Fifty years see like a long time, doesn't it? For the last several years, we have celebrated or remembered the following events: The 50th anniversary of JFK’s Inaugural address, John Glenn circling the earth, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Freedom Riders, Birmingham, MLK’s, "I Have a Dream" speech and the assassination of JFK. Some of these events were glorious and others were tragic.
In the midst of all this, there came to be an event which would turn music on its head forever. On February 7, 1964 as we were still mourning the death of President Kennedy, four English lads landed at what was known then as Idlewild Airport in New York City, which, by the end of that year, it would be forevermore known as John F Kennedy International Airport.
Anyway, these four young musicians came to the United States to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, which was a Sunday night variety show. These four young men had taken Britain and the continent by storm. Ed Sullivan felt that these musicians, who called themselves The Beatles, appeared to have the makings of some moderate talent which might help to increase his audience.
Boy was he wrong. The Beatles became the biggest act he ever booked, surpassing Elvis and so many other talents of that time. They would appear two more Sundays that month and many more times over the next few years, but nothing was as exciting as the first time.
I remember watching the old Jack Parr Show that Friday night on NBC and he showed footage of the Beatles' landing and interview at the Pan Am building. As a 13 year old teenager, I found them funny and entertaining. My Dad on the other hand, found them to be, well, shall we say, wise guys and somewhat disrespectful.
That Sunday night we were at my aunt's home and The Beatles came on for the first time. Even my sister, who was five at the time, remembered how excited and frantic my cousin Francie was as she screamed at the television as loud as the girls lucky enough to be at the live performance.
As an aspiring guitarist, I found them to be exciting, entertaining and extremely talented. I knew that's what I wanted to do but, alas, "life is what happens when
- English: The Beatles wave to fans after arriving at Kennedy Airport. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
you are busy making other plans" (John Lennon).
The Beatles led what became known as "The British Invasion". For the balance of the 60’s and into the 70’s, British bands like The Rolling Stones, Gerry and the Pacemakers and solo acts like Elton John, Rod Stewart and others, would flock to New York City to appear on the Sullivan show, until finally the show was no more.
As with all things, perhaps memories are clouded by age and a certain fondness of a more innocent time. As we saw last week at the Grammys, even now these surviving 70-something year old men exude a mystical aura when they show up to perform. The Beatles, of course, no longer exist as a musical act, but, for the "baby-boomer" generation, the memories of our innocence come to the fore when we hear "She Loves You", "A Hard Day's Night" or "Hey, Jude" or "Revolution".
As Cousin Brucie, a New York DJ, used to play at least once a show, "We love you Beatles, oh yes we do.... when you're not near to us, we're blue. Oh Beatles we love you."
The Beatles changed rock and roll music and we will never forget them. Long live The Beatles!
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