Beatles USA '66

Photo by Bob Bonis

 

Beatles USA '66

By Jerry Leighton (Chief DJ Caroline North)

Disc Music

August 27, 1966

    New York, Tuesday: Time for the reckoning. Now that the Beatles' American tour is over the halfway hurdle, I could give a firm answer to the $64,000 question: Are the Beatles still as popular with stateside audiences? There has been a lot of talk in the press that their popularity is on the wane, but the boss's office provides the answer.

     Brian Epstein tells me that more people have come to see them this year than last. This means, of course, that the gross takings are far greater, so that's cleared up the big question of  '66 and knocked the knockers for six. 

    Cincinnati was rained out, but it didn't dampen the spirits of the kids. They just stood there getting soaking wet for four hours. There was no canopy over the stage, and the equipment was spoiled by condensation, which made it dangerous for the Beatles to use. So the show was postponed until 12 noon the next day, when the kids turned up by the 1000s to see the world's greatest group. 

    Another thing that had us a bit worried: the concert in Memphis, Tennessee. There was threatened trouble from the so-called Bible Belt, but when we arrived, we were greeted so warmly and with such genuine enthusiasm. We really wanted to stay forever. The police, the fans, and the people in the street just went out to make us feel at home. Even at the religious meeting held at the same time as the Beatles concert, the people prayed for the forgiveness of our audience and all of us!

     As I'm writing, we have just arrived in New York for Tuesday's concert at the Shea Stadium. Everywhere we have been, hundreds of kids have been hanging around our hotel, hoping for a glimpse of the Beatles. But the security arrangements have been very tight, and not many of the fans have been lucky. "We come out here to do shows, and if we show our faces outside our room, we would be torn apart. So it has to be this way, " George told me. "After all, the main thing we want to do is stay alive." Sounds fair enough.

    Paul tells me the decision to release "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" was Brian Epstein's alone, although it is usually up to the boys. The reason is that it wasn't really scheduled for release, but Brian thought the two best tracks should be made a single before anyone else could cover them. He seems to know what he's up to, judging by the success of the record. Brian adds he expects the boys to bring back over one million dollars to Britain, which should help the financial scene quite a bit. The trouble is we can't give them MBEs all over again. Perhaps a knighthood this time?

     Now for the other acts in the show. It's quite a lineup. The Cyrkle, whose "Red Rubber Ball" reached number two out here; Bobby Hebb, number one at the moment with "Sunny"; and the Ronettes, who, of course, have had so many hits and are expecting to release a new one soon.

     Incidentally, Veronica of the Ronettes is getting married to Phil Spector in the near future. They're all great to be with, and it's a real happy show. 

    There is quite a thing here with those granny sunglasses, the ones with the small lenses and gold rims. Nearly all of us wear them. I think I've got the weirdest selection so far with triangular ones, big squares, oblongs, ovals, etc. I always get John laughing when he sees me wearing any of them, but maybe it's not just the glasses. 

    On the plane from St. Louis to New York, John said he'd heard that Radio Caroline is now the number one station in Britain; he thought it was right to be this way. We spent about half an hour discussing the difficulties confronting the marina radio stations, and between us, we have got the whole problem solved. 

    While we were talking, George was working on a wild-flowery sort of doodle. Believe me, it was really wild! The fellows are looking forward to reaching Los Angeles, where they will have a rest before returning home to Britain. 

    If you want to see them arrive at London Airport, you will have to get up early. Our plane is due in at 6:30 a.m. on August 31. We're hoping to see you there. Until then, from John, Paul, George, Ringo, and me. Goodbye for now.