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Hello and welcome to the excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today August 23rd, 2024. Why is that date so special? Has there ever

been a group of fans who've hung on for this long? We'll have to wait and see a long time to see but Taylor Swift's fans may give them a run for their money.

Truthfully, there's no denying that it was a pivotal moment for both the band and

the history of rock and roll

solidifying the Beatles rapid rise and status as global superstars.

Beetlemania took hold in the US against the backdrop of a nation in mourning following the November 1963

assassination of JFK. Joining us now to discuss the role of the Beatles in the 1960s

counterculture movement and how they went from being relatively

unknowns in the US in 1963 to global icons in 1964 is music historian and Beatles scholar Martin Lewis. Martin, thanks for joining me on the excerpt.

My great pleasure. I want to discuss the 1964 Hollywood Bowl concert, but let's start with an equally iconic motion. the show. Can you describe what would later be considered the beginning of the British

invasion? What happened was that the Beatles had improbably become very

successful in their own country in the year 1963. I say improbable because they came

from a small provincial town and suddenly took over the whole of Britain and

indeed Europe and their their manager, Brian Epstein,

had an ambition, as did they,

to conquer the United States,

which was a ludicrous ambition

because British pop music wasn't successful in America just didn't happen.

But the Beatles were something special and their manager embarked on this amazing

campaign to get them to be successful in America and one of the ways he did

...