Pop-culture Series: The Beatles
History of The Beatles
Coming to America February 7, 1964
On February 7, 1964, The Beatles landed at JFK Airport in New York. The airport had recently been renamed by a mourning country in honor of President Kennedy, who had been assassinated just 77 days earlier. The airport was now full of 4,000 greeters.
Not realizing why there was such a crowd, Paul McCartney wondered aloud, “Who is this for?” as the screaming fans rushed the gates to meet The Beatles. Two days later, on Sunday night, they would appear for their first of three consecutive Sunday night appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
First American Record Album
Meet The Beatles was the first record album I ever bought. A monochrome cover and a dozen monophonic songs opened with the clap-track augmented I Want To Hold Your Hand, followed by I Saw Her Standing There; both were already massive hits in the U.S. To get a glimpse of the cultural impact it had in America — and the value of a recording clap track — watch the Tom Hanks movie “That Thing You Do.”
