Beatles "Invade" America

Beatles Invade America

By Paige Lambert

Four young musicians from Liverpool, England, broke into the American entertainment sphere. February 9, 1964, during the CBS Ed Sullivan Show. According to a February 1964 Christian Science Monitor article, the network had received more than 50,000 applications for the 1,500 studio seats. Even more teenagers met the band at New York’s Kennedy Airport Friday, screaming as the Beatles exited the plane.

Time magazine recently compiled original footage of their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and interviews during the American visit.

File Photo/AP Images

Ed Sullivan (center) stands with The Beatles: from left, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, during a rehearsal for the British group’s first American appearance, on the Ed Sullivan Show,” in New York.

Beatlemania

“Beatlemania,” quickly spread after the Beatle’s appearance on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” Merchandise such as hats, sweaters and even wigs were began popping up in stores and households across the U.S.

In According to a Feb. 17, 1964, New York Times article, the only company licensed to sell the products, Reliance Manufacturing Company, made $2.5 million in retail.

“We had almost a tongue-in-cheek attitude when we first got into this,” Mr. Rubin said, “but it turned out the be the biggest promotion in our 60 years in business.”

Unenthusiastic Critics Not Impressed

While the Beatles were met with much excitement and ecstasy from thousands of young Americans, the post-arrival wave of headlines refused to give any support for the band.

The same Monitor article said,” All this has had a melancholy effect on the American political scene. The Beatles have been hogging all the publicity.” The article went on to list newsworthy political events that were overshadowed by the “Invasion.”

Other articles critiqued the performance as less than what American rock n’ roll artists had done in previous generations.

 “The boys hardly did for daughter what Elvis Presley did for older sister or Frank Sinatra for mother,” Wrote Jack Gould of the New York Times.

Gould inferred that the Beatles’ appearance was only a business move and that the screaming response to the band was greatly aided by public relation firms and Ed Sullivan himself.

Critics even commented on the audience, stating that the whole event, band and audience alike, were fake and un-American.

One headline from The Nation magazine even read, “No Soul in Beatlesville.”

Alan Rinzler from The Nation wrote, ”They are surely not singing in a musical tradition which evolved spontaneously from their own lives or from a ‘natural’ habit of expression.”

Rinzler described the audience as stylish upper-middle-class “ladies.” With police and media authorities watching, they were allowed to act hysterical like they were told, Rinzler claimed.

“There was mayhem and clapping of hands, but no sense of a shared experience, none of the exultation felt at a spontaneous gathering of good folk musicians, or, more important, at a civil rights rally where freedom songs are sung,” Rinzler wrote.

Earlier in the same article, Rinzler noted that Beatles’ records were in the U.S. 10 months before their appearance. As a result of prior press agent work, Rinzler said, “Beatles” had become a household name and girls were already screaming for the band. By the time they had appeared on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” band members knew they had already won hearts.

“They looked down at their screaming, undulating audience with what appeared to be considerable amusement, and no small understanding of what their slightest twitch or toss of head would produce,” Rinzler wrote.

During all my research, it seemed like the Beatles’ “Invasion” was a great hit to the teenage American, but it rocked the boat for the previous generation. It seemed as if they could, and were only willing, to see the marketing side of the Beatles “jumping the pond.”

File Photo/AP Images

The Beatles, from left, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr on drums, and John Lennon perform on the CBS "Ed Sullivan Show" in New York. The Beatles made their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," America's must-see weekly variety show, on Sunday, Feb. 9, 1964, and officially kicked off Beatlemania.

Of course, is great to include how the Beatles changed America and their merging into the culture. However, I provided a large amount of opposing information because I believe it is beneficial to show both sides. Doing so would give a fuller picture for the Beatles’ “Invasion” anniversary.

Sources:

Angle Deck: I chose to focus my research on the less acknowledged response to the Beatles’ visit. Few hear about the criticism they received and a good story tells all the sides of an event.

Deck:

The Christian Science Monitor/Feb 11, 1964/Page 1

New York Times/ Feb 17,1964/Page 1

New York Times/Feb 10, 1964/Page 53

Nation/March 2, 1964