The Beatles: Still fab at 40 [40th anniversary group's American debut]

Hollywood Reporter ^ | February 6, 2004 | Tamara Conniff

[ejdrapes]

The Beatles: Still fab at 40

A slew of new products and promotional activities commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Brit pop group's American debut.

The day of the Beatles' Feb. 9, 1964 debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show," Ringo Starr and George Harrison were sitting backstage in the hallway outside their tiny dressing room, leisurely sipping Cokes.

Little did they know that a record-breaking 73 million Americans would tune in to the broadcast. The Fab Four -- Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Starr and Harrison -- had arrived in the United States.

On Saturday, it will be 40 years since the Beatles landed in New York -- and Beatlemania shows no sign of slowing. Beatles music and paraphernalia generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually; the group's "1" album, released in 2000, went to No. 1 in 35 nations and has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide. What's more, the Beatles' fan base continues to grow among new generations; according to Capitol Records, 42.5% of customers who bought "1" were under 30.

A committee of Beatles enthusiasts and scholars, working under the banner "The Fab 40," has organized a slew of commemorative events, DVD reissues and exhibits in honor of the anniversary. A film and TV tribute, featuring highlights of the "Sullivan" episode and a new 35mm print of the Beatles' first film, 1964's "A Hard Day's Night," will take place Sunday at the Lincoln Center in New York. A forum of experts will be on hand to discuss the band, including Robert Freeman, who created "Night's" title sequence and was the photographer and designer of its soundtrack album jacket; Beatles scholar Martin Lewis; concert promoter Sid Bernstein; Albert Maysles, who documented the Beatles' first visit to the United States; and Bruce Spizer, author of the new coffee-table book "The Beatles Are Coming! The Birth of Beatlemania in America."

On Sunday, CBS will salute the Beatles during the Grammy Awards telecast. On Monday, 1960s radio icon Cousin Brucie and a Beatles tribute band will take the stage at New York's Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate the anniversary of the group's "Sullivan" appearance, and CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" will reair a vintage performance.

A new DVD, "The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring the Beatles," also has been released.

The American Film Institute in Maryland on Friday launched a weeklong tribute to the film work of the Beatles. In Washington, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution has opened an exhibit of 71 black-and-white Beatles photographs from the archives of CBS and Life magazine photojournalist Bill Eppridge, titled "The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes."

Also this week, Apple Corps/Capitol Records released a DVD edition of the Maysles brothers' 1964 documentary "The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit," originally televised in the United States and the United Kingdom. Shot in black-and-white by Albert and David Maysles (1970's "Gimme Shelter," 1969's "Salesman"), the DVD also features never-before-seen footage.

"I got a call one day from Grenada TV, and they said: 'The Beatles are arriving at Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy Airport) in two hours. Would you like to make a film of them?'" says Albert Maysles, 77, who spent five days and five nights with the band. "So I put my hand over the phone, and I turned to my brother and said: 'Who are the Beatles? Are they any good?' And he said, 'Oh yeah; they're good.' So we both got on the phone, made a deal and rushed out to the airport. We started filming them as they were getting off the plane -- the rest is history. We hopped into the limousine with them, and off we went."

Harrison's sister, Louise Harrison, was with the Beatles during their first visit and recalls the mobs of groupies.

"No one was really prepared for what happened," she says. "For my parents, particularly, they received mail from all over the world and took the time and trouble to respond to as many of the letters as they could; they were answering thousands of letters every week. To this day, I run into people who still have a tattered scrap of paper that they've had in their pocket for 40 years from my mum and dad. That's the kind of family George came from."

Feb. 7, 1964 was not George Harrison's first visit to the United States. He and his brother Peter had visited Louise, who was living in Illinois, in September 1963.

"I think the first time was probably George's best impression of America because it was normal," Louise Harrison says. "He met all the wonderful down-to-earth hometown people from Southern Illinois. It truly is heart of the county -- people are really kind."

As Vince Calandra -- then a production assistant/program coordinator for "Sullivan" -- can attest, after the Feb. 9, 1964 broadcast, none of the Beatles would ever again enjoy that kind of anonymity.

"There were so many people outside the studio that four New York City cops literally carried Cynthia Lennon (John's wife at the time) out of the limo and over the crowd," Calandra says. "With 44 years in the business, I've been with Frank Sinatra, Princess Grace, Mother Teresa -- you name it, I booked it. But I never experienced anything like the Beatles."

Adds Maysles: "No one, including them, knew whether there would be five people or 5,000. They were sudden celebrities."

Calandra also stood in for George Harrison, who had strep throat and a fever, during the "Sullivan" camera rehearsal. Unlike most other groups booked on the show, the Beatles took special interest in the sound and quality of their performance. "They were only in their 20s, and they were the first group who ever asked to be allowed into the control room to listen to the playback," Calandra says. "They were concerned about it and took the time."

Larry Kane, author of "Ticket to Ride," also spent time with the Beatles during their first visit and was the only American journalist to join the group on its subsequent North American tour. Kane, then a hard-news man covering murder and political corruption for Miami's WFUN, believes that during the ensuing 40 years, each member's personality has been stereotyped -- sometimes inaccurately -- by the public.

"Ringo Starr was always viewed as the 'weird Beatle,'" Kane says. "There is absolutely nothing weird about him: He's a very bright guy who loves children, is very family-oriented, who is really all about the music. George Harrison was always called the 'quiet Beatle'; George (told me), 'The only reason I'm the quiet Beatle is because I don't say anything unless I have something to say.' And when he had something to say, he was very spiritual and very politically connected."

Agrees Louise Harrison, "Oh, (George) had plenty to say for himself."

Kane says McCartney really was the quiet Beatle. "That's the real surprise," he notes. "He was more subdued in private and the least giving in interviews. But as subdued as he was offstage, he was the most extraordinary stage performer I've ever seen; every single Beatles fan in those audiences believed that one of the (Beatles) was singing to them. Paul McCartney made love to those kids with his eyes."

Of Lennon, Kane notes: "John Lennon was, without question, a man who said in public what he thought in private. That can be very dangerous. He would break out in nervous sweats before concerts. ... I think he was more comfortable in the recording environment than he was onstage."

What Maysles, Kane and Calandra remember most about the Fab Four is how genuinely kind and down-to-earth they were. "I thought they were four of the nicest people in the world," Calandra says. "They were always on time, always well-dressed and polite to everybody."

Louise Harrison believes that the positive message that runs through the Beatles' music has helped make the band timeless. "It was about love and peace and caring, and let's all try to get along with each other," she says. "There was nothing vicious or mean or underhanded about them -- it was so much positive energy. My parents raised us to be true and honest to our own beliefs, to always be kind to other people, to always look for the good in other people. This was very much the whole flavor of how (George) grew up."

Harrison, who died in 2001 after a long battle with brain cancer, would have been celebrating his 61st birthday Feb. 25.

In his honor, on Feb. 24, Capitol will reissue digitally remastered versions of Harrison's five solo studio albums, recorded for his Dark Horse label.

[billorites]

I was in 3rd grade and watched this on the B&W TV in my grandmother's bedroom.

Didn't seem like the band would have legs.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Fab Four

I was ten when I first heard,
I Want to Hold Your Hand.
I knew before the song was though,
That I would love this band.
Hit after hit the boys cranked out,
It seemed they’d never stop.
Every song was worth the price,
All great and none a flop.
John, Paul, George, and Ringo Starr,
Came out of Liverpool.
Guys we let our hair grow long,
The girls screamed, “They’re so cool.”
John died young and George passed too,
But Paul’s still going strong.
Ringo’s still around somewhere,
And still can’t sing a song.
Their music still stands out today,
I hear it every day.
The road’s been long and winding,
Forty years today.

Conspiracy Guy 2/6/4

[Wumpus Hunter]

Before anyone rushes out to buy some Beatles, let's all that remember WHO OWNS THEIR SONGLIST now.

Yep, it's still that guy who likes little boys - Micheal Jackson!

So if you just HAVE to hear some Beatles, get them at your local library, don't put money in the pervert's pocket!