Beatles

The Night the Beatles Rocked America: A Conversation with Journalist Larry Kane

Bill Thompson
Photo by Endlessdan

Sixty years ago this week the Beatles performed in concert – notable because it was their very first concert in the United States.

On February 11, 1964 the Beatles entertained a crowd of about 8,000 at the Washington Coliseum in Washington, DC.

After that concert, as they embarked on their 1964 U.S. tour, along with them was young journalist Larry Kane. He was, in fact, the only broadcast journalist who was with the band at every stop on both the’64 and ‘65 American tours

Kane has written three books about the Beatles, including his 2014 book When They Were Boys. So let’s take a few minutes to revisit this milepost in American culture. Here now. from 2014, Larry Kane,

Larry Kane is 81. He is a special contributor to Philadelphia’s KYW radio.

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Derek Taylor

Bruce Morrow

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Derek Taylor: Behind the Beatles’ Legacy

Bill Thompson

Derek Taylor was a working journalist when he met the Beatles, literally in the right place at the right time as the band was on the cusp of fame in England.

Manager Brian Epstein brought Taylor aboard as the Beatles’ press agent.

Taylor accompanied the boys as they rocketed to worldwide fame, looking on as they transcended music to become cultural icons.

Taylor’s story — as he recounted in his 1987 book called It Was Twenty Years Ago Today — reminds us that the Beatles were not just a band; they were a cultural phenomenon that continues to shape the world of music.

So here now, from 1987, Derek Taylor.

Derek Taylor died in 1997. He was 65.

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Donovan

Graham Nash

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Julia Baird

Bill Thompson
Photo: Eddie Janssens

One night, 40 years ago this week, a young man approached musician John Lennon outside Lennon’s Manhattan apartment building. The young man appeared to be asking for an autograph, but instead, shot and killed Lennon, who was just 40.

A few years later, Lennon’s half-sister, Julia Baird, wrote a book about her, her brother, and their mother, called John Lennon, My Brother.

I met Julia Baird in 1988, when she was touring the U.S. to promote that book.

So here now, from 1988, Julia Baird.

Julia Baird is 73 now, retired from her job as a teacher, and still lives in Liverpool.