On This Day in 1964, The Beatles Arrive in the U.S. for Their First Iconic Concert
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The Beatles’ Arrival in the U.S.
On February 11, 1964, the Beatles played their first concert in the United States, just two days after appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show. They traveled by train from New York to Washington, D.C., despite a snowstorm. They arrived at Union Station and prepared for what would be a historic performance.
The Concert Venue
The show took place at the Washington Coliseum, located about a mile from the U.S. Capitol building. The arena was set up in its boxing configuration, with the Beatles performing in the unroped ring in the middle. This meant that at any one time, the band faced only 25 percent of the 8,092 fans present. Between songs, they turned their amplifiers, microphones, and Ringo Starr’s drum riser to face different sections of the audience.
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Memorable Moments
Among the attendees was a young Al Gore, who was 15 years old and the son of a U.S. Senator. Gore later described the experience to the Washington Post, saying, “The acoustics in the arena combined with the absolute frenzy of enthusiasm made it virtually impossible to understand a single word that they sang. You had to listen carefully to get the general flow of the song. We all loved their music, but clearly there were a lot of people in that crowd who loved it even more than I did because they couldn’t stop screaming.”
The excitement of the fans wasn’t the only challenge for the Beatles during the concert. Paul McCartney explained a unique problem they faced: “We had been asked somewhere what is your favorite sweet, and we said jelly babies. So the fans took to throwing them onstage, and this had reached Washington. In England, they’re soft and always in the shape of babies. What do you call them? Jelly beans. They’re hard. They stung, and we’re playing in the round, and they’re being thrown from everywhere. It was very unsettling. After that, we said the time has come for us to tell people we hate these damn things. They were only trying to be cute; throw the cute bits at the cute boys, that will be fun. But if you caught one of those in the eye, that was none too pleasant.”
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The Setlist
During their 35-minute set, the Beatles played 12 songs:
“Roll Over, Beethoven”
“From Me to You”
“I Saw Her Standing There”
“This Boy”
“All My Loving”
“I Wanna Be Your Man”
“Please Please Me”
“Till There Was You”
“She Loves You”
“I Want to Hold Your Hand”
“Twist and Shout”
“Long Tall Sally”
Some of these performances were featured in the Maysles’ documentary titled “The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit.”
Post-Concert Reception
After the concert, a reception was held in honor of the Beatles at the British Embassy. However, things did not go smoothly. Ringo Starr recalled, “In the early-’60s, there was still a huge disparity between people from the North of England and ‘people from Embassies.’ But we went. God knows why. Maybe because we’d suddenly become ambassadors and they wanted to see us, and I think Brian [Epstein] liked the idea that it was big time.”
The event took a turn for the worse when one guest cut off a piece of Ringo’s hair. John Lennon was furious and said, “I walked out, swearing at all of them. I just left in the middle of it.” The ambassador’s wife later apologized for the behavior of her guests.
Ticket Prices and Opening Acts
Tickets for the concert ranged from $2 to $4, which would be between $15 and $30 today. The opening acts included the Caravelles, Tommy Roe, and the Chiffons.
This historic concert marked the beginning of the Beatles’ incredible impact on the U.S. music scene, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to influence artists and fans alike.
