50 years ag today: The Beatles arrive at JFK Airport

beatles-at-jfk

The Beatles’ first visit to the United States began 50 years ago today, on February 7, 1964, with their arrival at New York’s JFK International Airport on Pan Am Flight 101.

Two days later, the Fab Four performed on The Ed Sullivan Show to a TV audience of 70 million people – most of them screaming young girls and their alarmed parents.

There will be concerts, exhibits and other special events taking place around the country this weekend to mark the milestone of the first Beatles invasion in the U.S, but it kicks off at JFK Airport this morning when the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey unveils a historical marker at the landmark TWA Flight Center (in the airport’s Central Terminal Area) paying tribute to The Beatles’ arrival and first press conference in the United States.

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