Yes, there’s easier access to a wider area of info today
which could make it more unbelievable that The Beatles
hadn’t crossed this person’s radar - knowingly. And that’s the key.
Some people are (and enjoy) being insular in their interests and
that can be a very good thing - especially if they are of the creative type.
Of course, we know nearly nothing about this person that this man is talking about,
so we can’t say what her personality is, but not caring to actively seek
out some old rock while she’s an energetic young person tells me that
there’s hope in the creative minds of young people.

In my case, of course Ellington or Whiteman could be a very accurate comparison.
Sinatra would’ve been barely a teenager. Crosby would’ve been in his mid-20s and
actually would’ve just been invited to join Whiteman’s band.

I was born late in 1961. I honestly hadn't heard of Paul Whiteman until maybe twenty years ago to be honest. Duke Ellington I knew about early on but more on reputation. I didn't really hear any of his music until after he died.

Everyone seemed to know about Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra when I was a kid. Heck, I remember the Minute Maid commercials Crosby would hawk for. Of course, I knew Crosby from the On the Road movies with Bob Hope and some of the bad crooning imitations of him mostly. I also remember it being a big deal when he died, almost as big as Presley who had died earlier that year.

And, of course, Sinatra was all over the place, in music, movies, TV, the alleged mob ties in the news, etc. Yeah, I guess if you insulate yourself enough, you may not have heard about the Beatles, or anyone else. But it would be awfully hard.

I can get someone never having heard an artist's music, but not at least knowing the name? That's a little hard to imagine.

Not in 1978. As a matter of fact, Lennon was despised at that time by a number of people.

That's true. He wasn't given larger than life status until after he was killed.

Lol Rick Beatoff

I don’t know why you keep bringing Sinatra into this, because he wasn’t a hitmaker in the late 20s. By the time you were 20, his heyday started only about 25 years before and, yes, he and Crosby were still making the rounds on TV. The Beatles ain’t doin’ shit now.

So, basically you were the same as this 20 year old girl that you’re shocked about.

Perhaps not in regards to new music, but they're one of only two groups that sold a million albums in 2020.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanro...n-albums-2020/

Well, if you're assuming everyone is supposed to know about Paul Whiteman, yes.

How old are you by the way?

You are expecting a person who is only 20 to, “of course” know about a band that wasn’t even a band FIFTY YEARS AGO. I’m saying that it’s not all that far-fetched that she doesn’t know or even care.

It’s 1981, and you are 20 years old. An old geezer asks you about a famous group/ensemble that was no longer even together in 1931 and is surprised that you don’t know who it is. <shocking!>

You just said that you never even heard of Whiteman until just a few years ago and barely even knew of Ellington, so what would you have said in 1981?