The USA Today has a piece about the Beatles' domination of the singles chart in which they held the top 5 singles for the week of April 4, 1964. No other soloist or group has accomplished such a feat.
There will be lots of 50 year remembrances of the Beatles this year. All of which will cause me to feel really old!
It was 50 years ago that I heard the Beatles for the first time on KTKT, "Color Channel 99," in Tucson, Arizona. I was riding in the family car when "I Want To Hold Your Hand" came bursting through the tiny speaker. The music was so new and different. I'll never forget it.
It was 50 years ago that I began asking my parents for extra ways to earn money by doing stuff around our house so I would be able to go out and buy 45's of the latest Beatles songs.
It was 50 years ago that the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show (which then became my favorite television show). The Beatles launched what was called the "British Invasion." More singing group came to America and Uncle Ed (as comedian George Carlin called him) had them on his show.
It was 50 years ago that my friends and I argued over who was the most important Beatle. For 50 years I have always favored Paul.
It was 50 years ago that I added, "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" to my vocabulary.
Will there ever be anything like the Beatles again? Most music critics seem to say no. I'm not so sure. We didn't see the Beatles coming. Whose to say that it can't happen again. I'm just glad I was around when the Fab Four started creating one timeless classic after another.
From the count-in of "I Saw Her Standing There" to the last note of the medley on side two of "Abbey Road," it was a thrill to be lifted up by the music of the Beatles. Even if it all started to happen 50 years ago today!
