Cover versions of songs of The Beatles in socialist Hungary

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the Hungarian cover versions of the songs of The Beatles, produced between the early 1960s and the late 1980s. I do all this in the hope of developing a popular music history that is not based on the succession of genres and generations, as works usually do that emphasize the trend-forming effect of rock music. On the contrary, I try to highlight the simultaneities, the coexistence of different generations, the (stylistic-compositional) differences within the genres. The cover versions of Beatles-songs can also be used to point out the intersections of global musical trends and local traditions of musical entertainment in the popular music scene of socialist Hungary.