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'Che Gamecock I love The Beatles —yeah, yeah, yeah It was 37 years ago when The Beatles first landed on the shores of the United States and began their conquest of the world. Conquer the world they did, with 27 No. 1 singles and millions of Ann Marie Miani adoring fans, is managing editor John, Paul, andean George and be reached at n • gamecockviewpoints ^in§° were @hotmaii.com. introduced to America on reo. wnen iney iirsi appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Seventy-three million people watched The Beatles that night, and it was the beginning of not only Beatlemania, but also of the British Invasion. For the rest of the 1960s, they would rule the pop charts and change the face of music.They were barely out of their teens. It all began that night in February, when John belted out “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The audience screamed, and hundreds of thousands of girls across the country fell in love with the Fab Four and picked their favorite “mop top” to worship. Dili noi me. i wasn i even a twinkle in my father’s eye when The Beatles invaded America. My Mom and Dad were still in high school and hadn’t even met. My love for The Beatles and other groups from that era came from my father’s love of music. When I was growing up, he was the lead singer of The 8th Day, a band that covered 1950s and 1960s music. I learned the words to the songs and sang along like any good daughter would. He even would bring me onstage and sing “Brown Eyed Girl” to me. Aside from my father’s shows, it was mostly at home where we would listen to bands such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones. Either during dinner or while he was preparing breakfast, we would put on an album and listen to the masters of rock ‘n’ roll at work. When I was young, I liked the early Beatles’ work, the songs that had made girls fall in love with them 20 years earlier. “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Love Me Do,” “She Loves You” and “Yesterday” were some of my favorite tunes. At that time, I didn’t understand songs like “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and “I Am the Walrus.” They weren’t the simple, sweet love songs I expected from John and r>_i a am. As I got older, I began to see the meaning behind the songs I didn’t understand as a young girl. “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” are about places in Liverpool. “I Am the Walrus” is based on the poem “The Carpenter and The Walrus;” John mixed up the characters, not realizing the Walrus was the bad guy. And “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” is based on a picture young Julian Lennon had drawn. But for the most part, I was alone in my attraction to groups like The Beatles. Many of my friends questioned why I would rather listen to my father’s oldies albums than the latest Ace of Base single. But on Nov. 19, 1995, things began to change. With the release of The Beatles Anthology, a three part documentary, three double-disc albums and a book, The Beatles were making a comeback. The Beatles Anthology made old fans remember and created a whole new legion of listeners. It was also the first time in 25 years that there was new Beatles’ material: “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.” The band also entered the MTV generation by releasing videos for the new singles. Then on Nov. 14, 2000, The Beatles did the impossible — they topped the charts 30 years after the band broke up. They spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts with the release of 1, an album with the band’s 27 No. 1 singles. Finally, people my own age, who weren’t even bom when The Beatles broke up, were buying Beatles albums. People or all ages were buying 1, either to rediscover their past or discover a whole new future. With 1, The Beatles solidified their position as the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band. And why is this? Because good music stands the test of time. The music John, Paul, George and Ringo created more than 30 years ago is timeless. They proved that you can relate to their songs, whether you heard them in 1964 or 2000, because most of them had messages of love, understanding and caring. It’s been a long and winding road for the three surviving Beatles — Paul, who’s getting remarried; George, who’s being treated for cancer; and Ringo, who’s going on tour with his new All-Starr Band this summer. Even John, who was murdered 21 years ago, won a Grammy in 2001 for a long-form music video, “Gimme Some Truth — The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album.” So what’s in store for The Beatles in the new millennium? One can only “Imagine.” The Washington Post THE SIFT THAT KEEPS ON (5IVIN6 Letters Schools officials need to be held accountable To the Editor: One cannot help but wonder if ab ject ignorance has permeated school districts presided over by superinten dents who want to squander taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits, in an at tempt to try and convince the judicia ry that it should substitute its judgment for that of the legislature, where the state school accountability law is con cerned. subject to specinc constitutional limitations, when the legislature has spoken, the public interest has been de clared in terms well nigh conclusive. The legislature, not the judiciary, is the main guardian of the public needs and public policy, where accountability stan dards for schools are concerned. It is well established that the judi ciary may not inquire into the wisdom or lack of wisdom of a legislative act. It is the legislature, and not the judiciary, which is the proper branch to make such quintessential policy decisions. While superintendents are free to disagree with the legislature’s policy choices, as a matter of personal opin ion, they are not free to substitute their own questionable judgment for that of the legislature’s, as a matter of law. TInHpr thp S r Cnnctitn»;r.n. . General Assembly can enact general laws, such as the state school ac countability law. Autonomous taxing authority is a distinct issue from the is sue of accountability requirements. Ob fuscation serves no one. The public should rightfully expect both accountability to high standards and fiscal discipline, simultaneously. No one benefits by holding school of ficials to low standards. Little wonder the general public has such little faith in school officials these days. Charles R. Mosteller Attorney at Law, Greer, S.C. 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