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On December 26, 1963, Capitol Records released an American record from a band that was creating great excitement in the United Kingdom and Europe, but not so much in the United States. Something clicked. In this case, the rest really is history. On Feb. 9 of the new year, the Beatles were introduced to the masses on "The Ed Sullivan Show." By then, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" had been number one in the U.S. for a few weeks. When the Beatles landed at LAX six months later to perform at the Hollywood Bowl, Beatlemania was abroad in the land.
Five days before the American release, the BBC aired this performance. Enjoy.
NPR covers the half-centennial in a blog post today.
Previously on LA Observed:
Isolated Beatles vocal tracks: 'Words don't do justice'
Weekend video: It was 46 years ago today (actually, yesterday)
LA Beatles party in 1964: now more video
Ravi Shankar, sitar maestro and Beatles inspiration was 92 *
'Just sitting in for Deirdre O'Donoghue'
