Six decades ago, a record release on Dec. 26, 1963, sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry and changed popular culture forever.
The Beatles had become megastars in Europe starting in late 1962, with the release of their first British single, “Love Me Do.” In 1963, they spent eight weeks atop the UK singles chart. Meanwhile in America, they were almost completely unknown. The Beatles’ British label, EMI, had had no luck placing the group’s records with its American affiliate, Capitol. Beatles releases had instead come out on small, regional labels like Vee-Jay and Swan, with little success.
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Finally, manager Brian Epstein urged the group to write a song which would appeal to American teenagers, while simultaneously insisting that Capitol release his group’s records.
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the song. Once it was released, it was reportedly selling 10,000 copies an hour at one point in New York City alone. By the time the group landed in America in February, the song was in the midst of a seven-week run at the top. It would be replaced by their own “She Loves You,” which would give way to “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Three more chart-toppers followed in 1964, and the Fab Four would eventually notch 20 number-one singles.
Their first of two concerts in Cleveland happened on Sept. 15, 1964. Interviewed at the Sheraton Hotel before playing Public Hall, John Lennon was asked if there was a leader of the group.
“Not really,” he said. “If anybody gets the blame for anything, it’s me.”
About 10,000 screaming fans turned the show into chaos. Dave Schwensen, author of “The Beatles In Cleveland,” told WKSU in 2016 that the band's security couldn't understand the uproar.
"They pretty much turned around to look at the Beatles," he said. "They watched the show to see what all the fuss was about. And that's how come they didn't see all the kids rushing up behind them. I think they got into their third song, which was 'All My Loving'... that's when everything went crazy and they rushed the stage.”
Former WKSU host Vivian Goodman was at that show.
"It was really chaos at that point," she said in 2016. "I do recall that as we were leaving, my feet left the ground momentarily in that crush of the mob. I mean there really were a lot of people."
The madness led to the Beatles being informally banned from Cleveland on their 1965 tour. In 1966, John Lennon’s out-of-context remark that the group was “bigger than Jesus” ignited a firestorm of controversy, and they played to a less-than-packed Cleveland Municipal Stadium on Aug. 14. They gave up touring just weeks later. The closest they came to returning was in 2021, when Paul McCartney inducted Ringo Starr into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Epstein and Beatles producer George Martin have both been inducted into the Rock Hall. The bandmembers have each been inducted twice: once as a group and also individually for their solo work. Their long-running “Get Back to Let it Be” exhibit at the museum closes on Friday, Dec. 29.
