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The band from Liverpool had been gathering momentum in the UK and other European countries for several years and they were featured on package tours across England. They caught fire in the UK in 1963 with their first album. “Please Please Me.”
However, their hits in Britain had tanked in the U.S. Their arrival in America on Feb. 7 would change that.
The Kennedy
assassination a mere eleven weeks earlier left young Americans hungry for
something to feel good about. And we got with those four lovable, witty mopheads whose British accent sounded so good to our ears. And they were so cute!
As John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo
Starr stepped off the plane that day, they likely had no idea they would change popular
culture forever.
I think of the Beatles’ arrival in America as the day the
first of the Baby Boomers officially came of age; when the 60’s officially
began.
Their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show two
days after their arrival has been called "a night that changed the course
of American culture." More than seventy million television viewers - the
largest-ever audience for an entertainment show - watched the Beatles' performance.
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They performed the songs All My Loving,
Till There Was You,
She Loves You,
I Saw Her Standing There and
I Want To Hold Your Hand
during their first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The band appeared twice in two weeks on the Ed Sullivan Show and their performances still rate as the second and third most-watched programs in the history of US TV, surpassed only in 1983 when the final episode of the Korean war comedy MASH aired.
Reportedly, their performances led to a dip in the crime rate to a 50-year low, as 73 million people or 40% of Americans tuned in to watch.
They also performed in concerts in New York and Washington, D.C.
They also performed in concerts in New York and Washington, D.C.
At the time, newsmen (and yes, at the time they all were men) dismissed the group and their music as a fad. But teenagers knew better.
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| Photo Credit This photo of teenage girls watching the Beatles during their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show says it all! |
Today, the Beatles are considered the most influential band in the history of popular music, having sold more albums than any other artist on the planet. Their music transcends generations, with young fans jamming along to Beatles, and both rock bands and contemporary artists covering their classics.
Their arrival in the U.S. fifty years ago was a pretty big deal. And it feels like it was only Yesterday (written by McCartney and one of the Beatles biggest hits). The song has been covered by other artists more than 3,000 times, the most covered song in history.
My husband got to see the Beatles in person on their first tour - I only say "see" since the screaming of the girls in the audience was deafening. Even today, he cringes when remembering it. His mother got him the tickets and with her connections, I know he and his date were very close to the stage.
ReplyDeleteYour HB was a lucky person! At least he saw, if not heard, the Beatles. Was it for The Ed Sullivan Show, or one of the concerts that had in NYC and Washington?
DeleteRemember so well. Can't believe fifty years passed by so fast. Great information in this post. Thanks for helping us remember. We were so young!
ReplyDeleteThe 50th anniversary certainly makes us feel old. McCartney looks so old to! Ringo is carrying his age well, I think.
DeleteOh, goodness me, fifty years! They came to Brisbane a few months later, and I went to the concert. It was just as Beryl says - so much screaming it was near impossible to hear the music. I sat there with my girlfriends somewhat bemused and eventually decided to join the screamers just for the fun of it :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun night that must have been. The excitement of seeing them must have been terrific.
DeleteYou are so right.
ReplyDelete" Yesterday " still sounds like it happened yesterday.
My interest in popular music started with The Beatles.
My grandfather bought me their record, I still can´t believe it!
I had a crush on Paul, gosh all that day dreaming.. Every girl had her favorite Beatle.
50 years - wasn´t it just yesterday?
Beatles music has stood the test of time. Paul was my favorite, too, although I thought John was just the cutest thing ever. Most of the girls at my school seemed to favor Ringo.
DeleteI definitely remember the Ed Sullivan show. I was a little older than the screaming girls but I enjoyed their music, still do.
ReplyDeleteDarla
I watched the CBS special last night on the Beatles 50th anniversary arrival in the U.S. All the young artists still performing their music, but I much prefer hearing the Fab Four.
DeleteNot a fan,still remember the screaming girls!If forced to choose George would have been the one.
ReplyDeleteOften used to see/speak to Paul & Linda (always dressed in hippy clothes) walking /shopping in the village shop.Sad only 2 remain!!
So many, including me, would have found it OVERWHELMING to see Paul and Linda shopping in the village. Lucky lady! Definitely had to get past the screaming girls to enjoy their music.
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