In 2020, This Rock Legend Ranked The Beatles Alongside Two of History’s Greatest Cultural Giants

Paul David Hewson, more popularly known as Bono, is a polarizing figure, often known for his larger-than-life persona that others perceive as arrogant. While some may argue he’s just a misunderstood figure, others may prefer to call him too self-absorbed. Despite that reputation, he isn’t afraid to give praise where it’s due. And for him, the band that carries massive cultural weight — the one he called as important as Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, or Pablo Picasso — is no other than The Beatles.

The three figures were legends in their own respective fields. Bach is a renowned German composer, best known for his significant contributions and profound impact during the late Baroque period. Beethoven, on the other hand, is regarded as one of the greatest composers in classical music and is widely credited with revolutionizing music. Meanwhile, Picasso is one of the most revolutionary artists, whose creative vision largely shaped modern art. But if we’re naming an act in modern music we can put in the same league as the legendary figures, such placement would have to go to the Fab Four — the band considered as the foundation of modern music.

U2’s Bono Considers The Beatles Among the Greatest Artists Ever

In addition to his activism and public persona, Bono is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band U2, which debuted with their first studio album, Boy, released on October 20, 1980. While The Beatles is objectively a bigger act (and bigger than other bands that preceded and succeeded them), U2 was not exactly just another act either. If anything, they have fared fairly well in their own lane and delivered hit songs like "With or Without You" (from the 1987 album The Joshua Tree) and “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” (from the same album). The band won a total of 22 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. They are in any way, shape, or form an acclaimed rock band themselves. But even Bono knows who the greatest rock band is, even placing the Beatles beside historic and legendary names.

“You can’t write books or poetry as four people. But four people get together in the context of a rock band, and you have out of that some of the richest veins of culture — The Beatles, I’m convinced, are as important as Bach or Beethoven or Picasso,” Bono said in a 2011 interview.

It’s clear that the Liverpool band was Bono’s key inspiration, and his nice words in 2011 weren’t the first time he expressed such admiration for them. In an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports (via Far Out Magazine), he referred to the Beatles as “untouchable,” adding, "We still look to [The Beatles] as models of what can be achieved when four people get into a room and start experimenting. It’s sad that two of them are gone now... It’s always worth reminding ourselves how lucky we are to be alive at a time when we grew up with the Beatles."

Bono Once Revealed He Wrote a Fan Letter to The Beatles

Days after celebrating his 60th birthday, the U2 lead vocalist took to the official U2 website to share 60 songs that “saved [his] life,” including songs from artists like David Bowie, Patti Smith, Elton John, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and many more. Of course, as a Beatles fan himself, the list includes The Beatles, specifically their song “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and John Lennon for his song “Mother.” He also wrote a fan letter for each song, and explained why the 1963 track made the list. The letter reads as follows:

"Dear Beatles,

It’s my earliest memory of music. I was three years old and in the back garden of 10 Cedarwood Road… I associate the song with the smell of freshly cut grass as I was lying on my back on the damp green patch after my Da had cut the lawn… Beside me was a lawn mower with green-stained rotors that had to be repaired. My brother Norman could fix it… he could fix anything.

It was the spring of 1964… the song on the radio felt like a force… like I was for the first time conscious that I was alive and that being alive was a really, really great idea!

I’m not sure whose hand was on your mind when you wrote this… It might have been nice to imagine it was my mother’s, but at age 3 most wee boys are trying to break away from such clutches… I had no such maternal or even romantic thoughts. In my head, it felt like the universe was singing to me directly… and I still feel that now when listening to most of your songs.

Maybe that’s how easy a messianic complex can start out.

Your fan,

Bono."