The Beatles - Post '63

Through The Cracks
Clouds | Danny Gatton | Roy Buchanan | TimeBox - Patto | Joe Stanley

In the music business there are many factors that define the razor edge between the "'Legends' and the Lost". The right sound, at the right time, in the right place are foremost on the list, but are not the only factors that will determine the placement of any musician in the history books. The pages are also subject to edit by record companies and producers, the fickle nature of fans, the general acceptance and understanding of your work by other musicians, and, of course, "Luck".
The Musicians profiled in "On The Boards" are those who, having reached the pinnacle of their particular music genre, gave us a sound that is uniquely definable as belonging to the individual musician(s). Feel free to add, correct, or debate the contents herein. Submission/comment

The Beatles post '63

The Beatles took the sound of America's evolving Rock n' Roll scene, ran it through the blender of Britain's popular "skiffle" movement, and created an entirely unique mixture that was to take the world by storm. Having survived the numerous instances of "the right time, place, and sound", lineup changes, and minor fiascos, The Beatles big break came in the form of a five minute news spot on CBS. "On December 10, 1963, a 5-minute story shot in England about the phenomenon of Beatlemania was shown on the CBS Evening News. This segment inspired a teenage girl named Marsha Albert living in Silver Spring, Maryland to write a letter to Carroll James, a disc jockey at Washington DC's WWDC radio station, requesting that he play records by The Beatles. James had a copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" shipped over to him in DC and the song debuted December 17, to an overwhelming positive audience reaction, with the station escalating airplay of the record." . This airplay was parleyed into a record deal, a spot on the Ed Sullivan show, and a series of tours that included the famous record-breaking 55,600 audience at New York's Shea Stadium concert.
Never before had any band played a stadium, never before had any band held such a hypnotic appeal for members of the "fairer sex", never before had any band raised such a cry of alarm in social, and religious circles, Beatlemania had taken America by storm.

The tour of America by the Beatles as an established group and “overnight sensation” began on February 7, 1964. The foursome were accompanied by Phil Spector and an entourage of journalists/publicists and photographers. Their arrival was historic in many ways, the unprecedented crowds at New York’s JFK airport, the running commentary on the arrival by radio stations, the huge crowd of fans at the Plaza Hotel, the series of appearances on Ed Sullivan’s show, and the massive media coverage. By the standards of the time this attention was unheard of, and has never been repeated for any other musical act. The Beatles had captured the world’s imagination, and held that fascination even after their breakup in 1970.

Washingto Coliseum

The February 9, 1964 Ed Sullivan Show appearance was watched by a record-setting 73 million people, (23,240,000 households, according to A.C. Nielsen), nearly one half of the US population. Their second appearance on the Sullivan show, on the 16th, had similar results, and a third pre-taped appearance followed on the 23rd.

On the 11th of February The Beatles gave their first concert hall performance in the U.S. at the Washington DC Coliseum, followed by a performance, February 12, at Carnegie Hall. It is somewhat of an amusing anecdote, that the first Sullivan appearance produced some interesting headlines the following morning, many newspapers wrote that The Beatles were nothing more than a "fad", and "could not carry a tune across the Atlantic".

This initial visit to America prepped the stage for the first official tour of the US and Canada which began on August 19, '64 with their first concert set at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California, and criss-crossing through North America for a total of 25 shows in 33 days. For the next 4+ years the Beatles continued to tour, producing one hit record after another, and released two successful movies, "Hard Days Night" and "Help!". With few exceptions the concerts were the same throughout the continent US, and indeed, throughout the world, sold out crowds, rave reviews, and a steady stream of hit singles. A more exacting tour schedule from 1961 through 1969 can be found here.
While the majority of the concert performances were synonymous with the stature that The Beatles had attained in the music world, the exceptions are much more noteworthy, and surely more interesting.

1964

The first performance of the Beatles North American tour on the West Coast at San Francisco's Cow Palace on August 19,1964, was stopped twice because of a shower of jelly beans from the crowd. “The Great Jelly Bean Incident”, was a result of George making an off hand remark about Ringo stealing his Jelly (babies) Beans. A similar incident occurred on September 6, at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan where a number of fans were thrown out of the stadium for throwing jelly beans. At a post show press conference, Paul was asked about the “evictions” and replied "It has become a bit of a trademark with our shows, but we'd prefer they throw nothing at all."

O'Finley 64

The Beatles arrived at Dorval Airport for two shows at Montreal's Forum in September ‘64. There was a large police presence due to Ringo having received death threats from a fanatic who threatened to kill "the English Jew." The threats were taken seriously enough to have a detective assigned to Ringo for the duration of the trip, and even during the performance the bodyguard was crouching onstage behind Ringo

On September 11, ’64, Hurricane Dora added her "two cents" to the Gator Bowl concert in Jacksonville, Florida. Ringo's drum set had to be nailed down, and at one point during the concert an attendant held Ringo down because he thought he'd be blown away. The Beatles also refused to play here unless they were assured the audience would be segregated, which was actually made a part of their contract.

At the September 15, ’64, Public Auditorium show in Cleveland, Ohio the chief of police came onstage to stop the show because the fans were rushing the stage. Grabbing the microphone away from George, who was unaware of any problem, the police chief threatened to cancel the show if one more person got out of their chair.

The September 17, ’64, performance at the Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, was an unscheduled appearance. Charles O. Finley, owner of the Kansas City Athletics baseball team offered a record $150,000 for the Beatles to play at his stadium. Using a little “Yankee Ingenuity” two businessmen took the sheets the Beatles slept on during their stay at the hotel, and sold one-inch squares for $1.00 each, netting them $159,000. O'Finley lost money on the deal, as attendance for the impromptu concert was less than expected.

1965

The Shea Stadium concert on August 15, ‘65, in Flushing, Queens, New York City was the first time a stadium of this stature was used as the scene for a rock concert. The Beatles played in front of an unprecedented crowd of 55,600 fans with hundreds more being turned away.

The August 19, ’65 show at the Sam Houston Coliseum Houston, Texas found the Beatles imprisoned inside their plane by a mob of fans until a forklift could extract them safely.

1966

Candlestick 66
On March 4, ‘66, Lennon was interviewed for the London Evening Standard by Maureen Cleave, when the subject of religion came up, Lennon remarked "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I do not know what will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity...We're more popular than Jesus now” Five months later, an American teen magazine called Datebook reprinted the “out of context” quote on its front cover.

While touring the Philippines, The Beatles were invited to a breakfast by Imelda Marcos at the Presidential Palace. The polite decline by Brian Epstein was taken as an insult by the Marcos’ who were not accustomed to receiving “no” for an answer. As a result of this unintentional “snub” the Beatles' police protection was withdrawn, and the group had to make their way to the Manila airport on their own, where all hell broke loose. Their road manager Mal Evans was beaten, the band members were roughed up by a hostile crowd, and after boarding the plane Epstein and Evans were ordered off, only being allowed to leave after returning all the money that the band had earned while they were there. I guess Imelda needed more shoes.

Upon returning from the Philippines, the March 4th comment by Lennon launched a backlash against The Beatles from religious and social groups in America. A radio station in Birmingham, Alabama, joked about burning Beatle albums, and this remark was taken very seriously by the churches in the rural south. Across the United States and as far away as South Africa religious groups began burning Beatles records in protest. Trying to ease the tension Harrison said, "They've got to buy them before they can burn them”, but in the end, under pressure from the media, Lennon apologized for his remarks at a press conference in Chicago on August 11, ’66. Forty two years later The Vatican publicly announced that it had forgiven John Lennon for his remarks, saying it was a "boast" by a young man grappling with sudden fame.

The August 1966 American tour by the band would be the final set of appearances in front of a live audience, and also the most controversial. The faux paus by Lennon had it’s repercussions, adding fuel to the political and religious insecurities inherent in society.

For the August 15, ’66, show at the Washington Stadium in Washington D.C. members of the Maryland Klu Klux Klan staged protests outside the stadium.

The August 19, '66, performance at the Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee brought out the anti-Beatles protesters in force and during the evening show, someone exploded a firecracker, the Beatles, while still playing on stage, looked at each other to see if anyone was shot.

Curiously the first city, on the first official American tour by the Beatles, was also the location for the last touring performance by the band. On August 30, '66 they played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California, to a half capacity crowd of 25,000 signaling an end to this phase of the Beatles career.

Beatlemania, record setting concert attendances, and an impressive string of hit records not-withstanding, the biggest influence, of the Beatles, on the music world was yet to come.

Part 3 - The Studio Years.

Beatles Discography

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