MY MOTHER RECENTLY ASKED:
"When are you gonna get off of The Beatles??"
It seems that my mother has grown weary of my never
ending posts about The Beatles' arrival in New York on
February 7, 1964;
and seeing as how today marks the
49th anniversary of said arrival -
I thought it only fitting that I wrap up my incessant
musing on this event
TODAY:
ending posts about The Beatles' arrival in New York on
February 7, 1964;
and seeing as how today marks the
49th anniversary of said arrival -
I thought it only fitting that I wrap up my incessant
musing on this event
TODAY:
February 7, 2013.
O.K., I've already discussed their arrival at JFK airport on
Friday, February 7, 1964.
Friday, February 7, 1964.
We've already looked at the fact that the same young people who'd refused to give The Beatles the time of day the year before were now absolutely bonkers about them!
In a previous post we had a chance to examine video of the press conference given by The Beatles immediately following their arrival on February 7, 1964.
BUT WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT??
W E L L ,
Following the press conference, The Beatles were packed into two waiting limousines (John and Cynthia Lennon in one; McCartney, Harrison and Starr in another) for the drive to their hotel.
"I remember, for instance,
the great moment of getting
into the limo and putting on
the radio, and hearing a running commentary on us: 'They have just left the airport and are coming towards New York City...'
It was like a dream.
The greatest fantasy ever."
PAUL MCCARTNEY
All of this was filmed, and if you click on the video link below you will have a chance to peek inside the limousine (approximately 2:20 into the clip) as McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr listen to one of their records ("I Saw Her Standing There") playing on a transistor radio.
They clown and sing along with a Kent cigarette commercial right after they hear the DJ announce that they will be reading poetry on his radio show the following night (much to their surprise).
You'll also hear Diane Renay's big hit, "Navy Blue" (at the time in the Top 10) playing on that transistor radio as they drive along.
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| WAITING FOR THE BEATLES OUTSIDE THE PLAZA HOTEL |
You'll witness their chaotic arrival at the Plaza Hotel, and get a
'fly on the wall' view inside their 12th floor, 10 room Presidential suite - fascinating stuff!
TO VIEW THE BEATLES' VIDEO CLIP click this link:
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| WAVING FROM THEIR 12TH FLOOR SUITE |
Their first night in America was a busy one.
They gave a phone interview at 6 p.m., and received numerous visitors, including: The Ronettes, whom they'd met weeks
before while the three girls were touring England.
Disc jockey, Murray the K paid a visit; as did George Harrison's sister, Louise Caldwell who'd traveled from Illinois to be there.
SATURDAY,
FEBRUARY 8, 1964
 |
| BEATLES GIVE A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE PLAZA HOTEL |
The Beatles' second day in America began with a press
conference held in the Baroque Room of The Plaza Hotel.
Once finished, George Harrison returned to the room due to the fact that he was sick and running a fever. He was joined there by his visiting sister Louise.
"The doctor said he couldn't do The Ed Sullivan Show because he had a temperature of 104! But they pumped him with everything. He was thinking about getting a nurse to administer the medicine, every hour on the hour. Then the doctor suddenly realised that I was there and was his sister and he said to me, 'Would you see to it? It's probably just as well that you're here because I don't think there's a single female in the city that isn't crazy about The Beatles! You're probably the only one
who could function around
him normally'"
Louise Caldwell
With the ailing Harrison safely tucked away, the remaining three Beatles set out on a walk (followed by hundreds of predominately female fans) to Central Park for a photo op.
t h e
b e a t l e s
i n
c e n t r a l
p a r k
s a t u r d a y ,
february 8,
1964
At 1:30 a limousine shuttled the group (sans Harrison) to the
CBS Studios on Broadway for their first rehearsal for
The Ed Sullivan Show.
Their first piece of business was to join AFRA (U.S. equivalent of Musician's Union).
 |
| PRODUCTION ASSISTANT, VINCE CALANDRA STANDS IN FOR GEORGE HARRISON |
Production assistant Vince Calandra stands in
for George Harrison during the rehearsal.
"The first thing I noticed about them was that they were very polite and very professional. I remember the picture of Ed Sullivan with The Beatles' wig and his comment, when George was ill, 'He'd better show up tomorrow 'cos I'll be the fourth Beatle!' And he put the wig on. I also stood in for George that day for camera rehearsals."
Vince Calandra
Following the rehearsal, the group was interviewed by The Ronettes; and later that evening, John, Paul, and Ringo would join George Martin and Capitol Records' executives for dinner at
the '21' Club.
SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY 9, 1964
 |
| NEIL ASPINALL STANDS IN FOR GEORGE HARRISON |
Rehearsals resumed Sunday morning with Neil Aspinall (childhood friend and road manager) standing in for George Harrison although he would eventually feel well enough to perform for the show.
"George had tonsillitis and didn't go to rehearsals for The Ed Sullivan Show. I stood in for him so that they could mark where everyone would stand, and I had a guitar strapped round me. It wasn't plugged in - nobody was playing anything - and it was amazing to read in a major American magazine a few days later that I 'played a mean guitar.'"
NEIL ASPINALL
The agreement with Sullivan stated that The Beatles would appear on three consecutive Sunday night shows.
The first would be the live broadcast on Sunday, February 9th, followed by a show to be broadcast live from Florida the following week, and the third appearance would be a taped performance.
That third taped performance was shot on Sunday afternoon, the 9th of February before a different audience than the live broadcast later that evening. For this performance they taped, 'Twist And Shout,' 'Please Please Me' and 'I Want To Hold Your Hand.'
As the time for the 8 p.m. show approached, the group received a telegram backstage that read:
"Congratulations on your appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and your visit to America. We hope your engagement will be a successful one and your visit pleasant. Give our best to Mr. Sullivan.
Sincerely, Elvis & The Colonel."
George Harrison read the telegram and jokingly
asked, "Elvis who?"
THE LIVE PERFORMANCE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
8 P.M., Sunday February 9, 1964
To watch the video of this performance - click on the link below
TO WITNESS THE BEATLES' 1ST ED SULLIVAN APPEARANCE click this link:
The Neilson ratings estimated that 73,700,000 people watched The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show - the largest audience ever for Sullivan and the largest ever in the history of television.
After the Sullivan Show, The Beatles headed over to The Playboy Club for dinner, followed by a night of 'twisting' at the
Peppermint Lounge.
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| ARRIVING AT THE PEPPERMINT LOUNGE |
 |
| CYNTHIA, JOHN, RINGO AND GERI MILLER |
OFF
TO
THE
WORLD
FAMOUS
PEPPERMINT
LOUNGE
 |
| RINGO STARR WITH GERI MILLER The evening at The Peppermint Lounge was filmed - click this link to watch: http://youtu.be/DNJmP1cJdKA TUESDAY FEBRUARY 11, 1964  Due to an enormous snow storm, The Beatles were force to take a train to Washington D.C. where they would perform their first live U.S. Concert with The Chiffons and Tommy Roe. The Beatles' train ride to Washington was filmed - to watch this candid clip - click on this link: http://youtu.be/mYf7sCmHlB0  Due to the snow fall, The Chiffons and Tommy Roe were unable to get to the show. Jay & the Americans, The Righteous Brothers and The Caravelles were called in as replacements. To watch the D.C. concert click on this link: http://youtu.be/SSOjIL3P5Ok Thursday, February 13, 1964 The Beatles board National Airlines flight 11 bound for Miami.    The next Ed Sullivan Show would be broadcast live from the Deauville Hotel in Miami on February 16th. Upon their arrival at the hotel there was a short rehearsal and then a photo session was scheduled with Life Magazine. "We'd told Brian we wanted a pool, and a guy from a record company had one. Looking back, it was quite a modest little pool for Miami. Not a huge affair. We would go round there in the afternoon and not get bothered. It was great - four Liverpool lads, you know: 'Get your cozzies on.' Life magazine was taking photos of us swimming." PAUL MCCARTNEY   RINGO STARR    Disc jockey, Murray the K had managed to weasel his way into traveling with The Beatles to Miami.  "I've often wondered how Murray could barge into the room and hang out with us for the entire trip. It's funny, really. I never quite understood how he did that." GEORGE HARRISON Murray the K escorted the group to the Mau Mau Club that evening to see one of their favorite groups, The Coasters; and later they took in Hank Ballard & the Midnighters' show at the Miami Peppermint Lounge. Saturday February 15, 1964   The Beatles rehearsed for the Deauville show and that evening took in Don Rickles' act at the hotel.  RINGO STARR The presence of The Beatles didn't go unnoticed by Rickles. "We were all on one table with our policeman buddy, our chaperone - we had this one bodyguard who came everywhere with us; he was a good mate and we often went back to his house - , and he started on him: 'Hey, cop, get a job! What's this? Looking after The Beatles? Great job you got, man, looking after The Beatles!' He went on, 'It's great. They just lie up there on the ninth floor, in between satin sheets and every time they hear the girls screaming they go "Oooohh".' Very funny, we thought. We were not amused, as I recall. Very cutting. I like him now but at first he was a bit of a shock." PAUL MCCARTNEY Sunday February 16, 1964  The show was broadcast live and you can watch a video clip of it by click on this link: http://youtu.be/ZMA2pfY9Fpc  Before The Beatles left Miami (February 18, 1964), they visited Cassius Clay at his training camp.    Later they attended a barbeque at a 'millionaires' home, and that evening attended a drive-in where they watched Elvis Presley in Fun In Acapulco. THE BEATLES DEPARTED MIAMI ON FEBRUARY 21, 1964, AND ARRIVED BACK IN LONDON ON THE 22ND. O.k., I couldn't let the opportunity pass to post a random, somewhat related fact. In my research I discovered that the week The Beatles were in Miami, Lesley Gore's song, "Run Bobby Run," which was the B-side of her recent, #2 hit, "You Don't Own Me," was sitting at #5 on the Miami charts. It didn't chart anywhere else in the country (according to the ARSA chart listings), so The Beatles may have had the good fortune (?) to hear this very Lesley Gore-ish tune.  If you'd like to listen to, "Run Bobby Run," just click on this link: http://youtu.be/AJQsuBLLOUs Well, there you have it . . . 49 years ago, today The Beatles arrived in America; and nothing would ever be the same - especially for the U.S. music industry (I'll take a look at that next time). Dear Mom, I will now get off of The Beatles! P.S. I will write when I find work. |
