Hard to say conclusively Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson might not have moved things in that direction regardless. Both influenced the Beatles as well as being influenced by them.
Yesterday
- Thread starter Tim Walker
- Start date
True but Bob Dylan was always pretty nichey even at his most popular, before his accident he was seen as a provocateur. And before the Beatles raised the bar for pop music The Beach Boys were singing catchy singles about surfing and girls.
One thing that might not have happened the same way without the Beatles is the album era. Before the Beatles albums were treated as dumping grounds for B material. Even the Beatles didn’t put their singles on the albums until late.
There was a back and forth going on between the Beatles and the Beach Boys. (And many other acts including Dylan)
Rubber Soul has a country-folk flavor that comes from The Beatles meeting Dylan and listen to country when touring America. Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys is a "response" to Rubber Soul. Pet Sounds in turn influence the development of Sgt. Pepper.
Without the Beatles, there might never have been a Rolling Stones. It was the Beatles who convinced the Stones to write their own material rather than just doing Blues covers. Paul even wrote some early songs for them. Post-Beatles, all of the members had a huge direct influence on a great number of musicians--moving their music in different directions. Without the Beatles, it is likely that Ed Sheeren would never have written the songs he has and he would never have been in a movie called Yesterday.
There certainly was a lot of stoking of the fire. I think it's safe to say that without those two, the music would would have been very different.
Yeah, wasn't 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' originally meant for the Stones? There was something I know they had turned down and the Beatles ended up doing it anyway.
"I Wanna Be Your Man"
Ahh, at least I knew there was a "wanna" in there 
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