Hip Hop Fan Reacts To The Beatles at Shea Stadium 

As you’ve heard a thousand times, The Beatles were much more than just a pop/rock band. When they came on the scene all music artists still up held certain values when it came to the hierarchies that permeated society. Elvis joined the army. Artists looked at the floor in obedience when interviewed . The Beatles were just themselves, mischievous, charming and honest. Lennon would look at the camera and talk directly to those watching. They would collectively destabilise the interviewers control. It was a subtle but devastating rebellion. In British culture it was monumental that four lads from a provincial area of Britain could be seen to be clever , witty and self assured and they took a huge sway of the population with them. From them sprouted the attitudes that lead directly to the here and now.

The REASON Shea is important is this. B4 Shea NO rock group had enough fans to fill a Hall...let alone a Baseball STADIUM. This is why there was no equipment to facilitate a stadium performance..like big amps..sound systems..light shows etc. THIS WAS THE FIRST STADIUM GIG EVER. Culturally monumental!!!! Frightening for the boys!! It starts the separation between bands and audience. I could ask them to play any song in Liverpool in 61....these poor girls never knew them...I didn't either but I knew them as entertainers at the dances I went to. It just got unreal after Shea Stadium.

Elvis attracted screaming girl fans and even Frank Sinatra before, but there's never been anything like Beatlemania. Really was a worldwide cultural thing.

I was 8 years old, but I was there. Every girl in NY was screaming at the top of their lungs

The guy knoding along at 5:47 is a legend. That is their manager Brian Epstein that discovered the band and made them into what they were.

This specific concert didn't make them want to stop touring, they did four full tours after this, including playing Shea Stadium again the following year. But shows like this (and they were all like this in terms of audience response) convinced them that the crowd was more there to see THEM rather than listen to the music. And the music they were recording was already beyond being able to be performed live. Their last tour in 1966 didn't include any songs from their current album Revolver. Plus their massive popularity made touring much more of a grind and hardship than any artist had ever experienced. A lot of reasons coming to a head put an end to their desire to play live any further.

I was in the 7th grade and like many 7th graders today, no one was going to tell us who we were going to fall in love with musically. Everybody I knew and I mean everybody, went crazy for the Beatles music. Listening to this new style was like a tidal wave going through the community. Teachers talked about it, parents talked about and every kid lived it. I had already purchased a couple of rare 45's of the Beatles when they first came out. A friend also bought one and shared it with me. On the cover was the first picture of the Fab Four with their Beatle haircuts. I sat there mesmerized looking at the picture and then listening to I Want to Hold Your Hand. And then of course it was Ed Sullivan and the tour. My sister lived in DC and got us tickets to the Beatles first concert appearance at DC stadium, later named RFK stadium. She also found out through her boyfriend cop what exit they were taking out of the stadium after the concert. We stood there by the exit and sure enough here comes the Fab Four out in a limo. I was standing right by the exit and saw them. Paul McCartney gave me a wave and I waved back. That gave me bragging rights back at school for quite some time. Believe me it was a combination of many factors that led to their incredible success but music was first and foremost.

I was at their concert in Pittsburgh….lots of screaming and crying. You’re right, they blew our minds!

Take this into consideration, how tight was that song? They couldn't even hear themselves play, that's how tight it was. THE BEATLES are the GREATEST

Shea Stadium was in 1964. Candlestick Park ,in 1966, in San Francisco was their last live performance till rooftop of Abbey Road. Yes, they took advantage of not touring and focused on recording masterpieces in the studio w new techniques in their hands. Enjoy your insightful reactions.

There were 55,000 people at that concert. And no real control of the crowd at all! I totally understand why the Beatles backed away from performing in front of huge crowds.

I am 70, and whenever I watch the Ed Sullivan show I still get goosebumps. It was their chemistry. Either you have it or you don't.❤❤😍😍🎵🎵😎😎😎

Ringo has kept it together much more than any of the post Beatles. You may have like or disliked John, Paul or George but everyone loved Ringo. I was 12 in 1962. I experienced it all in real time and they were an unreal experience.

I've said it before, and I have heard others comment it also, The Beatles' music just makes people happy. As soon as you hear it, you start smiling, moving to the music, and singing along. People love The Beatles' music, and love The Beatles. Thanks for the video.

The Beatles last public performance was on the 29 August 1966 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco.

The Beatles brought in an energy that changed the world. It’s hard to explain to anyone who didn’t live through it. One day I was a normal 10 year old girl. Then I saw them perform on The Ed Sullivan Show and some kind of switch got flipped on within me. I was no longer that little girl. My parents were dumbfounded!

Imagine any band of any genre today recording up to five of their best albums and not touring at all to promote them. That's how big the Beatles were.

If you can catch a video of The Beatles performing "I'm Down" in its entirety from this concert, you will definitely dig it. John was playing organ, and the whole band kicks it up to a high level of intensity. The brief clips from this video didn't do it justice. Even though it was a constant battle to be heard over the screaming fans, you could see The Beatles were having fun and playing great!

The Beatles were almost superhuman in being cool about all of it.

I'm just so happy I got to live in the era of the Beatles from start to finish. One chance in many thousands.

It was the perfect storm. New interesting sound, the 60's, British accents, young good looking guys, unique personalities, heavy publicity, highly marketable, etc.

The Beatles were truly one of the first groups to write their own music. Each of them had their own personality. They were fun and people forget they were In their early mid twenties.Paul McCartney, age 21, Ringo Starr, 23, John Lennon, 23, and George Harrison, 20, when they made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, a popular television variety show.

Was at Shea in both the 1965 & 1966 Beatle Concerts! The video's great but can't capture the absolute electricity of actually being there! It was absolute insanity from start to finish ...both frightening and incredibly excitingl at the same time! Never experienced anything like it again!

Also, on my first trip to New York City in 1986, i wanted to go too the Shea stadium because of this concert I had to watch a mind numbing baseball game thoug,(astros @ the mets), I sat in the top tier of the stand, which was facing left from where they played,, couldnt see a thing, letcalone hear anything, imagine that with 60,000 screaming girls. MAD!🎉

He definitely knows a thing or two and has done some research on the subject. It's people like this young man that will carry the Beatles music forward for many, many years to come.

By this time , they could no longer hear themselves or each other. But, they were such a tight band they were able to perform anyway. Amazing, really. In '65 The girl up the street burst into our house screaming. She was crying and hugged my Mom and wouldn't let go. Mom said 'Linda honey, what's wrong, what happened??' She was finally able to scream 'I HAVE A TICKET TO SEE THE BEATLES AT SHEA!! ', and started sobbing again. That was a normal reaction for teenage girls at the time when it came to the Beatles!

For me, the magic between Lennon and McCartney is what attracts me. Out of all bands and music, the Beatles remain top of everybody.

I was at the Shea Stadium concert. Yes I was one of the screaming teens. I don't regret it. Amazing experiences.

I was there! So amazing! SOOOOO loud!! Never forget it

This was the first concert of this size for ANY pop band, the sound system was woefully inadequate against the barrage of fan screams. There's a point in one song where John was on keyboards and he started hammering the keys with the length of his forearm, clearly thinking what's the point of playing properly, no one can hear us. They were still enjoying the buzz here though, and in the early stages of worldwide Beatlemania, but things would change rapidly. This was just the beginning, it got a whole lot worse than just not being listened to, by the following month they were receiving threats from the Ku Klux Clan. One of the worst situations was during the following summer, they were booked to play a couple of gigs in The Philippines and were threatened and harassed after not accepting an 'invitation' by officials to play at their children's party. They were not given any special treatment regarding security. They feared for their lives whilst trying to leave the island, their manager Brian Epstein (seen briefly in the Shea Stadium clip [5:45] ) was kicked and punched as the band and their entourage were hustled through the airport by guys in military outfits firing shots into the air and brandished coshes.

The Beatles loved playing Shea Stadium in 1965. Stadium rock concerts had never been tried before The Beatles came along. It wasn't until several events in 1966, especially their nearly being killed by police in Manilla, at the order of Imelda Marcos - and the Beatles' record burnings in the Bible Belt that soured them on touring. Plus, their music had become so intricate that there was no way they could perform a lot of it live.

Say Hey Syed, You are spot on about the Beatles' transition to being a studio band. They literally grew up with the eyes of millions watching every move they made. As they started taking their music more seriously the roar of the crowds drove them from the stage and into the studio. The adoration of The Beatles had become a thing unto itself, and the band disliked it to the degree that it became a subject in some of their songs.

I was in high school when their music arrived in the States and, for me and friends of mine, it was absolutely about their music. It was entirely new, and for me, their influences, musicians in the States, were also people whose music I loved. Yes, they were very good looking, and I remember my friends and I chose which one we wanted to imitate when we sang along to their albums. I had grown up with a father who played either opera or Broadway musicals when he wasn't working his two full-time jobs, so music was played throughout our house all the time. Even my father loved the Beatles' music.

You should watch ‘Last Play at Shea’ with Billy Joel. Paul remains slim unlike Billy but the crowd went nuts when he appeared.

Neurologist Daniel Levitin wrote: “The emerging picture from studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert - in anything… In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up and again. ” Before they were famous, the Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time, therefore meeting the 10,000-Hour Rule.

The overwhelming reason was talent. Lennon and McCartney are widely recognised as being the greatest songwriters of the modern era and probably of all-time! George Harrison was right up there, with them, too. That all 3 were in the same band is just insane! They also wrote their own songs. Something that was almost unheard of at the time. They also played their own instruments and had honed their skills by years of touring and gigging, years before getting a record contract. They weren't a 'created' band, like 'The Monkees', who are usually considered to be the first proper boyband. In contrast, The Beatles were a proper band! It also helped that their character, wit, intelligence and sense of humour, shone through in interviews. If you look at music star interviews from the early 60s, they were all very stiff, polite and a bit boring. The Beatles changed all that. Their appearance also helped. They weren't bad looking young guys. Though more 'boy next door' than model looks. Their appearance genuinely shocked a lot of people. Their hair was seen as shockingly long, for instance, even in their early years. Put it all together and you can see why they remain the biggest music act in the history of music! In terms of success, sales, talent, innovation and influence (cultural and musical) nobody else comes close! :)

I've never seen this exact footage before, it's pretty fascinating. I do assert that it would be a mistake to think that this somehow magically made them more creative when they quit touring. They were already on that track. It's harder to do because like anything, it moves exponentially with technology and so earlier on it moved more slowly but you can really analyze her stuff from this point on back to their humble beginnings in the cavern and then trace it back out through Germany and their time spent there and then all this. They were always on a rising creative track and starting to really do things. In fact one of their albums from I think 1963, John Lennon later commented that they were mystified when the music critics were raving about them and saying they were using all these complicated jazz-based music idioms, like aeolian cadences. And it turns out they actually were but they had no idea. None of them ever had any music theory in our lives. They were just the right people together at the right time and they were phenomenal and they got super hardened by their time in Germany for sure. And the cavern is no joke over there in liverpool. Incredibly Blue Collar fights all the time so they're used to that kind of thing. So I think it was an extreme adjustment to experience what we are seeing here. Somewhere else there is some black and white footage I don't think it's of this one but I think that was another arena show before this but maybe it was black and white footage of the same show but I don't think so because they were out on the field and not up on the stage. Or rather the stage was out in the middle of the field or something. And you can just see Ringo hanging on playing only the back beats really loud. No room for finesse no room for anything but just banging and playing the BackBeat and trying for eye contact. And so it really limited his drumming. So if any of them, I would say Ringo is the most freed up when they quit doing these Stadium shows. It's an amazing phenomenon.

One of the reasons The Beatles hit as hard as they did when they came to the US, the country was in a state of shock and even outright grief over the murder of JFK. If not for the actual man then for the end of innocence the assassination represented.The Beatles lifted the nation out of that time in into their joyous music. The fact that everyone was still insane about them by the time of Shea Stadium was due to the consistent quality of the music. They simply could not be ignored.

Its a shame the Beatles stopped performing outside. Even with the tremendous noise they harmonized perfectly

Help! actually came out in 1965. They had a movie for it, as well. They did 2 albums in 65, Help! and Rubber Soul. They did 4 movies, A Hard Days Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, and Let It Be.

The Beatles: The first ever stadium act.

One of the security guards that night said the high pitched screaming of the fans was akin to standing next to a jet engine for several hours

Imagine a band that was too big to play Woodstock. That was the Beatles. Bob Dylan too, he lived in that area and made sure to get out of town that weekend.

This was the first stadium rock concert ever.

How I looooove the Beatles...!

Shea Stadium was not the Beatle's last big concert. It wasn't until 29 August at Candlestick Park in San Francisco - a year latter. Then they went into the studio.

This was the first big concert That any band did. This was another show they couldn't hear themselves. And a what using big speakers. If you noticed square things leaning towards the audience that was the speakers.

The same guy that drove them from the stage drove Paul off after he performed with Billy Joel at the final Shea Stadium concert over 40 years later. Shea Stadium is no more.

They didn't only scream at concerts.i remember seeing a hard day's night in the theater and girls were screaming at every close up of their faces

You're right - this is a big deal. One of the problems with touring was the inadequate sound systems. Nothing could be loud enough to be to be heard over the crowd. But this was their FIRST, not their last, concert. Think about that. Their FIRST concert in the US. Let's be aware that in November, 1963 John F. Kennedy, the president, was assassinated. This blew minds all around the world. People were deeply depressed at the death of this young, vibrant and charismatic leader. A few months later the Beatles hit the world stage with "She Loves You". They were like a breathe of fresh air. Yeah it is kind of amazing that Paul, and Ringo, and really all the guys managed to keep their feet on the ground. As brand new rockers on tour they were scheduled to play Jacksonville, Florida. Jacksonville stadium was segregated. Whites and black were separated. It had always been that way. When the Beatles first heard about this they reacted thusly: Paul- "No Way", John "No Fucking way". But the Beatles were just another pop band on their first tour. Jacksonville responded - "You don't play you don't get paid". The Beatles response - "Fine with us". Finally Jacksonville backed down and it has been unsegregated ever since. Immediately after that the Beatles reworked their contracts with venues to stipulate they would never play in segregated venues. Thanks for this quality reaction. reacting to the Beatles is always going to be a bit dicey. They evoke such strong reactions. For your own pleasure I suggest taking in the film "Hard Days Night". It really introduced them to the world and it's just plain FUN. I don't think you could react to it because of all the music but it sure is fun to watch. I'm also going to suggest a wonderful documentary about the making of, and initial reaction to, "A Hard Days Night / Documentary Film." ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0MIAzJqZkX8.html Because the Beatles were so committed to always trying new things they attracted talent that had the same mindset. That was true of A Hard Days Night. Even just the title broke new ground. The film itself was ground breaking. Close up shots of the musicians while they played - new. They even put a camera man in the middle of the screaming girls they had invited in for a few days for audience reaction shots. After three or four days of that the camera man's filings in his teeth were coming lose. Ha! It was a film the likes of which nobody had ever seen. And It's still a ton of fun.

they were the first act to play in a stadium... the sound system was the amps on stage and the public address system.

The Beatles toured until 66. Rubber Soul and Revolver were before they stopped touring so they were already headed in the direction of their later stuff (many consider Revolver their best album). That said, I still partially agree with you. I don’t know if Straberry Fields and the Sgt Pepper album happen as they did if they were still a touring band.

The sound system was so poor 100 watts i believe, along with the ampage, they had to play it through the public address speakers. Plus because of the hysteria the stage was placed so far from the crowd in the stands, yet the screaming was so loud they still couldnt hear a thing. Also remember they had no monitors, let alone in ear headphones.

Nobody in the stadium was distracted by cellphones.

This is 1965. They stopped touring in late 1966. "Help" was 1965.

on Feb 9 1964 the Beatles drew the largest number number of television viewers every recorded for a TV show. That was their first US appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. 73 million viewers, an all time record.

This is the 1st stadium 🏟 concert ever

This was August 1965. "Rubber Soul" came in December. 1966 was "Revolver" (and other singles). 1967 were "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Sgt. Pepper's," and "Magical Mystery Tour.

This was August 1965, just after making the "Help!" film. It was with this concert that they consolidated at #1 in the WORLD.

Syed. Why don't you listen too. I want you..Oh Darling Don't let me down and Across the Universe. 4 Great songs amongst the many. The Beatles Totally Brilliant.

A lot of the almost hysterical reaction the Beatles was the release of raw emotion their music epitomized in the 60s after the repression of the 50s. It happened at a lot of rock concerts, but the mix of music, talent, charm, looks and fame made the Beatles the epicenter.

Shea Stadium was a huge deal because it was the first concert in a huge stadium. Shea held about 56,000. They stopped touring in 1966

There might be SOME truth your 'Band Theory', but always bare this in mind... THERE WAS NO INTERNET THEN! The Beatles took over the ENTIRE WORLD without the benefit of the 'Net'... Also... STILL the GREATEST!!😁

The gentleman "nodding along as well" was the band's manager, Brian Epstein.

No, you're talking about their last concert in San Francisco in 1966.

You can't watch The Beatles without smiling. Between the music and their personalities, they affected the world in a way few others (except evil politicians) have.

Syed, though I already know and love a lot of the music that you play, the fun for me is watching you get delighted by something that I already know is great and know that you’ll appreciate!

I concert halls where they played , after the place would smell like piss because the girls were so excited that they pissed themselves

Live sound back in the 1960s would be nothing like today. The band could not even hear itself on the monitors over all the screaming girls. That they sounded that good under those conditions really shows how excellent and well practiced they were at their craft. Doing 6 hours a night 6 or 7 nights a week in Hamburg gave them the experience to perform in adversity, and do it well.

There were no PA systems back then for something like this. Also no stage monitors so they could even hear themselves. From way up in the stands it wouldn't have been very loud at all with only the stage guitar amplifiers.

Seeing the Beatles was an experience. It's hard to imagine how big they were back then. Even the teachers in school went bananas if the Beatles came up. The guys would tease the girls making up Beatles rumors. It was incredible.

They guy nodding and chewing gum during the concert was their manager, Brian Epstein. His death is what I believe led to the Beatles breakup.

If one looks at their amplifiers; one can understand why people couldn’t hear them. Those amps were made for a thousand seat auditorium.

They couldn't hear each other or themselves. No monitors. Extraordinary. They pretty much invented on-stage monitors for the band, but retired from touring two years later. The guy at 5:45 looking bored is their manager, Brian Epstein.

People back then had NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THEM.....BTW.. I'M A HUGE BEATLES FAN ❤❤❤❤ 4 HEARTS FOR 4 INNOVATIORS

The Beatles loved playing Shea Stadium in 1965 , this is 1965. They played in 1966 too but they had had enough and the concert was not sold out.

Thanks for your insight and charitable views. ☮️✌️💕

Imagine any group today playing under those conditions. NO MONITORS!! No PA system or sound man! Just two microphones and one Vox amplifier for each guitar! Unbelievable! They couldn’t hear anything. No performer had ever sold out a stadium. Ever! They wrote the book!

How any of them came out sane is amazing.

In England it was really extreme: there were people who believed that if they could only touch their garments they would be cured of whatever ailed them. That's why they hated doing charity events.

As an old blues singer said, "the boys don't know, but the little girls understand. "

This was also the first time a band performed in a stadium. It became almost commonplace after this.

The guy "nodding along" with "Help!" was Brian Epstein, their manager and chief handler at the time. His role in their image and fame is hard to exaggerate.

It was so wonderful to be alive at this time! I loved it!

First Boy Band and this was their big day..Shea was we made it moment.

There were no monitor speakers back then. And it wasn't only with the Shea Stadium concert that they couldn't hear themselves. That had been their experience since at latest early 1963 -- it never stopped. They quit touring in 1966 in part because they couldn't hear themselves, and in part because sick of touring.

The Beatles said they couldn't even hear each other.. ..Beatlemania was REAL!!!

The sound in the video has been greatly enhanced from the original recording. As others have noted, all the sound came from their stage amps and the stadium PA system used for making announcements. And of course there were no big screen monitors, so even with great seats, they could barely be seen. Imagine being in one of the upper seats where all you could hear was screaming and see the shape of the stage.

Bunch of factors heightened Beatlemania into hysteria. One of those factors was demographics of baby boom after ww2. Another was bad mood - in America - caused by JFK assassination three months before Ed Sullivan appearance. They also had a sound no one had heard before

They did live shows over here thru 67. Girls screamed even in their two movie's. 😆

People not of the Beatle generation can’t truly grasp what it was like. They ‘think’ they know but unless you were there, it’s beyond description imo

I too was a dizzy young teenager when The Beatles burst on the scene, never saw them live, did go to the airport when they left for America. I Love The Beatles, George my favourite, but I went back to Bob Dylan when I got older. In contrast when The Beatles performed, there was screaming and crying and no one could hear them play, Bob Dylan on the other hand you could hear a pin drop, everyone listened to the lyrics, it was all about the lyrics.

The music was changing

I remember as a little kid the Beatles were on the radio all day. It seems like every other song was another Beatles song. The girls at the concerts weren't even listening, they were just screaming.

The Beatles did another US Tour in 1966. There are no complete concert footage from that year, because people moving around the sound equipment would accidentally disconnect the power cables from the film cameras. The band was starting to build an entourage around them on the road, and they really wanted to get away from that.

The decibels were literally equal to that of a jet engine, those damn screams

I’m going to see Paul at 02 in London in December, he’s 82

Back then, their music was being piped through the PUBLIC ADDRESS systems in these stadiums....the same system the announcers in the Ball Park would use during a game. So even if every one was quiet, the sound would still be very thin and tinny and wouldn't sound anything like their recordings. Those of us at those concerts already KNEW their songs backwards and forwards....we played their records a LOT at home and they were also all over the radio too, so MOST of us DID just want to "SEE" them...but here in the US they played such large venues and sometimes were very far away from them, like here at Shea. For venues that had closer seating but were still very large, unless you had seats in the first 10-15 rows, you wouldn't get a good look at them at all. IF the sound systems we had TODAY, existed BACK THEN, their sound would be able to drown out the screams. But the systems everywhere were not that good, often using the PA Systems, and their amplifiers were not like the ones that exist now, PLUS there was no such things as "monitors" sitting in front of and facing each Beatle, like now....or some use the ear monitors (not sure what the proper term is for those.) We didn't have BIG SCREENS at each side of the stage so those of us sitting in the back or upper tiers of a stadium could SEE them.

They were upset because they couldn’t hear themselves play, and they felt that their musicianship was suffering.

Top selling musicians of all time.