Our catch phrase is on its way.
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
It was 50 years ago today that the British rock group “The Beatles” appeared on American TV. With their appearance on the “Ed Sullivan Show”, the foursome from Liverpool, England became instant celebrities. Their sudden appearance on the scene greatly affected impressionable, 16-year-old Steve Walker…
By the time the Beatles arrived in the United States on Friday, February 7, 1964, most of the people around my age in the United States were waiting to actually see them perform. You see, there was no internet in those days and there were no video recordings of the “four lads from Liverpool”.
I was thrilled when I saw the Beatles sing “She Loves You”, and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on the Ed Sullivan show. George Harrison looked so shy, Ringo so confident, Paul so handsome, John so happy! I was quite shocked at how “long the Beatles’ hair was”. I myself had had “normal length hair” until recently, when I had tried a “flat top” haircut, which had become popular some 6 or 7 years earlier. I had done this in an effort to look more “athletic”, since all the “jocks” (slang for “male athletes”) at my high school had flat tops. It would take a while, but a few years down the line I would actually sport the “shaggy look” that The Beatles had introduced to the world. It wouldn’t be until the late 1960s that long hair for men would be the “in” thing to do – and that short hair would suddenly (at least in the United States) be looked upon with disdain.
It would be a while before “Beatlemania” really took over the world, but The Beatles’ appearance on the “Ed Sullivan Show” was the first step in that direction.
One effect of The Beatles on my own life took place on February 17, 1964. Judy Adamitis (See installments 157, 163, 179.), the girl I had a crush on during my sophomore year in high school, came the closest she ever would to talking to me. She dropped by 8th hour study hall to see her friend fellow cheerleader Marcia Fletcher. Judy remarked to Marcia -- but looking at me too as she did so:
“My favorite Beatle is George Harrison. His big brown eyes are beautiful!”
Judy looked right into MY big brown eyes as she said that – and I was a changed person after that moment!
“Yeah, yeah, yeah……Y E A H !!!!!!!!
Steve Walker, Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.