I am the dark haired girl on the right side of the photo with the I LOVE GEORGE sign around my neck! I snuck out of the house before my parents were awake and journeyed over to NYC to get a terrific spot outside of the hotel where The Beatles were staying. As you can see, I scored big time! This photo has been published numerous times over the last 50 years and every time that it appears, I hear from old friends.
I never dreamed that I would be part of the historical pictorials for Beatlemania! Thanks for making my day - again!
I never dreamed that I would be part of the historical pictorials for Beatlemania! Thanks for making my day - again!
7
Funny. If there were Beatlemania today, the 8 year old would have facial injuries from being poked by selfie sticks held by the screaming fans who had their backs to the Beatles but their smartphones facing the stage. I'm glad she went with her parents who protected her from the mob and helped her get a view of her heroes even if she couldn't hear a thing. I've read that the Beatles couldn't hear themselves sing either because of the screaming. But it was a true event and a memorable one. I have a tape of the Beatles at Shea Stadium concert and the screaming adds an element missing from any other concert tape I've ever heard.
One more thing I'm compelled to add! "Whose rock n roll singing and long hair have stirred strong emotions in youngsters"! Perhaps in many females! But I would think for an overwhelming number of guys, it was their heartfelt lyrics, melody, their non threatening humor, and indeed their rather uplifting poetry, that took us to a higher level of humanity, that many females claim they want in men, but ironically for a number of them, do not demonstrate in their actions!
1
I knew a girl that won a ticket to Shea on a radio station contest, to be accompanied by the radio station DJ's. Unfortunately for her, her Dad would not her to go with two grown men! The DJ's felt bad, so they went to her house after the concert and gave her a ballpoint pen that they told her had been kissed by each of the Beatles. She prized that pen, showed it all around the school, and saved it forever. It wasn't until after she was a grown woman that she realized that the Beatles had never kissed that pen, and that the DJs never met the Beatles themselves (we are not talking Cousin Brucie). But she got many years of pleasure from that pen.
1
The reaction the author describes was exactly the same at a screening (screaming) of the movie "Hard Day's Night" in the Capital Theatre in Passaic, NJ. The manager allowed the first reel to end; came out flanked by police officers, and threatened to not show the rest of the movie if the crowd didn't settle down. The movie resumed and so did the pandemonium.
1
What a nasty manager! In those days, it was accepted practice that once you bought your movie ticket, you could sit through as many screenings of the film as you wanted. Well, all the kids were determined to go to the first matinee and stay until 11PM. Our theater manager had the toughest time getting the kids to leave, while hundreds more screamed in line outside. We were glued down and just could not get up and leave. I still have the promo material that ran out during the first showing.
Now that I'm like Sixty Four, the writers name intrigues me?! But more importantly, looking back, (and I think we all have our unique memories and take on the moments), they gave us a lift, when many of us needed it! And you know what, Ms. Stern, I still Wanna Hold Your Hand! ( Right, Dream On! But you can't beat those melodies, for those of us who still remember when melodies were written!!!)
1
I'm listening to the president's Spotify playlist and browsing the Times while walking on the treadmill as part of the generation which innovated "multitasking." Thanks for the memories - I was 13 and paid $5 for a ticket for the Houston Beatles concert. My mother drove a carload of us to their hotel so we could scream in the direction of their windows. It was communal screaming - marking our generation's transitional position from our Depression-deprived parents' lives and their stories of treasuring the orange in the Christmas stocking and dropped sewing pins found on the ground - to my children's "Mr. Rogers" generation of too many toys and play dates. We screamed for relief from living as a generation struggling with the nightmares of nuclear holocaust as we practiced absurd drills ("cover the backs of your necks") in school and stared in disbelief at piles of bones from the Nazi concentration camps in the Life magazine on every coffee table at homes. Thanks to the Beatles for the relief of the communal primal scream. Now I'll concentrate on our president's great playlist. I'm glad I lived long enough to experience a president who (mostly) touches my spirit. It's been quite a life, quite a ride...
3
Seems kids scream at huge concerts, like they do sometimes at huge stadiums. Indeed they had some good songs, but they managed to degrade American popular music, to think we once adored Duke Ellington, & suddenly it was all about 'Twist & Shout'
But could someone please explain about the fainting?
Why did girls faint (and scream, & cry, and hurl themselves in fits of swooning hysteria). What exactly is the etiology of females fainting at pop stars?
Did boys swoon & cry & faint too, or was it just girls, and if it was girls, what about the girls makes them swoon & scream & faint?
Since the fab 4 (or was it Elvis), it seems to have become a ritual, not sure if they still faint at pop 'icons' like Beiber, but it was a phenomenon worthy of explanation.
Did they really faint? Was it an act? Are certain female brains of a certain age actually prone to losing consciousness like fainting goats upon some stimulus or other?
Is it a sexist question to wonder exactly what it is in the female mind that would cause fainting at a dysfunctional group of good songwriters? Is it a religious rapture of some sort? If any women out there were among the girls who fainted at the sight of Beatles (or oven beetles), what exactly was going on, & how do you feel about that now?
Would a female president of that generation be able to avoid fainting at the site of an international 'superstar', or if Putin shows up shirtless should the secret service be armed with smelling salts...
But could someone please explain about the fainting?
Why did girls faint (and scream, & cry, and hurl themselves in fits of swooning hysteria). What exactly is the etiology of females fainting at pop stars?
Did boys swoon & cry & faint too, or was it just girls, and if it was girls, what about the girls makes them swoon & scream & faint?
Since the fab 4 (or was it Elvis), it seems to have become a ritual, not sure if they still faint at pop 'icons' like Beiber, but it was a phenomenon worthy of explanation.
Did they really faint? Was it an act? Are certain female brains of a certain age actually prone to losing consciousness like fainting goats upon some stimulus or other?
Is it a sexist question to wonder exactly what it is in the female mind that would cause fainting at a dysfunctional group of good songwriters? Is it a religious rapture of some sort? If any women out there were among the girls who fainted at the sight of Beatles (or oven beetles), what exactly was going on, & how do you feel about that now?
Would a female president of that generation be able to avoid fainting at the site of an international 'superstar', or if Putin shows up shirtless should the secret service be armed with smelling salts...
1
I'm in the same age bracket as the author, Ms. Liote, however was never so privileged as to attend a concert until my late teens. Even though my first 45s were of Elvis and many of that era, handed down by my mother, I never did any screaming or swooning, just falling in love with The Beatles, The Monkees, and most definitely with the bad boys of rock, The Rolling Stones.
But I am old enough know that the screaming and swooning didn't begin with either Elvis or the Beatles, but with Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra.
But I am old enough know that the screaming and swooning didn't begin with either Elvis or the Beatles, but with Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra.
When I was 14 and living in Washington, D.C. , I read a small article (with photo) about the Beatlemania in the U.K. and was intrigued. They were still relatively unknown in the U.S. when I heard they were coming to the States and that their first concert would be in D.C. I persuaded a few friends we should go and we got tickets before the onslaught. We were in a state of terrible anxiety the day of the concert, as there was a bad snowstorm and we were worried that their train from NYC would not make it or that the parents driving us would refuse to take us. In the end we made it and I remember my guy friends screaming as loudly as I did. We didn't come down to earth for days. I kept every bit of Beatle memorabilia I could get my hands on and covered my bedroom walls with their pictures. An added benefit was that thereafter my father, immune to the Beatle's charms, refused to set foot in my Beatle haven to check if my bedroom was tidy. Tragically, while clearing out the attic, my mom threw away all my Beatle stuff (including the ticket stub) many years later. It didn't really matter however, as the memories of that concert are as fresh as they were fifty years ago!
1
My wife's sister was at Shea Stadium that day 50 years ago. I was 16 when I saw them on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was their irrepressibility, their jolly character, their sweet and wonderful music that got to us. It was time. We were a year and a half into our national mourning for JFK. We saw Jack Ruby gun down Lee Harvey Oswald on national TV then witnessed the somber and solemn moments of the funeral in Washington attended by heads of state from around the world. We as a people were subdued. We needed to break out. Who better than the four adorable lads from across the pond with their new look and their refreshing sound. The boys here weren't screaming but we could easily see why the girls were and every boy now wanted to pick up a guitar and let his hair grow. The impact of this musical phenomenon led by The Beatles, and became the British Invasion, was profound. How ironic that they had grown up listening to Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, MoTown and Elvis and then my generation came of age listening to Herman's Hermits, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Animals and the Moody Blues. Many in the adult world at the time scoffed at The Beatles but time has vindicated their place in our history, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.....
2
I was at Forest Hills (a much more "intimate" venue!) in August 1964, one of certainly less than 5-10% of boys in the audience. The Beatles flew in by helicopter (to an adjacent tennis court). In those days there were many helicopters in NYC, and the crowd erupted in screaming at every helicopter that flew by. Every article about Beatles concerts mentions the screaming, but very few mention the flash bulb cameras. Every kid had their Kodak flash camera and pockets full of bulbs, some with the old single bulbs that ejected like empty shells, some with the new flash cubes that rotated four times. The entire audience sparkled and scintillated during the entire 30 minute concert, as the screaming went on. Yes, the concerts were short, but I don't think the kids could have survived at that level for much longer. Of course not a single photo came out, but many are still pasted in albums. At least a few times during each song, the sound waves from the screaming were out of phase with the sound waves coming from the Beatles, and you might hear a single word. If you got another word 10 or 15 seconds later, and were a Beatles expert like me, you might be able to figure out what song it was.
1
Much as I was a rabid fan of the Beatles I do believe they caused considerable damage to many guys who wanted to emulate their success. Now in their 60s these men, still in their parent's basements, practice their guitars and songwriting in the hopes of making it big.
I was fortunate in that I realized early on I was not another Eric Clapton even though I played like him and sold out to the man. At least now I don't have to depend solely on Social Security.
I was fortunate in that I realized early on I was not another Eric Clapton even though I played like him and sold out to the man. At least now I don't have to depend solely on Social Security.
I always wondered why we were not "The Great Generation" like our parents that fought World War II. Now I know. It was The Beatles fault!!
Saw them in Philadelphia at Convention Hall and then at what I think was JFK stadium. Such wonderful memories. Listening to their songs, I am always transported back in time. Amazing stuff!
1
Could someone please explain about the fainting?
Why did girls faint (and scream, & cry, and hurl themselves in fits of swooning hysteria) at the Beatles. What exactly is the etiology of females fainting at pop stars?
Did boys swoon & cry & faint too, or was it just girls, and if it was girls, what about the girls makes them swoon & scream & faint?
Since the fab 4 (or was it Elvis), it seems to have become a ritual, not sure if they still faint at pop 'icons' like Beiber, but it was a phenomenon worthy of explanation.
Did they really faint? Was it an act? Are certain female brains actually prone to losing consciousness like fainting goats upon some stimulus or other?
If any women out there were among the girls who fainted at the sight of Beatles (or even beetles), what exactly was going on, & how do you feel about that now?
Why did girls faint (and scream, & cry, and hurl themselves in fits of swooning hysteria) at the Beatles. What exactly is the etiology of females fainting at pop stars?
Did boys swoon & cry & faint too, or was it just girls, and if it was girls, what about the girls makes them swoon & scream & faint?
Since the fab 4 (or was it Elvis), it seems to have become a ritual, not sure if they still faint at pop 'icons' like Beiber, but it was a phenomenon worthy of explanation.
Did they really faint? Was it an act? Are certain female brains actually prone to losing consciousness like fainting goats upon some stimulus or other?
If any women out there were among the girls who fainted at the sight of Beatles (or even beetles), what exactly was going on, & how do you feel about that now?
1
Though some boys were fans in 1964-65, more than 90% of Beatles fans were girls. No, the boys did not scream or cry or faint. But they were very excited. You should try screaming at the top of your lungs steadily for one hour (the screaming started long before the Beatles came on stage), and you will know why girls fainted. It's called hyperventilating.
1
I saw them at Suffolk Downs in 1966, age 12, after the "Beatles are bigger than Jesus" brouhaha. I was terrified the concert would be canceled! My oldest sister took me and a friend. When I saw that our seats were way over to the left - so far away from John! - I led us right up to the front where there were two or three empty rows. During the second warmup act (Bobby Hebb, "Sunny"), someone came and told us to move. Next day the Globe reported the reaction of the Kennedy kids - we'd been in their seats! Most of them were indifferent. We wound up in the stands, where we had a good view and could hear a little bit. I sobbed when it was over. Decades later I saw Sir Paul at Boston Garden and sobbed through his opening medley of Beatles songs. Such joy and delight! Now whenever I have some onerous household chore to do I fire up the Fabs and it's done in no time.
2
As a now serious Beatles' fan, I had the opportunity to walk on 'THAT' crosswalk on Abbey Road on a short trip to London a few years ago. I was well into my 50s and there were four other American couples doing the same thing we were doing: Walking back and forth in the crosswalk, sometimes stopping traffic and taking pictures. My wife, 10 years younger, was actually taking the pics. To this day, I still tell people it was in my top seven things I have done in my entire life.
1
You got me wondering what the other six things were.
I saw The Beatles when they played at Commisky Park in Chicago, 1965. My uncle owned a business that supplied some of the sound equipment, got comped two tickets and my poor brother, five years older than me, got the job of taking me there, schlepping it on multiple CTA buses. It was my first live concert of that sort, and my introduction to people who attend concerts for "the experience" and not the music. I was never so completely baffled and bummed out before in my young life, that people screamed nonstop so loudly only a distant note or chord periodically made it to our ears. Commisky wasn't wired for music, only baseball, and they were playing through the announcer sound system. My brother sat there with his head in his hands the whole time, laughing at the insanity. I've loved that band's music for all my life, and never went to another concert of theirs. When A Hard Day's Night came out, my girlfriends and I would take two buses to the Highland Theatre, where for the price of one fifty cents ticket we could watch it over and over again. I saw it 24 times. Today kids have almost unlimited ways to keep up with the bands they love. Back then my only access to the Beatles was Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine, praying there'd be a new tidbit, however small and unrecycled, in the next issue. We had a few Ed Sullivan appearances, a few movies, and their albums. Today there are YouTube videos of bands' concerts from all over the world, for free.
2
THE BEATLES took the US by storm. Their hair was described as long and shaggy, though nothing near the 2.5 foot extenders you can see walking down any street. The Beatle's songs evoke nostalgia, bringing back memories of the times, eons before the Internet. I was surprised, after studying the scores of their songs, by the simplicity of their structure, completely anchored by memorable melodies and inimitable lyrics, sung with such open affection. Then they began shaking their booties (well before we knew what booties were). Who knew that they had been practiced during their time in Berlin when the audiences demanded that the put on a show for them, shouting "macht Schau, macht Schau!" At the time, I was annoyed by all the screaming, because it interfered with the music. But now it all looks and sounds so quaint. Nowadays, amplifiers could blow out eardrums from the distance of half a mile, lyrics are rap laced with violence or incomprehensible shouting and grunting and grotesque movements that look like warming up for fights. Nobody screams, because they know they can't make a dent in the great wall of sound. Nobody sings along because the words are incomprehensible and not meant to be sung. Nobody dances because the movements are too grotesque. And the payoff for attending concerts is the sacrifice of your hearing at younger and younger ages. Another change is that an ever-growing proportion of the people smoking pot will be so engaged for medicinal purposes.
D.H., if you haven't done so yet and like me you got bored with the rock oldies stations on commercial radio and screaming, hollering DJs, seek out the roots, folk and Americana music. Always something new and wonderful to discover there.
I was fortunate enough to see the Beatles when they came to Toronto. It was sheer magic. What often gets lost in discussing the Beatles is the innovation in their music and their fearless work in focusing on topics that are usually shunned by musicians. Furthermore, too often particularly today, appreciating the Beatles is seen as uncool. People would rather valourize the Stones, a band that was made up of upper middle class kids who did an excellent job of posing (and that is what they did) as rebels. While the Beatles came from poor working class families leading hardscrabble lives who offered authenticity with musical genius.
So cute, your memory. I had just finished my freshman year, and was in Italy for the summer (my dad was working there). I'd had my shot at seeing the Beatle on TV during their first Ed Sullivan appearance in winter of 1964. I was already in love with them, along with many of my generation (largely female, of course, although guys gamely went along up to a point).
In college, the buildup to a new Beatles album release was a holy time. Just the other day, I was commenting to a friend about how the local record store in my sleepy college town had a line around the block to get our own copy, which then was played incessantly, discussed ad nauseam, and memorized in minutes until 6 months later, when the next one was released. I remember seeing their movies multiple times, the ultimate escapism. I even was lucky enough to attend a college where two professors collaborated on a really cool evening lecture analyzing their music and lyric writing as examples of true genius.
Those were the days. So much of my teens and early 20s was marked by Beatles songs, that to this day, when I hear them, call up precise moments, feelings and boyfriends I was dating at the time. Now, in the autumn of my life, I celebrate Sir Paul and Ringo (having mourned the natural passing of George and the brutality of John's) as sort of a moving mirror of my own first emotional involvement with music.
In college, the buildup to a new Beatles album release was a holy time. Just the other day, I was commenting to a friend about how the local record store in my sleepy college town had a line around the block to get our own copy, which then was played incessantly, discussed ad nauseam, and memorized in minutes until 6 months later, when the next one was released. I remember seeing their movies multiple times, the ultimate escapism. I even was lucky enough to attend a college where two professors collaborated on a really cool evening lecture analyzing their music and lyric writing as examples of true genius.
Those were the days. So much of my teens and early 20s was marked by Beatles songs, that to this day, when I hear them, call up precise moments, feelings and boyfriends I was dating at the time. Now, in the autumn of my life, I celebrate Sir Paul and Ringo (having mourned the natural passing of George and the brutality of John's) as sort of a moving mirror of my own first emotional involvement with music.
5
closest i got to fab four is that sunday night on ed sullivan show.
i got my brownie instamatic out and took the entire roll of them on tv
drove my dad crazy!
i got my brownie instamatic out and took the entire roll of them on tv
drove my dad crazy!
1
I still remember my father shaving in the morning, and this strange amazing music came on the radio. I'd never heard anything like it (of course, being 3, hadn't heard much, of course). "who's that, Dad?" " a new group from England, son, the Beatles." Life-changing...
4
I remember listening to a 45 RPM with "Hard Day's Night" on one side and "I want to hold your hand" on the other in 1964. It changed my views of music. I can tell you that.
3
One thing's sure. Beatlemania never ended for some of us. The Beatles have withstood the test of time.
4
Being a guy, I don't think I was really tempted to scream at the Beatles - but then of course I never saw them live. Maybe I would have screamed - or at least shouted.
But I do remember, viscerally, the sense of wonder and excitement, the sense of new possibilities, the sense of a creative explosion, that accompanied every AM-radio-broadcast song and the release of every new album. It was like a new world had come into being, and it was one filled with excitement and positive energy and good feeling. It was a call to wake up to something wonderful, and it felt miraculous.
But I do remember, viscerally, the sense of wonder and excitement, the sense of new possibilities, the sense of a creative explosion, that accompanied every AM-radio-broadcast song and the release of every new album. It was like a new world had come into being, and it was one filled with excitement and positive energy and good feeling. It was a call to wake up to something wonderful, and it felt miraculous.
4
Regarding the thirty minute concerts, don't blame them. Early on those guys had almost zero control over such things, most things in fact. It wasn't like it is today. Tickets only ran from $2.50-$5, too, not the king's ransoms being charged today. I paid under $5 for their albums, at the local hardware store (!), the early albums running about thirty minutes. Under $5 for a thirty minute concert or album was fair. The average pop song back then was a bit over two minutes, 14 songs to an album.
3
In 1965 I was four years old. While my siblings were at school, Mom obliged my requests to play their Beatles albums and I happily danced to them as long as she was willing to perform phonograph duty.
My Beatlemania hasn't faded yet.
My Beatlemania hasn't faded yet.
2
I also have the super-cool answer. Only it was Washington, D.C., the following year, August 1966, when I was 15. And I screamed, and, yes, it was less than half an hour. An earlier poster asked why the screaming. Because it was just what one did when one was so overcome to be face to face (more or less). Because being there and seeing them was a culmination of something. Don't ask me what. I'm pushing 65, and I still don't know.
2
I was at Shea as a young reporter, covering the Beatles phenomenon for Reuters. Earlier I had covered them at the Ed Sullivan Theater and later at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium. All that led up to the first Shea concert. The next year, at Shea again, there were some empty seats.
I was in love with Paul, too. But your mother was completely wrong about Yoko. I still hate her.
I missed seeing them in person, but still remember so clearly that electrifyimg moment when they first strolled onto Ed Sullivan's stage. Life was never the same after.
3
Only in New York....
I was there, and at the 1964 Beatles concert at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, and at Shea in 1966 as well. And now I teach a college course on the subject of the 1960s, in which the Beatles are prominent. Though much has been spoken and at least as much has been written, there aren't adequate words to describe the atmosphere, the feeling, or the lasting impact on each person who had that experience. How truly fortunate we were.
3
Alan,
May I suggest that you play for your students the film, I Wanna Hold Your Hand. At first glance it seems like a frivolous comedy about 5 teenagers trying to get tickets to see The Beatles at their debut on the Sullivan show. But the film encapsulates that point of time by touching on issues associated with the 60s, such as, the impact of rock and roll on the evolution of the protest movement and the questioning of authority. The 5 teenagers are iconographic, each representing different types of people that fell for The Beatles.
May I suggest that you play for your students the film, I Wanna Hold Your Hand. At first glance it seems like a frivolous comedy about 5 teenagers trying to get tickets to see The Beatles at their debut on the Sullivan show. But the film encapsulates that point of time by touching on issues associated with the 60s, such as, the impact of rock and roll on the evolution of the protest movement and the questioning of authority. The 5 teenagers are iconographic, each representing different types of people that fell for The Beatles.
Over the past 50 years, I have never read an explanation as to WHY we screamed our heads off [the talent was OBVIOUS, their good looks were OBVIOUS. was it the unique combination of factors?]. After all, this group caused a reaction like no other.
I guess John Lennon was right when asked at the airport interview about what was causing Beatlemania: "if we knew, we'd form groups and become managers".
I guess John Lennon was right when asked at the airport interview about what was causing Beatlemania: "if we knew, we'd form groups and become managers".
2
I didn't realize it for more than 20 years, but one day it hit me: I was the last fan to get into the last live show the Beatles ever did.
Candlestick Park, August 1966. I was freshly graduated from high school and working at a summer camp near Santa Cruz. There was a music fair of sorts at the Cow Palace, where tickets to see the Beatles were sold for $5.25. I asked a girl I knew from the camp in previous years to go with me. As showtime arrived, I couldn't contact her. Finally, she told me on the phone that her parents wouldn't let her go with me because they didn't know me.
In the parking lot, I could hear that the music had started (Day Tripper). Running from gate to closed gate, I saw light and people down at the end of the row. I arrived breathlessly to find a young woman hysterically pleading with the staff to get in. They told her it was sold out. I said I had an extra ticket. She screamed, shoved a $20 bill in my hand, and snatched the ticket.
We hurried to the entrance tunnel, where the rollup door was coming down. She ducked under it and I followed. I never saw her again.
The seats were on the third-base side. It was nonstop chaos, but the music was audible over the screaming. The outfield looked like a Keystone Kops scene, with SFPD officers chasing and tackling rail-jumpers. I did get some photos, including one of Paul doing that iconic kickback with his bass pointing skyward.
On the way out, a flyer announced something called the Monkees...
Candlestick Park, August 1966. I was freshly graduated from high school and working at a summer camp near Santa Cruz. There was a music fair of sorts at the Cow Palace, where tickets to see the Beatles were sold for $5.25. I asked a girl I knew from the camp in previous years to go with me. As showtime arrived, I couldn't contact her. Finally, she told me on the phone that her parents wouldn't let her go with me because they didn't know me.
In the parking lot, I could hear that the music had started (Day Tripper). Running from gate to closed gate, I saw light and people down at the end of the row. I arrived breathlessly to find a young woman hysterically pleading with the staff to get in. They told her it was sold out. I said I had an extra ticket. She screamed, shoved a $20 bill in my hand, and snatched the ticket.
We hurried to the entrance tunnel, where the rollup door was coming down. She ducked under it and I followed. I never saw her again.
The seats were on the third-base side. It was nonstop chaos, but the music was audible over the screaming. The outfield looked like a Keystone Kops scene, with SFPD officers chasing and tackling rail-jumpers. I did get some photos, including one of Paul doing that iconic kickback with his bass pointing skyward.
On the way out, a flyer announced something called the Monkees...
6
I remember the first time I heard the Beatles. I was visiting an aunt in Puerto Rico and she played a record for me. As soon as the needle hit the vinyl I was immediately mesmerized. It was a totally different sound out of this world. Even my grandparents loved when I played my Beatles records. The boys always sneered at them and called them girls with their long hair. A few years later, the boys finally had to swallow their pride and join in the craze. And when "A Hard Day's Night" opened up at the local theater in Puerto Rico, I was the first one in a line wrapping the theater when the ticket booth window finally opened.
2
Is this really what the NY Times is becoming?
Blog entries type personal anecdotes of " I couldn't see anything, I couldn't hear anything, and I don't remember anything" type?
Blog entries type personal anecdotes of " I couldn't see anything, I couldn't hear anything, and I don't remember anything" type?
1
"I screamed my head off."
"... and I just screamed my head off with everybody else."
"I continued to scream my head off."
Sounds like the diary entry of an eight-year-old.
Oh, wait.
"... and I just screamed my head off with everybody else."
"I continued to scream my head off."
Sounds like the diary entry of an eight-year-old.
Oh, wait.
1
The author had cooler parents than I did. I was 10 when the Beatles performed at the Hollywood Bowl. My cousins Judy and Susan were so excited to see the Beatles (they later drove all the way to New York because there was a rumor that the Beatles were going to be at Woodstock). I begged my Mom to let me go but she thought I was too young, and to be fair I didn't even ask her until the day of the concert by which time the concert was long sold out. My parents had other good traits, but being cool about their young daughter seeing the Beatles was not one of them. I did see Paul, George and Ringo in separate post-Beatles concerts, but never the whole group. However, I can boast a cool answer to 'what was your first concert?' Black Sabbath, yeah, yeah, yeah!
Do we really have to remember The Beatles again? "Carrie" and The Beatles, elicit the same kind of scream. There you go.
The man who brought The Beatles to America, Sid Bernstein, would have been 97 this past Wednesday, August 12th -- but he died two summer ago.
Last Sunday I guest-hosted a three hour radio program, and the first hour is a tribute to Sid Bernstein and his influence on our culture, even including some rare recordings of Sid, himself.
I know anyone who has fond memories of The Beatles and the entire British invasion will get a kick out of it -- it's up in the radio station archives until August 23rd.
http://www.wfuv.org/content/sunday-breakfast-8-9-15
Last Sunday I guest-hosted a three hour radio program, and the first hour is a tribute to Sid Bernstein and his influence on our culture, even including some rare recordings of Sid, himself.
I know anyone who has fond memories of The Beatles and the entire British invasion will get a kick out of it -- it's up in the radio station archives until August 23rd.
http://www.wfuv.org/content/sunday-breakfast-8-9-15
2
A few weeks later, on August 29, 1965, I saw the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl. Somehow, I had managed to win a contest where I was flown to LA at the tender age of 12 (with an older relative in tow) to see the Fab Four.
All these years later, I'll never forget that magical time and night.
All these years later, I'll never forget that magical time and night.
3
I never got to see The Beatles but, since the author mentions that it was her first concert (and WOW, what a story!), I will mention my first concert - The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield and The Strawberry Alarm Clock at The Moody Center, Galveston, Texas, 1965. The Buffalo Springfield were great, Neil Young was so cool, wearing a black cape and largely keeping his back to the audience for reasons that I can only assume made him look cool. The Beach Boys were incredibly professional, playing with an orchestral back up. Every time I raised my Kodak Instamatic to take a picture, they would pose for the picture. I was 9 years old. But, the author has me beat - The Beatles at Shea Stadium - one of the most famous concerts of all time.
4
I don't even recall how I managed to buy a ticket to the Shea Stadium concert, but my parents dropped me off (I was 14) and we agreed to meet afterwards. Of course there were no cell phones in those days - just "We'll meet you on this corner" or similar instructions. I will be forever grateful!
3
It's funny, the other comment is from Charles. Thanks for the article. I brings back memories of innocent times
I was 8, and knew that Paul and I would be married. Of course, I had no clue what marriage meant, or why I wanted it. But it was a fact: We would be married.
I'm still here, Paul!
I'm still here, Paul!
5
This article is interesting to me because I got to learn about the band that the older members of my immediate and extended family love. Not only did the music produced by this band inspire my family, it also inspired people of other countries and helped them through rough times. It is weird to think that just four young people could have that much of an impact on peoples lives, so much so that they had a record sell out of over 55,000 tickets in just 17 minutes. Not even today's popular bands such as One Direction and Maroon 5 sell that many tickets. Music plays a big part in my life, I love listening to music and it is amazing how certain songs can change ones opinion and emotions. I don't have a preference of music genre and I am not totally familiar with The Beatles but I do know a few songs. It is one thing to make music but it is another to give hope and improve lives.
3
Great column! The picture I got from this terrific piece of writing was as clearly focused as any photo that anyone could have taken.
The Beatles at Shea.
I love saying it.
As iconic as Washington and the Delaware.
I was at the first game ever at Shea.
April 1964.
Can you believe the Pirates beat us?
Uhhhh, yeah.
On my tenth birthday in July 1964 I got a Kodak Instamatic camera. Film dropped in simply with a cartridge and mine advanced the film automatically.
I was also taken by my parents to see "Hard Days Night" at a drive in - upstate New York, near Fishkill where we Summered.
What a great day.
So how the heck did I miss out on going to Shea that August night? Even for the paltry half hour.
Somebody needs to explain that to me!
Mom!!!!
I love saying it.
As iconic as Washington and the Delaware.
I was at the first game ever at Shea.
April 1964.
Can you believe the Pirates beat us?
Uhhhh, yeah.
On my tenth birthday in July 1964 I got a Kodak Instamatic camera. Film dropped in simply with a cartridge and mine advanced the film automatically.
I was also taken by my parents to see "Hard Days Night" at a drive in - upstate New York, near Fishkill where we Summered.
What a great day.
So how the heck did I miss out on going to Shea that August night? Even for the paltry half hour.
Somebody needs to explain that to me!
Mom!!!!
3
Go see Sir Paul in concert. It's like seeing the Beatles but you can actually hear the songs and see Paul. No screaming allowed.
2
Not at all like seeing the Beatles. Not at all.
At 16, I managed to persuade my aunt and mother to drive me and my brother four hours to St. Louis to see the lads on August 22, 1966. Paul later said that it was this concert (in the rain, although I don't remember rain) that finally made The Beatles decide to stop touring. So I have the same answer as the writer to the question, "What was your first concert?"
2
What a sweet memory!
Other than the invention of recorded music itself, it's arguable that the greatest single event in the history of music was The Beatles. Fifty years ago, that thought would have been dismissed out of hand. Today, it must give one pause. Tomorrow, for all we know it may be obvious. Time will tell.
There was a pit of shame and hopelessness in America after Kennedy's assassination. These boys help fill it.
12
They were the first super star international rock group for the following reasons.
1-Improved on what America taught them...what music is all about....America loves a winner no matter where they come from..
2-Super talent.
3-Advances in tech...ie..Jet travel, color video tape right to TV, telstar, brand new cutting edge stadiums etc...
Probably never in history before have all these things came together at once..Result...a historic musical event not matched since in history.
This is not to take about from Elvis or Michael Jackson but I don't think they quite did what these guys did..albeit they have the tech advantage..
1-Improved on what America taught them...what music is all about....America loves a winner no matter where they come from..
2-Super talent.
3-Advances in tech...ie..Jet travel, color video tape right to TV, telstar, brand new cutting edge stadiums etc...
Probably never in history before have all these things came together at once..Result...a historic musical event not matched since in history.
This is not to take about from Elvis or Michael Jackson but I don't think they quite did what these guys did..albeit they have the tech advantage..
3
Something new everyday: half an hour? I've read about/seen clips of this event countless times over the years but learned just now that those guys performed for only 30 minutes. What a rip. Think I'd have been screaming 'REFUND!' I wonder where The Stones are playing tonight?
1
There are iconic clips on you tube of the historic event.. albeit enhanced.. . however they are rapidly being deleted due to copy right infringement..
Two biggest crimes in history...ie...denying access to historic video due to copyright infringement...1-MLK I have dream speech...2-The beetles Aug 15, 1965 Shea concert...
Two biggest crimes in history...ie...denying access to historic video due to copyright infringement...1-MLK I have dream speech...2-The beetles Aug 15, 1965 Shea concert...
2
Keith Richards just said in an Esquire interview that the Stones' sets in the 60s were "20 minutes, in and out."
You misunderstand the show business conventions of that day. A half-hour performance was quite normal. The Dick Clark and Murray the K package tours had bands like the Hollies and the Who on for about 20 minutes each.
2
I love the honesty of this article. It was a really fun read--heartwarming.
3
The first time that I met John Lennon was when he and Yoko lived around the corner from me on Bank Street in the Village. I was walking home and just ran into him in front of his house. I started screaming my head off and he kept putting his finger to his mouth and saying "shhhhh..." I ran off home still screaming. Later, I camped out on his stoop and chatted up his driver waiting for him to appear. I did not scream again and John and Yoko were friendly and nice to a little girl in the neighborhood.
15
Did not scream; wanted to hear the music. Currently in Liverpool not far from Penny Lane. Had my hair done at famous Barber Shop and drove by John Lennon's home. Heard a lovely story about Chuck Berry from former Cavern manager and looking forward to Magical Mystery Tour and The Beatles Story, but as fate would have it, will pay tribute to Cilla Black at funeral this coming Thursday. BTW was once serenaded by Paul McCartney at the 79th St Boat Basin, where he and Linda first met. Did not scream.
2
Why doesn't this person explain WHY she was screaming?
Really??
2
Because, Paul.
1
Because, as I suggested in my comment, she likely had no idea why! That's why it's called group hysteria.
My sister tells her story of the stage manager at the Beatles 1964 concert at the Baltimore Civic Center who actually managed to quiet the crowd so the band could be heard. In that few seconds of relative quiet she screamed "PAULLLLLLL!!!" and the mayhem commenced again and never stopped. She was 11.
So I occasionally remind her how she single handedly destroyed the one chance they ever had to be heard live and ultimately to stop touring. Little brothers are helpful like that.
So I occasionally remind her how she single handedly destroyed the one chance they ever had to be heard live and ultimately to stop touring. Little brothers are helpful like that.
10
I also was 8 years old that summer - and while I never got to see them in concert - they were as much a part of my 1965 summer days as swimming and riding my bike. "John, Paul, Ringo, George" replaced "Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" in our regular jump rope games of "Who Shall I Marry?" I always managed to make an out on Paul's name, John was a close runner-up. Then, as now - no one had much use for Ringo.
2
Notable exceptions: Barbara Bach; anyone who values great rock and roll drumming- or a talented entertainer possessing rare amounts of humour and humility!
Ringo is held in high regard by musicians -- though maybe not by most preteen groupies.
My sister will be 61 & still thinks she's going to marry Paul...
15
@Lj
...and she still has competition. :o)
...and she still has competition. :o)
3
I am a straight guy who was 18 at the time of the concert...I wanted to marry Paul...
3
i think my first philosophical discussions in 1964 were who was the most
perfect.. george or john.. i was never a paul girl. he was too cute. john and george were deep and dark.
perfect.. george or john.. i was never a paul girl. he was too cute. john and george were deep and dark.
Beatles who? In terms of number one records, the summer of '65 saw The Supremes carrying a better batting average. And a better wardrobe.
3
Ah, yes, another dispatch from the "The Beatles Really Weren't Very Important" bureau.
The Supremes were well supreme...here were the things working against them..
1-Although produced beautiful music were not quite as talented as the Beatles.
2-Although Black singers were just beginning to get the deserved credit they earned...were not quite there...The super talented Michael Jackson finally equaled the playing field.
3-Technology really didnt help the Supremes that much. It was everything to the Beatles otherwise we would never have heard of them..
Wardrobes?? wardrobes like beauty are in the eyes of the beholder...Supremes/Beatles..we look back at them now like they were circus performers...back then it was everything to us...
1-Although produced beautiful music were not quite as talented as the Beatles.
2-Although Black singers were just beginning to get the deserved credit they earned...were not quite there...The super talented Michael Jackson finally equaled the playing field.
3-Technology really didnt help the Supremes that much. It was everything to the Beatles otherwise we would never have heard of them..
Wardrobes?? wardrobes like beauty are in the eyes of the beholder...Supremes/Beatles..we look back at them now like they were circus performers...back then it was everything to us...
2
Memories! I was 21 when I took my teen aged sisters to see "A Hard Day's Night," at the Fox Village Theater in West Los Angeles.
The experience was an 87-minute scream frenzy for the Fab Four, but it wasn't the film itself which was witty and a prototype for all other 60s films down the line, or the sheer dynamism of John, Paul. George and Ringo that is the sharp focus memory of that day.
That belonged to actor Karl Maulden, who stoically sat a few seats away as his grand daughters - infused with joy - joined in the teen tribal sound wave. I caught his eye. He shook his head, pointed to his young Beatlemanics and smiled. Oh, the things one does for one's grand daughters. Mr. Maulden became one of my heroes that day.
The experience was an 87-minute scream frenzy for the Fab Four, but it wasn't the film itself which was witty and a prototype for all other 60s films down the line, or the sheer dynamism of John, Paul. George and Ringo that is the sharp focus memory of that day.
That belonged to actor Karl Maulden, who stoically sat a few seats away as his grand daughters - infused with joy - joined in the teen tribal sound wave. I caught his eye. He shook his head, pointed to his young Beatlemanics and smiled. Oh, the things one does for one's grand daughters. Mr. Maulden became one of my heroes that day.
9
I have the same memory only it was old Comiskey Park in Chicago.
3
Me too.
Have to say it Matthew...teenage rivalry..I saw the flim clips from
Comiskey and Shea...no contest...Shea blew you away..
Comiskey and Shea...no contest...Shea blew you away..
2
Wonderful to hear of such joyous revelry. Depressing to consider how that formula has been repackaged, watered down and corporatized for successive generations.
7
The Beatles only performed for a half an hour?? Really?? The ultimate one-percenters! :)
I take it then that you're an expert historian on the entertainment business in the mid 60's, specifically with good knowledge of music presentation and promotion of that time?
Again, in those days concerts were many stage acts and the closer got the most time, 30 minutes. All shows were like that. For all bands and singers. The concerts were full length, counting all acts
2
A very adorable and delightfully straightforward article from beginning to end, Ms. Loite. Many thanks.
5
Such a great memory. I remember going to see "A Hard Days Night" with my older sister at the Meadowbrook Theater in East Meadow. She was very annoyed that she had to take me because she wanted to scream with all of her girlfriends. So because she was with me she and I just sat in our seats and watched while everyone else went crazy! At one point they turned the sound off because everyone was too loud. I was enthralled! I loved the music of course but was fascinated by their accent. This cemented my life long love of The Beatles.
5
August 15, 2015
The arrival of the Beatles pop group foursome in NYC was pleasing to see a the UK generation artistry as its transition form the havoc of the last two world war. There contribution to the word gave such much to enjoy and celebrate and cherish in songs that would ever evolve and to this day give joy to a happy times in heart and soul.
jja
The arrival of the Beatles pop group foursome in NYC was pleasing to see a the UK generation artistry as its transition form the havoc of the last two world war. There contribution to the word gave such much to enjoy and celebrate and cherish in songs that would ever evolve and to this day give joy to a happy times in heart and soul.
jja
5
Hear..Hear...agreed...again...there were other iconic groups but what made the Beatles one of a kind was the explosion of tech in 1965...ie...modern stadiums, jet travel, telstar, color video tape right to TV etc. etc... it was the
digital age of its time...oh and by btw, one of the most talented groups in history...first super star world wide musical group...
digital age of its time...oh and by btw, one of the most talented groups in history...first super star world wide musical group...
2
I went to the Beatles concert in Baltimore in September, 1964. I was 15 years old. I barely knew who they were, but my one of my best friends in junior high, Kay Underwood, had tickets, so I joined her. What I remember more than anything is that when the Beatles came on stage and started singing, I suddenly realized I was standing up and screaming! My most, and perhaps only, intense experience of group hysteria ever! Lost the program, lost the ticket, but, still, it's such fun to be able to say I was there!
5
What a wonderful anecdote. I was especially touched by what you shared about your parents -- they clearly loved their daughter so much that they were willing to step into what must have seemed uncharted territory to make your birthday special (your dad wearing a suit to the concert is perfect!). I was also eight in 1965, but my parents thought the Beatles were another insidious threat to the American Way of Life. This went hand in hand with believing that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Communist agitator, and that Barry Goldwater was a shade too liberal.
6
I still have my ticket stub!!! Field level 99F for the incredible price of $5.85!! I display it proudly along with my Paul doll. I imagine I begged my parents for that much money. Maybe it was a graduation present as I graduated Andrew Jackson High School in 1965. My friend Lesley's father was a friend of Sid Bernstein. I will cherish the memories.
5
Very cool story!
2
My mother was a director and music professor and she controlled the music in our house so the first "pop" music I heard was when she brought home new albums of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. She said, "at last rock and roll has grown up." She brought out the Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry recordings too and we made the obvious connections. Nobody screamed, but we've been rocking out ever since. Has it really been 50 years already?
9
The event of the Beattles arriving in the USA is one of those event that I remember when and where I was. I was driving into Darien in the early evening in late November 1963 when "She Loves You" came on the radio. It was a new sound like no other.
6
Though it's already been written by countless others, I'd like to write it again: The Beatles rank among the great Classical composers, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc., because they always presented just the right note -- none too many, none too few, or out of place. Their music approached perfection. This is why it touched so many 50 years ago, still touches so many today, and will continue timelessly....
14
Likes Times photo editor Tiina Loite, I also attended the Beatles' 1965 concert at Shea Stadium. I do recall the opening act, though: Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, whose big hit at the time was "Wooly Booly." Of course, we were at the edge of our seats until the Beatles came on.
I was with my older cousin in seats in right field, center deck, overlooking the parking lot. We had a extra thrill when an armored truck pulled up and the Beatles were hustled out--our personal glimpse of the Fab Four. Later, I learned that my husband-to-be was with a friend in the parking lot, listening to the shrieking teenagers. We were able to hear a few notes in between the screams but it really didn't matter. We were part of it all.
I was with my older cousin in seats in right field, center deck, overlooking the parking lot. We had a extra thrill when an armored truck pulled up and the Beatles were hustled out--our personal glimpse of the Fab Four. Later, I learned that my husband-to-be was with a friend in the parking lot, listening to the shrieking teenagers. We were able to hear a few notes in between the screams but it really didn't matter. We were part of it all.
2
I was at Shea Stadium too that night. This was my second Beatle concert because I first saw them at Carnegie Hall. The Temptations were the opening act at Shea. I went with my younger brother. We had box seats but couldn't hear a thing. After the show we were to meet our parents but the crowd was so dense and hyper that we got separated. I panicked and finally saw him on top of an ice cream truck. Crazy, fun, exhilarating times...and, by the way, I still have the ticket stub.
I saw the Beatles at the Indiana State Fair, September 1st 1964. I was 14 years old and it was my first day of high school, which I skipped to see the Beatles. One of the best decisions of my life.
6
The writer might have better emphasized the screaming.
2
I received my first record player and A Hard Days NIght album for my birthday that year and I was transported. I bought every album they ever made from then on, watched every Ed Sullivan show and anywhere else they appeared on TV and I was a devoted Beatle-maniac for years. They were to-die-for at the time and it was such a lovely feeling! I still think they are the best band to have ever come about and enjoy listening to their records still.
4
But, but... it all started in 1964. And you could, quite well, hear it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPp7xsIvMc8
In 1964, the Beatles came to Jacksonville, FL, just after a major hurricane touched down. I was 7 and my 17 year old brother, a drummer, had introduced me to the music. I was smitten, and still am, for that matter. He went to the concert and magnanimously offered to take his little sister. My mom worried I was too young and said no. I've never forgotten where we had dinner, what my brother wore (a suit and tie!). And I never let her forget her infamous attempt to make me feel better, "Oh, honey," she said, "they'll be back."
3
Now that comments are finally appearing (ahem!), another memory: 3 years later in 1967, my mother, out of guilt perhaps, allowed me to go to The Monkees concert with my older sister. At 18, she was appalled at having to take me to see the Monkees but all was well when the opening act appeared on stage- The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was by far the strangest grouping of musical acts ever staged in modern times. This 10 year old was, happily, never quite the same.
My only Beatle sighting was in Toronto, in 1969, when John came with the "Plastic Ono Band" to a rock and roll revival. By then I was a big fan for 5 years. I still remember the feeling: I couldn't believe I was there in front of one of the Beatles. What a phenomenon!
3
When the "Meet the Beatles" album came out in, what, '64? I was a sophomore in HS. A friend had a party in his folks basement. Maybe 7' tall ceiling with stuff hanging down, dirt floor, much debris and a turntable and a copy of the album. Occasionally the album would be flipped over, but nothing else played all night long and there were throngs of kids in and out of the place. It remains one of the best and most memorable parties of my life. Of interest to the younger today would be how the industry could build demand for music. We knew the new album would be released at a certain time/place and there were no other sources for it. How different today! The Beatles were fabulous but there was so much fabulous music in the 60's.
5
I never experienced them live. My younger sister did. We lived in Texas and she saw The Beatles at The Astrodome in Houston. I have 3 sisters and their bedroom walls were covered with Beatle pictures; covered. My brothers and I had the record changer that played Beatle 45's and LP's over and over all day long. They changed our lives forever.
4
Ms Loite,
I was one of the teenagers standing in your way at third base. Apologies. And, thanks for [reviving] the memory. Ya, ya, ya.
I was one of the teenagers standing in your way at third base. Apologies. And, thanks for [reviving] the memory. Ya, ya, ya.
The World's Greatest Rock Band of All Time.
3
Correction..the world's greatest rock band of all time with the help of technology. They were super alone..... technology made them the greatest group of all time..
2
In 1965 I was 19, at college, and had a friend, Judy, who was a complete Beatle-maniac. I was one of the few boys there with long hair, and I felt the same way. Somehow, she got two tickets to see the Beatles at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. I didn't have a car and have no idea how I got there or how we found each other, but we did.
We went inside, and it was like entering a dream-world. Thousands of teenage girls, almost no boys, all done up in their best party dresses and makeup, with their hair done. I was mesmerized. The atmosphere of excitement and romantic desire was intoxicating. We found our seats, the Beatles came on, everyone stood up, and the screaming started and did not stop. It was wonderful. We will never be so innocent again.
We went inside, and it was like entering a dream-world. Thousands of teenage girls, almost no boys, all done up in their best party dresses and makeup, with their hair done. I was mesmerized. The atmosphere of excitement and romantic desire was intoxicating. We found our seats, the Beatles came on, everyone stood up, and the screaming started and did not stop. It was wonderful. We will never be so innocent again.
70
Oh, Charles. Your beautiful description tells me you're still 19 in your mind. Don't worry about your loss of innocence. Anyone who can recall with such heartbreaking clarity an event fifty years ago and conjure up the original excitement has never been corrupted. "It was wonderful." Scream on, brother.
2
I have pics of myself before the concert with my hair a little longer than a crew cut.. four months later my hair was almost down to my shoulders like every other young man in that period....boys/young men also thought the Beatles were Gods, not because they were in love with them but the effect they had on women...
3
Houston. August 19, 1965. Life-changing.
North London
Seven Sisters Road
Astoria Cinema - Finsbury Park
She Loves You/I Want to Hold Your Hand