So this is America. They must be out of their minds. – Ringo Starr
Welcome to Part 4 of my series on the history of The Beatles.
In the year 1964, the British Invasion hit and artists from Great Britain became popular in the United States. The movement was first started by The Beatles (of course!). This is also one of the most significant developments in The Beatles’ success.
Upon arriving John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on February 7th, 1964, the Beatles were greeted by a crowd of over three thousand. Two days later, they gave their first live performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Over 40% of the United States population watched the show that night. The invasion had began.
On February 11th, four days after their arrival, The Beatles gave their first concert in United States at the Washington Coliseum, followed by another one the next day in Carnegie Hall in NYC. Extremely well received, The Beatles established their reputation in the United States.
Over the course of the year, The Beatles toured internationally, returning to the United States in August. Once again, this month long tour attracted tens of thousands of fans to their performances from San Francisco to New York.
Amongst their hectic schedule that year, The Beatles also released their third and fourth studio albums, A Hard Day’s Night and Beatles for Sale. These two albums contained new inventive music from the “ringing guitar” sound of Harrison’s Rickenbacker, to deeper lyrics by Lennon and McCartney. Both albums are great successes with songs staying in the top charts for weeks such as Can’t Buy Me Love. The Beatles were establishing their reputation world wide and were slowly maturing as a band with its own melody and lyrics, and new originality.
Here’s A Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles!
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