(Re-posting 2/7/12)
Thanks to ThisDayin History.com for the reminder that on this day, February 7, back in 1964, Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with its special cargo of Beatles.
According to History.com:
It was the first visit to the United States by the Beatles, a British rock-and-roll quartet that had just scored its first No. 1 U.S. hit six days before with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” At Kennedy, the “Fab Four”–dressed in mod suits and sporting their trademark pudding bowl haircuts–were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans who caused a near riot when the boys stepped off their plane and onto American soil.
Here’s a great video using clips from that day:
Two days after their arrival at JFK, the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
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It’s hard to believe that it’s been 46 years since the Beatles hit our shores. I was 9 years old. I remember my friends and I formed a band modeled after the Beatles. We used coffee cans as drums and purchased plastic Beatles guitars and wore Beatle wigs. Girls in the neighborhood would scream during our concerts. What a wonderful, innocent time.
Unfortunately our dreams far exceeded our musical abilities, and our fame never exceeded the boundaries of the neighborhood!