Curated by the GRAMMY Museum® and Fab Four Exhibits, Ladies and Gentlemen … The Beatles! takes us back to the early ’ 60s when rock-and-roll was reenergized — some say saved — by four lads from Liverpool. The exhibit provides fresh new insight into how and why The Beatles impacted America in the 1960s and beyond.
In 1964, The Beatles came to America for one final tour. Their journey in America began on Friday, February 7, of that year, when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr arrived from the UK at the newly named John F. Kennedy International Airport. With cameras flashing and reporters jostling, they were whisked into Manhattan amid the screams, shouts, and tears of New York-area teens, braving the cold for a mere glimpse of the band. Then, that Sunday, the veritable king of the television variety show, Ed Sullivan, introduced them to a captivated American audience of more than 73 million viewers — at the time a television record. And just like that Beatlemania was upon us.
This exhibit covers the period from early 1964 through mid-1966, the years Beatlemania ran rampant in America. During this time the band affected nearly every aspect of pop culture, including fashion, art, advertising, media, and, of course, music.
On display are many Beatles-related pop culture artifacts from the period, as well as correspondence, instruments, posters, photographs, interviews, and interactive displays:
- Clothing worn by the band, including the jacket worn by Paul McCartney during The Beatles’ 1965 Shea Stadium concert, and a pair of John Lennon’s iconic glasses
- Original lyric sheets written by Paul McCartney
- Handwritten set lists from The Beatles’ concerts
- Rare footage of The Beatles’ 1964 performance at The GRAMMY Awards
- Guitars owned by George Harrison, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly
- Gold record presented to The Beatles by Capitol Records
- Venue contracts from the band’s American tours
- Kid-friendly, interactive elements including a virtual drumming lesson from Ringo Starr
