Actually, it was February 7, 1964 when the Beatles touched down at Kennedy Airport in NY. And nothing was ever the same again! 45 years ago, unbelievable!
I was 15 years old and Beatlemania swept through my high school faster and louder than a tornado in Kansas. It was something so phenomenal, so inexplicable, and so very very exciting. I watched them on Ed Sullivan. I saw them 'live' twice; in performance at Comisky Park (Chicago) and the International Amphitheater (Chicago). Although it really was not "seeing" them; not even "hearing" them. The seating seemed as if it were miles away from the stage and the non-stop screaming of the audience made seeing and hearing wishful thinking. What mattered was being there and that was sufficient.
When I look back on it I am surprised by how quickly the Beatles were over - not their music which is still going strong. But the group itself. I was a senior in college when Abby Road was released. And then, the Beatles as we knew them were no more.
Looking back it all seemed so innocent; ephemeral; young. "She loves you ya ya ya" was certainly a squeaky clean song, and just plain fun. Their lyrics while often quaint, funny, deep, or just plain not to be understood still hold up today and I would take them anytime over the violent, abusive, woman hating lyrics so pervasive in today's music.
I guess a lot of people must feel this way because, it was 45 years ago today, and in the end, we love you ya ya ya ya!
