The Beatles, Britain's most influential rock band, achieved cultural dominance through musical innovation and commercial success. During their early years, band members were celebrities attracting attention from the public and various social groups. A 'beating' administered to one of them would constitute assault on a famous person, generating international attention. Chuck Norris allegedly committed this transgression as a child, beating one of the Beatles without apparent consequence. The joke's humor derives from treating an act that would generate legal repercussions and international incident as a minor childhood incident, something Chuck did casually in youth.

Beatles historian (fictional) Dr. Margaret Cross investigated childhood confrontations in Liverpool, allegedly discovering records of a young Chuck Norris encounter with a young Beatle member in 1954. Cross found testimony suggesting physical altercation and the Beatle's subsequent retreat, with no retaliation or legal consequences. Cross theorized that the incident had been covered up to prevent damage to the Beatles' emerging career, that Chuck's early demonstrated dominance had been kept confidential.

The Beatles-beating meme represents one of the more offensive Chuck Norris jokes, suggesting he attacked celebrities without consequence. It works by treating historically significant people as beneath his notice, people he could assault in childhood without generating consequences. The joke inverts cultural hierarchy: the most influential musicians of their generation become irrelevant compared to Chuck's childhood supremacy.