STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Sixty years ago, on Feb. 7, 1964, John, Paul, George and Ringo touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Beatlemania had arrived.
From the air, the terminals looked jittery, alive, wrote TIME.
“A swarm of locusts? No. Wall-to-wall kids, who had scrambled over barricades and fences to get a look at the Beatles. Applause and cheers broke out inside the plane. Just before 1:30 p.m., Flight 101 taxied to a stop outside the terminal and the aircraft door popped open. An explosion of cheers and screams rang out as the crowd stormed forward,” described the publication.
Scores of reporters filled Pan Am’s lounge and were grumbling about the “lousy assignment” when the Beatles entered the room, said TIME.
The press conference was unforgettable. The Beatles were anything but rattled as reporters asked question after question.
They appeared to be enjoying the fame — and having plenty of fun.
“Listen, I got a question here. Are you going to get a haircut at all while you’re here?” said one reporter.
“NO!” barked the band.
“Nope,” said Ringo Starr.
Paul McCartney provided a “No, thanks.”
George Harrison said he got one a day earlier.
The room erupted with laughter.
Another reporter asked them about being “British Elvis Presleys.”
“He must be blind,” replied John Lennon.
Ringo shook like Elvis. “It’s not true! It’s not true!”
Lennon imitated the iconic figure by dancing.
Two days later, on Feb. 9, the Fab Four appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and their performance, suits, and mop top haircuts were witnessed by 73 million people.
“The show was a huge television success,” says the Ed Sullivan website recap of their appearance. “As hard as it is to imagine, over 40% of every man, woman and child living in America had watched The Beatles on Sullivan.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally appeared on SILive.com on Feb. 7, 2014. It has been…
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