Beatlemania Invades America February 1964

The unimaginable story of The Beatles began in Woolton on July 6, 1957, when Ivan Vaughn introduced John Lennon to Paul McCartney. The Quarrymen, a Liverpool skiffle group, were performing on stage when these two teenagers met each other and bonded in friendship over their mutual admiration for American rock and roll artists.

Lennon would invite McCartney to join The Quarrymen after being impressed by McCartney's talent. In 1958, McCartney would introduce guitarist George Harrison to Lennon and invite the young novice to join the amateur musicians, following an impromptu audition. The trio would drift apart, but an opportunity arose to open a new venue in West Derby that would alter the future of modern music.

Mona Best granted the prime residency at the Casbah Coffee Club to The Quarrymen who reunited as a band for the premiere launch on August 29, 1959. Within a year, Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Stu Sutcliff now on bass guitar were offered an engagement in Germany, having renamed themselves as The Beatles. McCartney telephoned Pete Best and asked if Best would agree to become their new drummer.

With Best joining the Liverpool lads as the fifth Beatle in August 1960, the quintet headed out on their first tour of duty in Hamburg. The German and American servicemen audiences demanded hard edged rock&roll and the embryonic Beatles developed and delivered an original sound that began captivating a larger crowd. The Beatles debuted at the Casbah Coffee Club on December 17, 1960, and Liverpool was never the same.

With Stu's exit to pursue an art education and McCartney's shift onto bass guitar, the Fab quartet backed Tony Sheridan on several tracks. A 1961 German import single. "My Bonnie", would ignite the attention and infatuation of Brian Epstein once he caught an afternoon performance of The Beatles live at the Cavern Club.

Epstein's enthusiasm for The Beatles consumed him and persuaded the lads to sign with him as their new manager. Epstein succeeded in landing the Fabs their first record audition on New Year's Day 1962. Rejected by the label simply because of logistics, the Fab Four toiled on BBC Radio broadcasts as the Lennon & McCartney song writing partnership began to flourish.

Finally in June 1962, producer George Martin signed The Beatles on Parlophone Records, but voiced dissatisfaction with the drumming proficiency of Pete Best during initial sessions at EMI Studios. This concern would become the catalyst to replace Best with another Liverpool drummer the Fabs befriended in Hamburg. Ringo Starr departed his tenure with The Hurricanes and joined the Fab Four in August 1962.

The first Beatles single, "Love Me Do" b/w "P.S. I Love You" released in September 1962, made a minor impression in the British Top Twenty. In February 1963, it was Lennon's "Please Please Me" title that launched the Fabs ascent on the British music charts that would continue unabated until their final single, "Let It Be", was issued in March 1970.

Almost all of this important history was lost once The Beatles erupted live on the Ed Sullivan Show Sunday evening on February 9, 1964. The scramble to introduce the Fabs to an American audience germinated among host Ed Sullivan, promoter Sid Bernstein and personality Jack Paar. Epstein actualized his dream of presenting The Beatles in New York City and their influence on global culture is still creating ripples 45 years later.

RockonTour Issue #89
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