December 17th, 1963: The Birth Of Beatlemania
Washington disc jockey Carroll James didn't realize it at the time, but on this day, in 1963, he helped The Beatles launch the third British invasion of America. This time, the attack didn't come by land or by sea, however...this one was by air. More precisely, the air waves. The first shot fired in the assault on every facet of American culture came in the form of a song, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," by The Beatles. By the time this invasion was done, our musical and cultural landscape would never be the same.
The Beatles, who served as the vanguard for this sonic assault on our shores were already conquerors at home. After a few years honing their skills, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr had seen their fame grow exponentially in late 1962 with their first hit, "Love Me Do." The were dubbed "The Fab Four" and the first stirrings of the soon to be worldwide phenomenon known as "Beatlemania" were felt.
On a snowy, early December day, America's most trusted voice Walter Cronkite was looking for an upbeat story to fill out his show and decided to rerun a recent piece on the Beatles surging popularity in England. The segment had only aired during the morning news, but hadn't been reran as part of the evening show, as was often the case, due to its unfortunate original air date, November 22, 1963. That date will always be remembered for the assassination of president John F. Kennedy.
A dark mood hung over the country, and Cronkite felt the need to try and lift the nation's spirits when possible. Here's that report, aired for the first time during the evening news on December 10th, 1963, below.
By: Rex Thomson
Source: Live For Live Music
