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This is the definitive, fully illustrated account of the Beatles concerts and controversies, and of how the United States dominated their lives in so many ways. Written by one of the acknowledged experts on the Fab Four, Liverpool’s own Spencer Leigh, this volume includes interviews with fellow musicians, promoters, and audience members, together with rare photographs and memorabilia. Early in 1964, with Beatlemania raging in the UK, the Beatles topped the US charts with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and became a sensation on American TV with The Ed Sullivan Show —on which they appeared no fewer than three occasions, on consecutive Sundays in February 1964. In April 1964, they held all Top Five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 and were playing such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Shea Stadium. As Epstein predicted, they had become bigger than Elvis—after their first appearances of 1964 (at Carnegie Hall and in Washington, DC), the band went on to do a full North American tour in 1964, a shorter tour in 1965, and a final, 13-date tour in 1966 (each of which is covered in detail), transforming them into global superstars—but when John Lennon commented that the band was “bigger than Jesus,” things turned sour, and there were public burnings of their records. The final chapter and epilogue of the book take the story of “the Beatles in America” up to the band’s breakup and beyond, including John and Yoko’s June 1, 1969, “Bed-In” in Montreal and the release of the couple’s single “Give Peace a Chance.” 6 NEW THIS SEASON: SCHIFFER MUSIC The Beatles in America The Stories, the Scene, the Memories Spencer Leigh & Mike Evans, Consultant Editor ISBN: 978-0-7643-6835-6 $39.99 9 780764 368356 53999 ISBN: 978-0-7643-6835-6 $39.99 US | £36 .99 GBP | $56.99 CAN HC • 208 pp. • 8" x 9 1/2" (203 x 241 mm) 270 color & b/w images Music / Genres & Styles / Rock Music / Genres & Styles / Pop Vocal Music / Genres & Styles / General AVAILABLE: SEPTEMBER 2024 AVAILABLE UK: NOVEMBER 2024 A musician on the Liverpool rock scene in the 1960s, playing the Cavern and other venues made famous by the Beatles, Mike Evans witnessed firsthand the rise of the “Fab Four” from local heroes to international superstars. In the 1970s he was a regular contributor to Melody Maker and in 1984 curated The Art of the Beatles exhibition that was staged in Liverpool, Tokyo, and Cologne, also writing the highly acclaimed book of the same name. He lives in England. Spencer Leigh was born in Liverpool in 1945. His On The Beat program has been broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside for 30 years, and he has contributed to several BBC music documentaries. He writes obituaries for the British newspaper The Independent , and features for several magazines including Country Music People, Now Dig This , and Record Collector . He lives in England. 51 50 T H E B E A T L E S I N A M E R I C A C H A P T E R 2 : T H E F I R S T A M E R I C A N V I S I T THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW Above: Even in still photographs, Ed Sullivan looked awkward, as though he was wearing the coathanger as well as the suit. He didn’t sing, dance, or tell jokes, but he got by because his Sunday evening show had an amazing array of celebrity guests. Nearly every big showbiz name from the ’50s and ’60s was on the show, though it was an ordeal, because it was taped live and there was no lip-syncing. United States were tuned to the Beatles that night. Even the evangelist Billy Graham, who campaigned ardently against television broadcasting on Sundays, was watching. Graham said that the Beatles’ performance displayed “all the symptoms of the uncertainty of the times and the confusion about us.” (Smart of him to pick up on that.) After the show, Murray the K took John, Paul, and Ringo to the Playboy Club, while George returned to his bed. Then Murray took them to the Peppermint Lounge, where Ringo was filmed twisting with the patrons. The reviews for The Ed Sullivan Show were mostly very good. The Washington Post wrote, “They behaved in a more civilized manner than most of our own rock ’n’ roll heroes. Except for the outrageous bath-mat coiffure, the four young men seemed downright conservative . . . asexual and homely.” That’s probably the first and only time that John was described as asexual. The music critic of the New York Times , Theodore Strongin, wrote, “The Beatles have a tendency to build phrases around unresolved leading tones. This precipitates the ear into a false modal frame that temporarily turns the fifth of the scale into the tonic, momentarily suggesting the Mixolydian mode. But everything always ends as plain diatonic all the same.” When shown this review, Ringo Starr commented, “Why couldn’t he say whether he liked us or not?” The next day, the Beatles gave a round of press interviews and received awards in the Baroque Room and the Terrace Room at the Plaza Hotel. Once again, their banter mesmerized the journalists: Reporter: Who chooses your clothes? John: We choose our own. Who chooses yours? Reporter: My husband. Now tell me, are there are any subjects you prefer not to discuss? John: Yes. Your husband. Above: Bill Bohnert’s set design for the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show was simple but effective. When you have a group that looks like that, what else do you need? A press release described Paul as the bouncy Beatle, George as the quiet Beatle, John as the sexy Beatle, and Ringo as the Beatle Beatle, whatever that might mean. Ed Sullivan, who was born in 1902, was a nationally known sportswriter who, in an unlikely move, became a gossip columnist. The syndicated columns under his name (though not necessarily written by him) appeared during the entire time that The Ed Sullivan Show was on air. IN 1948, ED WAS THE HOST OF A NEW VARIETY SHOW, Toast of the Town , the debut of which featured the up-and-coming comedy/song duo Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. From 1955 on, the program was recast as The Ed Sullivan Show . Sullivan’s U.K. agent, Peter Prichard, says, “Ed had seized the opportunity. When television came along, all the major film studios barred their artists from appearing on TV. They thought it would take away from the magic of the motion pictures. Ed became the only broadcaster they would trust, and he said, ‘Look, it’ll gain publicity for your movies.’ The studios allowed Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne, who were big stars, to appear on TV, and to see them on [the small] screen was an extraordinary experience for the viewers. It worked well, and the rules were relaxed.” The Ed Sullivan Show was a variety show featuring singers, comedians, ventriloquists, jugglers, circus acts, and usually some culture—a snatch of opera or a scene from a Broadway play. Sullivan even had Albert Schweitzer playing the organ. But his most frequent guest was a mouse puppet, Topo Gigio. The whole family would sit down and watch the show, everyone knowing that if a particular act didn’t excite them, the next one would probably be more to their liking. When Ed was in his fifties, he wanted to associate himself with the new rock ’n’ roll music, and after rival host Steve Allen had stolen a lead on him, he presented Elvis Presley—but with a gimmick. Elvis would be shown only from the waist up, as his gyrations might upset viewers. This could have been seen as ridiculous, but it was a masterstroke. Sullivan got sixty million viewers, and at the end he added, somewhat paradoxically, “Let’s have a big hand for a very nice person.” He had given Elvis Presley America’s seal of approval. 190 12 13 T H E B E A T L E S I N A M E R I C A C H A P T E R 6 : T H E T H I R D A M E R I C A N T O U R From New York, the band headed to Hollywood. The Beatles went to the Capitol Records Tower for a press conference on August 24, after which they were given a gold disc for Revolver . When asked about contemporary bands stealing from them, Paul replied, “We pinch as much from other people as they pinch from us.” Most of the time they couldn’t muster the wit of past tours but fell back on bored, flippant answers. One typical exchange went like this: “What was the inspiration for ‘Eleanor Rigby’?” “Two queers.” The Beatles left Hollywood to play afternoon and evening shows in Seattle the following day, and they stayed at the Edgewater Inn, in Seattle. It was rumored that Jane Asher was flying in, and that she and Paul were going to be married in Seattle—a rumor that Paul played along with for a while. After the show, they went straight to the airport to fly to Los Angeles, but they had to wait as the plane needed a new tire. Coliseum, Seattle Thursday August 25, 1966 showtime 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. attendance 8,000 and 15,000 capacity 15,000 Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles Sunday August 28, 1966 showtime 8 p.m. attendance 45,000 capacity 56,000 Above: When the Beatles came to Seattle, a local newspaper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer , produced a souvenir edition, devoting the entire front cover to news about the band. Left: Setting the template for today’s rock bands, the Beatles onstage at Shea Stadium, on August 23, 1966. in an armored car that parked behind the stage. During the performance someone deflated the tires. The promoter Bob Eubanks had presented the Beatles in 1964 and 1965, too. He noticed a change in the band over the years: “The first year, McCartney and Harrison were very friendly. The second year, McCartney was real friendly, and in the third year, they were a pain. I forgave them because they were tired. They were tired of their own music, and they were tired of each other. They had had enough.” Even if the Beatles never said “Goodnight,” everybody in the audience knew that “Long Tall Sally” was the closing song; as soon as they heard it, they rushed toward the stage. Police officers used clubs, and the crowd wielded wooden barricades. Bottles and sticks were thrown, and there were many injuries and broken bones. The Beatles rushed offstage to a limousine, but by the time the car reached the entrance, fans were everywhere, and the driver had to reverse. Fortunately, no one was serio injured. The driver headed for a dugout at stadium, and the Beatles wer dressing room. J oth While the Dodgers were playing the Giants in San Francisco, the Beatles were playing the first concert in the Dodgers’ four-year-old stadium. The Beatles would be playing on the Giants’ home field the next day. There was a fence around the field, and the Beatles performed on a raised stage placed over second base. The Beatles were brought to the stadium