The New Yorker has a lengthy essay by Jill Lepore about Paul McCartney's new photo collection "1964: Eyes of the Storm" and the height of Beatlemania.
On February 9, 1964, the Beatles went on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” spry in suits and ties. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was still the nation’s No. 1 single. Seventy-three million people tuned in, the largest audience in television history. The band played two short, mind-blowing sets. And then Sullivan, hair slicked back, looking something like a vampire, thanked the New York Police Department for handling the unprecedented crowds outside the theatre. It had been a near-riot. A jailbreak.
I asked McCartney why the girls screamed. He leaned back in his chair and smiled. That smile. “Can you blame them?”
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