Fifty years ago The Beatles came to America. On Friday, February 7, 1964, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr arrived from the U.K. at the newly-named John F. Kennedy International Airport. With cameras flashing and reporters jostling, they were whisked into Manhattan amid the screams, shouts and tears of New York area teens, braving the cold for a mere glimpse of the band. Then, that Sunday, the veritable king of the television variety show, Ed Sullivan, introduced them to a captivated American audience of more than 73 million viewers—at the time a television record. And just like that Beatlemania was upon us.

Ladies and Gentlemen…The Beatles! brings us back to the early ‘60s when rock & roll was re-energized—some say saved—by four lads from Liverpool. The exhibition covers the period from early 1964 through mid-1966—the years Beatlemania ran rampant in America. During this time the band affected nearly every aspect of pop culture, including fashion, art, advertising, media, and, of course, music. On display are many Beatles-related pop culture artifacts from the period, as well as correspondence, instruments, posters, photographs, interviews, interactive displays, and an oral history booth in which visitors can leave their own impressions of The Beatles.

Created by The GRAMMY Museum® at L.A. LIVE and Fab Four Exhibits, Ladies and Gentlemen…The Beatles! provides fresh new insight into how and why The Beatles impacted America in the 1960s—and beyond.

FEATURED VIDEO

The Beatles!

Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles! brings us back to the early '60s when rock & roll was re-energized—some say saved—by four lads from Liverpool. The exhibition covers the period from early 1964 through mid-1966—the years Beatlemania ran rampant in America. During this time the band affected nearly every aspect of pop culture, including fashion, art, advertising, media, and, of course, music. On display are many Beatles-related pop culture artifacts from the period, as well as correspondence, instruments, posters, photographs, interviews, interactive displays, and an oral history booth in which visitors can leave their own impressions of The Beatles.

FROM THE EXHIBITION

The Beatles perform on a studio set in 1964, the photograph is a still from the film A Hard Day's Night

Publicity Still from the Film A Hard Day's Night

Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night (1964) depicted The Beatles as themselves, rehearsing and performing on a British television variety show.  Detail from a lobby card promoting the film.  Billy Rose Theatre Division

See more about this image.

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In a 1965 black and white photograph John Lennon sits crosslegged on a stool in a reccording studio.

The Beatles as Fashion Gurus

Last week, LPA hosted a public program on The Beatles and their circle as an influence on fashion in England and here. Phyllis Magidson, Curator of Costume and Textiles for the Museum of the City of New York, and I developed an illustrated conversation on their transitions from Rockers to Mods to Hippies with an occasional visit to Teddy Boys. The black, needle-nose ankle boots stuck around until the trips to India.

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