The Tonic: The British Are Coming!!!

The horror and crying for that fateful day was still hanging over the people, a shell-shock that would stay in their souls forever. The news had come around lunchtime. The President had been killed. For the rest of the long weekend, the world was glued to their TV's, a mass visitation by the grieving public. Once the funeral was over, it was very difficult to return to the routine of everyday life. The United States seemed to be going through the motions. The months of December and January were months of grim mourning. Coupled with the depression of winter, America was in a sadness coma, awaiting rebirth. By February of 1964, we wanted something happy in our lives again, something to get the human spirit alive and kicking again. America desperately needed a happiness tonic. And, one was found. But, strangely, that tonic was not given to us by an American. But, rather, that tonic, that cure for America's blues, was four young men from Liverpool, England...... For the entire year of 1963, while The Beatles were becoming a sensation in England and the rest of Europe, they could not crack the American market. Their record company, EMI, owned Capital Records in the States. But, Capital would not jump on the bandwagon of this gimmick from England. We had American artists, they smugly told Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager, we do not have any need to go across the water for a band who had come from the backwoods of some English town. So, for the year of 1963, while Beatlemania broke all over Europe, the largest market in the world turned a deaf ear. In desperation, Epstein made small record deals with small record companies, hoping that these would be the entry he needed to break the band. The first couple of singles released in America were the first couple released in England, ''Love Me Do'', and ''Please Please Me''. Both flopped, barely making a dent. Then, ''She Loves You'', a monster hit in England, was released in America. Another flop. Finally, the small record labels terminated their contract with Epstein. Capital Records seemed to be correct: there was no future in the U.S. for this little band......... But, Brian Epstein was a determined man. He had taken these four on a couple years earlier when no one else would. He had made the grueling climb with them from obscurity to national obsession and did not take ''no'' easily. He still doggedly pursued the Capital Records executives, pleading with them to get behind his ''boys''. Just look at the sales they were generating, he told them. Enormous profits for them in England. In Novenber of 1963, three weeks before Dallas, he met with the big shots in New York, and played them the new song that the band had made especially geared to the ''American Sound''. It was called ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' and it had all the hallmarks of breaking wide. Just push it a little. Plus, Epstein proudly stated, the band had just been booked by none other than Ed Sullivan to be on his show in February of 1964. It seems that Sullivan, stopping off in Sweden, had witnessed the pandemonium that their airport reception had been. Later on, Sullivan had stopped off in England and witnessed a replay of what was happening in Sweden. Checking into this group a little, Ed Sullivan had learned that this group was shattering music records and audiences all over Europe. Being the master showman that he was, Sullivan immediately booked them for his show. All of this was told to the executives by Brian Epstein in that meeting. Finally, almost grudgingly, the Capital executives gave in. They would release this '' I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' song in January of 1964. And, they said they would throw a little promotion behind it, too. Happy, Brian Epstein returned to England. He had done well........ By January, the rumblings about the band had begun to be heard in America. A little clip of the band performing had been shown on the ''Steve Allen Show'' and NBC news had run a story on them. Gingerly, Capital Records released ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' to record stores and the radio stations. Almost overnight, the record exploded. In three weeks, it rang the bell at Number 1. Capital Records executives, caught off guard, immediately went into promotion overdrive. Soon, Beatle stickers and banners were blanketing the country, heralding the call ''The Beatles Are Coming! The Beatles Are Coming!'' The country, caught off guard by the events in Dallas, went crazy with joy. Finally, something happy had been given to us. Parents, while disapproving of rock and roll music, seemed to put their criticism of the music aside. Teenagers, the backbone of the record buying public, went crazy for them. Especially, the girls........ Some of the strongest images of the 1960's are of teenage girls pulling their hair and screaming their lungs out for The Beatles. Obsession for a performer is not new. Recently, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley had experienced this obsession, with teenage girls going mad over them. But, The Beatles screaming was even more intense. It was a scream born out of an overwhelming need to hold them, hug them, sleep with them. The average teenage girl fan was in love with at least one member of the band, usually Paul. He sang the love songs that melted their hearts while being the most attractive one in appearance. But, the others had their legions of followers, too. Ringo was the Everyman. He appealed to the ugly ducklings in the audience, the ones that weren't pretty or weren't the most popular in school. George was the quiet one. All mysterious. He, of the four, was the one that looked like he needed to be sheltered and cared for. And, there was John. John was the funny, intelligent one, the artist and poet. John also seemed dangerous, which appealed to the girls that wanted to be naughty. All of them had their base fans. That was one of the greatest things about the band: they appealed to every one. And, that was what caused the screams. It was a primal scream to keep them and never let them go. But, it was also a release of joy and fun. No words were necessary, just a scream would do. The screaming was once monitored by scientists, They said that the sound of that screaming at a Beatles concert was like standing next to a 707 while taking off.......... ''Why would America want us? They have everything over there. Why would they need The Beatles?'' So said Paul McCartney on the flight over in February. The Beatles had never been to America, except George, who had a sister living in Illinois he visited the previous year. The Beatles, despite hearing of the record sales of ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'' were still unsure of whether they would be accepted in America. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they had heard about the promotion and the building up of their popularity, but, this was America, the place they had dreamed of their entire lives of visiting and making it big. Why, indeed, did they need them there? Brian Epstein kept trying to assure them, but, the boys, cocky and confidant though they were, still were quite scared of what awaited them. Then, the pilot of the plane announced as they approached New York that a massive crowd was gathering. The Beatles thought someone else, maybe, the President, was landing at the same time. No, came the word back: there were thousands of teenagers waiting for THEM!!....... When the door opened and they stepped out of the plane on February 7, 1964, it was hard to tell if the incessant, air piercing scream was of the airplanes overhead or the crowd greeting them. Soon, it became apparent it was the crowd. Stunned, the boys marched down the ramp from the plane---- with Phil Spector and the Ronettes behind them--- and walked into America's arms. The giddiness on their faces was a look of happiness mixed with satisfaction of having their dreams come true. They waved to the crowds and posed for the reporters. Then, they went into the airport, where a press conference was pending. The New York reporters, hip to the fact that this could just be the gimmick for the moment, were geared to slam them. They knew pop stars were not very intelligent, so, they decided to go for the jugular with the band. But, these old pros had never encountered the Beatles. The band had been doing press conferences for the past year and had developed a brilliant way to conduct it: they treated a press conference like a comedy routine. All four of the lads were very funny, especially bad-boy Lennon, who never let anyone get the better of him, and answered the questions that the New York reporters tossed at them with grace and well-timed one-liners. Example: Reporter:'' Will you sing for us?'' John: ''No, we need money first!'' Reporter: ''Will you get a haircut while you are here?'' George:'' I had one yesterday.'' Reporter: ''What do you think of the drive to stamp out The Beatles in Detroit?'' Paul: ''We have a drive to stamp out Detroit!'' Reporter:'' What do you think of Beethoven?'' Ringo: ''I love him, especially his poems.'' Reporter: '' Why do the young fans act crazy about you?'' John: ''If we knew we would form another group and be managers.'' By now, the most hardened and cynical reporter had been charmed by them. Soon, [ too soon, lamented some reporters] they were whisked off-stage and sent by limo to their hotel rooms at the St. Regis. The poor hotel had booked them weeks earlier, not knowing what it was getting. Soon, hordes of teenagers were camped out, wailing their desire for the band. From the Friday they arrived, until the Monday they departed, the band was watched by thousands of fans in the bitter cold....... George Harrison had been feeling the effects of the flu for a few days. By Saturday morning, the 8th, he was running a high fever. While the other boys were out visiting New York and drumming up publicity--- with the now charmed New York press following them like their fans---- George Harrison was quite ill. There was some alarm about whether he would be able to perform on the Sullivan show the next day. All Saturday the nation was kept alert about George Harrison's flu. Finally, it was decided he would perform but watched closely. He also had, not disclosed to the public, a doctor shoot him up with vitamins and speed to get him on his feet. By the actual performance, he struggled through, barely able to play his guitar.......... That Sunday, the 9th, there were two shows the Beatles had planned for Sullivan. The first performance was taped in the afternoon, to be shown at a later date. The second was the live show in the evening. The ticket requests from the famous and non-famous was enormous. The little theater held about 700 seats. The ticket request number was about 50,000. The Beatles would headline the show [ among the other acts on the show was a young Davy Jones performing in the musical ''Oliver''. In time, he would be a ''Monkee'']. They would be first out of the gate and sing three songs. Then, mid-way through the show, the band would come back for two final numbers. The Beatles had decided to play their hits, like ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'', ''She Loves You'', ''I Saw Her Standing There'', and ''All My Loving'' Now that they were the hottest act in show business, all of their ''old'' music, which was less than a year old, was being released and hyped. All of these singles, which had bombed months earlier, were now hot sellers. The band also would include a cover of ''Till There Was You''. This song, from the musical, ''The Music Man'', was a calculated concession by the band to appeal to the older audience that was watching. At 8pm Eastern time, ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' went on the air. Families around the country and in Canada turned in. One benefit was that heavy snow had blanketed most of the country, so, people were watching TV rather than be outside. It was later estimated that the size of the audience was 75 million, about two-thirds of the viewing public. The show would go down in history as the most highly watched show television had ever had......... Standing backstage, the nervous and excited Beatles heard a peculiar thing in the introduction. Ed Sullivan had announced that Elvis Presley had sent the band a congratulatory telegram wishing the boys well on their performance. The Beatles were thrilled, because Elvis was their hero, the prime inspiration for them being in show business. It wasn't until years later that the band found out the Elvis did not know anything about the telegram. His manager, the huckster Colonel Tom Parker had sent it to cop a little publicity. In fact, as the Beatles later sadly found out, their old hero Presley despised them...... The big moment arrived. Ed Sullivan, dressed smartly, as always, in a conservative suit for his conservative audience, announced the main attraction. He started by saying how the city had never seen excitement like this. Then, winding up his delivery like a master of ceremonies in a circus, he exclaimed, ''And, here they are!! The Beatles!'' The TV screen was then switched to an image of a vast stage with four little men on it. The camera slowly came in on them, as did tens of millions of people across North America...... What the people saw was a revolution brewing in front of their eyes. The Baby Boomer generation, the biggest in human history, was seeing themselves represented. The soundtrack to this generation was off and running as these four young men started with ''All My Loving.'' A seed began to grow in the psyche of a generation that would soon flower in trying to take over the world. A similar seed was being planted in the souls of men and women who now saw their destiny in music. From Bruce Springsteen to David Crosby to Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin, aspiring musicians around the country now saw what they must do. It was a call to arms for these men and women to pick up the spirit of the times and follow your dreams in music, as these four young men were doing. Not only the music struck a chord, but, the whole idea of doing music as a way of life was sent shining across the television image right into the hearts and minds of these people. The Beatles would be their standard bearers, the inspiration to form a band and make the music that was seething in their DNA........ As the boys went from song to song onstage, a most remarkable display was happening in the audience. The girls in the audience were shrieking their lungs out at the band. This was nothing new to the lads, but, to the American and Canadian audiences it was a stunner. Girls were literally losing control of themselves wailing out at the band. The Sullivan people cut back and forth between the stage and the seats. The energy and excitement rocked the tiny theater, never seeing pandemonium like this again......Truth be said, the performance the band gave that night on the Ed Sullivan Show was not that great. It was good, and, it did what it was expected to do: introduce the band to the biggest audience in the world. But, in terms of musical ability, the Beatles had more glorious moments onstage in their career. Again, though, it served its purpose. Introduction, and more importantly, impact. It was the Perfect Storm of the melding of a generation and its musical and social leaders...... After their fifth and final song, the Beatles were called over by Sullivan to take one last bow for the people watching in the theater, and at home. Screams of joy were heard that night, in the theater, and across the vast continent. The Beatles and Ed Sullivan had, unknown to them that night, made history in these less than fifteen minutes combined of network exposure. A historical moment was just made, forever cemented in the people who were watching........ The fallout afterwords was obvious. Not only the huge viewing numbers, but, the impact on the public. The next day, Monday the 10th, boys in school started growing their hair long and forward like the band. It could be said that long hair started growing during the performance that night, never to go away. The girls also talked about the band, but, in more loving ways. Every girl had a ''favorite Beatle.'' It was a surprise to everyone that the most popular member of the band in America was not the cute Paul, but, Ringo. Perhaps, it was the ugly duckling theory. He was everyone's little puppy that you hugged....... Fashion, hair styles, language, musical influence, all changed from that night. Soon, other areas in show business and Madison Avenue would ride along the wave that was ''Beatlemania''. And, in doing so, would set the future course of how a person lived their everyday lives. How you ''did your own thing'' and tried to better the world. Protesting the evils of government, and being on the better side of a moral and ethical cause. Be-ins, bed-ins, protesting against unfairness in society, can all be traced to that famous Sunday night........ Finally, the music influence. Even the music casual music fan cannot deny the Beatles influence. Every band or artist that has followed in their wake from the early 1960's on owes a tremendous debt to them. Long after the band broke up in 1970, the flames of their red-hot passions still burned brightly. From the Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin, to the bands of today, feel their fingerprints. No other musical entity from the 20th Century comes close to the magnitude of the Beatles. Yes, Sinatra and Presley had their power, but, in terms of a long term legacy, the Beatles look down from the mountain at what they harvested..... It is fifty years later. Long-gone are the screams and the massive riots that the band received. Their music still is alive and kicking, even if John and George are long gone. The Beatles music still sells more now than almost any new band in existence. I see the Beatle shirts and hear the music playing at the school I work at. They have the real chance of being forever played, long after Paul and Ringo and the rest of us have gone. Of course, they broke up at the top of their musical inventiveness and never reunited. That, in terms of a musical legacy, is the best you can do. By going out on top, they never got old and made bad music. They remain supreme in the publics mind....... The theater that housed ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' now houses '' The Late Show With David Letterman''. Dave, for over twenty years now, has made his magic memories and special moments. But, I would imagine, when his show is over, and the last light is turned off for the night, ghosts from the past are still roaming around. Ghosts of sweet times and times forever gone. Somewhere, in that vast theater, there are four young, fresh-faced Englishmen. They are playing the music sent down to them from Heaven, to be unleashed on a grateful people. There are echoes of screams. The Beatles are young and full of life......... And, so are the rest of us.......