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 10, 1964 - Report on Beatles Party at the Plaza!
Today was another incredible day even though I had to go to school. In the morning we found out from our bell-boy friend Charles that the Beatles would be doing press conferences all day long. The pre-lunch interviews would be in the Terrace Room and the afternoon press conference in the Baroque Room. It was really hard going to school, but I had promised mom I’d go. Even Debbie’s mom made her go to her school. After all, we couldn’t get into the press conferences. It’s too bad I don’t have a job as a reporter! When we left for school, there were people still outside the Plaza. I wonder if they ever went home.
At my school everyone talked about the Beatles all day long. Almost everyone loved the show, though a few boys said they looked stupid with their long hair and couldn’t sing. They were just jealous. Even the teachers commented on the Beatles performance. Debbie said it was the same at her school.
When I got back from school, I found Debbie talking to Charles in the lobby. He told us that Capitol Records was hosting a cocktail party for disc jockeys and the media in one of the meeting rooms in the hotel. Charles said that if we put on nice dresses, he would try to sneak us in! We raced up to our room, threw on our dresses and hurried back to meet Charles. He told to us act cool, like we belonged there and were the daughters of someone who was invited. We walked in the door behind him and found ourselves in the same room as the Beatles! It was so cool. John was standing up reading a newspaper. Ringo was in another part of the room talking to some older people. George was surrounded by two woman. One was wearing a long necklace and the other one was much older and looked like someone I had seen on TV. When I spotted Paul, he was talking to a teenage girl. Debbie and I quickly headed over to him and told him how much we enjoyed the show last night. A photographer was nearby and he asked Paul to pose with us! He put his right arm around the other girl’s shoulder and then he put his left arm on my shoulder. Debbie leaned in on me so that she would also be in the picture. The photographer then took the picture! I couldn’t believe what was happening! I not only got touched by Paul, but someone took a picture to prove it happened! I’ll never wash that dress again! It was touched by Paul. He then said "Bye girls" and headed towards the other Beatles who had gathered to get their picture taken with the WMCA Good Guys. Shortly after that picture was taken, people began to leave the party. Charles singled us to the door. We thanked him and went up to our room.
Debbie’s mom took us to a deli for dinner. I had some chicken matzo ball soup and a cheeseburger. When we got back to our room, I did my homework and then entered this blog entry on the portable computer.
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February 9, 1964 - The Beatles on Ed Sullivan!
Today was the day I had been looking forward to for weeks! I would finally get to see the Beatles perform! After an early breakfast in our room, we went down to the lobby hoping to catch the Beatles. Sometime around 9:00 a.m. we saw them walk through the lobby and get in their car. Debbie and I were cool about it and didn’t scream or chase after them. We waved and all but Ringo waved back. Maybe he didn’t see us. Thank goodness George was with them! His bed rest must have worked, though he did look a little run down to me.
We went back to our room and watched TV for a few hours. Debbie’s mom took us out for brunch. When our cab went down Broadway, we saw that people were already gathering outside Studio 50. The theater marque had "THE BEATLES" on it!
After brunch we took a cab to the theater and waited in line until they let us in. There were several people ahead of us, so we knew we wouldn’t get front row seats downstairs. Our strategy was to get front row in the balcony. It worked!
Everyone was so excited! Whenever anyone thought the Beatles would show up, people started screaming. Ed Sullivan came out and told us we could scream when the Beatles were on, but had to be quite for the other acts. He made us promise to do so. He also said he’d call a barber if we kept screaming. We knew he was kidding us. Then he did something really silly. He put on a Beatles wig!!!
Finally, at 2:30, the dress rehearsal began. He came out and said some nice things about the Beatles. After a pause for a commercial, he said more nice things about the group and finally introduced them. Paul gave a count-in and the group played All My Loving. I screamed throughout the song as did most of the people around me. I was bopping up and down in my seat. I felt goose bumps all over my body. I had a tingling feeling I’ve never had before. It was so wonderful. When the song ended, they bowed and went straight into Till There Was You. I quit screaming for awhile to better hear Paul’s pretty voice, though some girls never stopped. When it ended, they bowed again. The next song was She Loves You, so you can imagine how loud the screaming got! I got chills every time they shook their heads and went "Wooo!" After the final "Yeah, yeah, yeah" they bowed again. One of the girls in the row behind me actually fainted!
After the Beatles performance, there were some other acts that weren’t nearly as good. They showed a tape of a magician doing card tricks and playing with salt. It was sorta funny, but how could that compare to the Beatles? My favorite other act was the cast of Oliver. Having just seen the play the night before, it was neat hearing two of the songs again. My favorite was I’d Do Anything For You. The boy who sang it was really cute! I remembered him from the night before. He’s no Paul McCartney, but he’s more my age. Still, I’m not giving up on Paul just yet!
Finally the Beatles came back on. The set on the stage was totally different than the first set, which was really sharp. It had big arrows pointing at the Beatles. The second set had poles and colorful panels. The Beatles played I Saw her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand. Because they played two rockers, the screaming never stopped. When they finished, they bowed and went over to talk to Ed Sullivan. I don’t know how anything could follow that, but the show ended with some funny gymnastic act.
After the dress rehearsal ended, we got a special treat. The Beatles came back to pose for pictures for the press. There seemed to be hundreds of photographers all over the stage. We kept screaming to try to get the group’s attention. And then we really got lucky.
We were told that the Beatles were going to play few more songs for taping to be shown in two weeks! We got to stay for that! They first did Twist And Shout. Everyone was twisting in their chairs and shouting their loudest. The song’s climatic ending really got the crowd going. Electricity rushed through my entire body. I’ve never felt so excited. They then did Please Please Me. After it ended they bowed and waved. The group’s equipment was then moved in front of a blue wall. When everything was in place, the Beatles returned and did I Want To Hold Your Hand again. It was even more exciting than the version they did during the dress rehearsal. When it was over, they bowed. Ed Sullivan went to them and shook their hands. They then exited to the side of the stage. I was both exhausted and excited and disappointed that I would not see anymore Beatles performances that afternoon. The theater ushers then told us we had to leave so they could get ready for the live broadcast. Debbie and I then headed back to the Plaza. We walked through the crowd, showed our hotel key and went up to our room. After telling Debbie’s mom about the show, we took turns calling our friends on the phone.
We ate dinner in the hotel’s restaurant and then went back to our room to watch the show. Finally at 8:00 p.m., Ed Sullivan came on. The Beatles played the same songs as the dress rehearsal. Debbie and I got carried away and screaming at the TV as if the Beatles could hear us! It was great seeing them on TV, but nothing can beat the excitement of being there. I can’t wait to see them at Carnegie Hall on Wednesday!
I still can’t believe how lucky I am. I got to see the dress rehearsal in person with a front row balcony seat. They did 5 songs! I then got to see them do 3 more songs, which will be shown in two weeks. I wonder if I’ll be shown screaming on TV! I’ll have to look for myself! And then, I got to see the Beatles on TV doing 5 songs! I’m so glad I had dress rehearsal tickets rather than show tickets. Sometimes things truly work out for the best!
I called mom and told her about my big day. She said I could keep staying at the Plaza with Debbie for a few more days if I promised to go to school on Monday and Tuesday and did my homework. I’m so glad I can be at the same hotel as the Beatles for a while longer! Once again, thanks to Debbie’s mom for letting me do this blog on her portable computer.
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February 8, 1964 - The Plaza is still surrounded by fans!
Debbie and I woke up fairly early because we were so excited. We’re staying at the same hotel as the Beatles!!!! Debbie’s mom ordered room service breakfast for us, which arrived shortly after 8:00 a.m. I wonder what the Beatles had for breakfast.
By 10:00 a.m., hundreds of kids were already gathered outside the Plaza. They were chanting "We want the Beatles, we want the Beatles" over and over and over again. Even though it was really cold, Debbie and I decided we wanted to be part of the action, so we went outside and joined the crowd for a while. Some girls began singing a variation of a song from the play Bye Bye Birdie. Rather than singing "We love you Conrad," they sang "We love you Beatles, oh yes we do." We they got to the end of the song, Debbie and I were screaming with them, "Oh Beatles, we love you!"
I also mer this really neat girl named Irene, who made a great sign. It said "Elvis is Dead, Long Live the Beatles." I agree. Compared to the Beatles, Elvis is a square. He’s in all those corny movies. Debbie’s mom told us that there was a time when Elvis was as popular as the Beatles. He had number one hits, starred in some decent movies and was on Ed Sullivan. She claims girls screamed at him just like they scream for the Beatles! But then he went into the Army and served in Germany. She says he never was the same after that. I hope the Beatles don’t have to serve in England’s Army. They need to keep making records and coming to New York!
Someone near us said she heard that George had a sore throat and that if he didn’t get better soon, he might not be able to play on the Sullivan Show. I sure hope he can sing on Sunday!
Around lunch time, there was some commotion. Because the crowd was so big, I couldn’t see what was happening. We later heard that the Beatles had snuck out in a car and it was heading for Central Park. Debbie and I had our P.F. Flyers on, so we decided to run to the Park. We tried to guess where they might go. Debbie said they’d go where the press could take pictures with interesting backgrounds. I thought the boathouse would be a good place, so we headed that way. My hunch paid off and we saw them chatting with the photographers and posing for the camera! We were afraid to get too close because we didn’t want the cops to chase us away. We didn’t see George. He must have been in bed trying to get well for the show. There was a little girl with them. I was so jealous of her when one of the Beatles lifted her up and carried her on his shoulders!
Debbie’s mom knows someone who works for CBS. She told us that there is always a Saturday afternoon camera rehearsal for the Ed Sullivan show. We decided that must be where the Beatles would go after they had lunch, so we left the Park and took a cab to CBS Studio 50 on Broadway. We weren’t the only people who knew about the rehearsal. There were hundreds of other kids around. There were police on horses. Police on the street had part of the block in front of the entrance to the theater roped off, so our cab let us off before we got to the front of the theater. We quickly went into a deli and bought sandwiches for lunch. We left the deli and ate them outside because we didn’t want to miss anything. After a little while we saw a black Cadillac limo coming down Broadway! We chased after it. When it stopped, Debbie and I and a few other girls raced to the car and began hitting the windows. I got there first and could see Paul, John and Ringo! I screamed "I love you Paul!" Paul smiled at me and said "Hi girls!" The car then started moving again. After the limo reached the theater entrance, the Beatles quickly jumped out of the car and went inside. We knew they would be there a while, so Debbie and I walked back to the Plaza. There were still hundreds of kids by the entrance even though the Beatles hadn’t been there for hours! Debbie showed the doorman her key and we went back to our room. We told Debbie’s mom what a great time we had. We told her Paul spoke to us and we got to touch the Beatles car!
After a while we went downstairs to the Plaza’s lobby. Debbie began flirting with one of the bell-boys, Charles, to see if she could find out any information about the Beatles. Charles told us that the hotel doctor, Dr. Gordon, had examined George and that George’s sister was taking care of him. The doctor gave his sister a bunch of medicine for George to take. Dr. Gordon made George stay in his bed so he would be better for the show. Charles thought that George might go to the theater later in the day if he felt better.
We then went back to our room. Debbie’s mom wanted to get out, so she took us along on a shopping trip and then to dinner. We went to Lindy’s in Times Square. Their cheese cake is so good. Debbie’s mom then took us to the Broadway show Oliver. It was really great. Although the music isn’t as exciting as the Beatles, some of the songs had catchy melodies. When we got back to the Plaza, I typed in this blog entry on the portable computer. I know I won’t sleep much tonight because I’m so excited about getting to see the Beatles perform!
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February 7, 1964 - THE BEATLES ARE HERE!!!
What a day! I got up early and packed my suitcase for my stay at the Plaza. Debbie’s mom picked me up at 9:00 a.m. and we went straight to the Plaza. I can’t believe how nice the room is. We then headed to Kennedy Airport to wait for the Beatles. We listened to WMCA on the car radio. The DJ kept giving progress reports of the plane’s location across the Atlantic Ocean.
Debbie, her mom and I decided to hang out on top of the airport’s upper arcade for a bird’s eye view of the Beatles. Debbie and I each had a pair of binoculars. It was cold outside, but it we stayed warm due to the crowd. It seemed like forever waiting for the plane. Shortly after 1:15 I saw a Pan Am jet taxiing towards us. I just knew it was the Beatles plane. When the crowd realized the Beatles plane was approaching, everybody began screaming. The plane then stopped and they drove a portable stairway up to the plane.
I didn’t recognize any of the passengers who first got off the plane. They may have been friends of the Beatles or maybe were just passengers who happened to be on the same plane with the Beatles. Boy were they lucky! Then I finally saw all four Beatles step out of the plane. They stopped at the top of the portable stairs and waved to the crowd. The sound of us screaming was louder than the sound of the jet’s engines! The group, along with a Pan Am stewardess, then walked down the stairs and on to the tarmac. Tons of photographers were taking pictures. Debbie’s mom took some pictures with her husband’s Nikon camera, which has what is called a telephoto lens. Debbie’s mom says the pictures will be fairly close up due to the long lens. I can’t wait to see them when she gets them developed. She knows a place that can get her the pictures within a week.
After the Beatles went inside, we ran to the car and headed to the Plaza. When we got there, several teenagers were waiting outside for the Beatles. While Debbie’s mom went up to the room to read a book, Debbie and I took our places outside the hotel entrance to wait for the Beatles arrival.
We waited in the cold with hundreds of other kids for over an hour before the Beatles limos finally arrived. I’ll never forget the image of four big Cadillac limos pulling up to the hotel’s driveway entrance. Most everyone in the crowd was screaming their lungs out, although some girls stood there with their mouths open and tears flowing down their faces. As the Beatles got out of their cars, they waved at the crowd before heading into the hotel.
Debbie and I quickly bolted for the hotel’s front doors in hopes of meeting them in the lobby as they waited to register at the front desk. When we got to the entrance, we were stopped by a security guard. Debbie yelled, "We’re guests at the Plaza. Let us in!" The guard smirked and said, "If only I had a dollar for every girl who’s tried that line today...." Debbie then pulled out her room key from her purse. The guard gave us a funny look, but let us in. After we ran through the corridors and got near the registration desk, we noticed that the Beatles didn’t stop to register, but were stepping into an elevator. We ran, but the elevator doors shut before we could get in. Debbie noticed that the elevator went straight to the twelfth floor, so at least we knew what floor the Beatles were staying on. We then got on another elevator and pressed the button for the twelfth floor. When the doors opened, we stepped into the hallway and tried to guess which way it was to the Beatles rooms. Before we got very far, a guard asked us what we were doing and Debbie said we were looking for our room. He asked to see her key, and when Debbie handed it over, he told us we were on the wrong floor. He escorted us to the elevator and told us to push the button for the tenth floor.
When we got to our room, we looked out the window to the crowd below. There were many more people than I had imagined. Many were yelling "We want the Beatles, we want the Beatles" over and over again. The screaming, chanting and singing never stopped!
That evening, we ordered a room service dinner and watched the news. Towards the end of the CBS news, Walter Cronkite showed film of the Beatles arrival. Debbie and I started screaming at the TV! Cronkite showed them getting off the plane and waving to the crowd. He then showed the Beatles answering questions behind a bunch of microphones. They sounded really sharp with their British accents! They also gave some funny answers. We then switched to WNBC for the Huntley-Brinkley Report. At the end of the show, Chet Huntley talked about the Beatles, so Debbie and I got excited knowing we would soon see more film of the Beatles. But he kept talking and never showed any film of the Beatles. What a jerk! I’ll never watch the Huntley-Brinkley Report again! We kept the TV on WNBC for the local news, which was great. They had several stories on the Beatles. I’m glad I asked my dad to tape the sound of the news coverage on his reel-to-reel tape machine. I’m looking forward to hearing the tape when I go home in a few days.
Tonight we’re just going to watch TV and rest. I’m exhausted from all the screaming I did at the airport and in front of the hotel. I also didn’t sleep much last night!
I’m typing this blog entry on Debbie’s mom’s computer. She’s rich enough to own a portable computer. It’s really neat. It isn’t that much bigger than a three-ring binder! I’ll add a new item each day by using her computer while I stay at the Plaza with the Beatles!!!!!
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