It was an ordinary day. And, the British Invasion has just taken place. That was the headline in newspapers all over the country fifty years ago today, since you see, The Beatles have arrived on our shores. It was on February 9, 1964 that The Beatles made their debut on U.S. television and changed my wife forever. She's a big Beatles fan and seems to have purchased every 33 1/3 album that they ever made.
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| Some of our music framed in our living room. |
Hanging in our living room is their first album they made titled "Meet The Beatles." From 1965 on The Beatles produced what many critics consider their finest material including albums such as Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road. The Beatles are the best-selling band in the United States today with over 177 million records, tapes, CD, etc. sold. But, on that night, February 9, 1964, on the Ed Sullivan Show, Carol got to scream her head off as did so many other young girls in the U.S. She was a junior in high school at the time and just loved the music of the Beatles. Or was it the long hair that her parents despised. Or the rock and roll music that they also despised. Could have been the "yeah, yeah, yeah" that they added to "I Love You." But anyway, She loved them. As for me, I don't remember watching them, since my parents didn't enjoy Ed Sullivan and it probably wasn't on TV in our house. Anyway, I was a big Elvis fan and they couldn't stand him either. The release of The Beatles music in the United States was hindered by Capitol Records who refused to release the music for more than a year before their arrival in the U.S. Their first three singles were heard very little until they were on Ed Sullivan.
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| The Beatles arrival February 7, 1964 at JFK Airport in New York. |
Finally on December 26, 1963, Capitol Records released "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and it sold a million copies as well as becoming the #1 song before their arrival in February. On February 7 of 1964 The Beatles left the U.K. and landed at JFK Airport to a crowd of about 4,000 fans. Seems small in today's market doesn't it? It was two days later that they made their first TV appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show which was watched by 73 million viewers in over 23 million households.
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| The Beatles as they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show Feb. 9. |
Carol's household was one of them, but sadly to say, mine wasn't one of them. A day later they performed for the first time in concert in the U.S. at Washington D.C. Coliseum with it's 9,000 person capacity. A day later they performed twice at Carnegie Hall in New York. They then flew to Florida for another appearance on the weekly Ed Sullivan Show which was seen by 70 million viewers this time. They were back in the U.K. by February 22. The invasion was successful and complete! Over the years, with Carol's help, I have grown to love The Beatles and their music. We have seen quite a few Beatles Tribute Bands, usually going by the name of Beatlemania. My favorite concert by these groups had to be New Year's Eve, a year ago, when Carol and I, along with our friends Pat and Dale, saw Beatlemania in concert with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. Check under my music heading for the story. Well, Carol's favorite Beatles song after all these years is "P.S. I Love You" while my favorite is "Paperback Writer." I have attached YouTube versions for your enjoyment. If you're not a Beatles fan, click on the links and maybe you will become one! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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