Today marks the 50th anniversary of ‘The Beatles” U.S debut.
On this date today in 1964, The British rock band from Liverpool flew across the Atlantic and landed at New York City’s newly renamed John F. Kennedy Airport, two days before they were to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr emerged from the plane to thousands of screaming fans, and officially kicked off “Beatlemania” in the US.
Paul: “There were millions of kids at the airport, which nobody had expected. We heard about it in mid-air. There were journalists on the plane, and the pilot had rang ahead and said, ‘Tell the boys there’s a big crowd waiting for them.’ We thought, ‘Wow! God, we really have made it.’ “
The band formed in 1960, and since then has made music history. According to the RIAA, the Beatles are the best-selling band in the United States, with 177 million certified units. They currently hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with 20. They have also received ten Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards.
They are the best-selling band in history, with estimate sales of over 600 million records worldwide, and in 2004, The Rolling Stone named The Beatles the greatest artist of all time.
