2/16/64 - Second Appearance on Ed Sullivan

The Miami trip culminated with the Beatles' performance at the Deauville Hotel for the Ed Sullivan show. The TV audience stayed strong with just over 70 million people tuning in. The fabs performed six songs during two onstage appearances, and again the throng of screaming teen-age girls attested to the fever of Beatlemania.

2/10 - 2/15, 1964

The Beatles spent a few days checking out America after their historic appearance on Ed Sullivan. On the 10th they did a show at the Washington Coliseum, the next day two shows at Carnegie Hall, and eventually they made their way to Miami Beach. In Miami, they prepared for another appearance on Ed Sullivan, this one at the Deauville Hotel. They also had some fun, swimming in the ocean, sightseeing, and meeting Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali).

February 9, 1964 - The Ed Sullivan Show

Before the Beatles arrived in America they had wondered if anyone would notice them when they were there. They wondered if anyone would come to watch them when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. They needn't have worried, there were 50,000 requests for the 728 seats in the Ed Sullivan theatre.
That night, 73 million viewers tuned in to watch... a record breaking audience. According to A.C. Nielsen it was 23.2 million households watching.
When Ed Sullivan introduced John, Paul, George and Ringo the live audience (largely teen-age girls) erupted with screams that didn't stop until the Fab Four left the stage. They performed two sets of five songs: “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
And the world of rock and roll was changed forever...

February 7, 1964 - The Beatles Come to America

At 1:20 PM on Friday, February 7, 1964, the Pan Am Boeing 707 carrying the Beatles lands at JFK International in New York. Around 3,000 screaming teens, 200 reporters and 100 policemen wait to greet them. As their plane taxies to a stop, the Beatles suddenly realize the waiting mob is for them (they'd thought for sure the President was landing on another plane). Reporters at a televised news conference discover that the fabs have wit, charm, a playful sense of humor, and judging by the endless screams coming from the teen girls waiting outside... are totally cute.
Whisked by limousine to New York's grandest hotel, the Plaza, the Beatles find another mob surrounding their hotel. Barricades and 20 mounted policeman battle to keep the crowd at bay. For many days the radio stations of NYC have broadcast every detail of the Beatle visit and their itinerary. The Beatles find themselves kept prisoner in their suite. Ringo quips to a reporter "so this is America... they all seem to be out of their minds!" Outside the chants of "we want the Beatles" go on and on. Inside 100,000 letters from American fans are brought to their rooms.
The Beatles have arrived...

February 3, 1964 - Visas

Paris France- The Beatles were packed off to the American Embassy in Paris by Brian Epstein. They nervously applied for their visas and work permits for the upcoming trip to America. They were all apprehensive about it, they had conquered England but were sure that the USA would swallow them up. Despite the call that they'd received a Gold Record for "I Want To Hold Your Hand" they felt they'd largely go un-noticed in the U.S. They returned to the GeorgeV hotel and prepared for their show at the Olympia.
But now the Beatles had their Visas... and tickets for a BEA flight to America. The British invasion was four days away... and history was waiting to be made!

Paris, the Olympia, tomorrow...

We always hear about the Beatles long gigs in Hamburg, Germany and the Cavern Club in Liverpool... but they also did three weeks at the Olympia in Paris in January and February of 1964. On February 2, 1964 they spent a relaxing day by Beatle standards, culminating with their show at the Olympia. They also found out that the next day they'd have to go do something they'd never done before... something that will directly lead to changing the face of rock music forever. More on that tomorrow.

Number One...

February 1, 1964 the Beatles hit number one on the Billboard Singles Chart for the first time. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" stayed at the one spot for seven weeks. In the meantime, "She Loves You" was rapidly climbing the charts as well starting a longtime Beatle tradition of having several songs on the chart simultaneously. We were also seeing the beginnings of trends set by the fab four... the haircuts, the boots, their clothes. Beatlemania was crossing the ocean from Europe to the USA.