SALT LAKE CITY — Forty-six years ago, when he was 13 years old and watching the "Ed Sullivan Show" on his parents' black-and-white TV in Manhattan Beach, Calif., Tom Coburn had no idea his destiny was unfolding in front of him.
He just knew he dug the music.
He wasn't exactly alone in front of the television the night of Feb. 9, 1964. A new rock 'n' roll group from England called the Beatles was appearing live on the Sullivan Show and 73 million Americans, out of a population then of 190 million, tuned in to watch them.
"I remember going to school the next day and it seemed like everybody had seen it," says Coburn, who was in seventh grade at the time and is now a 50-something residing in Salt Lake City. "For me the impact was immediate. I had a brother, a year younger, who had already started to play guitar and immediately I wanted to play that guitar. So many people I have talked to over the years trace their motivation to becoming a musician to that show. I don't know if it was because the Beatles were so great or because all the girls were screaming. I think it was probably a combination."
Fast forward 46 years and take a guess where Tom will be Tuesday night when former Beatle Paul McCartney performs at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.
"I was online buying tickets the moment they went on sale at 10 o'clock," says Coburn. "At 10:05 I had three tickets to Paul McCartney. I am a total fan."
One of his concert companions will be Brad Armstrong, a bandmate of Coburn's in their group Imagine — Remembering the Fab Four.
That's right. It's a Beatles tribute band.
When they take the stage, which they do some 60 times a year, Coburn is John Lennon, Armstrong is George Harrison, Dan Burt is Ringo Starr and Richard Fazzi — who lives in Roseville, Calif., and hence won't be at Tuesday's concert here in Utah — is Paul McCartney.
Of the legion of Beatles imitation bands out there, Imagine is among the most enduring and successful. The group came together 18 years ago and has since performed nearly 1,000 concerts all around America and some foreign countries. (Including the "Hot Rockin' 4th" in Ogden last weekend.)
They command from $2,000 to $5,000 a gig and with the exception of Fazzi, who still holds down a day job as an X-ray technician, being Beatles is all they do. (Their website: www.imaginefabfour.com.)
"I owe my living to the Beatles," says Coburn, who "retired" from a career with Delta Air Lines in favor of being a full-time musician.
The music is timeless, says Coburn, which makes the demand endless.
"It's still just incredible, the reaction to the music," he says. "From the first song to the end of the show it's nonstop applause and cheering. In every show when the crowd's singing, we'll stop in the song and just let them carry it. That's a really cool thing."
Although Coburn never got to see Lennon, his alter ego, perform live, this will be his third live McCartney show.
"It's paying homage, to be honest," he says. "If I ever met him in person I certainly wouldn't tell him what I do for a living."
But if he had the chance, he does know what he'd ask him.
"I would like to know about his relationship with John Lennon," he says. "It seems to be classified, you know. They're the greatest song-writing duo in history, and after the breakup, I don't know if they even spoke. What was the extent of their relationship? Was it just business or were they good friends? I'd like to know that."
He doesn't expect that will ever happen. What he does expect is a couple of good hours sitting and listening at the feet of the master Tuesday night. And he plans to enjoy every second of it.
"We'll see how good his band can impersonate us," he says.
Lee Benson's column runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com.