Beatles' only Georgia show took place half a century ago in Atlanta
Fifty years ago next week in the new Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the British sensation known as The Beatles ran out to the stage at second base, tuned up a bit and immediately launched into the Isley Brothers’ hit Twist and Shout: “Shake it up, baby, now, twist and shout. Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby now, come on and work it on out!”
It was The Beatles – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – who were shaking up huge baseball stadiums on their second tour of America. An estimated 34,000 screaming fans that Wednesday night of Aug. 18, 1965, saw what would be The Beatles’ only appearance in Georgia.
The tour had started three days earlier with The Beatles performing to 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City. Besides Atlanta, stops that August would include Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto; Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston; Comiskey Park in Chicago; Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.; Memorial Stadium in Portland, Ore.; Balboa Stadium in San Diego, Calif.; Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, Calif., and Cow Palace in Daly City, Calif., near San Francisco.
During those stops, The Beatles would meet privately with The Supremes, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley and many other celebrities who wanted to be with the British quartet. Their short set on that tour besides their opening number included, in order, She’s a Woman, I Feel Fine, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Ticket to Ride, Everybody’s Tryin’ to Be My Baby, Can’t Buy Me Love, Baby’s in Black, I Wanna Be Your Man and A Hard Day’s Night followed by the two encore numbers Help! and I’m Down.
By: Don Rhodes
Source: The Augusta Chronicle
