Beatles A Day in the Life Blog posts of '1964' 'September'

Paramount Theatre, 7th Ave./Times Square

New York City, New York, USA

Titled "An evening with The Beatles", this special charity concert, in aid of the United Cerebral Palsy of New York City and Retarded Infants Services, rounded off The Beatles' exhausting North American tour. Paying up to $100 a ticket, 3682 people attended the show, the Beatles and the other artists on the bill giving their services free.

The group flew back to England on September 21st, arriving at London Airport at 9:35 pm.

MarkLewiston/ThecompleteBeatlesChronicle

Following their concert in Dallas, Texas on 18 September 1964, The Beatles were flown to a ranch in Missouri for a rest day.

The aeroplane belonged to Reed Pigman, who also owned a ranch in Alton, Missouri. The Beatles used the ranch as a hideaway prior to a trip to New York for the final concert of their first US tour.

En route to Alton, they stopped briefly at Walnut Ridge to change planes. The secluded airport was ideal for avoiding the attention of fans.

Their efforts weren't entirely undetected by the fans. Night-time arrivals at the airstrip were rare in 1964, and three teenage boys ran to the airport to see who the unexpected visitors were. News of The Beatles' arrival quickly spread throughout Walnut Ridge throughout the weekend.

The second aeroplane was a seven-seater. After boarding just after midnight on 19 September they were taken to the ranch in the Ozark Mountains, where they spent 36 hours relaxing, swimming, hiking, horse riding, go-karting, shooting and fishing.

No musical instruments were taken to the Pigman ranch, and The Beatles held no rehearsals or performances while there.

Dallas Memorial Auditorium, South Akard St. Dallas, Texas, USA

One show. On September 19th, the Beatles rested at a remote ranch in Missouri.

Municipal Stadium, 23rd and Brooklyn

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

The famous "extra" show, the Beatles adding the Little Richard medley "Kansas City"/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey" to their repertoire, to an especially uproarious reception. Once again, the group had to leave the stage mid-concert, returning only after the audience had calmed down in the face of a cancellation threat.

City Park Stadium, City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

This was The Beatles’ only concert in New Orleans, Louisiana. They played before a capacity crowd of 12,000 at the City Park Stadium, and were in the city for less than 24 hours.

The Beatles had arrived in the early hours of the morning. The Beatles and their small entourage were driven to the Congress Inn. They were initially accompanied by a police motorcade, but became separated during the journey. As their limousine neared the hotel, it was spotted by fans who quickly surrounded it.

The police arrived and forced the fans aside, but as the limousine reversed it hit a Kenner Police Department escort car, causing slight damage. The Beatles ran through the motel lobby, into the laundry room and finally into their three-room suite, room 100.

Upon their arrival, Brian Epstein was horrified to find that the hotel was a single-story building; at the time, The Beatles had trouble finding hotels willing to have them as guests, due to the crowds of teenage fans they attracted wherever they went.

The Beatles took to their rooms, remaining there until their late-afternoon press conference. For the first time on this tour, manager Epstein allowed a newsreel cameraman to film the conference.

During the afternoon Mayor Victor Schiro arrived at the hotel to give them a key to the city, and proclaimed 16 September 1964 ‘Beatles Day’ in New Orleans.

The group had one major request in the city: they wanted to meet Fats Domino. The musician agreed to meet The Beatles in their dressing room at the City Park Stadium immediately prior to their performance.

Public Auditorium, East 6th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

During this one performance, fans manage to break through the police cordon and climb onto the stage. Police ordered the Beatles off the stage mid-song and the concert only resumed after a plea over the public-address system from Derek Taylor and a police threat that the rest of the show would be cancelled unless some semblance of order was restored.

In their dressing room backstage, John Lennon told Art Schreiber from local radio station KYW: “This has never happened to us before. We have never had a show stopped. These policemen are a bunch of amateurs.” An angry Brian Epstein nonetheless put up a diplomatic front, saying “The police were absolutely right. This has never happened before, but it was clear to me from the start that there was something very wrong. The enthusiasm of the crowd was building much too early.”

After a 10-minute delay Blackwell told the crowd the concert would continue if they remained in their seats. The morning hosts from KYW, Specs Howard and Harry Martin, were brought onstage to tell the audience to remain sitting, and shortly afterwards the show continued.

Civic Arena, Auditorium Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

In it's fifty years as Pittsburgh's Rock n' Roll capital, the Civic Arena was the scene of thousands of special attractions and mind-bending happenings. September 14, 1964, was one of the high points in it's history as a concert venue. This was the day that legendary promoter Pat DiCesare brought Beatlemania to Pittsburgh.

Tickets went on sale in the spring at a cost of $5.90, and were available by mail-order only. This was almost double the going rate at the time, but the concert still sold out in a day and a half. The total take was $75,000, of which the Beatles were guaranteed $25,000 and a share of the gate. This was the first time that an act demanded and received a percentage of the gate as well as a guarantee. In the end, the Beatles were paid $37,000 for the show.

One problem encountered by the promoters was finding a place for the band to stay. Because of the fear of Beatlemania, no Pittsburgh hotels would take the band for the night, so they were forced to commute to Pittsburgh out of Cleveland.

By the morning of September 14, local radio stations KQV and KDKA had Beatle fans primed and ready for the happening. They spent the entire day of the show playing Beatle songs, along with updates on the band's anticipated arrival.

The plane carrying John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr touched down at the Greater Pittsburgh Airport at 4:36pm. They were met by a crowd of some 4000 fans, many of whom had been waiting since morning. There were 120 police officers providing security at the airport, including fifteen on horseback.

This was the only time that the Beatles played in Pittsburgh. Forty-six years later, on August 18, 2010, Beatle Sir Paul McCartney returned to play the Opening Night at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center.

Civic Center, West Baltimore St. Baltimore, Maryland, USA

This was The Beatles’ only visit to Baltimore. They performed two shows at the Civic Center, to a total of 28,000 fans. The support acts were The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon.

The Beatles stayed at the Holiday Inn after the second show. Police officers on horseback restrained the fans from storming the building.

John Lennon was interviewed by Larry Kane as part of an on-going series of interviews with the group. Kane was the only American reporter allowed to travel with the Beatles during their 1964 North American tour, and also accompanied them on their 1965 tour.

Boston Garden, Causeway St. Boston, Massachusetts, USA

The Beatles played just once concert on this night, before 13,909 fans. It was their only visit to the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

The venue opened in November 1928, and was originally named the Boston Madison Square Garden. It was located at North Station on Causeway Street, and hosted ice hockey and basketball games, as well as concerts, boxing, wrestling, circuses and other events. It closed in 1997, and was succeeded by the FleetCenter, later known as TD Garden.

The other acts on the bill on this night were, in order of appearance, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon.

The Beatles returned to Boston on just one other occasion, playing at Suffolk Downs Racetrack during their final tour on 18 August 1966.

Gator Bowl, East Adams St. Jacksonville, Florida, USA

The Beatles refused to play this one show until they received an assurance from the local promoter that the audience would not be color segregated.

Because of extensive damage caused by "Hurricane Dora", 9,000 of the 32,000 ticket holders were unable to get to the Gator Bowl.