This piece by Adrienne Aurichio is part of a series of essays to mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first American television appearance on CBS's "The Ed Sullivan Show." It culminates with CBS News, 50 Years Later...The Beatles at The Ed Sullivan Theater: Presented by Motown The Musical, a live, interactive multimedia event at The Ed Sullivan Theater on Feb. 9.
Bill Eppridge believed that a good photojournalist had a certain amount of luck when it came to being in the right place at the right time. He certainly was in the right place on the morning of February 7, 1964. Bill, just 26, was in the Life magazine office early that day when Director of Photography Dick Pollard needed someone to be at JFK Airport to photograph the arrival of a British rock group known as The Beatles. Not only was Bill there when they stepped off the plane, but he also followed the group for the next six days. Strangely, all 90 rolls of film, with more than 3000 images went missing for years. They resurfaced around the same time that The Beatles were breaking up and Life, the great weekly news magazine, was ending as well.
Source: CBS News