Sorry, but they certainly weren't anything close to impacting the World stage of music like the Beetles. In fact, until today I'd never heard of them. The Doors were certainly much bigger overseas, The beach boys were as well, in the same era.
Once Were Brothers in theaters Friday, February 28th
The new documentary on the greatest self-contained (songs, instruments, vocals) Rock ’n’ Roll band in the music’s history---The Band, is in theaters tomorrow. Quotations from the movie:
John Hammond Jr.: "Bob Dylan thought they were phenomenal. So he hired the guys."
Taj Mahal: "If there was any American musicians that were comparable to what The Beatles were, it woulda been them."
Bruce Springsteen: "There is no band that emphasizes becoming greater than the sum of their parts than The Band. (I disagree; even taken individually, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manual, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson are master musicians, singers, and songwriters).
Bruce continues: "When they came together, something miraculous occurred."
Eric Clapton: (upon hearing Music From Big Pink) "I thought, this is huge. It changed my life."
Mine too, along with every good musician I knew then and have known since.