up on MTV because they're good, they get played because they made some sweet three way deal between Viacom, Clear Channel and Disney.

[gusmahler]

[ QUOTE ]
The Beatles did stop touring because of their fans and the noise they created, but this was related to the poor quality of speakers at the time, as the speakers were drowned out by crowd noise, which could never happen today. I believe they later toured again when speakers had improved, although I am unsure about this or whether they stopped touring once again.


[/ QUOTE ]The Beatles stopped touring in 1966. There were a couple of reasons for this. One, as you mentioned, the speakers were not capable of overpowering the crowd. Thus, nobody, not even the Beatles on stage, could hear them. They often played out of tune or off key simply because they couldn't hear the rest of the band.

And two, there music was getting more and more complicated and couldn't be replicated on stage. From August 1966 until January 29, 1969, they never performed in public. On January 30, they performed on the rooftop of Apple Studios during lunch time. They never bothered getting a permit for this, so the police forced them to stop.