Goodbye to the United States

 

Miami press conference

February 13, 1964

 

John, Paul and George arrive in France

 January 14, 1964

Charming the press

 

A big Miami welcome

 February 13, 1964 - Miami 

Autographs and hand shakes

 December 13, 1963

First, the Beatles signed autographs for fan club members, and then they gave up on that and just shook hands.  

Have a good weekend

 

In Memory of Ed Rudy

Ed Rudy is the interviewer standing close to John. 

 

Another person with a strong Beatles connection has recently passed away.  Journalist Ed Rudy died on November 7, 2022.    Ed traveled along with The Beatles during all the stops during their first trip to the United States in February 1964.    He interviewed them along the way and made two very well-known records of those interviews.   Just about every Beatle fan in the United States had at least one of those Ed Rudy records because you got to hear their actual voices!  That was gold to a fan during that time, especially since A Hard Day's Night hadn't been released quite yet -- this was the first opportunity many fans had to really hear The Beatles accents and speaking voices.  (besides the short news clips of the press conference they might have seen on T.V.).

Ed Rudy made another record following the first North American tour in 1964.   Until a few years ago, Ed Rudy was a major presence on Facebook in Beatles groups -- he was typically selling his CDs (what used to be the records had been upgraded to CDs).   But he also took the time to answer questions.  I did a short interview with him during the 50th anniversary of the Beatles coming to America, and he was very nice to answer my questions and had a good memory of what was happening.  

While Ed Rudy isn't a significant player in the Beatles story, like so many people, their paths crossed, and he used that to further his career.   And who could blame him?   Many fans recall his records with great fondness.   Much sympathy goes out to his family and friends.   

If you follow the "Ed Rudy" tag, you can read some of what he wrote about the Beatles in fan club newsletters in the 1970s.  

Arriving in D.C.

 

Heading Home

 February 21, 1964

Nighttime at the airport

 

Welcoming the Beatles to D.C.

 

Entering the Plaza

 

Brian Sommerville leads the way

 

The Peppermint Lounge

A happy moment captured

Meeting the owner

January 16, 1964 in Paris, France

French Customs

Happy Beatles Day!

February 7 has long been considered "Beatles Day" among American Beatle fans.     The day that all four Beatles arrived in the United States is a day that we will never forget.      I hope all fans around the world have had a great Beatles Day  and spread the love of the Fab 4 everywhere. 

At the Olympia Theatre