The Beatles Conquer America

NEMS Records SHU6465

This 2 LP set is a very good record of The Beatles' American TV appearances.

Liner Notes

"Ladies and gentlemen The Beatles have now taken over the world!" I had the opportunity to utter those words to John, Paul, George and Ringo in early 1964. Well, not exactly... allow me to explain. My name is Derrick Rudy (no relation to Ed Rudy, thank heavens). I am currently employed as a reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, but in January 1964 I happened to be a disk jockey working at a small midwestern radio station (WVMO, broadcasting from a hick town in Michigan that you've probably never heard of). One day a parcel arrived from Capitol Records that contained two discs. One of them was single #5112 (better known as I Want To Hold Your Hand), the other was a promotional item called The Beatles Open-End Interview, a peculiar record featuring only the band members giving answers to questions that appeared in an accompanying script. This record allowed the group to be "interviewed" by local on-air personalities all over the country. I personally thought the idea was flakey. I intended to ignore this ludicrous scam but my station manager had different ideas. Fully intent on having WVMO jump on the Beatle bandwagon, I was elected (commanded, actually) to "interview"the boys from Liverpool via the aforementioned method. At that point in time, I was hardly what you'd call a Beatlemaniac, having only heard of the group from sporadic newspaper accounts of the rave-ups they were causing in far flung areas of the globe. The only visual reference to them that I had was the photos on the covers of their records. I thought they looked weird. Anyhow, I mustered up all the fake enthusiasm that I could and on the appointed day did the quasi-interview. The scam worked all too well, for I was soon besieged with phone calls from excited girls demanding to know what the four lads were really like, and I had numerous inquiries as to how I was lucky enough to be granted an audience with them. It was an embarrassing spot to be in, to say the least. My boss forbade me to reveal the true nature of the interview situation, so I bluffed my way through the commotion as best I could. The intense reaction generated by this incident made me take a greater interest in just who The Beatles were and I was determined to find out just how they managed to cast such a spell over such a large faction of the (mainly) female populace.

Shortly after the hubbub at the station I was to find out just what all the excitement was about, and to find myself a victim of Beatlemania as well. As far as I'm concerned, civilization as we now know it didn't truly begin until a few minutes after 8 p.m. on February 9, 1964. That's when the Beatles first invaded the living rooms of America under the auspices of that venerable old showman, Mr. Ed Sullivan. That night, millions of lives were forever changed. Perhaps you too, dear reader, were affected on that night more than 20 years ago. Or maybe you were too young, or weren't even born yet, but somewhere along the way you became swept up by the magic generated by the Beatles. If so, the discs contained inside this sleeve are for you.

The Beatles' early exposure in the U.S. is chronicled on this album with interviews and music recorded for their historic appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show (as well as their Shindig appearance). The source for these recordings is the original two-inch video tapes onto which the shows were recorded. Any technical deficiencies that may be present are inherent in the original source tapes. This is truly the definitive audio collection of the Beatles early U.S. TV appearances.

The album opens with yours truly recreating the role of interviewer utilizing the Beatles open-end interview disc, just as I did in the early days of 64. I was just as reluctant to do it now as I was way back then, but the compilers of this project convinced me that the fans might want it as a souvenir, since for many that "interview" was the first glimpse they had into the personalities of the Beatles. (And besides, if you tried to buy a copy of that original disc containing the voices of the mop tops, it would set you back about a week's pay.) The group's February 9th Ed Sullivan Show appearance follows. All of Ed's pithy comments have been preserved on this album as well, the late Mr. Sullivan being something of a legend himself. Side One concludes with an interview recorded on February 11th. The interviewer is from radio station WWDC, allegedly the first station in the U.S. to play a Beatles record. The lads are in good form in this early American interview.

Side Two features the six songs done on the February 16th Sullivan program, this time broadcast from Miami's Deauville Hotel. Paul's microphone is dead for about half of their performance of I Saw Her Standing There. So much for 1964 technical proficiency in broadcasting. The interview that closes the side consists of the Beatles farewell to Miami, recorded for radio station WQAM.

Side Three opens with the Beatles third and final 1964 Ed Sullivan Show appearance. Although aired on February 23, the show was in fact recorded on the afternoon of February 9th. Side Three also contains the group's performance aired on ABC-TV's Shindig. The Beatles were taped at London's Granville Theatre on October 9, 1964, however, the American TV airing wasn't until January 20, 1965. In addition to the three songs that were broadcast, House of the Rising Sun was performed by the group but unfortunately that song was not aired. The Fab Four On Film, previously issued as a promotional disc by Capitol Records as part of their campaign to promote the atrocious Beatles Movie Medley single and Reel Music lp closes Side Three. Paul, George and Ringo talk about A Hard Day's Night. John makes a very fleeting appearance, courtesy of an extremely tacky editing job.

Side Four: On August 14, 1965 the Beatles performed six songs before an audience at CBS Studios. That performance was aired in the September 12th installment of the Sullivan program. The energy level was quite high, exemplified by the reaction of the audience. The Beatles themselves were apparently caught up in the frenzy, which perhaps explains Paul's changing around the words to I'm Down and John messing up the lyrics of Help! The interview portion of the side is from a press conference conducted in Minneapolis on August 21. By mow the group is beginning to sound a bit weary of having to answer incredibly insipid questions regarding their hair length, clothing, et.al.

Don't be overwhelmed with disappointment when I tell you that I've just about used up all my allotted amount of space for these liner notes. All I have to say in closing is that I hope the words and music on these platters bring you pleasant memories of bygone days, all those years ago.

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