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More Beatles On Tour Beatles American Tours

(1966)

FINAL AMERICAN TOUR (August 12-30, 1966)

This tour would end up being the Beatles final tour in front of a live audience. By this time, the Beatles had grown tired of the same routine, with each concert not being heard over the roar of screaming fans. John Lennon's Jesus remarks also made for more problems with death threats against the group growing as they start this final tour. On the bill with the Beatles were The Ronettes, The Cyrkle, and The Remains. The Beatles song list for this final tour is:

Rock And Roll Music
She's a Woman
If I Needed Someone
Baby's In Black
Day Tripper
I Feel Fine
Yesterday
I Wanna Be Your Man
Nowhere Man
Paperback Writer
I'm Down**

(**- NOTE: For some shows, The Beatles would drop I'm Down and add Long Tall Sally for their shows)

August 12: International Ampitheater Chicago, Illinois: The start of the final tour commenced in Chicago, where the Beatles had played at the International Ampitheater in 1964. The focus however was on John Lennon and his quote over the Beatles being more popular than Jesus. "I'm not saying were better or greater than Jesus, or God as a thing or whatever it is, but it was wrong, and now it's come to all this." John would end up apologizing for his remark under duress from reporters. The Beatles performed two concerts at the Ampitheater with crowds at each show totaling 13,000
August 13: Olympia Stadium Detroit, Michigan: Two concerts here at Olympia Stadium in Detroit with attendance for the two shows at 30,000
August 14: Municipal Stadium Cleveland, Ohio: Home to baseball's Cleveland Indians, The Beatles played here for one show to 30,000 people. The stadium's capacity was 50,000 but only 30,000 tickets were sold for the show because most of the rear seating area of the concert would have provided a poor view. During the song Day Tripper, fans began to go onto the baseball field, and eventually rush the stage. When the police couldn't get the crowds under control, The Beatles retreated to a trailer located behind the stage until the police could restore order. When The Beatles reappeared, they skipped the rest of Day Tripper, and started playing the song Baby's In Black.
August 15: Washington Stadium Washington D.C.: The tension surrounding John Lennon's remarks were beginning to show at some of the concerts. On this date, the Beatles played Washington Stadium, with members of the Maryland Klu Klux Klan staging protests outside the stadium. The Beatles went onstage at 6:00 p.m. with 32,164 fans in attendance.
August 16: JFK Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Slightly over 21,000 fans attended this Beatles concert in Philadelphia, with the threat of lightning and rain near the stadium. With the show finished for ten minutes, the rains and the lightning came.
August 17: Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto, Canada: The Beatles performed two shows here in Toronto with the afternoon show drawing 15,000, and the evening show drawing 17,000
August 18: Suffolk Downs Racecourse Boston, Massachusetts: The Beatles perfomed one show here to 25,000 fans here at one of their most unusual venues: a horse racetrack.
August 19: Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee: This concert in Memphis would be the first concert in the south for the Beatles. The anti-Beatles protesters were out in force on this day, as the Beatles performed two shows with the afternoon crowd of 10,000 and the evening crowd of 12,500 people. During the evening show, someone exploded a firecracker, and the Beatles, while still playing, looked at each other to see which one of them was shot. It turned out none of the Beatles were hurt, and they didn't miss a beat as they continued performing.
August 20-21: Crosley Field Cincinnati, Ohio: At this outside venue, rain was coming down right before the opening acts were to take the stage. The stage was covered by a canopy to protect the Beatles and their equiptment, but failed to do so, and the threat of a Beatle being electrocuted was real. Because of fans already in the stands, Brian Epstein argued with promoters concerning the danger of performing in the rain. The Beatles also argued with Brian, and refused to go onstage. The show would be postponed until the next day August 21. The Beatles played an afternoon show with 23,000 in attendance. After the show, the Beatles had to be in St. Louis for an evening show some 350 miles away.
August 21: Busch Stadium St. Louis, Missouri: The Beatles played here at the home of baseball's St.Louis Cardinals for one show in the rain. The Beatles went onstage at 8:30 p.m. with total attendance being 25,000 fans.
August 23: Shea Stadium Flushing, Queens, New York: The Beatles return to the scene of their most triumphant concert. This time however, not as triumphant with only 44,000 people total in attendance. After the show, The Beatles flew out to Los Angeles for 24 hours of rest before their next concert in Seattle Washington.
August 25: Seattle Coliseum Seattle, Washington: The Beatles did two performances here at the Seattle Coliseum. Attendance at the afternoon show was only 8,000 people, but was sold out for the evening show (15,000).
August 28: Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, California:After a three day hiatus at a rented Beverly Hills manision, The Beatles played their biggest single show of this 1966 U.S. tour, with 45,000 fans attending this baseball stadium home to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
August 30: Candlestick Park San Francisco, California: The Beatles final stage performance took place here at Candlestick Park which was home to baseball's San Francisco Giants. 25,000 fans attended the show with 20,000 seats remaining unsold. Beatles PR man Tony Barrow was asked by Paul if he would tape the concert for posterity. Tony recorded the concert on a cassette recorder. In 1988, Tony auctioned off the cassette recording at Sotheby's in London, and was eventually turned into a bootleg album. With the sea wind blowing hard across the stage (located in the middle of the park with a 200 foot high fence surrounding it), The Beatles took the stage at 9:27 p.m. Their last number was Long Tall Sally instead of I'm Down which was what they were ending some of their concerts with. By 10:00 p.m. it was all over, and this phase of the Beatles career would come to an end.

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