Mama Beatle Says Lives Threatened (1980)

 'Mama Beatle' Says Lives Threatened

By Roger Kaye

Fort- Worth Star Telegram

December 9, 1980 

    "John Lennon and the Beatles lived in fear for their lives during their 1964 and '65 tours of North America,  and especially, were fearful of making a 1964 stopover in Dallas", says Ruby Hickman. As an executive with the airline that provided the charter plane for those tours, Ms Hickman of Fort Worth accompanied Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Sara, and George Harrison on those tours, and she vividly recalls the concern the four Beatles had for their safety. 

    The slaying of Lennon in New York Monday night painfully reminded Ms. Hickman of those tumultuous mid-60s days when death threats, bomb scares, and other threats of harm seemingly awaited the Beatles wherever they went.

    But never were the Beatles more concerned than when they went to Dallas to play a show at what was then known as Dallas Memorial Stadium. "We went to Dallas less than a year after President Kennedy had been killed. There, with all the threats they had gotten everywhere else, which made them literally live in fear of their own lives, they were frightened. 

    "They were frightened the whole tour about going into Dallas", Ms. Hickman said. The Texas trip wasn't without incident. Along with the usual bomb threat, one overzealous Beatle fan managed to jump on Ringo Starr in a hotel elevator, pulling out a big chunk of his hair and bloodying his scalp.

     "But there were murders and bomb threats everywhere we went," Ms Hickman added. "It was particularly frightening in Houston in 1965 when we couldn't get out of the airplane on the runway. A mob overpowered the police and packed symmetrically around the plane, from which no one was able to exit." The Beatles finally managed to escape in a catering truck, but Ms. Hickman recalls that the truck was bombarded by rocks, bottles, and shoes. "The Beatles lay flat on the floor through the whole thing," She said. "What they went through is impossible to describe, but they aroused emotions ranging from adulation to murder."

     As a result of what they witnessed a decade and a half ago, Ms Hickman, who was dubbed as the "Mama Beatle" by the media in 1964, wasn't that surprised to hear about Monday's tragedy in New York. "I'm still in a state of shock. I'm stunned, but it's almost something I expected and dreaded, although these years, because of the way I saw them live in fear," she said.  "And it wasn't just the Beatles, it was everybody on those tours. We all feared something might happen because all of the crackpots in the world at the time."

    "It was hard for me to understand why anybody would want to kill them, but professional security people emphasized to me over and over that there were people out there who would do in just do it, just to gain notoriety. And now it has happened."

     The Beatles' final performance was at San Francisco's Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966. In retrospect, Ms Hickman wonders how the Beatles managed to tour as long as they did. "There were just 1000s and 1000s of people. Wherever they went, they were prisoners of their adulation, and the moms would become hysterical. Someone easily could have been hit by rocks and hurt seriously. We had to sneak them around in ambulances, armored trucks, and any other way we could in order to protect them. It was such an unreal life, and I really admire Lennon for stepping away from it all and breaking the group up in 1970."

Dallas presser

 

Harrison Has Music Together

 

Harrison Has Music Together

By Raymond Teague

Forth-Worth Star Telegram

November 23, 1974

George Harrison, who says he's finally gotten his life all together since discovering religion in India, showed here Friday night that he's definitely gotten his music all together, too.

The 31-year-old former Beatles member charged a stacked Tarrant County Convention Center with an electrifying, eclectic show - his 1Pth [sic] stop in a current 27-city tour in the United States and Canada.

 Although Harrison may not rock today with the full voice and swift jumps remembered from the 1960s 1970 style, Harrison is still a musician to excite, whether pounding out Beatles Goldies on one of several spangled electric guitars, sing his own hits, such as "Something" and "My Sweet Lord" (the message laden show closer) or introducing new tunes, notably "My Love" and "Dark Horse." 

Harrison told the audience that he is content to "melt into" his band, (becoming himself a backup man), and that synthesis resulted in the best moments of the concert as the headliner accompanied India import Ravi Shankar and current rock phenomenon Billy Preston.

 A large percentage of the 10pm audience obviously had come as much to hear Preston as Harrison, the black dynamo, poured his soul into his hit singles, "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from Nothing," and brought the house not only to its feet but up onto its chairs. 

Preston and Harrison joined for a hilarious dance during the second half of the show, most of which was devoted to the two. Acclaimed sax and woodwind artist Tom Scott, an exceptionally accomplished talent in a genuinely impressive band shone in several spots in the second half. 

Harrison himself opened the show (a featured artist rarely does so in rock concerts these days), but the first half mainly was turned over to Shankar and his band. Shankar music blends Indian melody with contemporary rock to create a hypnotic, pleasing sound, although it became repetitive.

The tour marks Harrison's first concert appearance since the fame concert for Bangladesh in 1971 and his first American tour since 1966.

Howdy from Dallas

 

September 18, 1964 - Dallas, TX

The original cowboy hats the Beatles received at the airport really didn't fit them.   Good thing fan club members gave them black ones that were larger.   

Welcome Beatles

 

The White cowboy hats

 

Howdy Dallas!

 

George in Dallas

 

Dallas Press

Show off those famous rings

Just a couple of cowboys

Memories of the Dallas Show

"I was one of ten Dallas Police Reservists assigned to sit in and wait in a side lobby until we received further orders. We could hear the music coming up from the basement. After a while we heard the echo of running steps getting louder from the floor below. Up the stairs come regular police with the Beatles.
“Line up five on each side!” is the command. The doors fly open. Two unmarked police cars roll up, one behind the other with their doors open. I heard someone down the street yell, “There they are…Let’s get ‘um”. Without stopping, the police yelled for the Beatles to jump in, which they did except for, I think Ringo, right in front of me, hesitating to get in. I finally pushed him into the back seat.
Someone jumped on my back trying to grab at Ringo. I was knocked down as the cars pulled away to get to the airport. Instead of a teenager on top of me, it was a middle-aged woman. She apologized afterwards and meekly walked away. Five minutes later, I realized that my wristwatch had broken from the fall."  -  Jerry K.

"I was there, 7 years old, with my mother and my step father’s assistant, who at the time was the #1 DJ in Houston at KILT, Jim Wood.  My mom was at the press conference, she talked her way in with the radio station rep story which was true, from what I understand it was last minute thing and as she didn’t work for KILT, couldn’t get press pass so she worked it.  Hate to hear they stopped doing them after that. Worked for me, she met someone she said was their PR Mgr, who put me on his shoulders directly in front and center of the stage with The Beatles (legs) in my face. She also got one of those photos signed by them to me that was later stolen after we moved to LA when my dad put it in a display for some stupid reason. Saw them again in LA at Dodger Stadium which I just realized was their next to last concert. It was just me and Jim Wood, and never a bad concert seat with him but that day in Dallas, made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world for a long time. God Bless Jim Wood, RIP. Oh and just in case anyone knows about an autographed photo to Becky, there’s a reward for it and no questions ask." --  Becky R. 

"In those days we had only seen the Beatles in black and white.  Our television sets were black and white, A Hard Day’s night was black and white, and so you had this image of them as being black and white.  They came out on stage and popped out!  They were in pastel pinks and were almost florescent." –Tom

"I brought with me a piece of paper and a pencil.  You can tell I was excited because I wrote on the wrong side of the paper.  What I did was I wrote down the songs in the order they sang them."–Claudia

"I don’t remember hearing much, but I think that was because I was screaming so hard." – Alice

The last press conference (well for now)

They made it!   The last press conference of the 1964 North American tour!  

The Beatles with Bert Shipp

I love the reporter trying to hold back the girls in this photo....so funny!

Beatles backstage deep in the heart of Texas

The photos that Curt Gunther took of the Beatles backstage in Dallas are just great, classic photographs.   Maybe because it was the Beatles last concert on the formal tour, they were in the mood to have a little fun and even Eppy joined in. 

Beatle belts

I am not sure how this exactly fits in with the story I just posted of the Dallas Beatles  fan club girls who met the Beatles and gave them black Stetson hats and lighters.  There was another Beatles fan club in Dallas that also had a present for the Fab 4.    The Beatles ltd. club had belts made that had the Beatles' names on them.   I am not sure if this fan club got to present the belts in person or if they were sent to the guys, but I do know that the Beatles received them and wore them. 



This past June, Bonhams auction house had John's belt up on the auction block.   Here is what the auction  listing said about the belt:

 A newspaper article taken from the 'Dallas Morning News' sometime in the week the Beatles were due to arrive for their concert at the Memorial Auditorium has a photograph of Dell Perry and Suzie Chapman, of The Beatles Ltd., one of several fan clubs in Dallas at the time. They are shown holding the four belts, donated by the Justin Boot Co., that they intended to present to the Beatles.

The story of the lucky Dallas fan club presidents

This great story comes to us through a long, time Meet the Beatles....for Real blog reader, Mark Naboshek.   I recall meeting Mark at the Fest for Beatle fans in Chicago and just being amazed that people that I did not know looked at this blog every day!    He has always been helpful in the comments in the past and he has a great collection of Beatles memorabilia.  He also was the editor of the amazing book, Some Fun Tonight by Chuck Gunderson.   I am proud to share this story with all of you and I want to send a bit thank you to Mark for his generosity. 




 Stephanie Pinter was co-president of the Dallas chapter of the National Beatles Fan Club, sharing those duties with her friend and classmate Yolanda Hernandez. When she heard that the Beatles would be playing Dallas on September 18, 1964, she knew she had to meet them. Her mother suggested that she try to contact Brian Epstein and arrange a meeting in Dallas. After weeks of effort, she finally got a response from Brian. He said he’d be delighted to have Yolanda and her meet the boys when they arrived in Dallas. In the weeks prior to the concert, the two girls had the local Stetson factory create four black cowboy hats to present to the group. They’d also told the manager and publicist for the Cabana Motor Hotel of their plans so there wouldn’t be any complications the night of the meeting. On September 17, 1964, the Beatles played Kansas City and then immediately hopped their chartered plane and flew to Dallas. By the time they arrived, it was shortly after midnight. Stephanie and Yolanda met up in the lobby with another group of girls who had gotten a room in the hotel just below the Beatles’ ninth floor suite. They patiently waited there until they heard the band and entourage arrive above them. When it came time to head for The Beatles’ floor, only three girls made it through: Stephanie, Yolanda and a girl named Marie Leggett (who was head of a competing fan club). They’d taken the elevator and the others had taken the stairwell, where they’d been stopped. In fact, Stephanie, Yolanda and Marie were also stopped by a cop as the elevator opened on the Beatles’ floor. They were about to be sent downstairs and escorted out when Stephanie saw the hotel publicist who told the officer they were allowed. They were taken to Derek Taylor’s room where Neil Aspinall told them to stay momentarily. “Are you ready to meet The Beatles? he asked them upon his return.

They followed him to the Beatles’ suite. Rushing them into the room, Stephanie stumbled and fell at the feet of her favorite fab, Paul McCartney. Embarrassed, she stood up and extended her now sweaty hand to him. “I’m Stephanie” she said. He shook hands with her and immediately wiped his hand on his pants. She was mortified. The room was filled with reporters and members of the Beatles’ party. She managed to get their attention with tales of the JFK assassination. The subject had been brought up by John Lennon who was fascinated by it. When she told him that she’d been standing along the motorcade route and had made eye contact with JFK just moments before the murder, John was enthralled. Soon, Stephanie found herself the center of attention of all four Beatles. As the time passed 2am, Brian Epstein told the girls that they would need to leave soon. He asked Stephanie if she’d gotten the boys’ autographs. She admitted she was so deep in conversation with them that she hadn’t thought of it. Brian handed her his own pen and a pad of notepaper from the Cabana and told her to get their signatures. She went around to all four and collected them all on a single piece of paper.

After Stephanie had gotten all four Beatles to sign, she walked over to Brian to thank him for making the meeting possible. He was very gracious and so she asked him to sign the paper as well. Stephanie said that Brian was very reluctant to sign at first because he didn’t want to mar the Beatles’ autographs with his own. Stephanie insisted that he sign, so he found a spot on the lower right-hand side of the sheet and signed along the edge, just to be sure he didn’t obscure any of the Beatles' autographs.

from Mark Naboshek's collection

Once the autographs were secured, Derek suggested they take a photo with the group. He asked Ringo to bring out his Polaroid camera and Derek posed the three girls among the four Beatles. Stephanie was making her way to a position next to Paul (her favorite Beatle) and had to pass George to get there. She never made it. George pulled her closer and asked her how old she was. When she said “fifteen”, George said, “Brian, we have illegals in the room!”  Derek took a photo with Ringo’s camera, forever preserving the moment. In the photo, Stephanie holds in her hand the autographs she’d just gotten. Moments later, after the girls were issued passes for that evening's press conference at Dallas' Memorial Auditorium, their visit ended. 

The Dallas fan club presidents with the Beatles:  Stephanie Pinter (far left, holding the autographs), Yolanda Hernandez (squatting down with Ringo in the center) and Marie Leggett (between Paul and John).    Photo from Mark Naboshek's collection.

 

Before the concert that night, Stephanie and Yolanda were able to meet the Beatles again and present them with engraved lighters as well as the famous black Stetsons they're seen wearing at the Pigman Ranch in Alton, Missouri the day after Dallas. On August 24, 1966, Stephanie, Yolanda and Stephanie's sister Debbie were present at the Capitol Records building in Hollywood when the Beatles gave their press conference (four days prior to their Dodger Stadium show) and were presented their gold records for the "Revolver" LP.  In between those two events, the Dallas girls were called up to the stage and presented personalized branding irons to the Boys. 

I purchased the Dallas autograph set from Stephanie in 1992 and have had it ever since. Having lived in Dallas since 1958, and remembering the Beatles' visit to the city like it was yesterday, this is clearly the most astonishing Dallas-related Beatles piece I could own. To my knowledge, this is the only known, surviving authentic set of Beatles autographs signed in Dallas -- with the bonus that it's also signed by their famous manager and is on the letterhead notepaper from their Dallas hotel. The set is currently on display in the Grammy Museum's 50th anniversary touring exhibit, "Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!", opening at HistoryMiami in Miami, Florida on October 10th.

Crazy times in Dallas

The Beatles were a bit frightened about going to Dallas.   It had been less than a year since President John F. Kennedy had been shot and killed in broad daylight while in Dallas.   The Beatles loved the Wild West and cowboys, but the whole thing about traveling to Dallas sort of scared them some.   It is understandable, really.    While the President could have gotten shot at any city in the country, and it was in now way the city's fault that it happened there, it is still freaky to go back to the "scene of the crime."   

But the Beatles landed at Love Field (which if Ringo landed there today he might try to rename it 'Peace and Love Field'  haha! )   and there were fans waiting for them behind a chain length fence.  The fans were screaming and waving and acting like---well Beatlemaniacs!   The Beatles received ill-fitting white Stetson hats from some opera association (I have no idea why) and even though they disliked these hats, they wore them anyway for photos.

From there the guys traveled in a car to the Cabana Hotel, where fans were waiting to greet them.   However, the police did not seem to have control over the situation and things got out of hand for what must have been a few scary moments for the Beatles as they tried to get inside.

The boys did make it inside of the hotel unharmed, but one fan wasn't so lucky.   While trying to see the Beatles in the hotel, the fans began to push against the plate glass window at the hotel.   Eventually the glass broke sending the fans through the broken shards.   One fan was injured so badly that she need to go to the hospital.   It is said that the Beatles felt bad about the whole situation and promised to send the injured fan flowers  (not sure if that happened or not).