Like a lot of people of a certain age, Iâ??ll never forget the night I watched The Beatles on â??The Ed Sullivan Show.â? It was February 9, 1964, I was 7 years old, and John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr had just invaded America. Coming scant months after the assassination of President Kennedy, the whole country (or at least 73 million television viewers) was ready for an evening of guilt-free fun.
â??I used to watch them wiggle their butts on stage.â?
Even more memorable was an afternoon a couple of years later, a day or two before August 29, 1966, when The Beatles were scheduled to play Candlestick Park, then the home of Willie Mays and the San Francisco Giants. My friend Billy had offered me a ticket to the show, as well as a ride with his big brother. It was a done deal, all I had to do was say yes.
â??No thanks,â? I replied instead, with all the breezy hubris of your typical 10-year-old. â??Iâ??m into the Stones.â?
We didnâ??t know it at the time, but that concert at Candlestick would be The Beatlesâ?? last. Apparently, a lot of other people didnâ??t know it either: The show was not even close to sold-out.
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