A riveting look at the polarizing nature of the Beatles phenomenon, and how it transformed a generation, through the lens of a singular city in the center of America. ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ became one of the fastest-selling soundtrack albums of the 1960s. December 1964 30 Jan 1964 1 single in America. This was something that never happened before.” On August 29, 1966, they give their last concert in San Francisco. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame puts it this way: "They literally stood the world of pop culture on its head, setting the musical agenda for the remainder of the decade.". Capitol Records threatens to sue WWDC to stop playing song, but then reverses itself and decides to rush-release “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” previously scheduled for  January 13, 1964. Between January and March 1964, the Beatles accounted for 60 percent of all record sales in the U.S. …Saw Her Standing There Beatles’ ‘I Feel Fine’ / ‘She’s A Woman’ single, Capitol Records, Nov 23, 1964. 23 Mar 1964 The Beatles’ impact, of course, goes well beyond their music-chart numbers in 1963-64. 27 April 1964 Released in June '67, Sgt. Record sleeve for ‘She Loves You’ / 'I’ll Get You’ single issued by Swan Records in Sept. 1963, which went ‘virtually unnoticed.’ Click for digital. Dick Clark, of 'American Bandstand' fame, was a partner for a time in Swan Records. Thanks for visiting – and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. On Billboard, the prominent U.S. music chart that reflects single and album popularity and success, the Beatles set a slew of records, most in the March-April 1964 period, but a few of which still stand today. 24 Aug 1964 69. 16 Mar 1964 New York city radio station WMCA joins others  broadcasting “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”  Back in London, meanwhile, Sunday Times critic Richard Buckle praises the Beatles as the greatest composers since Beethoven. John A. Osmundsen, “Peoplewise, the Beatles Provide New Study for the Sociologists,” New York Times, Monday, February 17, 1964, p. 1. What is offered here, hopefully, is a representative sampling of activity in those first two “Beatles-in-America” years, mixing in music history, business developments, and news-of-the-times — plus one or two stories that may be new to many readers. Known by earlier names such as The Quarrymen, Johnny & The Moondogs, and The Silver Beatles, they played a variety of venues, with a change or two in personnel during those early years. All My Loving Did you scroll all this way to get facts about the beatles 1960s? 1 June 1964 The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show. Paar was also able to get a film clip of the Beatles performing “She Loves You” in an English town, and he aired it on his show Friday, January 3, 1964, showing the Beatles performing the song as their teenage fans went wild. As the Beatles experiment with musical styles and instruments, they are also experimenting with drugs, Eastern religions, and life as adults. Clark, meanwhile, appears to have given the record a review on American Bandstand’s “rate-a-record” segment — probably in the Oct-Nov period. Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume One — 1957-1965, Three Rivers Press, 416pp, 2008, and That Magic Feeling: the Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume Two — 1966-1970, Three Rivers Press, 416pp, 2009. “What do you think?” he reportedly asked Clark, who replied that the song sounded like “Buddy Holly and the Crickets and Chuck Berry and a lot of other early American songs sort of mixed together.”, Clark was not reassuring, though Binnick tried to interest Clark in the new group’s novel look. amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; Adams, having been playing a steady parade of “car tunes and surfing music,” decided to give the new Beatles album a whirl. They were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. 23 Nov 1964 Thank you. The song reaches No. 1 in the U.K. on August 29, 1963. “Beatles’ Iowa Breakout” “Girls Go Bug-Eyed as Beatles Perform,” Los Angeles Times, February 10, 1964, p. 2. Variety magazine reports that by August 1964, the Beatles had sold approximately 80 million records globally. amzn_assoc_linkid = "4bd4f0365878a8e4f9f5d1b63d4c6381"; Some 15,000 prints made for world-wide distribution — historical first in film industry. Then in late 1963 he got a telephone call from Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, who was then in New York arranging an American television appearance for the Beatles. It is the first complete Beatles song shown on American TV, and for many in America, the first time they see the Beatles. But he persisted, holding up the album and pointing to it emphatically. “2 Million Will View Beatles at 170 Theaters,” Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1964, p. C-17. The Beatles on stage at the London Palladium during a performance in front of 2, 000 screaming fans. Vintage 1960's The Beatles Black & White Metal Pin Back Button Souvenir . Songs performed: “She Loves You,” “All My Loving,” “This Boy,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “From Me to You,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”. CBS News bureau London — at the suggestion of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein — sends a news crew to the British seaside resort of Bournemouth where they film a Beatles concert, thousands of screaming fans, and a few Beatles’ comments on camera. It is not a complete and comprehensive treatment of the Beatles’ activities during these years, nor is it meant to be. That perspective would soon change. 15 Dec 1964 28 Aug 1964 The rise of the Beatles coincided with a vital shift in the relationship between the two countries and a change in the significance, relevance, and artistic ambitions of popular music. A few months later, another split-decade recording, Real Love, is released. In the first few years the band members included Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe, but ultimately the band gamed fame early in the 60s with members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. Pressures on the group (and within it) are starting to show. 2 behind then No. On April 4, 1964, Beatles’ singles and albums simultaneously held the top five Billboard singles spots and the top two Billboard album ratings — a record that still stands. A four-minute CBS film segment on The Beatles that had been pre-empted by the JFK tragedy is aired on Walter Cronkite’s  CBS Evening News. It was also the decade that brought us a band—and music—that would change England and the world forever. “Beatles Around the World,” DVD, Entertainment Properties, 2003. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; “I’ll Cry Instead”/ “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You” released as single by Capitol Records. John S. Wilson, “2,900-Voice Chorus Joins the Beatles; Audience Shrieks and Bays and Ululates,” New York Times, February 13, 1964. Ringo Starr has his tonsils removed at the University College Hospital in London. Sullivan has his first thoughts of booking these rising British music stars with strange haircuts — perhaps as novelty act. Beatles’ ‘I’ll Cry Instead’ single, released by Capitol Records, July 20, 1964. The untold story of the world's most famous band's formative years. 1963-1964 The Beatles in a session with Ed Sullivan prior to their February 9th, 1964 show. Click for vinyl. Campaign,”, Tweet The Beatles! D. Lowe, Thomas Whiteside, The Talk of the Town, “Beatle Man,” The New Yorker, December 28, 1963, p. 23. Vee-Jay Record’s “Beatles vs. Four Seasons” two-album set, October 1964. Sept 7     Toronto 78. Click for vinyl. Some 20 years later (and 15 years after Lennon is murdered) a new Beatles single is released in November '95. 20 July 1964 “Instantly, all the lines lighted up and stayed that way until well after the song ended,” recalled Adams in a later account of the playing. Hedda Hopper, “‘Hard Day’s Night’ Beatles’ Bonanza,” Los Angeles Times, August 15, 1964, p. B-6. 29 November 1963. "The Beatles - Penny Lane***** Lyrics In Penny Lane, there is a barber showing photographs Of every head he's had the pleasure to know And all the people that come and go Stop and say, "Hello" On the corner is a banker with a motorcar And little children laugh at him behind his back And the banker never wears a mac In the pouring rain, very strange Atco album, of Beatles' songs and other U.K. artists, October 1964. A Beatles' film clip was shown on Jack Paar's TV show in early January 1964. It wasn’t just the British sound, of course, as all of rock ‘n roll was going great guns by then — from Motown to the Surf sound, the Beach Boys to the Supremes, Bob Dylan to Marvin Gaye, and many more to come. “Beatles Depart for Britain As 4,000 Admirers Scream,” New York Times, Saturday, February 22, 1964, Food & Fashion, p. 18. 18-19 Dec 1963 14. Meet the Beatles LP by this date is reported to have sold 3,600,000 copies. 31 Mar 1964 amzn_assoc_linkid = "4d854917277699c54b5e38f1f9f1c7a9"; John Lennon takes a few months off to appear in the film How I Won the War, and on the first cover of Rolling Stone. The Beatles’ first U.K. album was titled Please Please Me, released in April of 1963. See also at this website other Beatles stories, including: A Beatles “topics page” can also be found at. The Birth of Beatlemania in America, Four Ninety-Eight Productions, December 2003, 246 pp. CBS, Inc., Press Release, “Beatles Will Sing Their Number One Hit on the Ed Sullivan Show,” February 5, 1964. Business problems spoiled a planned July 1963 debut, but it did appear on January 10, 1964. Click for digital. “Do You Want to Know a Secret” / “Thank You Girl” released as a Vee-Jay single. Beatles manager Brian Epstein travels to New York and persuades Ed Sullivan to book the Beatles for an unprecedented three consecutive appearances on Sullivan’s much-watched Sunday evening variety show — February 9th, 16th and 23rd, 1964. Mid-late Nov 1963 amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; Capitol Records issues "Beatles' Cam-paign" memo to its staff, Dec 23rd, 1964. Capitol Records, Inc., Press Release, “What’s Happening in Beatleland …,” January 29, 1964. But it was obvious to me that they had staying power. 5 out of 5 stars (907) 907 reviews $ 45.00 FREE shipping Only 1 available and it's in 1 person's cart. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. Paul and George each wore Victorian outfits, and Ringo wore a lion … Bruce Spizer, The Beatles Are Coming! According to John Jackson’s excellent book, American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock ‘n Roll Empire, Bernie Binnick acquired the American rights for “She Loves You” for his Swan Record label while on vacation in England in the summer of 1963. Ann Rauscher, “The Beatles in America: We Loved Them, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” Newseum, Washington D.C., February 5, 2009. amzn_assoc_asins = "B01576X5DK,B0041KVZ1I,B002BSHWUU,1579129528"; Sources, Links & Additional Information The Beatles’ single “I Want To Hold Your Hand” is released in the U.K. and immediately hits No. What follows below is a timeline marking the rise of Beatles’ music and appearances in the U.S. during 1963 and 1964, along with a few photos, anecdotes, and sidebar stories. “Matchbox” / “Slow Down” is released as a single by Capitol Records. The Day The Mania Came To Washington,” Washington Post, February 7, 1984. Vee-Jay record label of Chicago obtains a contract to release limited number of Beatles records in the U.S. for a limited time period. Sept 3     Indianapolis “She Loves You” reportedly did poorly on the rate-a-record segment, earning a seventy-one out of a possible ninety-eight points — not an impressive showing. In 1964 alone, the Beatles put 19 hit songs in the Top 40, and 30 in the Top 100. 31 Oct 1963 The Beatles in the U.S.A.,” filmed by Albert Maysles, covering the Beatles U.S. tour and other activities that year. Click for CD. It blew away most of the competition. This Beatles’ infusion, however, produced change that would last much longer than four years, not only in music but more broadly throughout popular culture —  in fashion, literature, politics and beyond. With The Beatles becomes the Beatles’ first million-selling album in Britain, and the second album of any kind in Britain to sell one million copies, the first being the South Pacific soundtrack. “Yeah? “The First U.S. Visit: A Film by Albert and David Maysles,” DVD, Apple/Capitol Records, 1964, Revised 1990. Lennon also populari z ed wearing solid white suits, reflecting an interest in minimalist design that also influenced the cover of the album The Beatles. 25 Aug 1964 13 Nov 1964 “I Want To Hold Your Hand” would proceed to have worldwide sales of 15 million copies, the largest-selling single in rock history until Elton John’s 1997 version of “Candle in the Wind” for Princess Diana, eclipsed it. 25 Jan 1963 • The Beatles (2000). Twist & Shout ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ and those early ones. “250,000 Hail Beatles in Australia,”Los Angeles Times, June 15, 1964, p. 4. “Beatles Are Praised By Duke Ellington,” Washington Post-Times Herald, March 10, 1964, p. A-3. New songs were rated by teens on Bandstand, who reportedly gave the Beatles’ ‘She Loves You’ a poor rating in 1963. Bruce Spizer, Songs, Pictures and Stories of the Fabulous Beatles Records on Vee-Jay, Four Ninety-Eight Productions, April 1998, 242 pp. “Britain: The Beatle Business,”Time, Friday, October 2, 1964. Bob Scott, “Beatles Bounce Over,” Los Angeles Times, January 26, 1964, p. A-24. Martin Lewis, “Tweet The Beatles! For all intents and purposes, the arguments made for ‘the best album of the 1960’s’ and ‘the greatest Beatles album’ are one in the same. The New Yorker magazine publishes a Brian Epstein interview; regarded as first serious article in U.S. about the Beatles and their manager. _______________________ Click for digital. Ticket stub, Beatles' Sept 17,1964 concert in Kansas City, MO. From left: Paul McCartney, Ed Sullivan, George Harrison, John Lennon, and behind & above, Ringo Starr. Capitol Records reports sales of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in excess of 3.4 million copies. The Beatles perform two shows at Carnegie Hall in New York City. “She Loves You,” in fact, would sell 1 million copies, creating a temporary windfall for Binnick and Swan Records. 1 Dec 1963 The Beatles Archives: 1960 Beatles. Beatles, 'Life' magazine, August 28, 1964. 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