The Beatles in America

The Beatles' rise to prominence in the United States in February 1964 was a significant development in the history of the band's commercial success. In addition to establishing the Beatles' international stature, it changed attitudes to popular music in the United States, whose own Memphis-driven musical evolution had made it a global trend-setter.

The Beatles' first visit to the United States came at a time of great popularity in Britain. The band's UK commercial breakthrough, in late 1962, had been followed by a year of successful concerts and tours. The start of the Beatles' popularity in the United States, in early 1964, was marked by intense demand for the single "I Want to Hold Your Hand"—which sold one-and-a-half million copies in under three weeks—and the band's arrival the following month. The visit, advertised across the United States on five million posters, was a defining moment in the Beatles' history, and the starting-point of the British Invasion.

Following popular television appearances and concerts during their February 1964 visit, the Beatles returned to the United States in August 1964, and again in August 1965, for tours. In August 1966 they returned once more, and although this tour was commercially successful, it coincided with a storm of U.S. public protest after publication of a quote from John Lennon's remarks about Christianity. The 1966 U.S. tour marked the end of the Beatles' concert days. The band ceased to perform commercial concerts, instead devoting their efforts to creating new material in the recording studio.

In the United Kingdom, the Beatles had experienced popularity since the start of 1963. But in the United States, Capitol Records, owned by the band's record company EMI, had for most of the year declined to issue any of the singles. The phenomenon of Beatlemania in the UK was regarded with amusement by the U.S. press, once it made any comment. When newspaper and magazine articles did begin to appear towards the end of 1963, they cited the English stereotype of eccentricity, reporting that the UK had developed an interest in something that had come and gone a long time ago in the United States: rock and roll. Headlines included "The New Madness" and "Beatle Bug Bites Britain", and writers employed word-play linking "beetle" with the "infestation" afflicting the UK. In late 1963, Capitol Records agreed to release the single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" with a large accompanying promotional campaign, due to Ed Sullivan's agreement to headline the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles' American television debut was on 18 November 1963 on The Huntley-Brinkley Report, with a four-minute long piece by Edwin Newman. On 22 November 1963, the CBS Morning News ran a five-minute feature on Beatlemania in the UK which heavily featured their then current UK hit "She Loves You." The evening's scheduled repeat was cancelled following the assassination of John F. Kennedy the same day. On 10 December, Walter Cronkite decided to transmit the piece again on the CBS Evening News, and the resulting interest led to the rush-release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and—only weeks before the Beatles' arrival—a U.S. commercial breakthrough.

...
Wikipedia