1st Time I Heard the Beatles 2

Ed Sullivan with the Beatles Feb. 9, 1964

February 9th marks the First Anniversary of this blog (www.being50.com) and this post is number 301.  A great big heartfelt thank you for all of you that have made this effort worthwhile.  The Blog enjoys readership from around the world.  The following based on numbers alone is as follows: the top 6 countries are; USA (by far the largest), China, Ukraine, France, Canada, and United Kingdom.  Another handful of countries round up the readership.  The page views are in the 10’s of thousands.  Looking forward to the second year!

 One of my sons originally convinced me to write a book about my life and family, a book which is still in progress.  I shared my book’s rough draft with my son (around a hundred pages), and he suggested that I start a blog.  My son and I share many similar traits, one in particular is decisiveness.  Once we agree on a course of action, we start immediately.  I still have that February 9^th a year ago fresh on my mind; I was sitting across from him at his dining table, as he began initiating the blog.  As quickly as he was done (in minutes), he said, write your first blog.  I told him I didn’t know what to say.  He said write about your favorite music group.  That became my first post: The First Time I heard the Beatles, http://www.being50.com/2013/02/first-time-i-heard-beatles.html.  That post was not much more than a sentence or two, and yet it got an unbelievable response. 

 Today I would like to expand a little on that first post.  Hearing about the Beatles for the first time created a little more than your normal exposure to a new song.  Up until that very day all my music heroes were American Made (the following list is the top 7 Hits of 1963); Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs - Sugar Shack, Beach Boys - Surfin' U.S.A., Skeeter Davis - The End Of The World, Cascades - Rhythm Of The Rain, Chiffons - He's So Fine, Bobby Vinton - Blue Velvet, Paul and Paula - Hey Paula.

·       Released: 29 November 1963 (UK), 26 December 1963 (US)

·       John Lennon: vocals, rhythm guitar, handclaps
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass guitar, handclaps
George Harrison: lead guitar, handclaps
Ringo Starr: drums, handclaps

·       Released on 29 November 1963, I Want To Hold Your Hand sold more than a million copies on advanced orders alone. It became the group's first US number one, and kick-started the British Invasion of America.

·       The song was written by Lennon and McCartney

The very next year (1964) The Beatles had 8 songs in the Top Hit Songs of the US Music Charts.

It’s been 50 years since 73 million people tuned in to The Ed Sullivan Show to watch the Beatles perform live on American TV for the first time.

 

• That Feb. 9, 1964 performance helped set Beatlemania in motion, and also resulted in Capitol Records opening up a factory in Jacksonville, Ill. to meet the demands of pressing the millions of Beatles albums that were being sold. That factory was nicknamed “The House the Beatles Built.”
• How much did the Beatles get paid for their Ed Sullivan performance? The deal called for them to make three appearances in 1964 for $10,000 — which is $75,147 adjusted for inflation in 2013.
• Their performance was so highly-anticipated that the show’s organizers received more than 50,000 ticket requests for the 700 seats in the theater. And it appeared all 700 present squealed in delight at the sight of the Beatles. By Chad Merda

How appropriate that my Blog’s 1^st Anniversary coincides with the Beatles 50 Year Anniversary of their arrival in the US of A, and performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  The best is yet to come…..