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The Beatles American Tours
The Beatles American
Tours
Welcome to this section titled
The
Beatles' American Tours. This
section contains information concerning
the Beatles tours of the U.S. and Canada from
1964-1966. Information will be given
concerning song lists (what The Beatles were
playing on each tour), other groups and singers
touring with them, as well as
background of each venue The Beatles
played. I hope you enjoy this
informative section.
THE INVASION BEGINS!!
(February 7-21, 1964)
This 2-week "tour" was the very
first trip for the Beatles to America.
After
securing a total of three appearances on
the Ed Sullivan Show, and having the
number one single (I Want To Hold Your
Hand) and number one album (Meet The
Beatles!), America was primed and ready
for the Fab Four's invasion of
America.
- Feb.9: Ed Sullivan Show,
New York City, New York: The Beatles
perform live in front of 728 audience
members on the Ed Sullivan Show. An
estimated 73 million people watched this
show on TV making it one of the highest
rated TV shows of all time. They
appeared twice on the show, the first
half of the show singing All My Loving,
'Till There Was You, and She Loves You;
the second half saw the
Beatles rip into I Saw Her Standing
There and I Want To Hold Your Hand.
During rehearsals, a third show was
taped for broadcast on Feb. 23, two days
after the Beatles have left for
England.
- Feb.11: Washington Coliseum
Washington D.C.: The Beatles
first live concert appearance took place
at the Washington Coliseum in
Washington, D.C. The Beatles traveled
down by train from New York to
Washington D.C and were driven to the
Shoreham Hotel. The Beatles took the
stage at the Coliseum at 8:31 p.m
following two other acts, Tommy Roe and
the Chiffons. The Beatles performed Roll
Over Beethoven, From Me To You, I Saw
Her Standing There, This Boy, All My
Loving, I Wanna Be Your Man, Please
Please Me, 'Till There Was You, She
Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand,
Twist and Shout, and Long Tall Sally.
The concert was filmed by CBS for a
special closed circuit presentation to
be screened at movie theaters on March
14 and 15.
- Feb. 12: Carnegie Hall New
York City, New York: The Beatles
arrived by train from Washington D.C
back to New York to perform two shows at
Carnegie Hall. Upon arrival, the Beatles
showered and changed before going on to
Carnegie Hall for the two 30 minute
shows. One show took place at 7:45 p.m.,
with the other show taking place at
11:15 p.m. Attendance at this concert
was 2,900 Beatles fans for each show,
with 300 extra
seats available for adults. Promoter Sid
Bernstien and
New York disc jockey Murray the K emceed
the show (See Washington Coliseum for
list of songs performed at Carnegie
Hall).
- Feb. 16: Ed Sullivan Show
Deauville Hotel Miami Florida: Miami
was the site of the second Ed Sullivan
Show, to be broadcast from the Deauville
Hotel. The Beatles left New York by
plane this time on Feb. 13th and
landed at Miami International Airport at
4:00 p.m. They checked into the
Deauville Hotel, with John and wife
Cynthia sharing one room , and Paul with
Ringo in another (George was disgruntled
because he had to share a room with disc
jockey Murray the K). On Saturday,
Feb.15, the Beatles rehearsed before a
live audience, with the Beatles
performing on The Ed Sullivan Show on
Feb. 16 in front of 3,200 people. They
performed She Loves You, This Boy, All
My Loving, I Saw Her Standing There,
From Me To You, and I Want To Hold Your
Hand. The Beatles remained in Miami for
a week during which time they met up
with Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), and
also enjoyed home cooking from one of
the policemen and his wife. The Beatles
flew back to England at 5:18 p.m on
February 21, 1964.
BEATLES FIRST AMERICAN
TOUR
(August 19 - September 20, 1964)
This was the first
real
Beatles
concert tour of America. Consisting of
32 shows in 34 days, The Beatles wound
up breaking attendance records as they
appeared at major arenas throughout the
U.S and Canada. On the bill with The
Beatles was the Bill Black Combo, the
Righteous Brothers (backed by The
Exciters), and Jackie DeShannon.
The Beatles song list for this 1964
tour:
- Twist and Shout**
- You Can't Do That
- All My Loving
- She Loves You**
- Things We Said Today
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Can't Buy Me Love
- If I Fell
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
- Boys
- A Hard Day's Night
- Long Tall Sally
(**-For some shows, The Beatles would
open with I Saw Her Standing There,
delete She Loves You, and
close with Twist And Shout).
- August 19: Cow Palace San
Francisco, California: The start of
the Beatles North American tour begins
on the West Coast at San Francisco's Cow
Palace. The Beatles left London at noon
on August 18th. After brief stops at
Winnipeg, Canada and Los Angleles, The
Beatles landed at San Francisco
International Airport at 6:24 p.m. with
9,000 screaming teenagers in the
reception room. The show began at 8:00
p.m with
17,130 people in attendance. Backstage,
the
Beatles held a press conference, and
even had a picture of them taken with
child star Shirley Temple. At 9:20 p.m
The Beatles took the stage dressed in
dark blue suits. Jelly beans were being
pelted at them while they were
performing. This would become a ritual
at every concert due to George Harrison
talking about Ringo stealing his "jelly
babies" which were softer candies than
jelly beans. The show was stopped twice
because of the hail of jelly beans. On
this night, they performed 10 numbers in
thirty minutes before being transported
by ambulance (their limousine was
besieged by Beatles' fans) to the
airport and their next concert in Las
Vegas.
- August 20: Convention
Center Las Vegas, Nevada: The
Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
was next on the Beatles tour. The
Beatles arrived at McCarran
International Airport at 1:00 a.m. on
the
morning of August 20th. At 3:00 p.m. the
Beatles were driven to the convention
center to perfom two shows, one at 4:00
p.m., and an evening show at 9:00 p.m.
Both shows were advanced sell outs with
a total audience of around 16,000.
- August 21: Coliseum
Seattle, Washington: The Beatles
next concert was at the Coliseum in
Seattle, Washington. 14,720 fans
attended the show. Backstage at the
Colisuem the Beatles held a press
conference, and as they were walking
back to their dressing rooms, a fan fell
25 feet from an air vent right in front
of Ringo Starr. When he asked the fan if
she was all right, the fan ran away
towards the crowd. The Beatles went on
stage at 9:30 p.m., and were done 30
minutes later. They had problems getting
their Cadillac back because it was sent
out as a "dummy" car to distract fans
from the Beatles leaving, and such was
swamped by fans who damaged the car. The
Beatles were whisked away by ambulance
again.
- August 22: Empire Stadium,
Vancouver, Canada: Vancouver
Canada saw the Beatles play the first of
three concerts in Canada on this tour
(two other
concerts would come later in the tour).
The Beatles played Empire Stadium to a
crowd of 20,261 fans in the arena, with
thousands more outside who couldn't get
tickets. The Beatles went on stage at
9:23 p.m. and after the show were driven
away in three limousines with a
motorcycle escort to the airport.
- August 23: Hollywood Bowl
Los Angeles, California: On this
date, The Beatles played the Hollywood
Bowl in Los Angeles, California. All
18,700 seats were sold out with other
fans trying to view the concert by
climbing up trees in the nearby hills.
The Beatles went onstage at 9:30 p.m.
with John Lennon announcing "Welcome to
you in the trees." This concert was
taped for possible future record
release. At 10:05 p.m., The
Beatles left the stage, and were driven
away in a limousine to a rented mansion
where a private party had been arranged.
There the Beatles would get a short
two-day break before heading out on tour
again.
- August 26: Red Rocks
Ampitheater Denver, Colorado: After
their
two day hiatus, The Beatles went back to
touring, this time appearing in Denver
at Red Rocks Ampitheater. This concert
was not a sellout, with 5,000 of the
7,000 seats taken (due possibly to the
lack of mass transportation around Red
Rocks Ampitheater). The group stayed at
the Brown Palace Hotel until being
driven to the theater some twenty miles
outside Denver. The Beatles went onstage
at 9:30 p.m. and due to the thin air in
Denver, kept running out of breath
during the show, so oxygen cannisters
were placed on stage for the group to
use.
- August 27: Cincinnati
Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio: Unlike the
British tours, America was providing
them with
problems of getting from one show to the
next due to the longer distances between
shows. This was the case when the band
flew to Cincinnati from Denver for a
concert at the Cincinnati Gardens. The
appearance was almost cancelled because
the Musicians Union demanded that local
groups should share the bill with the
Beatles. After hundreds of phone calls
from angry fans, the Union withdrew
their request. The Beatles arrived at
the Gardens at 6:00 p.m. and talked to
Elvis Presley on the phone backstage.
Then, they held a press conference in a
private room, and at 9:35 took the stage
in front of 14,000 people.
- August 28-29: Forest Hills
Tennis Stadium Queens, New York
City: Two sold out Beatles' shows
were played here at Forest Hills on
August 28 and August 29. 16,000 fans
were in attendance on each occasion. The
Beatles arrived at the stadium by
helicopter, but their concert on the
28th was delayed because the helicopter
and pilot left without permission. When
the helicopter finally returned, The
Beatles then went on stage at 9:50
p.m.
- August 30: Convention Hall
Atlantic City, New Jersey: Three
days after the Democratic National
Convention was held here, The Beatles
played one concert here. Over 19,000
Beatles fans attended the concert which
started at 8:30 p.m. After the show, the
Beatles left the hall in a laundry
truck, as leaving by limousine would
have been impossible.
- September 2: Convention
Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
An hour's drive from Atlantic City, The
Beatles next stop was Philadelphia's
Convention Hall. 13,000 fans attended
the concert, with the Beatles going
onstage at 8:00 p.m.
- September 3: Indiana State
Fair Coliseum and Grandstand
Indianapolis, Indiana: Home of the
Indianapolis 500 motor speedway, The
Beatles performed two shows at the
Indiana State Fair. The first show took
place at 5:00 p.m in the State Fair
Coliseum, with the second show at 9:30
p.m. at the Grandstand. There were
approximately 30,000 people at the two
shows.
- September 4: Milwaukee
Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin: The
Beatles flew into Milwaukee's General
Mitchell Field on September 4th for a
concert here. Over 1,000 fans were on
hand but the Beatles plane was
instructed to land at the opposite end
of the field. As the Beatles left the
plane, they headed to the hotel without
any fans seeing them. At the Coach House
Motor Inn, the Beatles gave a press
conference (minus John who had a sore
throat). The press asked them why they
had avoided their fans at the airport.
The Beatles replied that it hadn't been
their decision to do so. At 9:08 p.m.
The
Beatles took the stage at Milwaukee
Arena (no attendance figures given).
After the concert, they were driven back
to the hotel, where they ate dinner and
were given antibiotic shots as they now
were suffering from colds.
- September 5: International
Ampitheater Chicago, Illinois: The
Beatles played one concert here on
September 5th. The Beatles arrived at
Midway Airport at 3:00 a.m., and were
driven to the Sahara O'Hare hotel at
O'Hare International airport. Radio disc
jockeys gave out information as to
where the Beatles were staying, and the
hotel was besieged by screaming fans,
not giving the Beatles any peace and
quiet. 15,000 fans attended the
concert with 4,000 more waiting outside
the ampitheater. The Beatles went
onstage at 9:20 p.m. and after the
concert were whisked away to the
airport.
- September 6: Olympia
Stadium Detroit, Michigan: There
were two Beatles' shows here at Olympia
Stadium in Detroit. A number of fans
were thrown out of the stadium for
throwing jelly beans at the Beatles. At
the press conference, Paul was asked
about girls being thrown out of their
concerts for throwing jelly beans. Paul
replied "It has become a bit of a
trademark with our shows, but we'd
prefer they throw nothing at all."
- September 7: Maple Leaf
Gardens Toronto, Canada: The second
of three Canadian appearances by The
Beatles. Over 10,000 fans awaited their
arrival at Toronto International
Airport.The group were driven to the
King Edward Hotel which was also under
siege by fans. In fact, when the Beatles
got to their suite, they found a 14 year
old girl hiding in a linen closet. The
Beatles did two shows here at Maple Leaf
Gardens, setting attendance records
previously held by a hockey game played
here. The group drew a total of
35,522 people for both shows. The
Beatles took the stage at 5:30 p.m. for
the first show, with them taking the
stage for the second show at around
10:00 p.m.
- September 8: Forum
Montreal Quebec, Canada: Upon The
Beatles arrival at Dorval Airport for
two shows at Montreal's Forum, it was
reported that Ringo
Starr recieved death threats from a
fanatic who threatened to kill "the
English Jew." Besides the 5,000 fans
awaitng their arrival, there were also a
heavy police prescence from the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police. The death
threats were taken seriously, and at
5:20 p.m., when the Beatles took the
stage, a detective was crouched behind
Ringo's drums, and even Ringo was scared
enough to crouch down while he played.
21,000 fans total appeared at the two
shows. The detective stayed by Ringo's
side the remainder of the visit
there, and once aboard the
plane Ringo remarked "I am English, but
I'm not
Jewish".
- September 11: Gator Bowl
Jacksonville, Florida: With this
concert, The Beatles had to deal with
the elements. Hurricane Dora was heading
towards Jacksonville, and ended up
causing terrible damage to the city.
With this in mind, The Beatles' plane
was diverted to Key West Florida the
morning of Sept. 11th, until Hurricane
Dora left Jacksonville. The Beatles
arrived in Jacksonville later on in the
day, and were taken to the
George Washington Hotel. A press
reception was held here also.
Originally, The Beatles didn't want to
play here until they were assured the
audience would be segregated, which was
part of their promoter's contract.
Because of Hurricane Dora, 9,000
ticketholders didn't make it to the
concert. 23,000 fans did attend with
the concert starting at 8:30 p.m. With
winds still blowing at 40 mph. Ringo's
drum set even had to be nailed down, and
at one time an attendant had to hold
Ringo down because he thought he'd be
blown away.
- September 12: Boston
Gardens Boston, Massachusetts: Home
of the NBA's Boston Celtics, The Beatles
performed here on September 12th. 13,909
fans attended the show.
- September 13: Baltimore
Civic Center Baltimore Maryland: Two
Beatles concerts were held here in
Baltimore, with each drawing more than
13,000 fans.
- September 14: Civic Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The
Beatles
performed in front of 12,603 fans at
Pittsburgh's Civic Arena. There were
4,000 fans waiting at Greater Pittsburgh
Airport, and their escort to the Civic
Arena was lined along the streets with
hundreds of Beatles fans.
- September 15: Public
Auditorium Cleveland, Ohio: For this
concert venue, the local radio station
WHK had been deluged with ticket
requests. So much so, that the radio
station decided to computerize the
requests and pick out the lucky 12,000
ticketholders. During the show, fans
began to rush the stage. The chief of
police came onstage to stop the show,
but the Beatles didn't understand what
was going on, so they kept playing All
My Loving until the police chief pushed
George away from his microphone. After
ten minutes, the show continued with the
police chief threatening to cancel the
show for good if one more person got out
of their chairs.
- September 16: City Park
Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana: The
Beatles played one show here in New
Orleans to an audience of 12,000 fans on
September 16th. On the way from the
airport to their hotel,the streets were
lined with hundereds of fans. Mayor
Schiro had officially delcared Sept.
16th as "Beatles Day", and presented
each of them a key to the city. For the
first time on this tour, manager Brian
Epstein allowed a newsreel cameraman to
film the group's press conference. After
the press conference, The Beatles ran
into Fats Domino, and had a chat with
him. At 9:25 p.m., The Beatles took the
stage at City Park Stadium, and within
fifteen minutes, fans started rushing
the stage, only to be kept back by
policemen wielding nightsticks, though
no one was hurt.
- September 17: Municipal
Stadium Kansas City, Missouri:
September 17 was scheduled to be the
Beatles off-day from touring. However,
this would change due to the insistance
of Charles O. Finley, owner of the
Kansas City Athletics baseball team.
Noticing that Kansas City wasn't on the
agenda for this tour, he went to San
Francisco to meet with Brian Epstein at
the Cow Palace. He offered $50,000 for
the Beatles to appear, with Brian not
responding, saying that other promoters
were offering $100,000 for a Beatles
concert. When Charles Finley offered a
record $150,000 for a Beatles show,
Brian accepted, knowing the publicity
and prestige of such a price. Although
the stadium could hold 41,000 people,
only 20,208 attended, losing money in
the meantime for Charles Finley. The
Beatles came onstage and did the song
Kansas City/Hey,Hey,Hey,Hey to start the
show. The show had to be stopped when
hundereds of fans rushed the stage.
Beatles publicist Derek Taylor asked the
crowd to settle down, or the police
would have to cancel the show. Two
businessmen took the sheets the Beatles
used during their stay at the hotel, and
cut them up into one-inch squares and
sold them for $1.00 apiece.They did sell
them all, netting them $159,000.
- September 18: Memorial
Coliseum Dallas, Texas: The Beatles
arrived in Dallas and were driven to the
Cabana Motor Hotel. The opening of the
show was delayed because of a phoned in
bomb threat. No bombs were found.
However, fans were discovered hiding in
washrooms and under the stage. This
concert venue saw the last press
conference of the tour. 10,000 fans saw
the Beatles perform here,in which the
tickets were sold out in a day. After
the concert, The Beatles were flown by
plane to a ranch in Missouri for a
couple of days
rest, while their entourage stayed
behind at the hotel.
- September 20: Paramount
Theater, New York City, New York:
The final venue on the Beatles 1964
American Tour. This concert would be a
charity concert with proceeds
benefitting Retarded Infants Service and
Cerebal Palsy of New York. Entitled
An Evening With The Beatles , the
Beatles performed before an audience of
3,682 people consisting of Beatles fans
as well as New York's bejewelled elite.
The Beatles were due to go onstage at
10:45 p.m. but due to the fans screaming
continuously for the band to appear, the
other acts' performance times were cut
back, so that The Beatles could go on 45
minutes earlier at 10:00 p.m. Meanwhile,
outside the theater was 100,000 Beatles
fans with 200 policemen trying to
control them. After the concert, The
Beatles flew back to London on a BOAC
Boeing 707 jet at 9:35 p.m.
Beatles On
Tour (1965)---->
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