Were The Beatles inspired by Bach in some way?

Well. On a subjective level, yes, at least for me. While listening to their music I notice some Bach “patterns”. More specifically, I would say their music shares the simplicity and positivity of Bach’s music.

On a more objective way, definitely some of their melodies are truly inspired by Bach. For example, if you listen to In my Life, you’ll notice the beautiful keyboard melody is clearly inspired by The Well-Tempered Clavier (more specifically, by the fugue of BWV 846). Another example, the fanfare of Penny Lane is inspired by The Brandenburg Concertos (to be more precise, by the third part of the second concerto, BWV 1047). Just 2 examples but I guess many more could be found. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Image on the public domain, taken from Wikipedia).

 

(Image taken from Wikipedia, believed to be on the public domain).