This day in history
BEATLES ARRIVE IN NEW YORK:
February 7, 1964
On February 7, 1964, Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow lands
at New York's Kennedy Airport--and "Beatlemania" arrives. It was the first visit
to the United States by the Beatles, a British rock-and-roll quartet that had
just scored its first No. 1 U.S. hit six days before with "I Want to Hold Your
Hand." At Kennedy, the "Fab Four"--dressed in mod suits and sporting their
trademark pudding bowl haircuts--were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans who caused
a near riot when the boys stepped off their plane and onto American soil.Two
days later, Paul McCartney, age 21, Ringo Starr, 23, John Lennon, 23, and George
Harrison, 20, made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, a popular
television variety show. Although it was difficult to hear the performance over
the screams of teenage girls in the studio audience, an estimated 73 million
U.S. television viewers, or about 40 percent of the U.S. population, tuned in to
watch. Sullivan immediately booked the Beatles for two more appearances that
month. The group made their first public concert appearance in the United States
on February 11 at the Coliseum in Washington, D.C., and 20,000 fans attended.
The next day, they gave two back-to-back performances at New York's Carnegie
Hall, and police were forced to close off the streets around the venerable music
hall because of fan hysteria. On February 22, the Beatles returned to
England.The Beatles' first American tour left a major imprint in the nation's
cultural memory. With American youth poised to break away from the culturally
rigid landscape of the 1950s, the Beatles, with their exuberant music and
good-natured rebellion, were the perfect catalyst for the shift. Their singles
and albums sold millions of records, and at one point in April 1964 all five
best-selling U.S. singles were Beatles songs. By the time the Beatles first
feature-film, A Hard Day's Night, was released in August, Beatlemania was
epidemic the world over. Later that month, the four boys from Liverpool returned
to the United States for their second tour and played to sold-out arenas across
the country.Later, the Beatles gave up touring to concentrate on their
innovative studio recordings, such as 1967's St. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club
Band, a psychedelic concept album that is regarded as a masterpiece of popular
music. The Beatles' music remained relevant to youth throughout the great
cultural shifts of the 1960s, and critics of all ages acknowledged the
songwriting genius of the Lennon-McCartney team. In 1970, the Beatles disbanded,
leaving a legacy of 18 albums and 30 Top 10 U.S. singles.During the next decade,
all four Beatles pursued solo careers, with varying success. Lennon, the most
outspoken and controversial Beatle, was shot to death by a deranged fan outside
his New York apartment building in 1980. McCartney was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II in 1997 for his contribution to British culture. In November 2001,
George Harrison succumbed to cancer.
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LITERARY
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VIETNAM WAR
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WALL STREET
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WORLD WAR I
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WORLD WAR II
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