HOW THE BEATLES SUDDENLY CONQUERED AMERICA
Beatles tribute band, Abbey Road, performs at the
Belly Up on November 25; String quartet accompanies
SOLANA BEACH, CA (11/13/2012) On
February 9, 1964, an astounding 73 million Americans – roughly 40 per
cent of the U.S. population - tuned in to watch the Beatles’ American
debut appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, yet only six weeks before
virtually no one in America had heard of the Beatles. How did they make
this transition from complete unknowns to superstars in such a short
period of time?
With
the help of a 15-year-old girl, a television news anchor who wanted to
cheer up the country after the tragedy of JFK’s assassination, an
American record executive who decided to sign the Beatles after his own
company had rejected them four times and a host of astonishing
coincidences, the British Invasion captivated the nation and the Beatles
became the biggest selling band of all time in the United States.
As
of Christmas Day 1963, Beatlemania was in full swing in the United
Kingdom, but no U.K. act had ever achieved sustained success in America.
Cliff Richard, for example, is second only to the Beatles in the number
of U.K. hits, but flopped in the United States.
On
October 31, 1963, Ed Sullivan happened to be at Heathrow Airport in
London when the Beatles returned from a tour in Germany. When he saw the
enormous crowd of hysterical teenagers, Sullivan thought the Royal
Family must be arriving. Sullivan was intrigued by the rock band’s
following and immediately booked the Beatles for three appearances on
his variety show.
At
this time, the Beatles were not signed with an American record label.
Beatles manager Brian Epstein phoned Alan Livingston, the President of
the American division of Capitol Records, and asked why the label kept
rejecting his group. Livingston had never heard of the band because a
subordinate had declined Epstein’s submissions on four occasions.
Livingston overruled his staff and signed the group. Because of the
promotional opportunity of three Ed Sullivan show appearances,
Livingston decided to commit an enormous budget of $40,000 to launch the
group.
On
November 16, 1963, the London bureau of CBS News interviewed the
Beatles and filmed a concert. The film was flown to New York to be run
on the CBS Evening News in America on November 22 – the very same day
that President would be assassinated. Normal programming was suspended
and the film can containing the Beatles segment was put away.
On
December 10, CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite felt that a nation
recovering from the tragedy might be warmed by a light-hearted story
about some long-haired musicians from England. He aired the four minute
segment that night.
Marsha
Albert, 15, of Silver Spring, Maryland, saw the broadcast and sent a
letter to Washington radio disc jockey Carroll James. She asked : “Why
can’t we have music like that here in America?” James had never heard of
the Beatles but arranged for an airline stewardess to bring him a copy
of a Beatles record.
Carroll
invited the teenager to the WWDC radio studios to introduce “I Want To
Hold Your Hand” and the American premiere of Beatles music occurred on
December 17, 1963. The song was placed on heavy rotation on the station.
Listeners bombarded Washington record stores with requests for a record
and band that none of the stores’ employees had even heard of.
Two
days later, executives at Capitol Records in Los Angeles discovered
that a major Washington radio station was giving very heavy airplay to
an imported copy of a record not due for release for another month.
Worried that this would damage its carefully timed game plan, record
company lawyers threatened to sue the radio station. WWDC radio refused
to stop playing the record.
The
incredible reaction in Washington to the single caused Capital Record
President Livingston to make a radical decision – rush the release of
the single. At the time, record companies never released discs between
Christmas and New Year. The day after Christmas, Capitol Records
delivered the record to radio stations. The reaction was instantaneous.
In New York City for example - the records were delivered at 9 am. By
midday, three of the most influential radio stations (WMCA, WABC and
WINS) are playing the record as incessantly as the Washington station.
Major stations in other cities rapidly followed suit.
It
took only two weeks for record sales to top one million and the single
was listed at the top of the American charts. Capital Records
distributed millions of stickers announcing that “The Beatles Are
Coming!” For the next three weeks, Beatlemania erupted in the U.S.
The
Ed Sullivan show received 50,000 requests for tickets for the Beatles’
February 9, 1964 show. A raffle was held and 728 people were invited.
The
rest is history. The Beatles became the best-selling musical group of
all time, estimated to have sold over one billion discs and tapes
worldwide. They had 20 number one hits in the United States. Four of
their albums are listed on Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 10 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of the Top Five.
CALENDAR
Beatles
tribute band, Abbey Road, performs the iconic band's songs which
reached number one on the charts on November 25 at the Belly Up
Tavern. A string quartet will accompany the band on four ballads. The
show starts at 8 pm and doors open at 7 pm. Tickets are $12/$14 and the
venue is 21+. The Belly Up is located at 143 S.Cedros in Solana Beach
and tickets may be purchased at 858.481.8140 or www.bellyup.com.
PHOTO
TAG: "AR Jumping" shows (l-r) Gregory Wilmot ("John"), Axel Clarke
("Ringo"), Jesse Wilder ("George"); and Chris Paul Overall ("Paul"); "AR
Goofy" shows Overall, Wilder, Clarke and Wilmot.
And here is some more information about Abbey Road’s Nov. 25 show at the Belly Up:
SOLANA
BEACH,CA (11/05/2012) Tribute band, Abbey Road, performs 27 Beatles
songs which reached number one on the charts on Sunday, November 25 at
the Belly Up Tavern. The show starts at 8 pm and doors open at 7 pm.
Tickets are $12/$14 and the venue is 21+. The Belly Up is located at 143
S.Cedros in Solana Beach and tickets may be purchased at 858.481.8140
or www.bellyup.com.
From
their beginnings as tentative R&B-influenced rockers to
era-defining songwriters, The Beatles charted more number one singles
than any other musical group (23 in Australia, 23 in The Netherlands, 22
in Canada, 21 in Norway, 20 in the U.S.,18 in Sweden, and 17 in the
U.K.). It should come as no surprise that The Beatles have more songs in
Rolling Stone magazine’s "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" than any other group or solo artist. And there's even one that Ringo sang!
Such
is the popularity of The Beatles that their songs practically dominated
the airwaves in the 1960's. During one week in April, 1964, for
example, The Beatles held the top five positions on the Billboard
singles chart. No one had ever done anything like this before or since.
The songs were "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You",
"I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me"."Hey Jude" made
history by topping the singles chart for a record nine weeks.
Ironically,
the Beatles could easily have had even more number ones, because they
were often competing with their own singles. For example, the Beatles'
"Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were released as a "double
A"-sided single, which caused sales and airplay to be divided between
the two songs instead of being counted collectively. Even so, they
reached number two with the singles.
It's
also worth remembering that The Beatles were in the habit of putting
out albums without lifting any singles from them, so “With The Beatles”,
“Rubber Soul,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and “The
Beatles (White Album)” are unrepresented.
"Lennon,
McCartney and Harrison had stunningly high standards as writers," said
Elvis Costello. "Then they started to really grow up: simple love lyrics
to adult stories like 'Norwegian Wood,' which spoke of the sour side of
love, and on to bigger ideas than you would expect to find in catchy
pop lyrics."
From
that first song "Love Me Do" they recorded as a single to the last song
"The End" that actually closed out the group's life as a band with the
apropos lyrics - "And in the end/the love you take/Is equal to the love
you make" – The Beatles recorded more than 200 songs during a relatively
short period of time (1962-1969) and in doing so became the most
successful band in musical history. EMI estimates they have sold over
one billion discs and tapes worldwide.
Abbey
Road’s show consists of the 27 songs which reached number one on either
the U.K. or U.S. charts. Three costume changes cover the full range of
the Beatle experience and beyond, with authentic early black Beatle
suits, Sgt. Pepper’s regalia and Abbey Road attire.
“We
play the songs in chronological order so the audience can re-experience
the Beatles' advancements in songwriting throughout the 1960s,” said
Chris Paul Overall, who plays “Paul” in Abbey Road. “Guitar pop,
psychedelic songs, boogie woogie, blues – it is amazing all these songs
were written by the same three people, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.”
CALENDAR
Beatles
tribute band, Abbey Road, performs the iconic band's songs which
reached number one on the charts on November 25 at the Belly Up Tavern.
The show starts at 8 pm and doors open at 7 pm. Tickets are $12/$14 and
the venue is 21+. The Belly Up is located at 143 S.Cedros in Solana
Beach and tickets may be purchased at 858.481.8140 or www.bellyup.com.
