It was a night that we had been looking forward to for weeks. The Beatles were just about the cutest, quirkiest and most entertaining group that any of us had ever seen and we were crazy about them.
Everyone was. They were funny, cute, just a little bit sexy and they had that hair. Back in 1964 that was considered long. We called them the Mop-tops and the Fab Four. America was Beatle crazy. It was Beatle-mania all over the United States.
My two sisters and I had this weird little record player that when it closed up, looked just like a suitcase. We played 45’s on it, thick black round 45’s with a needle that dropped down and you’d hear that scratchy noise before the needle hit the groove and then the record would start.
My sisters and I listened to “She Loves You” over and over and over. The three of us knew all the words and would sing them together while we played the records.
We all gathered in the family room that night, in front of our one and only TV in the home, which was black & white, by the way. We watched The Ed Sullivan show together as a family every single Sunday night when I was growing up, it was what everyone in America did and that night it was even more exciting than usual.
Ed Sullivan came out saying, “Well….tonight is going to be a rilly, rilly big sheow,” in his nasally voice, rubbing his clenched hands together and rocking back and forth on his feet.
(For such a popular host, he had such odd mannerisms, it’s a mystery to me how he ever made it in the entertainment industry. I have a feeling he was a son of a bitch, and tough to work for, but that’s not today’s story.)
Then the Beatles came on the stage and the audience went completely crazy.
They started out with a set of three songs: “All My Lovin'” was first, “‘Til There Was You“ came next and they finished with “She Loves You.” The audience was beside themselves; girls were screaming and swooning. Police had to carry some of them out of the theater, their legs kicking and flailing about. It was absolute hysteria but the boys from Liverpool were just so darned adorable and kept right on singing even with all this lunacy going on around them.
During the songs, the camera men zoomed in on each singers face for a close-up and supered their name over them (as if we didn’t know who each one was). When they zoomed in on John, the super read “Sorry girls, he’s married.” We were all kind of scandalized by that, they seemed way too young to be married and it gave John a mysterious air of notoriety and maturity.
Ed brought them back on at the end of the show and they sang two more songs: “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” The theater went crazy with all that “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah-ing” and all of us in our house were singing along and we would have screamed as loud as those girls on TV if my mother would have let us.
The Beatles became a presence throughout my entire life.
I grew up with them, they colored my grammar school, high school, college years and beyond. In 6th grade I wrote an English paper on “Eleanor Rigby” and had a heated discussion with my English teacher about the symbolism of what the lyrics “keeping her face in a jar by the door” meant.
I remember the day John Lennon died vividly, it felt like the end of the world. I was working in a bookstore at the time, and within a week of his death there were 3 hatchet-job paperback books about his life out on the shelf and I got so depressed at the notion that people would stoop so low as to make a buck off the death of a brilliant, peace-loving musician. He had just released “Double Fantasy” and it all seemed just too sad. I cried for days afterwards.
And then I got married to a fellow Beatle-lover (in fact he likes them even more than I do, which is saying a lot) and we had the chance to share them with our kids.
Every long car ride taking the kids to my parents house or to the Outer Banks in North Carolina would include hours and hours of Beatle compilations that my husband would carefully prepare for the drive. The kids liked them too and would sing along. I loved the Beatles for that.
They were a force of nature, a one in a million anomaly. I don’t think there are any artists out there today that will have the longevity and relevance of the Beatles. Certainly not Justin Bieber (although he is very cute) or One Direction. Not U2, Coldplay or even Justin Timberlake. The difference with the Beatles was that they were the whole package. They wrote beautiful music, gorgeous harmonies AND meaningful lyrics that got better and better as they got older.
We are all lucky to have had the lads from Liverpool in our lives.
Claudia:
I remember the hoop-la in my house that night too. I had no idea it was 50 years ago and assumed I was older than I was (five) because of those memories. It just goes to show what a really big deal it was in everyone’s house. Our children were raised on the Beatles too. We’ll be watching the CBS special on Sunday night and I bet you will be too!
I know, it’s odd how much I remember, considering how young I was. They really made an impression on us Schmidt girls 🙂 Can’t wait for the special Sunday night.
I don’t remember when they were on the show but became a beatles fan later in life. We saw a Beatles tribute show in Vegas 2 years ago and it was a lot of fun.
I heard that show in Vegas was good, maybe next time I’m there I’ll check it out.
How fun to read your memory of the Beatles! My mom told me about it, and I remember her saying that everyone thought their hair was so long! I was a teenager in the 80’s, and that’s when boys really grew long hair. 😉
On a side note, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my left breast, too, almost 18 years ago. You can find me at http://www.lemondroppie.com
Visiting from SITS Sharefest!
Yes, so funny that we thought their hair was long, when it was so short compared to hair in the 80’s! Saw your site, and left a note, thank you for sharing your BC story, as well as the comment on today’s post. All the best!
I love this post! I love hearing how to Beatles have changed the lives of others. I love love love the Beatles and couldn’t imagine growing up without them. Granted, “growing up” with them was not the same as it was for you, but it still impacted my childhood and musical interests just as much!
Hi Melissa – I love that the Beatles could impact someone as young as you as well as someone as old as me 🙂 NOT THAT I THINK I’M OLD, but, hey, you’re only 24 (checked your blog)! Thanks for stopping by and watch the show on Sunday night — there’s a Beatles show on CBS to commemorate the 50th anniversary.
I was too young to remember JFK’s assassination, so John’s death was the first loss of a public figure that I experienced. I couldn’t believe it was possible. I was a freshmen in college at the time. Thanks for sharing your memories of the Beatles.
I was out of college, in my mid-20’s and it was the most shocking thing, worse for me than JFK because I felt so connected to John Lennon. Thanks for reading.
I agree completely that no band will have the impact that the Beatles had on our culture ever again – they ushered in a completely new era of music, and the way they grew as artists is in direct correlation to the way music changed over the years. I have never grown tired of them. I was too young to watch them on Ed Sullivan (not quite 2 at the time), but their blue and red albums were the first two I bought, at 11 years old, when I began to collect records.
Thanks for the idea for the post, Sharon. I had 2 older sisters who got me hooked on The Beatles, we were all obsessed with them!
I love reliving that night!
Me too! Can’t wait to watch the show on Sunday night on CBS!
Will never forget the night John Lennon died.I was in bed, nursing my new baby. My husband came in the room and said, “They killed John Lennon.” Could not believe it. I am loving all these posts–so many great memories!
I remember it too. I think the announcer was Vince Scelsa on WNEW 101.2, in NJ. Such a sad time. But most of my Beatles memories are happy ones!
I was 6, only slightly younger than you, but having no siblings, I had no clue about the Beatles. It doesn’t feel right being a baby boomer and not really becoming a Beatles fan until years later.
I guess I was lucky to have older sisters. We were all just so into the Beatles, it was a fun thing to share. As I recall, we all liked Paul & George, but then later I migrated over to John, ’cause he was so interesting.
I am loving all these Beatles memories!!
Me too! Lots of fun.
Claudia, you are so right. They were the whole package. Thank you for this trip down Memory Lane.
Thanks, Helene! Loved this particular topic, such fun.
I was eight. And my sister was a screamer. I was the dancer. She was the screamer. 🙂
LOL, a dancer and a screamer, perfect for that night!
I LOVE this post. You allowed us to FEEL what you were going through when you saw The Fab Four. Your language knocked it out of the ballpark.
I was in college in my dorm room in Boston when I looked at the TV screen and saw the news about John. I wanted to take a bus home to NYC and stand in front of The Dakota. The Beatles were no more, and that man of peace was gone. But never forgotten, and never far away from us in our hearts. EVER.
Aw, thanks, Cathy!
I was living in a house with 4 other girls in NJ when I heard the news from Vince Scelsa on WNEW NY. I couldn’t believe it, it was heart wrenching. I still have a copy of the full page ad in the NYT that Yoko published on the weekend after he died, where she memorialized him and his fans, it’s all yellow with age, but still pretty powerful words. xo
The 60’s were iconic for music and the arts! I wonder when there will be another decade like that one. Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for visiting! The show last night on CBS was really good, so much fun to see so many other artists covering their songs.
My girl friend was in the city last night for the Beatles extravaganza, she LOVES them. (She is 62yrs old). I loved watching the special on CBS last night too. Watched it with my 10yr old daughter. <3 from SITS
Thanks for stopping by, Christine! It’s so nice that you watched the CBS special with your 10 year old 🙂
The Beatles were amazing. I was only five, so don’t remember much about their first show, but they have been part of my life ever since then. I hear their songs on the radio quite often and love to sing along as loud and bouncy as I can.
Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer!
I kinda missed that era…just barely. I was an American Bandstand and Soul Train kind of gal. I think I thought I was black…I loved the Jackson 5! When Michael still looked like a guy. Oh, those were heady days!
I loved American Bandstand & Soul Train, too 🙂 So funny to think of how many hugely successful bands started out there. And, yes, loved the J5 as well. My kids loved them and Michael. I love how music can bridge generational gaps……thanks for figuring out how to post on here 🙂 I know you had trouble earlier…..
This was before I was born, but I heard a lot about it growing up! Love from SITS!
Thanks, Crystal! They were THE popular group of the day.
What a great memory to have! I honestly love the Beatles songs, but like them sung by other people better, strange I know! #SITSBlogging
Not surprising that you’d like them sung by people of your generation. It’s nice that younger people still like them/their music, shows how long lasting they are and how much their music resonates across different ages and generations.
What a wonderful memory! I love The Beatles, and cannot even think of another band that comes close to their talent and fame! #SITSBlogging
Me either, I really tried to think of someone who was even close but no one comes to mind. Thanks for stopping by!!
What fascinating memories! Thanks so much for sharing them, Claudia. Dee, visiting from SITS. 🙂
Thanks, Dee!!
There are not too many bands that carry through so many generations so well. I was not around for their original fame, but my parents of course, introduced them to us and I still to this day have an ipod full of beatles. Thanks for sharing your story.#SITSBlogging
So nice that your parents shared the Beatles with you, that’s one of the things I’ve loved to do with my kids. We shared Beatles, Jackson 5, Bruce Springsteen and Pink Floyd…..they like them all!
You along with the Beatles special have brought back so many great memories! I was just a couple years older than you when they first appeared on Ed Sullivan, and since we lived in the country and didn’t get CBS, I spent the weekend with my best friend, who was also a Beatlemaniac, so that I could watch it. Incidentally, I was sure I was going to marry George, and my friend was sure she would marry Paul. I got to go on the Beatles tour in Liverpool and visited the Cavern Club where they first performed -it’s really small, dark and dank – nothing of what I imagined from the pictures. Very special memories. Your blog is fantastic, BTW – I’m going to be visiting often. Popping in from SITS.
Hi Cyndi, I thought I was going to marry Paul first, then John later (although I knew he was married so not sure what I thought was gonna’ happen there!). So cool that you got to go to Liverpool to see the Cavern Club. Thanks for stopping by!! Come back again soon!
I will age my self since you had the guts to! I was 10 when the Beatles were on TV and remember my Mother telling me that rock was bad for me! My cousin and I were crazy about them! I still love them! I am stopping by from #SITSblogging!
You don’t look like you were 10 way back then 🙂 My mother and father told us that they thought the Beatles were a flash in the pan! We loved telling them, years later, that they were soooo wrong 🙂
Though I was born after their time (1982), The Beatles have held a special place in my heart since I can remember. Some of the first music I learned to play included Yesterday and Lucy in the Sky. If I had been born in the right era, I would have totally been a crazed fan girl.
PS. I’m visiting from the SITS comment love tribe. Nice to meet you.
Thanks for stopping by, nice to meet you, too!
We love Beatles in our family and listen to their music whenever we get a chance! Our young daughters like them too!
Thanks for reading, Delia! My son and daughter are both pretty big Beatles fans which is kind of nice, something great to share with kids.
Claudia,
I love this post. I am a fellow Beatles lover (along with my sister) because my mom grew up with them and instilled a deep love for them in us at a super young age. We got pulled over for speeding one summer on our way home from the Outer Banks because we were signing Help! so loud and my mom didn’t notice the speedometer (the police officer thought we were nuts).
I’m definitely passing this post on to my momma!
Hi Offbeateanpath (love that name, btw)! Cute story that you got pulled over because you were singing and not paying attention 🙂 Tell your mom I said Hi!
What a cool link up!
Love the Beatles! Though they were broken up by the time I was into music, I still loved their songs and had all their albums. The lyrics are what get me– I think the only current band that will still be relative a long time from now is Bruce Springsteen and E Street—for the same reason. Of course, they’ve been playing for close to forty years now. (Are we really this old? I was two when the boys were on Ed Sullivan) Nice to meet you!
Yes, the lyrics were my favorite too, although I also liked the harmonies of their voices. I also am a big Bruce fan – he’s a Jersey boy and I’m a Jersey girl, so of course I’m a huge fan. I do feel really old when I realize how long ago it all was. Thanks for stopping by! Nice to meet you, too!
It’s so cool to remember and relive all of that, I’ll bet! I’m a Beatles fan even though I didn’t experience it live (I’m 40), but their music is timeless. #SITSBlogging
Hi Cynthia, Yes, this was a fun post to do for me. I love music……thanks for stopping by!