The Beatles

What is it about the music of the Beatles that has held generations enraptured? The songs written by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr have failed to fall to the wayside like so many others from that same time. They wrote everything from bubble gum pop to heavy metal a la Helter Skelter, hitting almost every other genre in between, and they still managed to hold on to a massive fan base. That's something that would spell SUICIDE in big  glowing letters for almost any modern band, while for them it was merely viewed as finding a voice. People argue that it worked because the Beatles were the first really big band around the world, but I think its because they had something special. Feel free to expose me to your opinion on this topic, because I'm not sure i know the answer to this question.