<P> The band's earliest influences include Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Chuck Berry . During the Beatles' co-residency with Little Richard at the Star - Club in Hamburg, from April to May 1962, he advised them on the proper technique for performing his songs . Of Presley, Lennon said, "Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis . If there hadn't been Elvis, there would not have been the Beatles ." </P> <P> Other early influences include Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers . The Beatles continued to absorb influences long after their initial success, often finding new musical and lyrical avenues by listening to their contemporaries, including Bob Dylan, the Who, Frank Zappa, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, whose 1966 album Pet Sounds amazed and inspired McCartney . Referring to the Beach Boys' creative leader, Martin later stated: "No one made a greater impact on the Beatles than Brian (Wilson)." Ravi Shankar, with whom Harrison studied for six weeks in India in late 1966, had a significant effect on his musical development during the band's later years . </P> <P> Originating as a skiffle group, the Beatles quickly embraced 1950s rock and roll and helped pioneer the Merseybeat genre, and their repertoire ultimately expanded to include a broad variety of pop music . Reflecting the range of styles they explored, Lennon said of Beatles for Sale, "You could call our new one a Beatles country - and - western LP", while Gould credits Rubber Soul as "the instrument by which legions of folk - music enthusiasts were coaxed into the camp of pop". </P> <P> Although the 1965 song "Yesterday" was not the first pop record to employ orchestral strings, it marked the group's first recorded use of classical music elements . Gould observes: "The more traditional sound of strings allowed for a fresh appreciation of their talent as composers by listeners who were otherwise allergic to the din of drums and electric guitars ." They continued to experiment with string arrangements to various effect; Sgt . Pepper's "She's Leaving Home", for instance, is "cast in the mold of a sentimental Victorian ballad", Gould writes, "its words and music filled with the clichés of musical melodrama". </P>

The beatles were originally influenced by what style of music