What Did The Beatles Mean to You? Looking Back at a Band that Shaped a Generation
I was 15-years-old when I “met” The Beatles. To be precise, I met them at 2pm, on September 6th, 1964. I was living in Detroit at the time and was fortunate to have a friend whose dad worked for a local newspaper. I thought I would burst when Mary’s dad told us about the golden tickets – not just to the concert, but, to the press conference as well.
The event was held at Detroit’s Olympia Stadium, which was absolutely packed. I had never seen so many people in the same place. Talk about the power of community! I didn’t know the 28,000 young women all around me, but, it felt like we were a part of something bigger than ourselves. I loved it!
The Beatles Were More than a Band
I’ve been thinking a lot about The Beatles recently, as we approach the 35th anniversary of the tragic shooting of John Lennon. I remember the power of their music. I remember their charisma. Most of all, I remember how they made us feel – unbound, liberated and free to be ourselves.
The concert that I attended was one of the first live events that The Beatles performed in the United States. It was only a few days after the, now infamous, Ed Sullivan Show and less than a year after the death of President Kennedy. For a young girl, like myself, their music cut through the darkness and made it feel like everything was going to be ok.
After the event, I waited patiently at the press conference to see my heroes. When I finally saw them, I remember thinking how small they were in real life. I guess there was a lesson about heroes in that moment as well – although I didn’t see it at the time! Physical appearance aside they were still perfect in my mind. As I stood, Paul reached out and shook my hand. I remember thanking him. Most of all, I remember refusing to wash my hand for weeks.
What Did The Beatles Mean to You?
The heroes that we hold in our hearts as we are growing up will always be with us. They certainly weren’t perfect, as we thought at the time. But, they meant something to us. They made us feel a certain way. Perhaps most importantly, through their music, they helped us to find ourselves. They magnified the feelings in our hearts and told us that it was ok to be ourselves.
I’d love to hear what The Beatles meant to you. Did they help you to get through a difficult time in your life? Did they help you to find yourself? Or, did you perhaps simply enjoy listening to their music? Please join the conversation.
Photo credit thebeatles.com
Here’s a look back at one of the most pivotal moments…
August 28, 2015
Still love them! Their music had meaning. John was a musical genius:)
August 28, 2015
I seldom get to see them on tv, but they were often on the radio. Used to play their songs on the jukebox on way home from school. They bring happiness, self expression- physical- & new looks , haircuts …. Is there a musical on the beatles? Wish they would come to this part of the world !
August 28, 2015
didn’t finish my sentence..they did touch down unintentionally in Winnipeg ,Canada for a fuel fill up. They got off the plane and the girls were screaming wildly in my part of town. I lived an hour away from the airport but there was some adventureous teenage boy, who ran up the ramp to get a glimpse of them. I don’t think I experienced such a “rush” of celebrity hysteria since then.
August 28, 2015
Brilliant like most things from Liverpool
August 28, 2015
My absolute idols, saw them twice in the sixties xx
August 28, 2015
Went to see them at Dundee Caird hall I was 15 Cilla Black came on first to sing.
August 28, 2015
thank you for clearing that up! you were all over! I’ve lived in one spot my whole life – I will only move from here when I retire!
August 28, 2015
I was into Steppenwolf, Santana, Pink Floyd and on the other end James Taylor, Carol King and Carly Simon.
August 28, 2015
The Beatles were my day, my night , my everything. They made me laugh, cry and helped me make friendships.. My parents were divorced and I was in a bad space in my life and just listening to their
Music lifted my spirit.. I grew up with them. John and George my favourites…….
August 28, 2015
Masterpiece Theater in their pop up offers three choices for populating its email list…Yes, No or I have already subscribed. Just sayin…
August 28, 2015
I still have my ticket from the concert in Hammersmith London. At the Odeon January 1965.
August 28, 2015
The Beatles changed the face of music. Only Elvis can compare as a musical icon. Before the Beatles, guitar music was either rockabilly style, country, or boring repetive guitar chords in a feeble attempt to make rock and roll more interesting. Compare pre- Beatles rock and roll. The Fab Four changed music, especially rock and rock forever. They were genius, especially John and Paul.
August 28, 2015
please please me!!!!!the best!
August 28, 2015
Freedom from a conservative decade.
August 28, 2015
I was a Rolling Stones fan.
August 28, 2015
Oh Margaret you are so lucky!!! I would have given just about anything to see and meet them , especially Paul! Did you cry or faint? Lol
August 28, 2015
They came to states when I was 12. I sat as close to the tv as I was allowed and watched in awe. My favorite album is Sgt. Pepper. They’d truly peaked.
August 27, 2015
My uncle who was manager of the Edinburgh Palladium back in 1960 got my sister & myself tickets to see them live in the ABC in Lothian road in Edinburgh I was 10 my sister 14 there was so must screaming you could hardly hear them but what a great night & memory then my friend & myself saw Paul McCartney with wings in the odeon in Edinburgh nine years later Great memories X
August 27, 2015
nono,my mom said no,so it was no listen to those boy’s
August 27, 2015
Love them but they are now icons who produced anthems for my daughter and grandchildren. John poetry and support for the Peace Movement was important to me. Once defined my world and my priorities in New York.
August 27, 2015
the Beatles managed to bridge the gap between our parents and us. The first Beatles record we got was a gift from our parents… and they were conservative. Still, they loved the movie Help, the yellow submarine and so on. It surprised us all.
August 27, 2015
Back in 64 I lived, dreamed, and thought about them 24/7. They
August 27, 2015
our dad died in 63 they came along and eased my sisters and I through that and it helped my mom anything Beatles we got including Aug 22-64 concert tickets will always be a beatlemaniac
August 27, 2015
My first encounter with the Beatles was through my uncle who was a priest, believe it or not. He was a modern man and always wanted to be informed of the new trends, so he bought their first record, and we used to listen to it together. The second memory I have about the Fab Four: we had just moved to a new house, and all my records were still in the boxes, in the moving truck which was delayed. The only record that was available was a 45 I had left in my small portable record-player, “Paperback writer” so I played it over and over again all day long, just driving my mother crazy! :-) I still listen to their music. To me, they will always be the best!
August 27, 2015
great story Margaret!! For some reason I always thought your were British! Anyway! . . . I never did get the pleasure of seeing them in person – but, the excitement of seeing them on television then is certainly unforgettable. Beatlemania was so intensely THRILLING! Their music came out at a time when I was very young – just noticing boys – and they me! After not really liking them as a child -suddenly – I wanted one of them to “hold my hand” as their great song said! They came along at the same time as puberty started for my generation with their great songs about young love and looking so cute and unlike boys we had never seen before with their then long shaggy haircuts! My friends and I watched them for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show – we were hysterical! My mother gave us all pillows to scream into – she said the neighbors would call the police thinking we were being murdered! LOL!
August 27, 2015
They represented my teen years!!!
August 27, 2015
They were my first crush; I learned how to sing harmony by listening to the variety of vocals and they were there when I just needed a “friend”…Beatles 4 Ever!
August 27, 2015
So many memories… but the main one was my very first record: a 45 rpm of Eight Days a Week, which my aunt gave me for my birthday. I don’t know how old I was – maybe ten or so, and I got special permission from my parents to use their record-player (with supervision of course). After that I was unstoppable when it came to music. I became addicted and eventually started a career in music (which I eventually left for journalism). Not very original but the Beatles were the beginning of my love of everything musical.