This Day in History:, The Beatles Arrive in New York.
February 7, 1964.
Arriving at Kennedy Airport,
this was the British rock band's first visit to
America, paving the way for "Beatlemania.".
They were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans
who almost caused a riot when
they stepped off the plane.
Two days later, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr,
John Lennon and George Harrison made their
first appearance on the 'Ed Sullivan Show.'.
About 40 percent of the U.S. population —
73 million U.S. television viewers — tuned in to watch.
The Beatles’ first American tour left a major
imprint on the nation’s cultural memory.
The band was the perfect catalyst for
America's youth to shift away from the
culturally rigid landscape of the 1950s
