NEW YORK (PIX11) -- It was a cold Friday afternoon when the Beatles touched down at the newly named Kennedy Airport on Feb. 7, 1964.
I was there when Pan Am flight 101 landed at 1:35 p.m. for what would become the introduction of Beatlemania. I was among 200 reporters awaiting the arrival of the four mopheads from Liverpool, enduring the piercing screams of adoring fans. Their cries of “We want the Beatles” and “We love the Beatles” were deafening. I had no idea of who the Beatles were, but I would soon find out. They stepped out of the plane wearing their mod suits and strange-looking haircuts, and as far as I was concerned, could have been from a different planet.
But Paul, Ringo, John and George quickly won over the hardened New York press corps.
They responded to inane questions like “Are you the British Elvis Presley?” to “How do you find America?” That drew the greatest laughter when Ringo responded, “You turn left at Greenland.”
At some point, we learned that Ringo had expressed concern during the flight across the pond about how well the group would be received in the United States. Their recent record releases hadn’t been received too well. That is until six days before their arrival. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” sold a quarter of a million records in just three days and quickly rose to No. 1 on the charts.
It was pandemonium as the Fab Four maneuvered into New York City to prepare for their appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Seventy-three million people tuned in and the Beatles became an American sensation. They were paid a mere $10,000 for three performances.
But all reviews were not that sensational. Newsweek Magazine panned them and so did the musical director on "The Ed Sullivan Show," who didn’t think they’d amount to anything.
I got to interview Ringo and George when they returned to the city on their 32-city tour.
They were thrilled with their reception. The timing of their arrival contributed to their reception. They arrived 77 days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, while the war was raging in Vietnam, and civil rights conflicts were exploding in the South. As popular DJ Cousin Brucie noted, “They gave us a reason to smile again.”
And we’ve been smiling ever since. As the music infers, they came to hold our hand, but they captured our hearts and made music history.
English (US) ·