George Harrison Live Chat (15 February 2001)

Yahoo! Chat Transcript
George Harrison
02/15/01

ChatYahoo_Lisa: Welcome to Yahoo! Chat

ChatYahoo_Lisa: We are here with George Harrison

george_harrison_live: Hello!

george_harrison_live: It's nice to be here!

george_harrison_live: It's my first time on a computer... I'm pretty illiterate :)

yahoomusic asks: What made you decide to re-issue All Things Must Pass now?

george_harrison_live: It's the 30th anniversary and I'm in the process of remastering my entire catalog

george_harrison_live: Which I want to get back into the stores

george_harrison_live: So we started with that one

george_harrison_live: and hopefully during the year

george_harrison_live: We'll be able to come with the next batch and so on

george_harrison_live: So that everything I have ever done will be available.

morvyon asks: George, are you planning a new studio album?

george_harrison_live: Yeah.

george_harrison_live: I hope to put out a new studio album

george_harrison_live: Possibly in November

george_harrison_live: and I have at the moment many songs in various states of completion

george_harrison_live: Possibly 35 songs that I have been working on over the years.

yahoomusic asks: Do you surf the internet much? What types of things do you do online?

george_harrison_live: No, I never surf

george_harrison_live: I don't know the password.

willowy_blonde asks: Hi, my boyfriend wants to know, he's a musician what's your fave electric guitar and do you still have "Rocky" your '61 fender strat?

george_harrison_live: Hello willowy blonde!

george_harrison_live: I still have Rocky!

george_harrison_live: and he can be seen at Cyril's rare guitar shop on allthingsmustpass.com

timbarwick asks: Will you be releasing Living in the Material World in a remastered/extra tracks version?

george_harrison_live: Well, as I said before

george_harrison_live: That will be the next one to be remastered

george_harrison_live: I have to get into my tape library to find out if there are any alternate versions of anything.

silbeat asks: Hi George! Glad to hear from you again! Are you planning to do any live performances? If so, where would you like to play? (Please include Argentina!!!). With love from Argentina. Sole, Mara, Silvi, Vale, Gilda, Ale, Sami and Graciela.

george_harrison_live: Hello Argentina! :)

george_harrison_live: At the moment I have no plans for live performances

george_harrison_live: If I do later, I will certainly come to Argentina

rbortega2001 asks: What did you think of Bob Dylan getting nominated for an Oscar?

george_harrison_live: I think he should win it!

george_harrison_live: I think he should win ALL the Oscars

george_harrison_live: all the Tonys

george_harrison_live: all the Grammys

pcpalmiere asks: How has The Rutles influenced your career?

george_harrison_live: I got all my ideas from The Rutles!

george_harrison_live: particularly the 12-string Rickenbacker and slide guitar styles I got from Stig O'Hara.

george_harrison_live: I met him once and he is a super chap.

oldmanalex asks: Hello from Russia, George! Russian fans invite you to play in Moscow! Can you tell, will the Traveling Wilburys reform? Are there any plans to record something with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne?

george_harrison_live: Thank you Russian fans!

george_harrison_live: I'll be there after Argentina!

nattyrobbo asks: Hi George! I'm Natalie, an 18 y.o. girl from Australia, and I'm a HUGE fan. Any hints for a budding guitarist???

george_harrison_live: Yes.

george_harrison_live: Buy a ukulele!

mike_n_tex asks: George, do you ever see a reunion tour with you and Paul and Ringo?

george_harrison_live: Stranger things have happened.

flatcat65 asks: George, Which version of My Sweet Lord do you like best, your original or the new version?

george_harrison_live: I like the new version better.

george_harrison_live: Because it's new!

george_harrison_live: and I like Sam Brown singing it.

ChatYahoo_Lisa: Why did you re-visit it?

george_harrison_live: At the time, the song was so popular and also so controversial that the most important thing about it for me was that it

george_harrison_live: in it's small way

george_harrison_live: conjured up a touch of spirituality

george_harrison_live: something we are very short of...

ChristopherClause asks: Hi George! Christopher here! Thank you for being such an inspiration! What was it like working with Phil Spector? Although I can hear his influence, your "influence" and leadership in the production is clear. God bless you, George!

george_harrison_live: Phil Spector was prob the greatest producer from the 60s and it was good to work with him because I needed some assistance in the control box.

george_harrison_live: Phil is very funny

george_harrison_live: loveable

george_harrison_live: we love him :)

mebissy asks: I have several teenage friends who've just discovered All Things Must Pass. They were wondering about radio airplay. I explained that this was a re-mastered, etc. album - a re-release essentially. They, however (as do I) feel the music is just as cool as it was when you first released the work. Wouldn't it be great if a single was selected and the whole cycle could start again?

george_harrison_live: It's nice to know that teenagers find All Things Must Pass *cool*

george_harrison_live: As far as a single goes,

george_harrison_live: I suppose that's really up to Capitol Records

george_harrison_live: I have no objection!

melissay1 asks: Hi, Mr. Harrison, how do you feel about the Beatles 1 album being top of the charts?

george_harrison_live: It's very nice

george_harrison_live: It's also nice that young children seem to be hearing it for the first time

george_harrison_live: and I think as an alternative form of music for today

george_harrison_live: it has its place alongside all this other stuff.

captainwombat_2000 asks: Out of curiosity, why the garden gnomes on All Things Must Pass?

george_harrison_live: Originally, when we took the photo

george_harrison_live: I had these old Bavarian gnomes

george_harrison_live: which I thought I would put there

george_harrison_live: like kinda... John, Paul, George and Ringo

george_harrison_live: gnomes are very popular in Europe

george_harrison_live: and these gnomes were made in about 1860

george_harrison_live: so, while building the website

george_harrison_live: the gnomes just seemed to get into it and we just couldn't stop them!

gearfabasitwere asks: Is Indian music still a big infuence on your music?

george_harrison_live: Yes!

ChatYahoo_Lisa: anything particular?

george_harrison_live: Check out U. Srinivas a South Indian electric mandolin player

george_harrison_live: eat your heart out Van Halen!

moosefalva101 asks: Following the incident at your house on Dec. 1999 has your outlook on life changed at all?

george_harrison_live: Yes and no.

george_harrison_live: Adi Shankara an Indian historical, spiritual, groovy-type person once said

george_harrison_live: "Life is fragile, like a raindrop on a lotus leaf."

george_harrison_live: and you better believe it!

Nicole_Paul asks: I am curious about your website and the way the cover photo is altered by adding roads and urban development to the picture. Does that symbolize anything?

george_harrison_live: Yes.

george_harrison_live: It symbolizes that our world is being concreted over. Haven't you noticed?

bluejeanbaby42001 asks: George, you have quite a reputation as a gardener...What are some of your "pride & joy" plants? Love, Dianne

george_harrison_live: Well, for the cooler climates (as in England)

george_harrison_live: The current trend is definitely toward Miscanthus

george_harrison_live: You'll find many lovely varieties

george_harrison_live: try the Zebrensis and also the Malepartis

george_harrison_live: However,

george_harrison_live: if you're gardening in the tropics

george_harrison_live: I think you'll find a lovely little ginger called Kahili :P

a_t_m98 asks: Mr. Harrison.. what is the opening chord you used for "A Hard Days Night"?

george_harrison_live: It is F with a G on top (on the 12-string)

george_harrison_live: But you'll have to ask Paul about the bass note to get the proper story.

hari_girl asks: What do you think of Eminem's grammy nomination?

george_harrison_live: What's Eminem?

george_harrison_live: Aren't they choclates or something?

beatles_lvr asks: You started the "band aid" movement; who would you help today? Love you George!!

george_harrison_live: Bob Geldof!

Moyette asks: What did you record with Bill Wyman last month?

george_harrison_live: :) An old Ketty Lester song called "Love Letters"

sharonconcannon2000 asks: Why was "I Live For You" left out of the original mix? (I think it's lovely, thank you for putting out at last!)

george_harrison_live: I didn't think that we had got a good enough take on it.

george_harrison_live: Except for Pete Drake, the pedal steel guitar player.

george_harrison_live: At that time, I had so many other tracks as well,

george_harrison_live: so we just left it off.

george_harrison_live: It did need patching up

george_harrison_live: in the drum department.

pcpalmiere asks: How close are you to releasing that boxed set of unreleased songs and demos you talked about in Billboard some time back?

george_harrison_live: Well, hopefully during this year I should at least get out a new album and all the other boxes of unreleased demos could possibly follow in 18 months. I'm trying to get everything that has ever been done out there. It'll just take a little time.

nikolaidisgm asks: George, what do you miss most about John Lennon?

george_harrison_live: John Lennon.

michaelcalcina asks: George: In the Anthology book, you talk about the unwound G string. What is that? I play guitar and I'm not sure what you're talking about.

george_harrison_live: It's one of those little things that goes up your butt so that people can't see your pantylines.

george_harrison_live: No, It's actually a 3rd string that doesn't have a winding around it.

spongeweed70508 asks: Does Paul still piss you off (tell us the truth)

george_harrison_live: Scan not a friend with a microscopic glass -- You know his faults -- Then let his foibles pass.

george_harrison_live: Old Victorian Proverb.

george_harrison_live: I'm sure there's enough about me that pisses him off, but I think we have now grown old enough to realize

george_harrison_live: that we're both pretty damn cute!

incantataa asks: Mr. Harrison, I was wondering if you might tell us a bit about your ideas on love. Romantic love, that is. I recall you having written some of the Beatles' most beatiful love songs. It would be interesting to hear how your religious attitudes have impacted your beliefs concerning romanticism.

george_harrison_live: Well, the lover that we miss is actually God.

george_harrison_live: The beauty that you see within each other is actually God.

george_harrison_live: So, Krishna was the greatest romanticist. He had girlfriends on every corner!

george_harrison_live: I can't seperate the two -- a beautiful girl is the divine mother, a beautiful man is the manifestation of potential.

fabzzy asks: You're joking in a most Pythonistic manner tonight George.., it's great to hear you online!!!

george_harrison_live: PISS OFF!!

george_harrison_live: You nosy bastard!

i_arcos asks: Is it true that you recorded "Homeward Bound" with P. Simon?

george_harrison_live: I recorded that with Paul Simon on Saturday Night Live back in 1853.

tnntxx asks: George, given the drug experimentation of the 60's, how do you feel about the legalitzation of pot?

george_harrison_live: Well, I saw someone on TV last night pulling out huge loads of pot out of various fields in California. My feeling is...

george_harrison_live: as long as you can go into a store and buy

george_harrison_live: whiskey

george_harrison_live: bourbon

george_harrison_live: and all the rest of it

george_harrison_live: then, a little grass is nothing.

george_harrison_live: the authorities are just causing the price to be high -- 'scuse the pun.

ckeavenyuk asks: Have you any tips to budding songwiters? Do you, as John apparantly advised you stick at it until you have finished it.

george_harrison_live: Try and write some melodies. And some words that mean something.

george_harrison_live: It is true that if you are on a roll, then it's best to finish it in one go.

george_harrison_live: That's what Johnny said.

kdtash asks: Any chance that the Dark Horse material, esp. Shankar Family and Friends will be released on CD?

george_harrison_live: Well, along with my own catalog of records

george_harrison_live: the other Dark Horse records

george_harrison_live: hopefully will be finding a new home

george_harrison_live: and coming out on CDs (remastered) sometime in the future.

mp0071999 asks: Hey George will you be ever be back on Yahoo?

george_harrison_live: Possibly. It's pretty painless for me.

kyntire2001 asks: Happy Birthday (a little early). During your recent Internet video promoting All Things Must Pass, you pointed to an engraving on the back of your guitar. What did the engraving say?

george_harrison_live: It's a Maclaren strat and it had a metal chassis number plate on the back.

george_harrison_live: Thank you all!

george_harrison_live: May God bless you all.

george_harrison_live: Don't forget to say all your prayers tonight.

george_harrison_live: Be good little souls.

george_harrison_live: Lots of Love!

george_harrison_live: George.

george_harrison_live: :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

ChatYahoo_Lisa: Thank you sooo much for joining us....pretty please come back soon!

george_harrison_live: Check out allthingsmustpass.com.

george_harrison_live: for further entertainment!

ChatYahoo_Lisa: Bye everyone!

****

Abbey Road Lost Photo (RARE!)

sumber: http://beatlephotoblog.com/69-au-go-go

Shea Stadium Concert (1965)

Shea Stadium Concert

Konser di Shea Stadium adalah konser pertama yang memulai tur ketiga mereka di Amerika. Mereka telah memecah rekor sebagai konser dengan penonton terbanyak pada waktu itu yaitu lebih dari 55.600 penonton. The William A Shea Municipal Stadium, adalah full name dari stadium ini. Stadium ini adalah rumah bagi New York Mets baseball team. Panggung diletakkan pada second base yang jauh dari tempat penonton yang terbatas pada area penonton di stadium. 

Konser di Shea Stadium memecah rekor sebagai jumlah penonton. The Beatles mengantongi lebih dari 160.000 USD dari total 304.000 USD yang didapatkan dari penjualan tiket. Sid Bernstein adalah event promotion yang dianggap sukses pada penyelenggaraan konser ini. 20.000 personil keamanan berjaga di stadium itu untuk mengendalikan penonton.

Konser ini dilaksanakan pada tanggal 15 Agustus 1965. Pada awalnya, The Beatles meminta untuk turun di lapangan dengan helikopter, tetapi ide itu dilarang oleh New York City Authorities. Akhirnya, dari Hotel Warwick, mereka ke Helipad, dan dibawa oleh Helikopter New York Airways Boeing Vertol 107-II lalu diturunkan di atap Gedung World's Fair di Queens, dan mereka dibawa dengan "Well's Fargo" armoured truck sampai Shea Stadium.

Konser ini di film-kan (dokumentasikan) oleh Ed Sullivan's company Sullivan Productions, dengan asosiasi bersama NEMS Enterprises dan Subafilms yang dimiliki oleh Brian Epstein dan The Beatles. Konser ini juga direkam oleh 12 operator kamera. Sebelum The Beatles main, terdapat beberapa penampilan dari band pembuka seperti Brenda Holloway and the King Curtis Band, Cannibal & The Headhunters, Sounds Incorporated, dan Young Rascals. Lalu, The Beatles di introduce-kan oleh Ed Sullivan.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, honoured by their country, decorated by their Queen, loved here in America, here are The Beatles!

Ed Sullivan

The Beatles lari menyebrangi lapangan dan mengambil alih panggung pada pukul 9.16 PM. Seluruh stadium langsung menjerit dan berteriak saat melihat mereka. Pada waktu itu, Beatlemania ada di puncaknya, di rekaman kita bisa melihat ada yang pingsan, menangis, dan menjerit-menjerit saat melihat mereka. Bahkan, beberapa penonton mencoba untuk turun ke lapangan agar bisa melihat The Beatles dengan jelas, tetapi dia sudah diamankan duluan oleh personil keamanan. The Beatles telah mendapatkan 100-watt amplifier Vox yang dirancang khusus untuk mereka, tetapi The Beatles malah memilih sistem in-house PA (house amplification system). Lennon mendeskripsikan bahwa amplifier tersebut "wild" dan suaranya dua kali lebih keras daripada amplifier biasa, tetapi tetap saja mereka tidak bisa mendengar apa yang mereka bawakan saat penampilan.

The Beatles lari menyebrangi lapangan yang dijaga oleh personil keamanan

Setelah berada diatas panggung, John Lennon mulai berteriak-teriak didepan mic menyapa ratusan ribu warga Amerika Serikat yang telah menunggu mereka sejak siang tadi. Tidak menunggu lama, The Beatles mulai memainkan lagu "Twist and Shout" dan seterusnya. Ini adalah daftar lagu yang dibawakan oleh The Beatles di Shea Stadium Concert 1965:

1. "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)
2. "She's a Woman" (not included in film)
3. "I Feel Fine"
4. "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (Larry Williams)
5. "Ticket to Ride"
6. "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" (Carl Perkins) (tidak ada di film)
7. "Can't Buy Me Love"
8. "Baby's in Black"
9. "Act Naturally" (Voni Morrison, Johnny Russell)
10. "A Hard Day's Night"
11. "Help!"
12. "I'm Down"

Pada puncaknya dan klimaksnya, The Beatles menyanyikan lagu I'm Down dengan semangat yang tinggi, bahkan John Lennon menjadi bahan perhatian karena ia memainkan organ dengan sikutnya, hal ini diikuti Lennon apabila dia membawakan lagu 'I'm Down" sampai seterusnya. Setelah mereka selesai, mereka masuk ke Armored Car milik Wells Fargo dan pergi.

Acara TV selama 50 menit pertama kali ditayangkan yaitu tanggal 1 Maret 1966 pukul 8 malam di BBC 1 UK. Lalu penayangan selanjutnya adalah 10 Januari 1967 jam 7.30 malam di Amerika, tetapi acara yang di amerika ternyata lebih lengkap, sudah termasuk beberapa wawancara dan pembawa acara sebelum The Beatles datang (band pembuka)

She's A Woman dan Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby di singkirkan dari film, tidak ada alasan yang jelas mengenai ini, Hampir semua audio The Beatles yang ada di film tersebut telah di dubbing oleh The Beatles sendiri, mengambil di suatu tempat rahasia di London pada tanggal 5 Januari 1966. Hal ini dikarenakan audio yang sangat buruk karena teriakan para penonton yang membuat suara The Beatles sangat kecil. 

The Beatles datang kembali ke Shea Stadium kembali setahun kemudian, tanggal 23 Agustus 1966, dan tidak seheboh sebelumnya dikarenakan isu yang dibuat oleh John Lennon 'Bigger than Jesus' yang membuat banyak warga Amerika ogah untuk menonton The Beatles kembali. 

"What I remember most about the concert was that we were so far away from the audience. ... And screaming had become the thing to do. ... Everybody screamed. If you look at the footage, you can see how we reacted to the place. It was very big and very strange."

                                                                                                                               Ringo Starr

Kunjungan Pertama The Beatles di Amerika Serikat (1964)

The Beatles menjadi terkenal di Amerika Serikat pada tanggal 7 Februari 1964 sebagai perkembangan yang sangat signifikan dan salah satu yang paling sukses dalam sejarah The Beatles. Selain membentuk keunggulan internasional, The Beatles juga merubah sikap untuk musik populer di Amerika Serikat. Kedatangan The Beatles di Amerika sendiri dijuluki sebagai "The Night That Change America", pertanyaannya kenapa bisa sampai begitunya merubah Amerika?. Setelah datangnya The Beatles, muncul lah band-band baru, musisi-musisi baru yang ingin mengikuti trend musik yang di mulai oleh The Beatles di Amerika ini. Juga, mereka membuka gerbang pintu musik dari Inggris ke Amerika yang di sebut sebagai "British Invasion". Tidak hanya The Beatles, banyak beberapa band Inggris lainnya seperti The Animals, The Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones yang juga sukses di Amerika. Karena itulah, The Beatles disebut sebagai salah satu band yang sangat berpengaruh bagi music culture di Amerika. Tanpa mereka, tidak banyak band hebat di Amerika yang akhirnya membuat musik itu sendiri berevolusi.

Kunjungan pertama The Beatles di Amerika Serikat pada saat popularitasnya sedang besar di Inggris. Awal popularitas The Beatles di AS terjadi pada awal tahun 1964 yang ditandai oleh permintaan untuk single "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" yang dijual satu setengah juta kopi yang terhitung pada tanggal 7 Februari tersebut atau 3 minggu setelah single tersebut dirilis di Amerika Serikat. Selain itu single ini diiklankan di seluruh AS pada yang terhitung semuanya ada 5 juta poster. Hal ini adalah saat yang menentukan dalam sejarah The Beatles, dan titik tolak dari British Invasion.

Meskipun The Beatles mendapat popularitas yang bagus di tangga lagu Inggris, EMI Records di Amerika Serikat, Capitol Records, menolak untuk mengeluarkan single "Please Please Me" dan "From Me To You". Art Roberts, direktur music populer dari radio WLS Chicago, menempatkan "Please Please Me" ke dalam playlist radio di bulan Februari 1963 tapi tidak pernah dimainkan juga. Pada akhir 1963 bisa dibilang pertama kalinya Beatles terdengar di radio Amerika. Pada bulan Agustus 1963, Swan Records merilis "She Loves You", yang juga dapat dibilang gagal di dalam pasar musik Amerika. Sebuah pengujian lagu di acara TV Amerika Bandstand, The Beatles mendapatkan tawa dari banyak remaja Amerika ketika mereka melihat gaya rambut khas The Beatles. Pada awal November 1963, Brian Epstein membujuk Ed Sullivan menyajikan The Beatles pada acaranya pada bulan Februari dan membuat kontrak rekaman dengan Capitol Records. Capitol berkomitmen untuk rilis pertengahan Januari "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". Tetapi pada tanggal 10 Desember 1963 berita singkat dari Inggris tentang fenomena Beatlemania ditunjukkan oleh CBS Evening News. Segmen ini pertama ditayangkan di CBS Morning News pada tanggal 22 November dan semula dijadwalkan akan diulang pada Evening News hari itu, tapi program di sore dibatalkan karena pembunuhan Presiden John F. Kennedy pada pagi harinya.

Acara CBS Evening News menginspirasikan seorang remaja bernama Marsha Albert yang tinggal di Silver Spring, Maryland untuk menulis sebuah surat untuk Carroll James, seorang disc jockey di stasiun radio WWDC di kota Washington DC, Marsha meminta Caroll untuk memasang lagu rekaman The Beatles. Ternyata, Carroll James juga sudah melihat berita tentang The Beatles dan mulai meminta temannya untuk mendapatkan rekaman single The Beatles terbaru yaitu "I Want to Hold Your Hand" dan langsung dikirim ke Washington DC. Pada 17 Desember, rekaman tersebut langsung diputar, Stasiun radio itu langsung mendapat respon positif dari para pendengar, dengan meningkatnya pemutaran lagu tersebut, Capitol Records dibuat sadar oleh respon para pendengar yang luar biasa. Direktur Capitol Records Alan W. Livingston memutuskan untuk mengambil untung dan merilisnya pada 26 Desember 1963, atau tiga minggu lebih cepat dari yang diputuskan pada awalnya.

Beberapa radio di kota New York mulai memasang single 
“I Want to Hold Your Hand” pada hari peluncurannya. Respon yang postif muncul dimana-mana. Rekaman tersebut terjual satu juta kopi hanya dengan 10 hari dan pada tanggal 16 Januari 1964 Majalah Cashbox mensertifikasi lagu itu ke tangga lagu nomer 1 untuk minggu itu setelah menduduki selama 3 minggu di Top 100 Charts.

Pada tanggal 4 Februari 1964, Brian Epstein, manager The Beatles, memberi tahu The Beatles saat sarapan pagi di Hotel yang berada di kota Paris, Perancis setelah mereka tur di Olympia Theater. Rekaman mereka di Amerika sudah terjual sebanyak satu juta kopi dan The Beales akan terbang menuju Amerika. Hal ini menurut The Beatles sangatlah tidak terduga. Pada keesokan harinya mereka menuju London Airport dari Bandara Le Bourget, Paris. Kedatangan mereka di London disambut oleh ratusan fans yang histeris dan setelah itu diadakan jumpa pers di bandara tersebut. ketika The Beatles belum berangkat ke Amerika, seorang reporter Inggris, June Harris mewawancarai John Lennon dan George Harrison.

John: It's going to be fab! I know we're not going to have much time to do anything, but I shall still buy stacks of records. None of us is nervous about our personal appearances or anything like that. The Americans are just going to get exactly the same as the British, French and the rest of them. June Harris: Will you have any baggage problems? George: Not as far as our equipment it concerned. We're not taking our amplifiers, and Ringo's not taking his drum kit. We've been promised the use of everything we need over there.

The Beatles Off The Record Keith Badman

Pada hari The Beatles memulai "invasi"-nya ke Amerika Serikat, Pesawat Boeing 707, Pan Am dengan nomor penerbangan 101, meninggalkan London pada pagi hari tanggal 7 February 1964 terbang menuju New York City.

All we knew was that a couple of the records had done well in the States. We believed there was still a huge mountain to climb if The Beatles were really to make it there.At Heathrow there was pandemonium. Thousands of fans had arrived from all over Britain and any ordinary passengers hoping to travel that day had to give up. Screaming, sobbing girls held up 'We Love You, Beatles' banners and hordes of police, linking arms in long chains, held them back. We were ushered into a massive press conference, where journalists, spotting me at the side of the room, demanded a picture of John and me together. To my surpirse John agreed. He was usually careful to keep Julian and me away from publicity, but this time, carried along by the momentum of the whole thing, he agreed.Minutes later we were ushered to the plane. At the top of the steps the boys waved to the packed airport terraces as the screams crescendoed.

Cynthia Lennon

Didalam pesawat ada Brian Epstein (Manager The Beatles), Neil Aspinall dan Mal Evans serta banyak Jurnalis dan Fotografer dari Inggris. Pesawat Pan Am flight 101, Boeing 707 mendarat di John F. Kennedy Airport tepatnya pada pukul 1.20 siang dan banyak sekali hal yang belum pernah dilihat sebelumnya.

It was so exciting. On the plane, flying in to the airport, I felt as though there was a big octopus with tentacles that were grabbing the plane and dragging us down into New York. America was the best. It was a dream, coming from Liverpool.

Ringo Starr - Anthology

Pada awalnya The Beatles susah untuk percaya bahwa resepsi di JFK untuk mereka.

There were millions of kids at the airport, which nobody had expected. We heard about it in mid-air. There were journalists on the plane, and the pilot had rang ahead and said, 'Tell the boys there's a big crowd waiting for them.' We thought, 'Wow! God, we have really made it.

Paul McCartney - Anthology

Ada lebih dari 5000 fans, rata-rata perempuan, memenuhi sampai balkon diatas gedung kedatangan bandara. Melambaikan plakat dan spanduk untuk menyelamat datang kan grup asli Liverpool tersebut. Sekitar 200 reporter, fotografer dan kameramen dari radio, televisi dan pers juga datang berteriak-teriak untuk mendapatkan perhatian dari The Beatles.

It has since been reported that their American record company had promised that every person who turned up at the airport would be given a dollar bill and a t-shirt. What really happened was that the receptionists at Capitol Records would answer the phone, 'Capitol Records - The Beatles are coming.' There was a lot of mention on the radio, too: 'The Beatles are coming!' It was the people handling the Beatles merchandise at the time who were offering the free t-shirt. I had no idea about that at the time, and it was nothing to do with the record company.

Neil Aspinall - Anthology

Seltaeb adalah organisasi resmi The Beatles merchandise yang dijalankan oleh Nicky Byrne, yang juga telah disetujui oleh Brian Epstein untuk mengawasi dan mengumpulkan royalti untuk non-musik produk grup di Amerika. Mereka melihat sebuah waktu yang tepat untuk mencari untung dan mereka juga telah membuat kesepakatan dengan stasiun radio WMCA dan WINS, di mana setiap penggemar yang muncul di JFK akan diberikan satu dolar dan Beatles t-shirt gratis. Tanpa diketahui Byrne, Capitol juga mengatur poster dan stiker mobil, Bantal 'The Beatles are coming’, juga akan didistribusikan di New York City.
Murray K, seorang DJ di stasiun radio 1010 WINS, telah mengumumkan rincian nomor penerbangan The Beatles dan waktu kedatangan. Informasi itu juga diulang oleh stasiun WABC dan WMCA, yang hanya meningkatkan situasi yang sudah panas.

Di JFK, The Beatles mengadakan konferensi pers pertama mereka di Amerika.

Q: Are you a little embarrassed by the lunacy you cause?

John Lennon: No, it's great.

Paul McCartney: No.

Ringo Starr: Marvelous.

George Harrison: We love it.

John: We like lunatics.

Q: You're in favor of lunacy?

The Beatles: Yeah.

John: It's healthy.

Q: Are those English accents?

George: It's not English. It's Liverpudlian, you see.

Paul: The Liverpool accent - so, the way you say some of the words. You know, you say GRASS instead of GRAHHSS, and that sounds a bit American. So there ya go.

Q: Liverpool is the...

Ringo: It's the capital of Ireland.

Paul: Anyway, we wrote half of your folk songs in Liverpool.

Ringo: Yeah, don't forget!

Q: In Detroit Michigan, there handing out car stickers saying, 'Stamp Out The Beatles.'

Paul: Yeah well... first of all, we're bringing out a 'Stamp Out Detroit' campaign.

Q: What about the Stamp Out The Beatles campaign?

John: What about it?

Ringo: How big are they?

Q: Would you tell Murray the K to cut that crap out?

The Beatles: Cut that crap out!

Paul: Hey, Murray!

Q: A psychiatrist recently said you're nothing but a bunch of British Elvis Presleys.

John: He must be blind.

Ringo (shaking like Elvis): It's not true! It's not true!

Q: Would you please sing something?

The Beatles: No!

Ringo: Sorry.

Q: There's some doubt that you can sing.

John: No, we need money first.

Q: What do you expect to take out of this country?

John Lennon: About half a crown.

Ringo Starr: Ten dollars.

Q: Does all that hair help you sing?

Paul McCartney: What?

Q: Does all that hair help you sing?

John: Definitely. Yeah.

Q: You feel like Sampson? If you lost your hair, you'd lose what you have? 'It'?

John: Don't know. I don't know.

Paul: Don't know.

Q: How many of you are bald, that you have to wear those wigs?

Ringo: All of us.

Paul: I'm bald.

Q: You're bald?

John: Oh, we're all bald, yeah.

Paul: Don't tell anyone, please.

John: I'm deaf and dumb, too.

Q: Do you know American slang? Are you for real?

Paul: For real.

John: Come and have a feel.

Q: Aren't you afraid of what the American Barbers' Association is going to think of you?

Ringo: Well, we run quicker than the English ones, we'll have a go here, you know.

Q: Listen, I got a question here. Are you going to get a haircut at all while you're here?

The Beatles: No!

Ringo: Nope.

Paul: No, thanks.

George Harrison: I had one yesterday.

Ringo: And that's no lie, it's the truth.

Paul: It's the truth.

Q: You know, I think he missed.

John: Nope.

George: No, he didn't. No.

Ringo: You should have seen him the day before.

Q: What do you think your music does for these people?

Paul: Er...

John: Hmm, well...

Ringo: I don't know. It pleases them, I think. Well, it must do, 'cause they're buying it.

Q: Why does it excite them so much?

Paul: We don't know, really.

John: If we knew, we'd form another group and be managers.

Q: What about all this talk that you represent some kind of social rebellion?

John: It's a dirty lie. It's a dirty lie.

Q: What do you think of Beethoven?

Ringo: Great, especially his poems. (Muttering to the others) I'm sick of that one.

Q: Have you decided when you're going to retire?

John: Next week.

Paul: No.

John: No, we don't know.

Ringo: We're going to keep going as long as we can.

George: When we get fed up with it, you know. We're still enjoying it.

Ringo: Any minute now.

Q: After you make so much money, and then...

The Beatles: No.

George: No, as long as we enjoy it, we'll do it. 'Cause we enjoyed it before we made any money.

Setelah konferensi pers, The Beatles diminta untuk menyebutkan nama mereka masing dalam urutan di mana mereka berdiri di mikrofon, sebagian nama individu mereka masih belum diketahui oleh pers di Amerika. Saat meninggalkan JFK Airport, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr naik ke limosin, sedangkan John and Cynthia Lennon naik mobil yang berbeda. Brian Epstein, Neil Aspinall dan Mal Evans harus naik taksi untuk bisa ke hotel mereka di Manhattan.

I remember, for instance, the great moment of getting into the limo and putting on the radio, and hearing a running commentary on us: 'They have just left the airport and are coming towards New York City...' It was like a dream. The greatest fantasy ever.

Paul McCartney - Anthology

Dalam perjalanan dari Airport JFK yang letaknya ada di Brooklyn, The Beatles di kawal oleh beberapa mobil polisi dan beberapa mobil milik jurnalis. Dalam perjalanannya sendiri juga dapat dilihat di kiri dan di kanan dipenuhi oleh masyarakat kota New York itu sendiri, mereka berusaha mendekati mobil mereka tetapi di halangi oleh polisi yang bekerja keras agar The Beatles tetap aman, bahkan ada 20 polisi yang berada di atas kuda. Teriakan dan sambutan di luntarkan oleh fans-fans mereka yang rata-rata merupakan perempuan dan masih muda, mereka juga tidak pernah menyangka bahwa mereka bisa sampai di sambut layaknya iring-iringan Presiden Amerika itu sendiri. The Beatles sampai di Hotel Plaza Manhattan, yang letaknya di Midtown Manhattan. 

Pada malam itu juga, The Beatles mengundang banyak orang untuk datang ke kamar mereka yang letaknya di President Suite lantai 12. Orang yang di undang mereka adalah The Ronettes, Murray the K dan kakak perempuan George, Louise Harrison yang tinggal di Illinois. Pada pukul 6 sore, The Beatles mendapat telepon dari Radio BBC untuk menginterview mereka untuk acara besok harinya.

                                                              -- To Be Continued--