Hello! My name is Lisa, I'm 15 and I live in New York City. Welcome to
my website about THE BEATLES - the best group in the Whole Wide World!
The main part of this site is my BEATLES LOG. I call it my B-LOG - or
"BLOG" for short. I plan on adding entries every day.
More Fab Stuff!
Blog Me Do!
To read all of my Blog entries from day one, click here.
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February 14, 1964 - Special Valentine’s Day Reports from Miami!
Happy Valentine’s Day Beatles fans! Here is a report from Sandra, who lives in Miami Beach and is a junior at the University of Miami:
"The Beatles arrived at Miami International Airport on Thursday, February 13. Radio stations WFUN and WQAM had been telling listeners for days about the Beatles coming to Miami. Thousands of fans showed up at the airport to greet them when they arrived shortly before 4:00 p.m. on National Airlines. Many of the fans were behind barricades. Others were in the terminal building. I was able to push my way onto the tarmac! Everyone was pushing and screaming. It’s amazing no one was injured. I’m glad I was there as it was an unforgettable experience."
Here’s Tina’s report:
"My mom wouldn’t let me cut school and go to the airport, but I heard a live report on WQAM. The DJs said the scene at the airport was frightening and that some people were trying to force open windows to get a better view. They were very excited when the Beatles began exiting the plane. They described the enormous crowd and interviewed a girl who touched Ringo and Paul and said she was never gonna wash her hands again!"
Sally sent in a report from the Miami newspaper:
The Beatles received a "smashing welcome at the airport–smashed doors, smashed windows, smashed furniture, a smashed auto roof." When the plane landed, teens broke through police lines and hurled themselves after the Beatles car. Damage to airport windows and doors was estimated to be $2,000.
Sally says that both WFUN and WQAM are listing the top three songs on their record surveys as She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand and Please Please Me! That’s so cool.
It’s wonderful to know that on Valentine’s Day that so many people love the Beatles!
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February 13, 1964 - Washington Concert Report
The Beatles left New York today for Miami. They will be on the Ed Sullivan Show this coming Sunday, February 16, live from the Deauville Hotel. I’ll post reports from Miami as they come in.
Now, as promised, here are reports from Washington:
Suzie from Annapolis sent me the following email:
"I got my tickets through the mail. Because the concert was near my birthday, my parents treated me to two of the expensive $4.00 tickets and let me take a friend. I went with Deborah. On the way to the concert, we heard an interview with the Beatles on WWDC. Carroll James asked them all sorts of questions. Ringo said he had over 2,000 rings! He said fans could send more, but he joked they should only send gold rings! When asked what American artists influenced them, Paul said Soffie Tucker, whoever she was. Maybe that was a joke. Paul also joked he spoke fluent shoe. When Carroll James called John the chief Beatle, he told James not to call him names. Paul said he wanted to a teacher, but that he would have been a bad teacher. George said he would have been a baggy-sweeger. I have no idea what he was talking about, but they were very funny!
Before the Beatles came on, there were other acts. The Caravelles did their hit You Don’t Have To Be A Baby To Cry. Tommy Roe did Shelia and Everybody. The Chiffons did He’s So Fine and One Fine Day. I was thinking that Paul was so fine when they did He’s So Fine.
When the Beatles finally came on, the place exploded with flash bulbs and screaming. My tickets were in the front row. At first I was disappointed because we were to the side of the square stage. The Beatles weren’t facing our way. They opened with a rocker I didn’t recognize that was sung by George. People around me were throwing jelly beans on the stage because the Beatles had said in an interview that they liked jelly beans. They next did From Me To You and I Saw Her Standing There, which were really great. When the songs were over, they turned and faced the other way and played a few more songs. I remember them slowing things down with This Boy and Ringo singing I Wanna Be Your Man. They then moved to face another side of the stage and did Please Please Me and She Loves You. Finally, they faced me and did I Want To Hold Your Hand. I never screamed so loud in my life! I felt incredible electricity from my head to my toes. I was so excited! When they did Twist And Shout, I thought I’d lose it! When they shook their heads at the end of the song I felt an incredible rush again. They ended with Paul singing another rocker I have never heard before. It was a grerat song and I hope they put it on a record real soon. The Beatles played for over a half hour! That was much longer than the other acts, who only played a few songs each. Even though the tickets were very expensive at $4.00, I sure got my money’s worth!"
Carol from Baltimore had some exciting news. She emailed me the following:
"I had tickets in the front row. The girl next to me recorded the concert on a tape recorder she held on her lap. The girl next to her filmed the concert on a movie camera. I got their phone numbers and hope to get to hear and see the concert. But I also noticed some big cameras filming the show. I asked a cameraman what he was filming for and he told me CBS was filming the concert and that it would be shown in movie theaters by closed circuit, just like boxing matches are sometimes shown. I can’t wait to go to the theater and see the show again because everyone was screaming so loud (including me), that I barely heard the Beatles!"
The most incredible email I got was from Jamie. Naturally she raved about the concert, but what was really neat was what happened after the show. Here’s her story:
"When the concert ended, a bunch of us went to the front of the stage. We were hoping to collect some of the jelly beans that had been thrown on the stage. After all, some of those jelly beans must have touched a Beatle! I grabbed a few and put them in my pocket. Then I made eye contact with a policeman, who heading towards me. I wondered if I had done something wrong and if he was gonna kick me out or, even worse, arrest me. When he reached me, he leaned over, smiled and handed me a piece of paper. When I opened it, I realized it was the list of songs that the Beatles had played! This must have been the list that the band looked at during the concert so they would know what to play! I grabbed my friend and we headed to the ladies room. I showed it to my friend and it was all we could do to keep from screaming! I placed it in my purse and prayed no one would take it away from me.
When I got home I stared at it for several minutes. It was written on stationery from the Shoreham Hotel. I’m not sure who wrote it, but I’m sure it was one of the Beatles! That’s so cool. Here is the list of songs they played:
1. Beethoven. I remember this was a rocker sung by George. It is not on any Beatles record I have. Some college-age man sitting behind me said Chuck Berry had recorded the song a few years ago.
2. From Me To You. I have this song on the back of my Please Please Me 45.
3. I Saw Her Standing There. It really rocked. George did a great guitar solo and Ringo pounded away.
4. This Boy. It was so cool because John, Paul and George shared a single microphone for the song.
5. All My Loving.
6. I Wanna Be Your Man. Ringo sings! Joy! Joy! Joy!
7. Please Please Me.
8. Til There Was You.
9. She Loves You. (My favorite!)
10. I Want To Hold Your Hand
11. Twist And Shout. This is my favorite song on the Introducing The Beatles LP.
12. Long Tall Sally. This was another song I did not recognize. The man behind me said that Little Richard had recorded the song way back in the fifties. It really rocked!
I put the list of songs and the jelly beans in a plastic bag. I’ll cherish it forever!"
This is Lisa again. I’ll have reports from Miami on tomorrow.
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February 12, 1964 - The Beatles Rock Carnegie Hall
Debbie and I slept late today as we had no school. It’s Lincoln’s Birthday. The news said it was also Ash Wednesday.
After lunch Debbie and I went outside the Plaza to be with the crowd for awhile. A few people were holding signs. Hundreds of kids gathered around the fountain outside the Plaza’s entrance. Some of the boys climbed to the top for a better view. At least one girl fainted. A policeman lifted her to put her on the trunk of a car until medical help arrived!
There were reports that the Beatles were returning from Washington by train, so some girls said they were gonna take a cab to Penn Station to greet the band. Debbie and I decided to stay put. We could escape the cold by waiting in the hotel lobby and seeing the Beatles when they got back to the Plaza.
Shortly before dinner time, we ventured outside just as their car was approaching the Plaza. A bunch of girls raced to the car, causing the driver to stop. After policemen pulled the girls off the car, it headed to the entrance. Debbie and I ran towards the elevators to get in position. About a minute or so later, the Beatles, flanked by policemen, entered one of the elevators. Debbie and I jumped in before the doors closed! Once again, we were near the Beatles. When the elevator reached the 12th floor, we started to exit, but were told we could not get off on the floor unless our room was on the floor. We stayed on and went back to our room two floors below.
We started getting ready for the show as soon as we got to the room. Debbie’s mom let us put on her makeup and lipstick so we would look very adult-like. We also did our nails. Debbie, her mom and I then went down to the restaurant in the Plaza and met Debbie’s dad there. After dinner, Debbie, her parents and I headed downstairs and walked to Carnegie Hall. It was about 6:00 p.m. when we got there. There was a large crowd outside the theater. We noticed a group of college-age boys holding up mean signs about the Beatles. One said "Go back to English slums where you belong." Another said "D.D.T. kills Beatles." A group of girls soon chased them away!
A few minutes later a policeman shouted "there they are," and everyone rushed to the stage entrance to see the Beatles get out of a taxi and rush inside. We then walked to the entrance to go inside to our seats.
The opening act was a folk group called the Briarwood Singers. They were four boys and a girl. They were OK, but everyone there wanted to see the Beatles. When they were done, Murray the K and the WMCA Good Guys took the stage. Murray hammed it up a while. Finally, at about 7:45 p.m., the Beatles took the stage. They did a Chuck Berry song, Roll Over Beethoven, and then From Me To You and a bunch of other Beatles songs like I Saw Her Standing There, I Want To Hold Your Hand, All My Loving and She Loves You. All the song were real fast, except for This Boy and Till There Was You. On This Boy, John, Paul and George shared a single mike. It was so beautiful that I started crying! Everyone yelled real loud when Ringo sang I Wanna Be Your Man. Although I think he is the most popular Beatle in America, my favorite is Paul. They ended the show with Twist And Shout and a song I hadn’t heard before that had Paul yelling "We’re gonna have some fun tonight" during the exciting last verse.
Debbie and I screamed during most of the Beatles performance. Debbie’s mom and dad were laughing at us at first, but during Twist And Shout even they seemed to be getting into it!
As great as they were on Ed Sullivan, the Beatles were even better in concert. They played the songs a little faster and moved around more on stage. I had a wonderful tingling feeling hitting me over and over again as I screamed and yelled during the performance. They played for a real, real long time, over 30 minutes! Had they gone on much more, I might have fainted!
After the show, Debbie and I reluctantly left the theater knowing that there would be a second show in an hour or so. Debbie’s dad drove me home and so I’m entering this blog on my own computer tonight. A few DC fans emailed me reports on the Washington concert. I’ll post some of the highlights tomorrow. I’m too tried to do so tonight. As Paul sang, we had some fun tonight!!!!!
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February 11, 1964 - Beatles Play in Washington Tonight
Today was another school day. It snowed this morning, but that didn’t stop girls from gathering outside the Plaza. They were waiting for the Beatles, who were scheduled to leave before lunch-time to head for Washington, DC, where they were giving a concert at the Washington Coliseum. It’s too bad we had school because I would have loved to have taken the train down to DC to see the show! I am hoping that some of the people who check out my blog and live in the Washington area will email me with reports of the concert. I’ll post some of their comments later this week when I get home to my computer. (I’m still using Debbie’s mom’s portable computer, which she brought to the Plaza.)
At school my classmates and teachers were still talking about the Beatles. Everyone was jealous that I got touched by Paul and that I had a ticket to the Carnegie Hall concert. Tomorrow is Lincoln’s Birthday, so we don’t have school. I’m going to bed early and hopefully catch up on my sleep. I’ll be dreaming of Paul taking me on a tour of Washington!
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