Slippin' and a Slidin' with John

 

John Winston Lennon: The Man of the Decade

 

December 2, 1969

Going over walls and over bridges

  June 1974 

John was the most gorgeous here -- I said what I said, and I will stand by it.  If you saw me at the last Fest for Beatle fans in NYC in February, you might have spotted me hugging a big version of the middle photo.   Oh -- I should also mention that Walls and Bridges is my favorite John solo album.  

Paul asks the pressing questions

 

November 21, 1963

Working in the studio

 October 5, 1968

Ringo Yellow Submarine Radio Show

 

Who remembers listening to this?  

Julian imagines peace

 Have you heard Julian Lennon's version of Imagine?   I really enjoyed it and I think you will too. 

Why don't we ask Paul?

 

Brotherly love

 

The quiet one speaks

 

Ringo the Crooner

 

Someone is happy to be around John Lennon

 

Bored in the press conference....

Mothers of Invention

"What do you call that hairstyle, George??"

McCartney at the microphone & Lennon is bored

Harrison at the microphone

Two of Us

July 31, 1969

Get Back Sessions

All photos taken by Linda (Eastman) McCartney

New Orleans tidbits from Beatlefest

The Beatles 1964 New Orleans concert has always been one that has been covered in mystery to me.   I guess it is because up until this year, there had never been any actual photographs from the concert available and very few stories had came out.  Really all that was available was some grainy video footage.  So all I had known about the New Orleans concert was that the fans were hurt by police who were on horseback and that the Beatles called them "football players" during the show.     However, as the 50th anniversary approached more stories from this show started to come out and I heard many of them from Bruce Spizer and Ivor Davis at the Fest for Beatle fans in Chicago this past August.    I took notes during these talks so that I could pass these little nuggets of information back to you.


According to Spizer, the Beatles really wanted to meet Fat Domino.   As a matter of fact, he was the main celebrity out of all the people in the United States that they Beatles really wanted to meet.   Davis explains:  "Paul was really into Fats.  He was the one  that revered him, and Paul was the one that made it happen."   And so, thanks to opening act, Frogman Henry,  before the concert in New Orleans, the Beatles met Fats Domino backstage.   As Paul McCartney famously recalls in the Beatles Anthology:   "He had a very big diamond watch in the shape of a star, which was very impressive."   Davis recalls that the Beatles, particularly George wanted to listen to jazz music in New Orleans' nightclubs.   But of course, the tight schedule and Beatlemania did not allow for that enjoyment.

Speaking of New Orleans music, Deacon Jones (not the football player that was on the Brady Bunch), the musician was in the audience at this Beatles concert.   As a musician, he was interested in the Beatles music.

Both Bruce and Ivor talk about how out of control the fans and the police were.   Bruce said that some girls were pushed in wheelchairs, and they didn't need the wheelchairs, just so they could get out on the field and be closer to the Beatles.

I am not sure if this is one of the fans in question, but you can see empty wheelchairs behind her.
 Photograph taken by Ted Rozumalski provided by Robert Rozumalski."

Those who didn't have wheelchairs tried to run onto the field.   The fans in this stadium were quite far from the Fab 4 and so between 100-200 ran to get closer.   Many police officers were on horseback and they injured many of the fans.  New Orleans had more injured fans than an other stop on this tour.   Ivor Davis said that he felt fear because a lot of the kids were bleeding. 

Photograph taken by Ted Rozumalski provided by Robert Rozumalski."

Beatles collector, Jeff Augsburger had many artifacts from the 1964 North American tour including part of one of the microphones one of the guys used during this concert. 

Jeff Augsburger collection  Photo by Sara Schmidt