4 Acts Who Carried the Torch for Melodic Pop After The Beatles’ Breakup

After The Beatles split up, Badfinger, the Bee Gees, Gilbert O’Sullivan and Emitt Rhodes helped keep melodic pop in the spotlight. Their memorable tunes and harmonies extended a style that The Beatles had helped popularise, though each act developed its own sound and career.

Badfinger’s three principal songwriters created hook-filled songs such as “No Matter What” and “Day After Day”; Pete Ham and Tom Evans also wrote “Without You”. The Bee Gees paired dramatic melodies with rich harmonies in their late 1960s and early 1970s pop period, before their late-1970s disco success. O’Sullivan became known in the US for “Alone Again (Naturally)” and also wrote “Nothing Rhymed” and “We Will”. Rhodes recorded several early-1970s albums largely by himself, earning a cult following for his melodies and a vocal resemblance to Paul McCartney.