9 February 2014:

Fifty years ago today,

on Feb. 9, 1964, via “The Ed Sullivan Show,” America met the Beatles.

The Beatles would have happened here whether they played “The Ed Sullivan Show” or not. Indeed, for many the only reason the show is remembered is that the Beatles were on it, but they might not have happened so explosively, so definitively, so fast. Their first appearance on the show, which they opened and closed, was estimated to have been seen by a record-breaking 73 million viewers, or one in three Americans, and they appeared the next week as well, remote from Miami Beach, and the week after that, on videotape.

Not everyone who watched was converted, of course. If they were relatively friendly revolutionaries, with their pressed suits and bemused grins, professional politesse and malt-shop lyrics, they were revolutionaries nonetheless. Their energy was fearsome, their wit sharp and their hair, by local standards, was for some confusingly long.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/02/07/3273654/the-beatles-50th-anniversary-ed.html#storylink=cpy

No point rehashing "Beatle's 101" here, so I will just ramble on about my reactions to the Fab Four. Sometime in 1963 when I was in 7th or 8th grade I recall my father showing me a Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper article about the band with a photo (probably the cover of "Introducing The Beatles"). We agreed that the haircuts looked silly. In retrospect, what is most amazing is how their popularity simply exploded in the states, going from virtual unknowns to universally recognized almost overnight. Even I, who tended to be incredibly resistant to whatever my peers were enthusiastically embracing, was bombarded by their sound and/or images on the radio, at friend's houses, in newspapers and magazines, and finally on the Ed Sullivan Show 50 years ago.

"I Want To Hold Your Hand" (which I thought a stupid song at the time) and "She Loves You" (which I liked a lot better) were the group's first number one US singles (in January 1964). But it wasn't until "Twist and Shout" (from the Sullivan appearance) that I became convinced that they were truly great. Maybe it was the screaming-in-harmony part and all that head shaking.

ClickHereForEdSullivanShow

I was among the first to the table with "The Rolling Stones" but did not really embrace "The Beatles" until "Yesterday" in September 1965 and then "Nowhere Man" in March 1966. Those two songs will forever be associated with my only year at Ashland High School and to this day images of the school flash into my mind anytime the two songs are played.

I never seriously considered paying to see "A Hard Day's Night" or actually buying a "Beatles" record until December 1967 when I got the "Magical Mystery Tour" album shortly after its release, I had embraced psychedelic pop almost from its inception. I followed that up almost immediately with "Sgt. Pepper's" and then I picked up a cut-out "Yesterday and Today". A few months later I found myself lined up on the Gettysburg town square to purchase a numbered copy of "The White Album", which is my all-time favorite.

My first Beatles' "45" was "Hey Jude".

Jude Jude a Judy Judy Judy Judy, ow

Even Cynthia got into the act on this "Beatles Diary" card (#50a) from 1964. My cousin Laura gave me this when we visited them in Fairborn around that time. She had a huge stack of these cards which she later threw away. Good thing she did not have a set of 1959 Three Stooges cards to throw away as those have become especially rare and valuable.

Of note are these Remco dolls which one of our Ashland neighbors had on display. Prior to that time I could not have told one of "The Beatles" from another (well maybe Ringo), but I recall the actual moment when looking at these figures that I glommed onto George Harrison as my favorite. And that has never changed although I suspect that at the time I choose George at least in part for contrarian reasons. as he was the most obscure of the four. In retrospect it was the right choice on every level.

"K" writes: My Mom ordered these for me from Spiegel's (remember them?) for Christmas of '64. They did not come in the regular boxes that they were normally packed in, but a small brown shipping box with a divider that separated the dolls. However, upon opening it on Christmas morning, there were two Georges in the box and no John! So Mom had to send it back. It seemed to take an eternity for the proper set to show up...