The Beatles at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, 1964

Why is just about anything about The Beatles interesting? This is NOT the case with the Rolling Stones, or any other rock band that invaded America in 1964. I guess it would be the impact value they had. Never mind that Paul McCartney is now an old man at 69, Ringo is 70. Where did the time go? They must be wondering too!

During the Beatles tour of the USA, Beatlemania was rampant and very much like an alien disease. If you were not there, did not experience how America DID fall in love with them, no amount of description nor old footage will convey their impact on anyone under 20 yrs and more so on those under 15 yrs. I might as well say ANYONE from 9-20 yrs old. You could not escape their music or presence for long-they were everywhere.

It was at the height in 1964. The Beatles landed at a dinky town called Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. They landed on an old abandoned runway from WW2 and were between concerts and wanted to venture out and see America. Of course, it was night. But three teenagers had spotted the old prop plane circling and hid nearby as it landed. They were close enough to see the Fab 4 standing around on the airfield waiting for a lift. The teens rushed back into town hysterical about the event, yet, not a soul believed it until the pilot happen to blurt it out. The news spread like wildfire among certain age groups and by the time The Beatles were ready to fly to a historic gig in NYC, hundreds of screaming girls were at the send off the next morning. A few photos were taken and LPs were signed as the Beatles exited a red 1962 GMC Suburban wagon.

The event was never forgotten and a memorial tags it to history. Yeah, yeah, yeah!