Beatles exhibit to debut at Grammy Museum/LA

courtesy Bob Bonis Archive/Grammy Museum

On July 1, Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles! opens at the Grammy Museum at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. 

Fifty years ago The Beatles came to America for one final tour. Their journey in America began on Friday, February 7, 1964, 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, the Fab Four were whisked into Manhattan amid the screams, shouts and tears of New York-area teens who braved 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 - a television record at the time. And just like that Beatlemania was upon us.

Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles! brings us back to the early '60s when rock & roll was re-energized - some say saved - by four lads from Liverpool. The 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, interactive displays, and an oral history booth in which visitors can leave their own impressions of The Beatles. Curated by the Grammy Museum at L.A. LIVE and Fab Four Exhibits, Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles! provides fresh new insight into how and why The Beatles impacted America in the 1960s - and beyond.

There are several Beatles-related programs in conjunction with the new exhibit opening in July. Go to www.grammymuseum.org for details on these and a wealth of other events.