JAKARTA - John Lennon held his wife's hand, Cynthia as the Pan AM Flight 101 London began to approach Kennedy Airport in New York. John was guessing what will happen to The Beatles when the plane landed. That day, February 7, 1964, was the first time The Beatles came to the United States (US). That day also marked the invasion of The Fab Four in Uncle Sam's country.
It's a little hard to imagine a time when The Beatles belonged only to the British, even to John. As reported by the Times, Lennon was very nervous. He held Cynthia's hand as he considered the impact of their visit to the United States at that time.
There is a little shadow, namely, of I Want to Hold Your Hand setting a record number 1 hit in the US for the first time, six days before John's hand getting cold in Cynthia's grasp. But still, there are so many variables that will determine their success in the US.
In the US, The Beatles would hold their first concert. They were also scheduled to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, one of the most popular television programs on the US. Could The Beatles get into the imagination of British teenagers? They are the rulers of England. But, in the US? The questions popped into John's head.
A few minutes before landing, the news was announced from the cockpit. The news helped calm the members. Yes, John wasn't the only one full of questions. Paul McCartney recalled the moment, "The pilot had called ahead and said, 'Tell the kids there's a big crowd waiting for them'".
The people looked like locust swarms, George Harrison recalled. They climbed walls and through barricades and fences to see The Beatles. The atmosphere on the plane changed. They clapped and cheered. The flight landed. The airplane door opened and screaming could be heard. It is estimated that there were three thousand fans there.
"We heard that our records were selling well in America", said George, retelling the story he heard from their US label Capitol Records. "But it was only after getting off the plane that we could understand what was happening. Seeing thousands of children there meeting us made us realize how popular we were there (in the US)".
I Want to Hold Your Hand was released through a different label. In England, Parlophone Records accommodates the creation and distribution of this special work. For Capitol Records, I Want to Hold Your Hand broke the record for fastest-selling in label history.
The US public collective memory
Two days after the historic landing at Kennedy Airport, John, George, Paul, and Ringo Starr - who were 23, 20, 21, and 23 - made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Ed Sullivan Show stage was very boisterous. The screams of teenage girls from the studio audience drowned the Beatles' music.
It is estimated that the program was watched by 73 million US television viewers, which means 40 percent of the US population at that time. The Ed Sullivan Show immediately tied The Beatles with two other appearances in the same month. A pragmatic yet sensible way to get an audience together.
The following day, they performed two consecutive shows at Carnegie Hall in New York. The police closed down streets around the esteemed music hall due to fan hysteria. On February 22, The Beatles returned to England.
The Beatles also performed at their first public concert in the US on the same day, February 11th to be precise. The concert was held at the Coliseum in Washington, DC An estimated 20 thousand fans attended.
The Beatles' first US tour left a significant mark. Since landing at Kennedy Airport, The Beatles has truly become a collective memory of the US nation, with young Americans poised to escape the rigid cultural landscape of the 1950s. The Beatles, with their upbeat, rebellious music were the perfect catalyst for this change.
Their singles and albums sold millions of copies. And at one point in April 1964, five Beatles songs were perched on the top five of the US music charts. Subsequently, by the time The Beatles' first feature film, A Hard Day's Night was released in August, The Beatles had become increasingly prevalent. That late August, the four Liverpool boys returned to the US for their second tour. The arrival was sweet and in demand.
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