Thursday, August 11, 2005

"You say hello and I say goodbye"...

The Beatles said hello to America when they toured in 1964, they would say goodbye in 1966. Arriving at O'Hare Airport in Chicago on August 11, 1966, The Beatles were set to launch a 14-city farewell tour that would take them from Chicago to San Francisco...

At a Chicago press conference on the 12th, John Lennon would start festivities by apologizing for his statements about The Beatles being more popular than Jesus and then it was on to the International Amphitheater in the Windy City for 2 shows before a total of 26,000 fans...

Some 385,000 screaming Beatle fanatics in all would witness The Fab Four's final U.S. tour which would end at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on August 29th...

More August 11 Memories...

1951) The first major league baseball game is televised in living color as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Boston Braves 8-1...

1956) "Don't Be Cruel" by Elvis Presley is released...

1962) The Beach Boys release "Surfin' Safari"...

1962) "Green Onions" is released by Booker T. and the MG's...

1964) Dean Martin tops the charts with "Everybody Loves Somebody"...

1965) 34 are killed, more than 1,000 injured in rioting in Watts...

1966) The Beatles arrive for their last U.S. tour (feature story)...

1969) Diana Ross invites a few hundred guests to a Beverly Hills club to see Motown's newest act, The Jackson 5...

1972) Elvis and Priscilla Presley file for divorce...

1973) "Free Ride" is released by The Edgar Winter Group...

1974) Paper Lace tops the charts with "The Night Chicago Died"...

1981) Diana Ross and Lionel Richie take "Endless Love" to the top of the charts where it will stay for 9 weeks...

1984) Ronald Reagan jokes, "today we have signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."...

1984) Carl Lewis duplicates Jesse Owen's feat of winning 4 Olympic gold medals in track...

1992) The Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the U.S. opens in Bloomington, Minnesota...

1995) President Clinton bans all U.S. nuclear tests...

1998) BP buys Amoco for $49 billion...

2002) U.S. Airways files for bankruptcy...

Happy Birthday to...

1925) Former TV talk show host Mike Douglas...

1928) Arlene Dahl...

1933) TV evangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell...

1941) Elizabeth Holtzman...

1943) Record company owner/producer Kenny Gamble...

1949) Eric Carmen...

1950) Apple Computers co-founder Steve Wozniak...

1953) Hulk Hogan...

1955) Singer Joe Jackson...

1967) "Fear Factor" host Joe Rogan who will celebrate with a birthday cake made of fresh maggots, cow eyes, pig livers and a topping of week-old hog bile...

Commentary...

We're just a few days away from the 40th anniversary of The Beatles triumphant concert at Shea Stadium in 1965, part of the second of 3 U.S. tours which began in 1964. While 385,000 fans would witness their last tour in 1966 it's interesting to note that when The Beatles returned to Shea Stadium in 1966 they did not sell out, falling about 10,000 short. Don't know why but I find it interesting...

Now for you number fanatics, here's the total U.S. attendance for all 3 tours: 1,220,000. In comparing cities where the Beatles had previously toured I also noticed that the only city with fewer people either the next or final time around was New York City. The Beatles picked bigger venues with each tour and consequently drew more and made more money...

The only exception was New York City. Go figure...