In January 1964, with Beatlemania raging in the UK, the Beatles came from nowhere to top the U.S. charts with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in just three weeks. The band had sold 1.5 million copies of the single before they ever set foot on American soil, and when they arrived in New York on 7 February, 1964, for a promotional tour, they took the country by storm. After network TV appearances that drew record audiences, all America was talking about the Beatles–though many initial commentators seemed more interested in the length of their hair than their music.But it was the Beatles’ music that attracted their millions of new-found fans, and in April 1964, they broke all records before or since when they held all Top Five positions on the Billboard Hot 100. A major summer tour of the United States and Canada was organized, the first of three barnstorming treks across the continent that set a new standard in pop music presentation. Amid often chaotic scenes, the Beatles’ North American concerts signalled the birth of stadium rock, at the same time opening the floodgates for the “British Invasion” of other bands and artists which would engulf the charts in the land where rock ‘n’ roll began.With maps, venue data, and audience figures, The Beatles in America covers all the group’s North American appearances and tours in detail, from their first two shows in New York and Washington in 1964 to their final San Francisco concert in 1966. It also traces their continuing influence through the late 1960s and beyond, as the most significant name in the last half century of popular music, both in America and worldwide.

The Beatles in America, The Stories, The Scene, 50 Years On PDF

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