A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Sept. 20, 1964, the Beatles concluded their first full-fledged U.S. tour by performing in a charity concert at the Paramount Theater in New York.
The group came to the U.S. for two weeks in February for a few performances before the longer summer tour.
The foursome arrived on Feb. 7, and appeared on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” which announced a record viewing audience of 73 million homes, two days later.
On Feb. 11, John, Paul, Ringo and George gave their first live performance at the Washington Coliseum then followed up the next day at Carnegie Hall.
As their fame grew, the Beatles planned their first world tour, capped by the U.S. shows.
The tour encompassed 32 shows in 24 cities over 31 days. Most of the shows sold out quickly as the British boy band invaded and thrilled teens across the nation. The shows were as small as 4,000-seat theaters to 28,000-seat arenas. Per reports, the group earned about $50,000 per show. When adjusted to today’s dollars, the tour netted them nearly $20 million.
Their final show, a charity concert titled “An Evening With The Beatles,” was a fundraiser for the United Cerebral Palsy of New York City and Retarded Infants Services.
The Beatles returned to the U.S. in 1965 and 1966 as well.
And America survived.
John Lennon, the band’s composer and vocalist, died in 1980 after he was shot and killed in New York. George Harrison, the lead guitarist, died of cancer in 2001.
Paul McCartney, the bass guitarist and also vocalist and songwriter, still performs. Ringo Starr, the group’s drummer, also still performs.
Newspapers didn’t follow performers quite the way they do today, but there are plenty of archived stories of memories of when the Beatles came to America.
Here are some of those stories:
“50 years ago, The Beatles invaded America”
“Beatlemania back as Britain celebrates B-Day”
“A bit of old Beatlemania at London record store”
“1964 Beatles interview, found in garage, airs”
“Chris Hicks: The Beatles’ influential ‘Sgt. Pepper’ album is a half-century old”
“Beatles’ book to tell of their yesterdays”
“A Beatle stirs thoughts about an innocent era”