Beatles '64 (2024) Movie Script

1
[subway wheel screeching]
[John F. Kennedy] To all Americans,
I say that a supreme national effort
will be needed in the years ahead
to move this country
safely through the 1960s.
Those who came before us
made certain that this country
rode the first waves
of the Industrial Revolution,
the first waves of modern invention,
and the first wave of nuclear power.
One hundred years of delay have passed
since President Lincoln freed the slaves,
yet their heirs, their grandsons,
are not fully free.
And this nation will not be fully free
until all its citizens are free.
This generation
does not intend to founder
in the backwash
of the coming age of space.
We choose to go
to the moon in this decade
and do the other things,
not because they are easy,
but because they are hard.
Because that challenge is one
that we're willing to accept,
one we are unwilling to postpone,
and one we intend to win.
[thrusters firing]
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow, I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my lovin' to you
Look, he's separate from him.
There's no cable joining them.
They're in perfect synchronization.
- [George] Are they?
- Yeah.
[Paul] Listen to it.
Listen to that, George.
Listen to it. Hang on.
- [John] Excuse me, David. Excuse me, Al.
- [Paul] John?
- [John] Yeah?
- [Paul] I think he's got a watch, too.
- [John] The voice, that's weird.
- [Paul] Through his what?
Watch.
[man] John?
- [Paul] The electric watch.
- It's a radio!
Can you get Mars on that?
- Are you filming now?
- [Al Maysles] Yeah.
- He never stops.
- [John] But my arm was in the way.
Without looking?
- [Paul] He made that camera.
- [John] He's looking through that.
- Did he?
- [Paul] Made it himself.
[John] He's gonna have a great eye
at the end of this tour.
Cost him 15,000 dollars to make.
God. Say something then.
[John] Hello?
[Paul] It comes a bit later. Yeah.
[George] And then what do you do?
- Do you battery it?
- [Paul] It's on?
- George?
- [George] Is that batter...
- Talk. Talk?
- [man] Camera didn't go off.
Who's talki... [laughs]
[Ringo chuckles] What?
Oh, you can hear your own voice talking!
[George] Only it's delayed though.
Hello. How you doing, Ringo?
I'm all right.
[laughs]
[John] Where'd you get that hat?
I got it off a girl.
Where'd you get yours?
- [John] Not telling.
- It's in sync now.
- Aye. It's great.
- It's marvelous.
It's right, that.
She loves you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You think you've lost your love
Well, I saw her yesterday
It's you she's thinkin' of
And she told me what to say
She says she loves you
And you know that can't be bad
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad
She said you hurt her so
She almost lost her mind
But now she says she knows
You're not the hurtin' kind
She says she loves you
And you know that can't be bad
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad
Ooh
She loves you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
With a love like that
You know you should be glad
You know it's up to you
I think it's only fair
Pride can hurt you, too
Apologize to her
Because she loves you
And you know that can't be bad
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad
Ooh
Can we please have quiet?
[man 1] Quiet, please.
- [man 2] Quiet!
- [man 3] Quiet!
Howdy har.
[organizer] Questioners,
can you be quiet please?
[reporter 1] Would you
please sing something?
- No.
- [laughter]
- Sorry.
- [organizer] Next question.
[reporter 2] There's some
doubt that you can sing.
No, we need money first.
[laughter]
[reporter 3] A psychiatrist recently said
you're nothing but four Elvis Presleys.
- He must be blind.
- It's not true, it's not true.
- [laughter]
- [camera shutters clicking]
[reporter 4] What do you think
your music does for these people?
Um, well...
Pleases them, I think.
Well it must do,
because they're buying it.
[reporter 4] Why does it
excite them so much?
We don't know, really.
If we knew, we'd form
another group and be managers.
- [laughter]
- [reporter 5] I...
For the young fellas,
what's your ambition in this?
- Uh...
- To be rich.
To come to America.
[laughter]
She said you hurt her so
She almost lost her mind
But now she said she knows
You're not the hurting kind
She says she loves you
And you know that can't be bad
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad
Ooh
December of '63,
um, my sister had the radio on,
and I heard "She Loves You."
[chuckles softly]
It's like the light came on.
It's like the light came on.
It's like total darkness,
and then the light comes on.
I was like, "Oh my God,
this sounds good."
"Something for us."
Here's this thing
that comes out of nowhere.
One of the things that was
so great about them was
they were from Liverpool.
We didn't even know
where Liverpool was.
I mean, they could have been from Mars.
[crowd chanting]
We want The Beatles!
[crowd member screams]
[TV host] The British Beatles
broke out here in New York
on top of an epidemic
of the German measles.
Unlike measles, Beatles strikes
teenagers almost exclusively,
but the symptoms are the same:
fever and an itching rash
that produces contortions
on the part of the victims.
They play electrified guitars,
banjos, and other things.
They also sing, but this is not
regarded as essential
because the bobby-soxers in the audience
provide most of the sounds.
The arrival of The Beatles
suggests another matter
for Anglo-American cooperation.
Both countries have a society
for the prevention of cruelty to children
as well as one for the prevention
of cruelty to animals,
but neither has a society
for the prevention of cruelty to adults.
[Paul] But that's one of the nice things
about this exhibition.
You're seeing stuff that you'd forgotten
or you just hadn't taken it in.
This is my house in Liverpool
in Forthlin Road
with the fancy wallpaper.
[Paul] Me and John could
just sit around, writing stuff.
We'd written the song "She Loves You"
in the next room, and my dad
was in the other room.
So, we came in to play it
to him, first time, you know?
She loves you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
And he's going...
And at the end of it, he said,
"Boys," he said,
"It's nice. Very nice,
but couldn't you sing,
"She loves you, yes, yes, yes?"
[interviewer chuckles]
He said there's enough
of these Americanisms around.
[chuckles]
[Paul] Coming to America, this was
"Give me your huddled masses."
You know, this was, to us,
the land of freedom.
It was funny, 'cause once
we got here, we learned
it wasn't quite the story.
[Paul] There they are.
- [crowd screaming]
- [indistinct chatter]
[Paul] How do you do, Gayle?
- Hello, Gayle.
- [Gayle] Very nice to meet you.
It's not as though I know
I'm being recorded.
[laughter]
Oh, I say, we're on the radio.
- TV.
- [John] TV?
[Ringo] Maybe that thing
on his shoulder is not a parrot.
- There's a lady with a golf stick here.
- [laughter]
- [Paul sighs]
- [John and Gayle laugh]
[John mimicking parrot]
Hello, love!
- [speaks indistinctly]
- The weight's getting him down.
[laughter]
- I need more, I need more.
- [David Maysles] Keep going.
[John] What are you trying
to record, actually?
You don't speak English? No.
[John speaks indistinctly]
She daren't talk.
There's a woman here, you see,
with a little microphone,
and she daren't talk,
and she's got a little paper
with 28 on it. She keeps...
- [Ringo] Twenty-nine. It's gone up.
- Take! [chuckles]
[Paul] Twenty... Twenty-nine.
Keeps going up every time.
Funny mic, though,
that's what I say.
- [Paul] Funny mic?
- I say it's a funny mic.
If we could get the camera down
on this mic, it'd be a great laugh.
How about...
Go on, go on. Defy convention.
- [laughter]
- Go on!
- Down on it! Go on. Come on.
- Get down on it.
- Hyah! Hyah!
- [Ringo] Hey!
[John] Ha! Ha!
[everyone cheers, claps]
- [Ringo whistles]
- Got it!
[police officer]
Move back! Go ahead! Come on!
[girl screaming]
Push back. Come on. A little more.
[indistinct chatter]
[interviewer]
Why do you like The Beatles?
- They're beautiful!
- Because they're fabulous!
- Especially Paul. Oh!
- They're so cute. They're everything.
Oh, they're adorable.
You should see my room.
There's nothing but Beatle pictures.
They should have Beatle wallpaper.
That's all I have on my wall.
[girl 2] Oh, they should
just have Beatle dolls.
[interviewer 2] Is there no
American singer you like more now?
[crowd screams] No!
No. They can rot for all we care.
Oh, they're... They're better
than Elvis Presley.
- Elvis Presley's can go rot.
- Elvis Presley stinks!
He stinks. He's so old anyway.
[Vickie] The words were beautiful,
all about love and, you know,
"hold my hand,"
and just when you're growing up,
it was just... it was emotional.
It was just like a crazy love.
It was a crazy love.
And we all had different people
we loved. Like it was...
Mine was George,
my friend was Paul, the other one...
Go figure. It's the spirit that puts you,
you know, your spirit for another spirit...
connects.
Why we were like screaming frenzy?
I can't really understand it now.
But then, it was natural.
It was a natural thing to do.
It was like
we couldn't contain ourselves.
George likes to relax so
we bought him a pillow.
And Paul likes to sketch
and paint so we bought him
a sketch pad with charcoal.
You didn't chip in for it, Alice.
- [Alice] I know I didn't. I didn't even...
- We bought, um...
We bought John an ID.
With our names engraved?
Yeah.
- And we bought, um...
- We're gonna buy...
We bought Ringo two science fiction books.
And we're gonna buy him the record
"My Boyfriend Got a Beatle Haircut."
- [squeals]
- [chuckles softly]
We should buy him
a pair of dark sunglasses.
See, we don't usually like...
We don't like rock and roll.
- [interviewer 2] Yeah.
- But we think they're just great.
[interviewer 2]
What's your music?
Oh, well, um, I go to Juilliard.
- [interviewer 2] What's this for?
- That's classical.
- It's all classical. But I...
- [interviewer 2] Yeah, what is it?
This is, uh, Italian arias and things,
but I just think they're the greatest.
[interviewer 2] They seem to be here.
Do you want to have a look?
[crowd screaming]
[indistinct chatter]
[Vickie] We would go down
to the Plaza Hotel
and they were selling,
uh, pieces of towels
that The Beatles... [chuckles]
...that they used.
[exhales] So, we... we did that.
[interviewer] Did you buy
- a piece of towel?
- Of course.
- I bought a piece of towel.
- [interviewer 3] Do you remember how much?
[chuckles] It was like two dollars,
a dollar. I don't know.
We would want our hands
on anything Beatles,
so, you know, pieces of towel,
photographs that are
real photographs, you know.
So, we bought everything,
anything we could find.
[Danny]
Everyone needed to be a Beatle
so they had to have a Beatle wig.
I don't even know
what that would look like
on your head. [chuckles]
[interviewer] You never put it on?
Well, yes we did.
And not that I wore them,
but, like, these are nylons...
[chuckles] ...that have
images of The Beatles on...
you know, nylon stockings and...
[interviewer] Why would you buy it?
[chuckles] Why?
That's a good question.
Uh, I ask myself that.
[interviewer] And you were 10
when you bought it?
[Danny] Yeah. And this is a dress.
I didn't wear this either.
You can tell I didn't wear it.
Um, look at these.
These are cool.
Beatle sneakers.
Look at this. Beatle talcum powder
with the original powder inside.
You know, we need this. [chuckles]
They were tearing down
Shea Stadium,
and I went to the head engineer
and I said, "Would you mind..."
Um... [chuckles] This is wacky.
I said, "Would you mind
cutting off my seat
where I sat at Shea Stadium?"
And the guy said, "Yeah."
So, like this, 39-D, is like my ticket.
So... Obsession? Yeah.
- [interviewer] Have you kept memorabilia?
- I keep everything.
- [audience laughs]
- No, I do. I'm a hoarder.
- [audience chuckles]
- And I, you know,
I've saved all my clothes
through the years,
and I thought, you know,
"It always goes around,
the kids would love this."
But the only time
they ask me for any clothes
is if there's a fancy dress party.
[laughter]
You know, they have
all the hippie stuff on.
"Hey, we're going to a fancy dress party.
Let's ask Dad."
- [audience chuckles]
- Would you do me a tremendous favor?
I'm not going to kiss you
like Elizabeth Taylor.
[audience laughs]
- [Scorsese] Anyway... Oh, okay, Here we go.
- Who's this.
[Ringo] Oh, Dougie Millings,
that's the first one.
- Ah.
- He started making all our suits for us...
in London. [whistles]
I think this may even be his.
Maybe not. This could be Mr. Fish.
- "Hung On You." [laughs]
- [laughs]
It's from... It's from Hung On You.
- King's Road was great in those days...
- [Scorsese] Yeah.
...because it was just guys
in the back room
- and, you know girls...
- [Scorsese] Oh, yeah.
...designing and sewing them up
- and, you know, we'd go around...
- [Scorsese] Yeah, yeah.
...looking at them all,
spend the day at Ossie Clark.
- All those people. It was great.
- My God.
You guys sort of like New York?
Coming into New York,
like all the old noir films?
No, mainly for the music.
- Ah, okay.
- I felt an octopus...
- I'm full of octopuses.
- Yes. [chuckles]
- Grabbing the plane and bringing me down.
- Okay.
Yeah, it was so great. We were...
- We were just like, "We're in America!"
- [chuckles]
"America, New York!"
[crowd screaming]
I went up to the 12th floor
and they were there
and the policeman kicked me out.
[girl] What? No!
I couldn't see... The policemen...
The policemen kicked me out
before I could get to-
get into see them
to give them the petition.
[girl 2] What about the petition?
They wouldn't let me give it to them.
- Can't you give it to anybody?
- [girl] No.
Oh, darn!
[Jamie] It was so visceral,
the reaction to The Beatles' music.
You know, something
we couldn't explain in words.
That's why we screamed,
because it was just coming out
of some nonverbal place.
My favorite Beatle was George Harrison,
because he was so handsome,
and he was kind of sly,
and I thought he was very sexy.
I dreamed that I was at a dinner table,
seated next to George.
And George looked over
and noticed that I was wearing a bra.
And he leaned over
and kissed me on the cheek.
And when I wrote down this dream,
I wrote, "But real suction."
Because he was so proud of me
that I was wearing a bra.
I'm having these sort of,
you know, crush feelings
that are associated with a later,
more erotic stage of life.
But the eroticism is so primitive
that he's just giving me
this kiss on the cheek.
Pretty soon thereafter,
I switched to John Lennon
for the rest of time.
What I loved about John was that he...
he had an edge to him.
You could tell he was
a little bit of a troublemaker.
[interviewer] Did you see them?
Yes, I touched Paul.
- You did?
- Yes, I went up to him and I touched him.
What did he say to you?
Oh, nothing,
I just said, "Take my hand,"
and he put his hand in mine.
And I took it.
- [chuckles]
- [interviewer 2] What does he feel like?
- What does Paul feel like?
- [laughs] Oh, I don't know.
I was too excited. It's great!
"I for one want to object to
this misleading assumption
that Shakespeare's influence
is positive on each individual."
- [John] Tell us another story, friend.
- [Paul] It's French, it's imported,
it's Clicquot champagne. [chuckles]
[John] Well, aren't we going out?
Yes, later.
[Ronnie] We were already
friends with them from England.
George was dating Estelle,
my sister,
so it was very simple.
When they got here,
first thing, pick up the phone...
"It's George, love.
What are you doing, love?"
You know? So, they right away called us
because they knew no one in America.
[crowd screaming]
Hey! Ave!
Ave!
Who cares if they...
[Ronnie] John called me
at my house and he said,
"Ronnie, we're prisoners.
We can't get out.
The whole place is surrounded by girls
around the whole Plaza building."
So, what did I do?
I came down with the two Ronettes.
We went upstairs.
Murray the K was downstairs.
"You gotta get me upstairs
to meet The Beatles."
So, we're upstairs
having finger sandwiches on the floor,
listening to 45s, having a great time
with all the Beatles And then...
every minute, The Supremes
came in, Jay and the Americans.
They would say, "Damn it,
we have to get up and take pictures."
[upbeat soul music playing,
James Ray "I've Got My Mind Set On You"]
[Ronnie] They wanted to know
everything about America:
the food, the groups, the dancing.
They asked us everything
about Little Richard,
uh, Chuck Berry, The Marvelettes.
You know, so, they'd say,
"What did they do on stage?"
And I'd say, "Well,
when this one did the split,
or when, um, Little Richard went "Whoo!"
You know, and Paul said, "Ah! Whoo!"
You know? So, everybody was going, "Whoo!"
I'll tell you the truth.
They had to escape.
They were prisoners.
So, then I got a limousine,
we went down the back stairs
and went to Harlem.
I said, "I'm taking you to Harlem.
Nobody will notice you up there."
And they didn't. They thought
they were a bunch of Spanish dorks.
Because it's Spanish Harlem.
So, they didn't pay them any mind.
We went into Sherman's BARBQ,
it was called, 151st and Amsterdam.
They went in and they loved it
because nobody recognized them.
You know, the Black guys
are eating their ribs
and the Spanish guys...
And nobody paid them any attention.
And it was great. They loved that,
that nobody paid them any attention.
See how sweet they were? They didn't...
They didn't care about stardom so much.
"Oh, we're going to be on Ed Sullivan."
They said, "Ronnie, who's Ed Sullivan?"
You know? [chuckles]
[vehicles honking]
[Brian Matthew] Hello, John.
[John] Hello, Brian. Oh, hello.
Hold on, they're putting me
in front of a mic.
[Brian Matthew] Yeah, that's a good idea.
What are your first impressions
of arrival in America?
[John] They're wild. [chuckles]
They're all wild. Does it seem to you?
[Brian Matthew] Wilder than
they are here in England?
[John] Well, It seems like it.
Maybe it's just the first impression.
[Brian Matthew] Is there anyone
you're particularly looking forward
to meeting in New York, Paul?
[Paul] We met The Ronettes again tonight,
and one of the DJs
has said he's thinking...
He's hoping
that he can fly The Miracles in.
[Brian Matthew]
They're great idols of yours.
[Paul] Great,
and The Isley Brothers are in town.
- [George] Murray the K.
- [Paul] Fantastic, you know,
we can't wait to see them.
[Brian Matthew] Now, what sort
of things do they want to know
at the press reception?
[Paul] Oh, all things. Are we bald?
You know, and what do
we do with our money?
- All the usual things.
- [Brian Matthew] You proved that you, uh,
- don't wear wigs, I hope.
- [Paul] Yes.
[Brian Matthew] What did you do?
- [Paul] We took them off.
- [both laugh]
- [Brian Matthew] Hello, George.
- Hello.
- How are you, Brian?
- [Brian Matthew] Fine, thanks.
- How are you?
- Uh, not so bad.
[Brian Matthew] The first thing
you'll be doing over there
is The Ed Sullivan Show,
isn't it?
[George] Yeah,
we rehearse that tomorrow.
Do the show on Sunday.
[Brian Matthew] How many of your records
are in the American Hit Parade
at the moment?
You know, in New York,
the, um... Three records.
Uh, "Please Please Me," "She Loves You,"
and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"
are all number one.
[John in American accent]
The Huntley-Brinkley Report!
[in normal voice]
Have you been watching the newses?
[chuckles] No.
[indistinct chatter]
[host on TV] Can we please have quiet?
- [laughter]
- [Paul shushes]
[John] Brian?
[George on TV] Howdy har.
[telephone ringing]
"Can you sing?"
Answer, "We need money first."
- [Ringo chuckles]
- Who said that?
- [Ringo] No monies.
- "What do you have that nobody else has?"
Answer, "Press agents."
[interviewer] There's something quoted
in the Daily News today saying that...
- Daily News? What's that?
- Yeah.
- In the New York Daily News.
- Oh, the New York one.
He says, um, "We don't like The Beatles
because, um, they scream."
We got over this with Elvis Presley.
We just like them
because they're English."
Do you think you're very English?
I think we're jolly English, actually.
I don't know, you know.
There's always some...
[inhales] Somebody telling me,
"You're funny," you know.
[interviewer] Hmm.
[indistinct chatter]
I don't care... about him anyway.
Who is he? What's his name?
- Beethoven or something.
- [chuckles]
[indistinct chatter]
Come on
Please, please me, whoa, yeah
Like I please you
You don't need me
to show the way, love
Back end, please.
[fan 1] No, I have friends up there.
No, really.
Not gonna let you by.
How can we get in touch with him?
Just came down. Told us to come up.
Come on, come on
Come on, come on
He says no.
- [fan 1] I bet you know Frank.
- [fan 2] We just did!
[fan 1] Al... Frank...
Al and Frank.
[Queenan] There was just
this joyous quality to the music.
I have to assume that one of the reasons
they made joyous music
was 'cause they grew up in England
in the 1950s, which was hell.
I mean, you know...
England was flat on its back.
[Jack] My buddy, Eddie Leonetti,
I said to him, you know,
"We should go to Liverpool
and really, like, do it.
Let's go there.
It'll be an adventure."
We'll bring our guitars.
We'll hang out at The Cavern.
To get to Liverpool by tramp steamer
was 112 dollars.
We went down the Irish Sea
and I had a little radio
and I heard pirate radio
and I went out of my mind.
[radio jockey]
This is Radio Caroline on 1-9-9.
England's first commercial radio station.
Don't let the sun catch you cryin'
The night's the time
for all your tears
[Jack] There was the real sound of Mersey.
I said... [sniffs]
...that's Liverpool. I could smell it.
It was really the smell
of diesel oil... [chuckles]
...and dirt, you know, grime.
But it was... [inhales]
[exhales] We pulled into port and, uh...
and Immigration came on board.
"And what are you two lads
doing here?"
And we said the wrong thing.
"We've come to play."
"Do you have a visa? At all?" "No."
"When this boat leaves in five days,
you will be on it."
I was in the port of Liverpool.
You know, I had to do something.
So that night, crew member was sleeping.
I took his coat and his cap
and walked down the gangplank.
Now, I'm going to escape.
I saw a bus that said
"Central Liverpool."
And when I got off,
and I looked across the street,
and there was a record store,
a brand-new album
had just been released.
And they had listening booths.
About six people
who couldn't afford to buy
a record followed me in,
so I could listen
to the record in the booth
with these six Beatle fans,
just dreaming and listening and thinking,
"This record is revolutionary.
Listen to this.
How different it is from the stuff
that came before.
This means something."
There are places I'll remember
All my life
Though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all
[Jack] I was not interested
in any kind of organized
religion whatsoever.
Music... that went to my soul
and it gave...
And it felt to me like,
that's how you touch God.
[gasps, screams]
- Oh, never.
- No, this is embarrassing.
Can't we just see The Beatles, please?
- [Al Maysles] Where are they?
- I don't know.
Could you just tell us
where they are so we know?
- Oh, this is...
- [David Maysles] What are you gonna do?
- We're just going to say hello.
- [gasps] I got a camera on me.
[Sommerville] How do you
get past the policeman?
We didn't come downstairs.
We came in the other way.
[girl] We came in the other way.
Through the, uh, drugstore.
[speaks indistinctly]
[Sommerville] What do you think
of The Beatles?
[girl] They're okay. [chuckles]
In all honesty, they're all right.
They sing good. Come on.
- Who's Mister...
- Plaza Hotel.
"Is this better
than Jelly Babies? Good luck."
"Fan, Rachel Barrett... Bennett."
[chuckling]
Ringo, want a candy?
- Uh, no, I'm just smoking, uh...
- [telephone ringing]
...a Winston cigarette.
Could you just tell us
where to go?
[girl] We made it.
Ha, ha! We got up here. Ooh!
Well, this is as far as you're going.
It's okay with him.
Who... who said it was all right?
[Al Maysles] No, they know, uh...
the, uh, Epstein.
No, I'm sorry. That's all.
You can't go any further than here.
[girl 2] We just really need to see them.
No, please take the elevators
and go down right now.
[girl] We'll have
to gather our stuff first.
Well, where is it? What room?
- Um, the other room around the corner.
- All right. Come on.
I don't have a very good
memory for numbers.
[guard] Are you registered in the hotel?
- [girl] Yes we are.
- [guard] What room?
[chuckles]
We don't got a room here.
All right, come on with me.
Let's go.
- [girl 2] Can we get our stuff?
- [security] No.
- Where is your stuff?
- [girl 2] In the bathroom.
Well, get it out of there fast
before I throw you down the stairs.
Back in 1964, uh, after the...
cataclysmic arrival
of The Beatles
here in the United States
and the great popularity
you had on the Ed Sullivan program
and others,
there were many people who
did not really understand
what you were doing.
And they thought then
that your hair was long
and that you looked modish, you know...
- Hmm.
- ...and you were revolutionary.
Uh, does it surprise you at all
that it took so many of us
such a long time to get into your act
and to realize what you were doing?
Uh, no, it was mainly parents,
and they were against
rock and roll, you know,
anyway, before The Beatles came along.
I mean, people have been
trying to stamp out
rock and roll since it started.
Why do you think that is?
What are they afraid of?
I always thought it was
because it came from Black music.
And the words
had a lot of double entendres
in the early days.
And it was sort of, you know,
"The White kids, our White nice WASPs
are going to go crazy with
all this moving their bodies."
You know, and the music
got to your body.
And The Beatles
just carried it...
a bit further, made it
a little more White, even than Elvis did...
- Mm-hmm.
- ...because we were English, you know?
Wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
Tutti frutti, oh rootie
A wop bop a loo bop a lop ba ba, ow
Wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom
I got a gal, her name's Sue
She knows just what to do
I got a gal
Her name's Sue
Pat Boone covered that song.
For those that don't know
what "cover" means,
he actually took your song,
recorded it himself,
and put it out and had a hit with it.
The white kids would take my record home,
and their mothers
wouldn't want my record in the house.
Well, they called my... I was too raucous.
And they said that my records
was evil and demonic,
and that, uh, I was too wild.
And Pat Boone had the clean-cut image
with the white bucks on.
- Right.
- He looked like he was sent from glory...
- [chuckles]
- ...you know, to tell a story. Uh... uh...
What did you think of
his version of "Tutti Frutti"?
Uh, I thought it was very weak.
[laughter]
You know what I thought, Rick?
You know, I call a spade a spade.
I thought it was weaker than weak.
- Because he said...
- [audience laughs]
[imitates Pat Boone]
..."Wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom."
And "tutti frutti, oh rootie." And I said,
Wop bop a loo bop
a lop bom bom, tutti frutti, whoo!
[vehicles honking]
[interviewer]
Do you like The Beatles?
Oh, yes. I think they're very nice.
Very nice.
What do you like about them?
Well, they're...
The versatility, they're...
they're original, you know.
I like anything that's original.
Do they compare with Smith?
Who's on at the Apollo now, Jimmy Smith?
Comparison?
Uh, no, I wouldn't say so.
What do you think of The Beatles?
I guess they're okay.
- You like the Beatles?
- [kid 1] They're okay.
[interviewer] What do you
think of the Beatles?
- Oh, I love them.
- Yeah, yeah.
Oh, I love them. They're great.
- [chuckles]
- Especially their hairdo.
- Yeah.
- And all their songs are nice.
The Beatles deserve all of this.
And I'm glad they're
very welcome here in the town.
- Yeah, they're supposed to be...
- They deserve to be among the best.
- At least they're different.
- Yeah.
[passerby] Um, I think
they're disgusting, myself.
[interviewer] Why?
I don't know. Every time
I turn on the radio, you know,
it seems like that's all I hear
is The Beatles.
- I think they're disgusting.
- Who's your favorite group?
My favorite group?
Well, I like
Miles Davis Quartet,
- John Coltrane Quartet.
- Oh.
Whereas, you know,
you couldn't...
There's no comparison whatsoever.
- [passerby] Seagull...
- [Seagull] Huh?
...what do you think
is wrong with their hairstyle?
That's the first time I've seen,
you know, a group with hair like that.
I think that's the reason
they're making their money.
[interviewer]
How many have you sold today?
How many have we sold?
Oh, a couple hundred.
They're doing all right.
Are they in the good tradition,
do you think?
Yeah, all right, doing very good.
[interviewer]
What's the most popular record here today
- in this shop?
- [shopkeeper] "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."
Our early songs are all songs
direct to the fans.
So, it's all "Love Me Do,"
"From Me To You,"
"She Loves You."
I think a lot of the fun we had
making the songs and the records
communicates itself.
[Sananda] It was everywhere.
I just remember
toddlering around the house
singing, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"
and "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah."
And those songs
were like in the carousel
of my mind on rotation.
My stepfather was an evangelist
who later became a pastor.
I wasn't allowed to listen
to any music in the house
that wasn't gospel music
or considered acceptable music.
What's so incredible
about The Beatles,
it would have come through the radio,
it would have come
through just being around it,
constantly on people's transistor radios.
We go out to shops and you hear it.
It was... It just permeated that...
It means permeated so...
deeply beyond the crust
of the Earth's mantle, if you will,
that it even reached
into the lives of people who...
for whom that music
was forbidden fruit.
[Jane] My memory is sitting
in this place called Brothers
and there's a jukebox.
We're listening to
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand."
The happiness that I felt
listening to this song
and, uh, feeling that I...
I really related to it.
I just felt immediately
a connection
between these people
who were singing and myself.
And I had never felt
that kind of connection before
to a pop song.
I didn't understand Elvis.
The sexuality turned me off.
I didn't get it somehow.
It didn't touch my heart.
I felt in some way
that I could relax...
[chuckles]
...because the Beatles existed.
They were definitely boys,
but they were soft.
They were... There was
their clothing and their hair.
There was a softness,
often, in their voices.
The whole notion of male
versus female is not prominent.
They're...
they're sort of in between,
or they don't emphasize
the, you know,
the masculine
versus the feminine at all.
It's...
It's very inclusive in some way.
- [indistinct chatter]
- [camera shutters clicking]
[photographer] Oh, come on,
come on. I got an idea.
[George] The Beatles were very...
I mean, they actually were funny.
Everybody in Liverpool thinks
they're a comedian.
I mean, that's a well-known fact.
And all you have to do
is drive up there
and go through the Mersey Tunnel
and the guy on the toll booth
is a comedian, you know. They all are.
Um, we had that kind of
bred and born into us
and, uh, when you just transposed it
into New York or somewhere,
it was... it was great.
I mean, we were
just being hard-faced, really,
and, uh, they loved it.
[interviewer] And do you think
it was being made even stronger
by the fact there were four
of you bouncing off one another?
Absolutely, yeah.
You just dried up and somebody else
was already there with another fab quip.
[interviewer] Yeah. [laughs]
That's right. That's it.
[photographer 1]
Why don't you guys walk back
and show some
snow on the ground?
Get a picture
that looks like something.
[photographer 2]
Why don't you go back?
[indistinct chatter]
[photographer 3] Take that
movie camera down, will ya?
[photographer 4]
Come on. Keep goin', keep goin'.
Look at that tree.
[photographer 5]
Where did the birds fly?
Up there. That's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's get boats out.
[photographer 6]
Hold it, hold it, hold it.
- [photographer 7] Hey, Beatles.
- [photographer 8] Say Beatles.
Hey, Beatles.
- Say, Beatles.
- [photographer 5] Say Beatles, this way!
[Paul] Hey, Beatles, this way.
[photographer 8] Hey, fellas!
[indistinct chatter]
[sighs]
- Right. Don't shoot.
- [photographer 9] Ringo! This way.
[Paul] Ah.
In fact, ladies and gentlemen,
for the continuity of the film...
- [chuckles]
- ...I'd like, once more,
to reintroduce the radio.
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad
Ooh
She loves you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
With a love like that
You know you should be glad
With a love like that
You know you should be glad
With a love like that
You know you should be glad
[Murray] Yeah, Ringo?
Okay, good.
Now, I'm going to introduce you.
Triple play, three in a row,
but before we get to the second one,
we've got someone new
ready to go with us.
Ringo. Ringo of The Beatles.
Take over, babe. Say hello.
- [Ringo] How are you doing, Murray?
- I'm doing great, Ringo.
- What's happening, babe?
- You're what's happening, babe.
- And you're happening, too.
- Okay, we're both happening.
The Beatles are happening.
Murray the K,
that's what's happening here in 1010.
He wasn't obnoxious to us. He was loud.
[screams] "How are you doing?"
- [Scorsese laughs]
- [chuckles]
Yeah. Just sort of
felt he was New York-ish.
[Ringo] You know.
- [Scorsese] Well, yeah.
- Because they are quite...
- Loud, yes.
- ...loud and direct, and...
If you want to get any more
of that, go to Liverpool.
We're going big, we're going strong.
I want to ask you something.
- [Ringo] Yes?
- How much time do you get to socialize?
I mean, now, you're on the go.
You're moving from one town to one city.
Do you get a chance to...
to meet anybody,
to go with anybody for any length of time?
[Ringo] Um, we don't do so bad,
you know. It's okay.
We're having a good time.
That's the main thing.
And, yeah, yeah, kinda... You're not
thinking about marriage right now?
[Ringo] No, no, not yet.
Listen, we've got
one of your big favorites here,
and I think this is the one
that you wanted to hear.
It's by the one and only crew
that's always with us.
It's The Miracles for you.
[Ringo] "I've Been Good to You"?
Have you? You have been, Ringo.
[Ringo] I've been good to you.
You've been good to us, too.
- You've been good to me.
- [Ringo] You've been good to us.
- You've been better to me.
- [Ringo] I'll let you play the record!
All right.
[gentle soul music playing,
The Miracles "I've Been Good to You"]
You made a fool out of someone
[Smokey] I remember the first time
I heard The Beatles
because I heard The Beatles before
they were "The Beatles," you know.
Um, The Miracles and I
were performing in Europe,
and we did a stint in the UK,
and we went to Liverpool.
And many times at night
after the concert's over,
the promoter will take the artist
to the "in" club in that town,
you know, just to kick back and dance
or whatever we want to do
after the concert, you know.
And The Beatles were playing
at this little downstairs club,
and they were just the band in there.
And The Miracles and I met them then.
They got my attention.
They were playing music
that you were familiar with,
but they played it as The Beatles
or like The Beatles
would... would sound on it, you know?
And, uh, they were between rock
and pop and rhythm and blues
all together, you know?
I don't like you
But I love you
Seems that I'm always
Thinking of you
Oh, oh, oh
You treat me badly
I love you madly
You've really got a hold on me
[Smokey] There are
a billion songs on Earth, man.
To have somebody
like The Beatles,
who are great songwriters
themselves...
out of that billion songs,
to take one of my songs...
[chuckles] ...and record it,
I can't beat that as a songwriter.
It's my dream come true.
It's my purpose as a songwriter.
So, I was very excited
when they recorded
"You Really Got a Hold on Me."
I didn't know that they were
going to record it.
I had no idea
until the record came out.
But I was elated. [chuckles]
They were the first White group
that I had ever heard in my life.
The first White artist
ever of their magnitude
that I ever heard in my life,
say, "Yeah, we grew up
listening to Black music.
"We love Motown.
"We listen to Black music.
We know this person, this person..."
No other White artist
had ever said that.
Not anyone of magnitude,
until The Beatles said that.
There was a lot of segregation going on,
especially in the South
at that time for shows.
I've been shot at
for wanting to go to the toilet.
You know what I mean?
So, it was like that. You know?
And the saving grace
was the music.
Because it gave those kids
a common love.
It gave them something
that they both loved
and they both enjoyed, you know?
So when we first started going there,
we would play these big arenas,
and there'll be a rope
down the center of the arena
and White kids on one side,
Black kids on the other side.
And after they start hearing the music,
and we go down there a year later,
you see White boys with Black girlfriends
and Black boys with White girlfriends
and they were all dancing together
and enjoying that music
and having a good time.
Music is the international language.
It's the barrier breaker.
[vocalizes]
- Yesterday
- [audience applauds]
All my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though
they're here to stay
Oh
I believe
In
Yesterday
- Oh, why
- Tell me why
She had to go
I don't know
She wouldn't say
Oh I...
Did something wrong
Now I long
For yesterday
[indistinct chatter]
[Smokey] Women make
the show business world happen,
okay?
'Cause they're emotional,
and they don't mind
displaying their emotions.
Men, we're laid-back.
We're not supposed to be emotional.
We're not supposed to cry.
We're not supposed
to be emotional about things,
and so, be strong and,
you know... Bull.
You know what I mean? [chuckles]
So, I appreciate the fact
that women are out like that,
and that they express themselves
in that manner.
Because, like I said,
I'm a guy in show business,
and it comes with the territory.
[chuckles] So, I'm very happy
to know that and to receive that.
What do you like about The Beatles?
[screams] Everything!
Everything! Everything.
[girl 1] Are The Beatles records
back there?
[girl 2] Where are they?
[funky music playing]
[girl 1] Is there just one song on this?
- It's one song?
- [girl 3] You're kidding.
[girl 1] What's on the other side
of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"?
"I Saw Her Standing There."
["I Wanna Hold Your Hand"
playing]
- [telephone ringing]
- Anything.
[Ringo] Hello. It's for me.
- Good... [shushes]
- Hello?
Excuse me.
Oh, hello. Yes, who do you want?
Quick, speak up.
[Paul chuckles]
It's me, you know me. Yes.
- [John] Maybe it's London.
- [Epstein] Is it?
No, we're waiting for
the very important call from London,
which you're blocking the line on.
- [laughs]
- [photographer] Now, Ringo,
stay where you are.
Keep your head roughly where it is.
Now move that head, baby.
- One, two...
- Whoo!
[photographer] Here we go.
[chants indistinctly]
- What do you think I am, a monkey?
- Again.
[muttering indistinctly]
Let me on. Let me on it.
No, let me!
- Me! Me!
- Me! Television! Me!
Oh, I love this place, America,
reet, go on.
Me record's on the radio.
Lovely.
No, I never heard them at all
Till there was you
There were birds in the sky
[crowd screaming]
[radio host]
And tomorrow night at seven,
The Beatles read their own poetry
on a documentary, "Meet the Beatles."
- Oh, oh! Oh, really?
- [George] I don't get that.
- I don't understand this.
- [radio host] Tomorrow night
from seven to eight...
Then there was music
And wonderful roses
- Miss the kids.
- [George] How are we gonna get in?
Hang on. Missing the kids?
Hey, how are we
gonna get in then?
[crowd screaming]
There was love all around
- But I never heard it singing
- [George] Hi, girls.
No, I never heard it at all
[George] Hi.
Till there was you
[song continues]
Then there was music
and wonderful roses
They tell me in sweet fragrant meadows
- [Al Maysles] It went well.
- [Paul] Just a minute. Brian!
- [Epstein] Yes?
- [Paul] Can we film some of it?
- [Epstein] You rolling now? Bobby?
- [David Maysles] Right.
We'll just let him speak
to the people first.
[David Maysles] Sure, sure. Okay.
Can they do it from back here?
- [David Maysles] Yeah, back here, right.
- Yeah.
And then he'll speak to the people.
I don't think they're gonna
allow any movie shooting.
- I'm playing.
- You better stay off on that side.
[Ringo] We did a sound check
in the afternoon,
and we chalked all the knobs,
probably five of them,
and then we went off
to have a cup of tea somewhere,
and the cleaning lady come in
and cleaned everything off.
- [laughs]
- [Scorsese] Oh, no.
But nobody knows that.
It still went good.
[vehicles honking]
[Murray] Who's gonna introduce this one?
You wanna? This is the James Ray record.
You wanna introduce it? Come on, George.
[George] Okay, this is
the James Ray singing, uh...
- [Ringo laughs] "The James Ray."
- ..."Got My Mind Set on You."
[Murray] Thanks, George.
[pop music playing, James Ray
"I've Got My Mind Set On You"]
[Murray]
There's a call on line two.
I've often wondered, I asked
Neil Aspinall about that,
how come Murray,
you know, just because
he kind of barged in the room
and, you know, and then he
kind of hung out with us
for the entire trip.
It's funny, really.
I never quite understood how...
how he did that.
Uh, hello, W-I-N-S 1010.
Atta way, baby.
And let's see, we got Ringo.
[imitating American accent]
Hi, baby. This is W-I-N-S.
WINS on 1010.
Ringo from The Beatles talking. [chuckles]
- All right, we've got George.
- [Paul] Dropped your English...
- [John] I can't do it. I can't.
- Hello there, everybody.
W-I-N-S. Here we go.
And we've got Paul over here.
Paul?
[Paul] How do you do, everybody?
W-I-N-S, uh, Winston Churchill.
Winston Churchill is right,
I say.
[Murray] How do you feel about...
How do you like working over there
on the Ed Sullivan Show?
It's great. We're having a great time.
Ed's a great fella.
But play some swinging records,
will you? None of that drag stuff.
- [chuckles]
- You hear that?
He doesn't want any of that...
He doesn't want any of that
soft stuff. He wants the beat.
[Sherman] How are they now, Murray?
Are they kind of excited about
their appearance on the TV show tonight?
Or are they taking that in stride, too?
[Murray] Well, no, they...
they're excited about it,
but they're also taking it in stride.
- [Paul] Yeah. Cool.
- [Murray] And, uh, they're perfectly okay.
I mean, I think
they're in pretty good shape.
Wake up, John. John, wake up.
- John, John. Wake up, John!
- [screaming] Okay!
We've got to go on soon.
- Okay, Murray!
- All right. Okay, babe.
[Sherman] Do they all say
"dooble" for "double"?
- [The Beatles] Double!
- Double!
Double, can't you say double?
- [Sherman] Dooble!
- [George] Not, not "dooble," "double."
- [Sherman] Dooble.
- [Murray] No, D-U-B. Double.
- [Sherman] Dooble.
- [Paul] "Dooble," he said.
He's saying, "Dooble."
Wee deoch an' doris
Wee deoch an' doris
[overlapping chatter]
- [Sherman] See you there.
- [George] Give us another drink!
- Yes!
- [laughter]
[Murray] They're having a ball.
Yeah, so now I think
that gives you an idea, Paul,
in how loose, uh, they are.
They're loose like a goose.
They're hanging in there.
[Sherman] Yeah, they're swinging fellas.
[Murray] They got some...
They put some
ice cubes in their pocket.
They're staying cool, man.
- [Sherman] Yeah.
- [Murray] They're what's happening, Paul.
You know, John didn't even remember
the bit he did about that poetry,
so he'll get a little reminiscing...
a little reminiscing to do
about the poetry he reads on Monday.
[Sherman] Yeah, we'll all
be able to hear that on the documentary
at seven o'clock
just a little bit from now.
Yeah, do you got something lined up there?
How about "Love You Do"?
- [Sherman] Oh, well, that...
- [Paul and Ringo] "Love Me Do"!
[George] Paul, you're not
happening. "Love Me Do."
You're fired.
[Murray] Now, I got news. "Love Me Do"?
- Yeah.
- [Murray] What's the name of it?
Uh, pardon?
[Murray] What... What's the name
of that song, mate?
"Love Me Do," wacker.
I see. [chuckles]
Ah, this is the wacker speaking here.
The wacker over here.
- [George] Wacker the K.
- Wacker the K.
Let's hear The Beatles sing it, baby.
[Sherman] Okay, Murray, here we go.
["Love Me Do" playing]
[impersonator] What kind
of interview do you want?
I'm the manager of The Beatles.
What do you want?
- [laughs]
- Do you have credentials?
- Credentials?
- Yeah.
- Yes. Prove it.
- I have no credentials.
[blonde girl]
We're just trying to find out
- the different reactions...
- Just comments.
[impersonator]
You mean of The Beatles?
No, of the people, about The Beatles.
[impersonator] Well,
I'll tell you what's happening.
These kids formed this morning,
about 10 of them came
about, I'd say 6:30 when I left the hotel.
To me, they're all obviously
lower-middle class,
highly illiterate,
unintelligent, wild kids
seeking a little fun and pleasure.
Uh, I would say by and large that, uh,
most of them probably,
once they get here,
find that there's a lot of
excitement, a lot of screaming,
a lot of yelling.
People like to be in crowds.
Uh, I think there's something
very strange about it at the same time,
something very sick.
Uh, I think it tells a lot about
the nature of American society
that kids like this would
come down here to see four,
you know, singers who they've never seen.
[blonde girl] You blame it
on American society?
Four singers
that they've never seen before.
I don't know
exactly what the reason is.
I'm sure that sexual reasons
have something to do with it,
that they find
The Beatles sexually attractive
and they've made some
kind of psychological,
sexual tie with them.
Uh, I think the whole thing's
a little bit frightening and quite sick.
[blonde girl] You're not really
a manager are you?
No.
- Just the brother of one of them.
- [brunette girl] Yes.
[blonde girl] Yeah. Well,
my last name's Vanderbilt,
- so it's nice meeting you. Goodbye.
- [impersonator] Okay.
Enjoyed it.
[George] A lot of people
called about me throat.
Well, me throat's okay now,
you see.
Well, yeah, it's fine.
Thank you.
- [Ringo] How's yours?
- How's your throat?
[Ringo chuckles]
- [Murray] Mine's fine.
- Is it?
Yeah, it's always been, George.
- Prove it.
- [Murray] Like how?
- Uh...
- [Ringo] Sing it, baby. Sing it.
- Sing it, baby. Yeah, sing it.
- [Murray] No, George.
[interviewer] Why do you think
all these kids
come out here and yell and scream?
Because they do it for Frank Sinatra
and they do it for Elvis Presley.
- [interviewer] Yes, but why?
- I think it's the way they are.
Well, it's part of their age.
- Sure.
- You know, like getting crushes.
- We did it when we were their age.
- You know, or...
It's the thing they do
at their ages, I think.
You know. But, uh,
it's kind of fun for them,
and it's sort of fun for us,
except I feel sorry for the old ladies
who live here, who are disturbed.
- Right? [chuckles]
- [interviewer] Thank you.
What do you think of The Beatles?
Not interested.
- [melodica playing]
- [George] Cyn. Cyn.
Eight o'clock,
channel two and three.
Do you want to borrow this?
Channel two.
[indistinct chatter]
[Ringo] Ready, five, six.
[Epstein]
Time to get on channel two.
[George] You know, we're on
this thing now in a minute.
Ready, fellas?
Let's go. We're late.
[Paul] It's all happening, baby,
Get the feeling that my love
Come on, then. Let's go.
[laughs]
[Paul] Look, do you want
to plug into this plug instead?
[John] Where's Nell
and all the other doves?
[indistinct chatter]
Who? Where... Who?
Come on, let's go, eh?
[George] Nell, come on,
we're supposed to be there.
[John] We're meant to be
there now. What're you doing?
["I Want To Hold Your Hand"
playing on radio]
[Paul groans, laughs]
He's just like,
"Now, cut this film out. Come on, son.
We told you. We told you once, haven't we?
We told you before."
[David Maysles]
Play with some wide angle.
[The Ed Sullivan Show
intro music playing]
[TV announcer] Good evening,
ladies and gentleman.
Tonight, live from New York,
The Ed Sullivan Show!
I come from
a 19th century country, Canada,
and this gives me a great advantage
in looking at the 20th century.
[suspenseful instrumental music playing]
[video narrator] The 20th century is
the age of electric technology.
It's the most dominant tool of our time.
And re-evaluate every thought
and every institution
you formerly took for granted.
Kennedy came into office
as the first TV president
with a resulting involvement
on the part of all age groups
in his whole, uh, presidency
that was quite unexpected,
and so that his assassination
created a corresponding
violence of response.
[audience screaming, cheering]
Well, she was just seventeen
If you know what I mean
And the way she looked
was way beyond compare
So how could I dance with another?
Oh, when I saw her standin' there?
Well, she looked at me
And I, I could see
That before too long
I'd fall in love with her
She wouldn't dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standin' there
So fun.
Well, my heart went boom
When I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine
[harmonizing]
Oh, we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long
I fell in love with her
Now, I'll never dance with another
Hey
Oh, since I saw her standin' there
Yeah, yeah
[song ends]
[audience screaming, cheering]
My father just said,
"You're not gonna watch The Beatles
on Ed Sullivan. Full stop.
"I'm commandeering the television.
You're not going to watch it."
It's like, you're such a fucking dick.
Now, my father was an abusive alcoholic
and he beat us a lot,
but not letting us watch The Beatles
was worse than that. You know?
You can get over beatings,
but not letting us watch The Beatles?
So my uncle, who was a Republican,
none of us were Republicans,
he sort of knew this
is a big thing for these guys.
So, um, I went over
to his house on that Sunday
and I think my older sister went.
But The Beatles were, you know,
were... were kind of harmless and cuddly,
but not to adults.
Adults just saw this as the end.
They're gonna subvert our youth.
[interviewer]
What's the subversion?
They're encouraging you
to have a good time.
[Leonard Bernstein]
Many parents do try to escape this music
and even forbid it
on the grounds that it is noisy,
unintelligible, or morally corruptive.
I have neither escaped nor forbidden it,
neither as a musician nor as a father.
I think this music has something
terribly important to tell us adults,
and we would be wise
not to behave like ostriches about it.
[Jamie] I watched The Ed Sullivan Show
in our dining room
in our apartment with my family
because The Ed Sullivan Show
came on at, what was it, eight o'clock.
Right in the middle of dinner.
And I insisted to my parents,
"I'm sorry, this is
a very important moment
in my life, let alone
in history..." [chuckles]
"...and we have to watch this
on TV even if it's dinner time."
And then so I was allowed to drag in,
wheel in the little TV set
from the library down the corridor
and into the dining room and, you know,
arrange the antenna so that
we could pick up the signal in there
and it wasn't coming in very well,
but it came in on our
little black and white TV set.
Yeah, you got that something
I think you'll understand
When I'll say that something
I want to hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand
- [song ends]
- [TV audience screams, cheers]
- [indistinct chatter]
- [audience screaming, cheering]
[Sullivan] And now ladies
and gentlemen, a very fine novelty act,
Wells and the Four Fays.
So let's bring them out.
[audience clapping]
[upbeat jazz music playing]
[George] Later, they said
there was no reported crime.
Even the criminals had a rest
for like 10 minutes
while we were on.
When you were in the dressing
room after The Ed Sullivan Show,
where, my heavens,
young people were just
almost flinging themselves
on stage.
- [John] Yeah.
- Didn't you ever wonder,
"Are these people crazy?
Are we that good?"
Uh...
We didn't think whether
we're that good or not.
You've got to think you're good
to do what we did, you know?
Uh, it was... it was like
being in the eye of a hurricane,
and so we never... there was
never a time when you thought...
you thought, "What's going on?"
That was about as deep as it got.
"What is happening?"
You know, you'd suddenly wake up
in the middle of, what,
a concert or a happening
and think,
What? How did I get here?"
You know?
- Mm-hm.
- The last thing I remember
was playing music in a club
and the next minute this.
But we never thought about it too much
because it was an ongoing thing.
It was happening to us and
it was hard to see, you know,
we were just in the middle
being ushered from room to room.
What's your favorite song?
- Uh, uh...
- "White Christmas."
Yeah, and... and, uh...
"God Rule
the Wenceslas Kingdom,"
I like, is another one of my favorites.
- Did you say "White Christmas?"
- Yeah.
- It's a good song. Specially at Christmas.
- Not in rock and roll.
- It is.
- Not rock and roll, but we like it.
Yeah, it is. You've heard it.
I'm dreaming of a white...
- God bless you, Mom. Thank you, Dad.
- ...Christmas
[indistinct lively chatter]
[upbeat soul music playing,
"Money (That's What I Want)"]
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
Money don't get everything
It's true
But what it don't get
I can't use
I need money
That's what I want
[woman speaks indistinctly]
Hey!
Smile to the camera,
you're on it.
- Oh!
- Hey!
- [speaks indistinctly]
- [screams] Yes. Yes.
- How are you?
- [Ringo] Harry!
I'm afraid I don't know
this young lady's name yet.
- Not 'Arry.
- No friend of mine.
Hey, he said his name's Harry.
His name's not 'Arry.
- [Murray] Hey, Paul.
- [woman] Hi, Paul!
Murray, baby, I dig this scene
so much, baby. Whoo!
I'm not influenced by
this American scene, baby,
but I just love it.
I just love it out here, Murray,
and I dig that hat.
Whoo! What are you doing
at this hotel?
[vehicles honking]
- [girl 1] What are you doing?
- [girl 2] Media!
- I don't think they're here anymore.
- Ah! Media!
- What are you doing?
- Holy smokes!
You follow the girls and
you'll find out where they are.
- [speaks indistinctly]
- What are you doing?
- [laughs]
- Can I ask you what are you doing?
[laughter]
I ran after them and I got...
fell on the ground ten times.
- [laughs]
- The cops kept pushing everyone
and, uh, I fell down.
And she pulled me down.
You know, grabbing a hold of me
and I was trying to pull her up,
and then, uh...
other kids fell right on top of me.
Some kids were trying to be helpful.
[David Maysles]
They're still in there.
No, they snuck out
a back entrance.
No, they're still there.
- They are?
- I know they are.
- They're in there.
- How do you know?
- We know. We saw them.
- Who are you?
- Where are they?
- They're down there.
- Down there?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're down there.
Yeah, well, I don't feel like
getting ripped to pieces again.
- You've got to chase them.
- [chuckles]
- You're serious?
- They're still there. I'm not kidding you.
They're right down there?
- They're honestly down by Leon's?
- Yeah.
Come on, let's go.
Could you see 'em with that thing?
- Yeah.
- [excited chatter]
Wait a minute!
Paul, what place do you think
this story of the Beatles is gonna have
in the history of Western culture?
Western culture? Um, I don't know.
Oh, you must be kidding
with that question.
- [laughs]
- Culture. It's not culture.
- What is it?
- It's a good laugh.
And we're in our
chauffeur-driven Rolls Royces.
Yeah.
It's all right, Bertie.
It's a nice Rolls Royce.
[journalist] What do you think
of the American TV?
- The American what?
- TV. Have you been watching it?
I love it. I like TV anyway,
you know, when we're...
When I've got a night off.
It's just funny
half the time here.
And... and everyone's
so used to it
that it doesn't look funny
anymore in America.
There was this fella,
and he's just doing the news
at the end of the night,
and he said, "And so,
that is the end of the news."
No, he didn't even say
it was the end of the news.
He said, "And in China,
the situation is very bad...
Have you ever wondered
when you're eating at home?"
[laughter]
And he just pulls it up
from underneath the table.
God, it was a scream.
- You're a good lad.
- Where's Dezo?
- Oh, it's upside down.
- I'm gonna put this color film in.
Remember, there is already
plenty exposure, you know,
so that you don't go crazy
and over-draw it out of the cassette.
- [John] Okay.
- [Al Maysles] Hit it.
Wait, let, uh, George,
you haven't had a...
John, you haven't had a, uh...
You haven't had a slate yet?
- A slate?
- Putting people to work.
[Ringo] Knock the thing,
and shout the number.
- Okay, what's the number?
- [Ringo] Two-four-four.
Two-four-four!
I noticed outside
the Ed Sullivan theater
when that guy caught you
out there
television interview
Talked about the new hair style.
And you said to him
- "You haven't caught on to it yet."
- [laughs]
- He was bald, wasn't he?
- Yeah, he was. [laughs]
But he wasn't really with it.
I mean he asked you,
what's your favorite number,
and you said "White Christmas."
- Yeah.
- And he said, "That isn't rock 'n' roll."
No. [laughs]
That's how it goes, you know.
That's how we...
That's the only way
we can get our laughs.
Yeah, yeah. Would you say
the British reporters are a bit sharper?
[indistinct chatter]
Good, folks.
Hi! It's great being here
in New York. Okay?
- [fan] Washington.
- Oh, is that the place?
I don't know. Washington.
I'm just moving so fast.
[announcer] And now, from
the Washington D.C. Coliseum.
Capitol Recording stars,
The Beatles!
[crowd cheering excitedly]
In case you don't know
who this is, that's Ringo Starr!
But look how small it was.
[Scorsese] I know,
as I'm looking at it.
And I did that
so I'd be more with the band.
- Mm-hm.
- You know, usually the drummer's
miles away on the floor,
and you... you know,
if anything goes wrong...
Watch any band, if anything
goes wrong, they go...
- What? [laughs]
- They all blame the drummer.
You gotta get used to that.
And if you do this...
sounds great.
I just always wanted to be in the band,
not like, "Oh, I'm over here."
[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen...
Paul McCartney.
[Paul] Hello.
In Washington, you know,
the stage went round.
- Turned, yeah.
- It was full...
And as it went round,
I'm here playing.
You two are John,
and Paul, and George.
And we're all going...
[vocalizes]
But suddenly I'm here,
and you are all going round.
- Because my rostrum stopped.
- [laughs] Oh.
[chuckles]
But we're from Liverpool.
We jumped off,
tried to move that bugger.
And people ran out.
One, two, three!
Da da da, da da, dum dum da
If there's anything that you want
If there's anything I can do
Just call on me and I'll send it along
With love, from me to you
I've got everything that you want
Like a heart that's oh, so true
Just call on me and I'll send it along
With love, from me to you
I got arms that long to hold you
And keep you by my side
I got lips that long to kiss you
And keep you satisfied, ooh
If there's anything that you want
If there's anything I can do
Just call on me and I'll send it along
With love, from me to you
[crowd cheering]
From me
To you
Just call on me and I'll send it along
With love, from me to you
I got arms that long to hold you
And keep you by my side
I got lips that long to kiss you
And keep you satisfied, ooh
If there's anything that you want
If there's anything I can do
Yeah
Just call on me and I'll send it along
With love, from me to you
To you, to you, to you
[crowd screaming, cheering]
[Benson] It was an incredible time
because they had these songs
basically vomiting out of them.
Just one after another, another,
and they were all good.
On the way out to America,
they were telling jokes
in the first half of the trip,
but then they got serious
because they weren't sure
what kind of reception.
They were a bit apprehensive.
They were a bit worried.
Part of it was because John,
he read the papers.
He was a bit afraid.
He used to speak about,
of all things,
Lee Harvey Oswald.
You know? He would speak
about the Kennedy assassination.
He was a bit worried
of violence here, you know.
He said, "Oh, it can change,
Harry, it can change,
"going from a good situation
into a bad one."
[R&B music playing,
The Beatles "Love Me Do"]
Whoa, love me do
Love, love me do
You know I love you
Do you feel, do you feel
a sense of national pride?
Um, no, not really.
- [laughs]
- I'll give them this...
[interviewer]
Were you surprised at all
at the reception you received?
Uh, yeah. Yeah.
It was louder.
- Louder?
- Yeah.
Because we'd never done
that kind of a show before,
where you gotta play in the middle
of a sort of wrestling ring.
We didn't know what to do,
you know, to get someone to swap around...
[Benson] The British Embassy
gave them a cocktail party.
And the British Ambassador
welcomed them very warmly,
except the staff of the embassy
treated them terrible.
They were calling them scruff,
and the Beatles
were in shock about it.
That some of the staff
would call them yobbos,
and say disrespectful remarks
that...
that George Harrison
were near tears.
[Paul]
We kind of got used to it.
We're working-class guys.
If you came up
against posh people,
you figured they're gonna
probably look down on you.
But you know what?
We didn't give a flying fuck.
They're working at an embassy.
We're on the road rocking.
[spectators applauding]
[John] It got that, you know,
people were sort of touching us
as we walked past,
that kind of thing,
and whatever.
We were supposed to put up
with all sorts of shit from lord mayors
and their wives,
and be touched and pawed
like "Hard Day's Night"
only a million more times now.
Like at the, uh,
the British Embassy in Washington,
some bloody animal
cut Ringo's hair, you know,
in the middle of...
I walked out of that, you know,
swearing at all of them.
I just left in the middle of it.
[indistinct chatter]
The chances of your understanding
anything going on
in your own time are very small,
except through the means or
media via provided by artists.
Artists are people who, uh,
enjoy living in the present.
I was in high school.
I lived in Alexandria, Virginia.
I was into rock and roll music,
mainly Elvis Presley
who brought rock and roll music
to the world, uh, to me anyway.
I ended up going
to this concert.
I didn't really have any idea
that it was the first concert.
I didn't. I don't know.
And it was... I didn't have
any idea how big this event was.
And it was in a gigantic place
where they had boxing matches.
The Beatles
were in the boxing ring.
It was so loud,
you can't believe.
Girls shuddering, crying,
screaming their heart out.
It was phenomenal.
Music is the most... one of
the most fantastic things.
Almost like fire, and water,
and... and air. [chuckles]
It's like, it's like a thing.
And, um, it does so much.
It does a thing
for the intellect,
it does a thing
for the emotions.
And a certain kind of music
can swell the heart
to almost burst.
Tears of happiness
flow out of your eyes.
You can't believe
the beauty that comes.
And it comes from these notes.
I'm gonna tell Aunt Mary
about Uncle John
He said he had the misery
but he got a lot of fun
Oh, baby
Yeah, now, baby
Whoo, baby, some fun tonight
Yeah
I saw Uncle John
with bald-headed Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin' and
he ducked back in the alley
Oh, baby
Yeah, now, baby
Whoo, baby, some fun tonight
[crowd screaming, cheering]
I saw Uncle John
with bald-headed Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin' and
he ducked back in the alley
Oh, baby
Yeah, now, baby
Whoo, baby, some fun tonight
Well, we're gonna
have some fun tonight
Have some fun tonight
Everything's all right
Have some fun tonight
Have some fun
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We're gonna
have some fun tonight
Have some fun tonight
Everything's all right
Have some fun tonight
Have some fun
Have some fun tonight
[song ends]
[audience cheering]
[Sananda] When the Beatles came with
that palpable energy of joy.
This was something that you wanted
very much to be a part of.
That's my church.
The church of rock and roll.
There was where
the foundation of my faith lied
in the power of music
to transform lives.
And I feel that
as a son of the Beatles,
I owe them a significant portion
of why I'm here.
I should also curse
those bitches because
it's also so much suffering
that we artists go through
because of Pied Pipers
like the Beatles,
who say, "Come on, come on,
come on. You can do it."
The elixir that they put
together is so profound,
it wasn't just about the songs.
It was the energy that the songs
were carrying forward.
[Jack] I sound like
a crazy fanatic fan,
but it was so important to me
to feel where
that music came from.
I wanted to be able
to share that...
to able to play it.
So, I went
into the Liverpool Echo,
and I told the receptionist,
I said,
"I'm an American musician
being held captive
on a ship in the harbor."
They put us
right on the front page.
The next day,
the Echo had hired these girls,
and they came down,
and they marched up and down
in front of the ship
with signs that said, "Free the Yanks."
Immigration came back on board,
and they said to us,
"We don't know how you did this.
But people are calling us."
They're... they're like...
They're saying,
"How could you do this?
These poor musicians, they just
come here from America. Kids."
And so, they said, "We're gonna
give you a 60-day student visa,
but no playing."
So, we got
in a band immediately.
And we played, we hung out
at the original Cavern Club.
It was intoxicating.
You could feel that the Beatles
had been on this stage
not that long ago.
Around 11 o'clock after some
little gig we played in a pub,
this guy came up to us and said,
"Aren't you the two Yanks
in the papers?"
"Yeah, that's us."
"Well, my friend is parked
around the corner,
and he'd love
to get an autograph."
"No problem."
We walk around the corner,
it was immigration police.
They threw us on the first ship
in steerage back to New York.
This is what our film will be like.
[David Maysles] Yeah.
The train days.
Am I supposed to be talking now?
Just take... take it easy.
Hi, Pam.
[George chuckling]
Quite charming.
We're gone... We're doing it,
uh, for the film.
Well, go on then.
What should we do?
- Uh, hi.
- Uh...
- Where'd you get that hat?
- Huh?
[rock music playing,
The Beatles "Baby It's You"]
Sha-la-la-la-la
It's not the way you smile
that touched my heart
Sha-la-la-la-la
It's not the way you kiss
[laughs] Cut.
Take three. [chuckles]
Whoa
Many, many nights go by
I sit alone at home
and I cry over you
What can I do?
Excuse me!
You're wrecking the film here!
[laughter]
'Cause, baby, it's you
It's me!
Baby, it's you
[laughter]
[mocks Murray the K's laugh]
You're just trying to get in
on the movie, aren't you?
Sha-la-la-la-la
They say, they say
you never, never, never
Excuse me, Madam.
Excuse me, can I get through?
[speaks indistinctly] Exclusive.
Whoa, doesn't matter
what they say
I'm not in a laughing mood even.
- What can I do
- Cut!
When it's true?
Two-five-one.
I don't want nobody
Nobody, no
'Cause, baby, it's you
Sha-la-la-la-la
[telephone ringing]
Hello?
Mr. Hofer is here, yes. Sure.
[Epstein] Want pictures
of Elvis Presley's cables...
[Walter] Hello? Yeah, Paul?
You want pictures
of Elvis Presley's cables for your film?
[Walter] All right. Mm-hmm.
- Huh?
- [Sommerville] What did he say?
He congratulates me
on my clients' appearance
on The Ed Sullivan Show.
- Right.
- Which I think's quite funny.
[Jools] You played
at Carnegie Hall
when you returned to New York.
- [Paul] Hmm.
- [Jools] Is that an unusual place?
We did some nice gigs like that.
I think this was kinda probably
Brian's management skill.
Brian was a clever guy,
and he was a showbiz guy.
People forget he went to RADA.
So, he tried to be an actor.
You know, in other words,
he wanted to actually be on the stage.
So, when he was watching us,
I think we could be
his alter egos.
So, we would play
some funny places
like Carnegie Hall.
I think it was just 'cause
Brian saw an angle,
saw a certain sort of irony
in the great hallowed hall,
the classical mecca,
and the Beatles will play there,
you know, and sort of...
transgress the lines of,
you know, all that stuff.
[interviewer] What were they expecting?
I had...
When asked what are they like,
Mrs. Tesku who books the events
at Carnegie Hall,
said, "Mr. Bernstein, what are
these British boys about?"
I said,
"They're a British phenomenon."
Now, they weren't expecting
what they heard and saw
months later.
And after the afternoon concert,
we had two.
Mrs. Tesku said,
"Mr. Bernstein, I thought
when you said they are four boys
who are a British phenomenon,"
she said, "I thought
they were a string ensemble."
She said, "Please, don't ever
come back here again."
Four months later,
after lots of bouquets,
and some boxes of flowers
to make amends,
I got her to accept
the Rolling Stones.
After that one, she says, "Don't
ever come back. Ever, ever."
And for two years,
I was barred from Carnegie Hall.
[John] Here's the Newsweek
review of The Beatles 1964.
Visually, they are a nightmare,
tight, dandified Edwardian
beatnik suits
and great pudding bowls of hair.
Musically,
they are near-disaster
that does away with secondary
rhythms, harmony, and melody.
Their lyrics, punctuated by nutty shouts
of "Yeah, yeah, yeah"
are a catastrophe and preposterous farrago
of Valentine card romantic sentiments.
[Friedan] Those boys who are wearing
their hair long are saying,
"No" to the masculine mystique.
They are saying, "No" to that
brutal, sadistic,
tight-lipped, crew-cut,
you know, Prussian, uh,
big muscle, you know,
Ernest Hemingway, uh,
kill bears when
there are no bears to kill,
and napalm all the children
in Vietnam and Cambodia
to prove that I'm a man,
you know, and be dominant,
and superior
to everyone concerned.
And never show any...
any softness.
Well, these boys
that are wearing their hair long
are saying,
"No, I don't have to be,
uh, all that crew-cut
and tight-lipped.
Uh, I don't have to be dominant
and superior to anyone.
I don't have to have big muscles
'cause there aren't
any bears to kill.
I don't have to, you know,
kill anybody to prove anything.
I can be tender,
and I can be sensitive,
and I can be compassionate.
And, uh, I can admit
sometimes that I'm afraid,
and I can even cry.
And I am a man.
I am my own man."
And that man, who is
strong enough to be gentle,
that is a new man.
[crowd cheering]
- Well, shake it up baby, now
- Shake it up, baby
- Twist and shout
- Twist and shout
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
c'mon, baby, now
C'mon, baby
- Come on and work it on out
- Work it on out
- Well, work it on out, honey
- Work it on out
You know you look so good
Look so good
You know you got me
going, now
Got me going
Just like I knew you would
Like I knew you would, ooh
Well, shake it up, baby, now
Shake it up, baby
- Twist and shout
- Twist and shout
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
c'mon, baby, now
C'mon, baby
Come on and work it on out
Work it on out
Well, you twist, you little girl
Twist little girl
You know you twist so fine
Twist so fine
Come on and twist a little closer, now
Twist a little closer
And let me know that you're mine
Let me know you're mine, woo
[crowd cheering wildly]
[Ron Isley] We heard
it was a group in England,
imitating the Isley Brothers.
Then they sung
"Twist and Shout."
Shake it up, baby
[chuckles]
[vocalizing]
- Shake it up, baby, now
- Shake it up, baby
- Twist and shout
- Twist and shout
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
c'mon, baby, now
- Come on, baby
- Come on and work it on out
- Work it on out, ooh
- Well, you twist you little girl
Twist little girl
- You know you twist so fine
- Twist so fine
Come on and twist a little closer, now
Twist a little closer
And let me know that you're mine
Let me know you're mine
Well, shake it, shake it
shake it, baby, now
Shake it up, baby
Well, shake it, shake it
shake it, baby, now
Shake it up, baby
Well, shake it, shake it
shake it, baby, now
- Shake it up, baby, ooh
- Ooh
[vocalizing]
[song ends]
[Ron Isley] And when they would do
"Ooh, ooh," they'd, you know.
We were glad. We were so glad.
It was great for us, you know,
that they did our songs.
Paul McCartney would often say,
"If it wasn't for the Isley Brothers,
we would still be in Liverpool."
Well, we were kind of wondering
why couldn't we be on
some of the shows that they were on.
Well, we should have been
on The Ed Sullivan Show
doing the... you know.
The girls crying and that type
of thing that was really...
[scoffs] What they crying for?
Crying and fainting,
falling out, you know. [laughs]
That was a new thing
for us, you know.
[Jools] Is there a lot
of sort of craziness going on
within the band?
Not within the band. I think the craziness
was going on in the world,
and in the band it was kind of,
the, you know, we were kind of normal,
and the rest of the world was crazy.
That's how it looked like to me.
Everywhere we went, there was...
The police were...
you know, the police
were putting on their display.
You know, everybody got into the mania.
I mean, you could do 30 minutes of film
just showing how idiotic
everybody else was
whenever the Beatles came to town.
Well, I think we were real lucky.
I think the only thing I ever lost
in all those days of madness was, uh,
half of my scalp, a shirt,
and a gold necklace,
which they gave me, back in New York.
We really weren't beat up too much.
Wales was the worst place I ever went.
- [audience laughs]
- What were they after?
They were after my head.
[audience laughs]
And, uh, you know,
we had all these policemen,
you know, we walked down
this like, corridor of policemen
and some hand just came through
and just grabbed my head.
- This child would've died.
- I never went to Wales.
I don't remember Wales.
It's before
you joined the group.
- Oh, yeah.
- [laughter]
[Paul] We got bathing beauties.
There must be...
What is it, Miss...
Oh, that's Beatles.
Oh. Miss Beatle.
We see here... This...
I still don't know, is it a guy?
But he certainly
got a chimpanzee.
When we came,
America had been in mourning.
It was quite shortly after
Kennedy had been assassinated.
Maybe America needed
something like The Beatles
to lift it out of mourning,
and just sort of say,
"Life goes on."
The joy you see
in these audiences
is like they're being
lifted out of sorrow.
She said, "You don't
understand what I've said"
I said, "No, no, no, you're wrong"
- When I was a boy
- One, two, three. One, two, three.
Everything was right
Everything was right
We were having a chat about...
the role of frustration
in creating
aggression, bigness,
and war, if you like.
But, um, frustrated people
feel the need to get bigger and stronger.
Your music is, um,
not the frustrated kind, eh?
Yeah, the net result is, uh,
content... contentment,
but we get rid of frustration
through the music, obviously.
- Mm-hm.
- And like we were saying
before it ran out,
The Beatles and their ilk
were created by the vacuum
of non-conscription
for the army, you know.
- I'm... I'm not aware of that background.
- Well, it certainly ended
in Britain. They were,
when I was still 16,
I was looking forward
to hiding in Ireland...
- Mm.
- ...because they still had conscription,
and then it was all over,
I just missed it in 1940.
- Mm.
- And then from then on,
the whole music thing burst out.
And we just knew we were the army
that never was.
You know, we're the generation
that were allowed to live.
- [Yoko Ono] Thank God.
- And, uh, the music came out of that.
[video narrator] The idea that television,
computers, and the rest
are just tools that we use
for better or worse, isn't true.
The way you react to them
is what's important.
How you use your eyes to see,
your ears to hear,
brings about new forms
of human association and action.
It won't be long, yeah, yeah, yeah
The Beatles came!
The Beatles want my autograph!
Every night when everybody has fun
I'd say you got The Beatles and,
uh, next it'll be The Spiders.
I'm gonna get out of show
business before they fumigate.
[chuckles]
[TV announcer] Live from Miami Beach,
The Ed Sullivan Show!
[The Ed Sullivan Show
intro music playing]
[Tedeschi] That's Miami.
There's a piece of plywood,
'cause you're gonna
fall off the platform.
- [Ringo] Look how close, yeah.
- Yeah.
Yeah, well, you don't think
about those things, I'm afraid,
when you're, you know, excited.
Yeah, I only ever fell off
the rostrum once.
- Oh, where?
- In Canada.
- Hmm.
- I mean, looking at it now,
it looks pretty dodgy.
[Scorsese] Yeah, definitely.
They've extended it by two nails
and a piece of wood.
[rock music playing,
The Beatles "This Boy"]
That boy
Took my love away
He'll regret it someday
But this boy wants you back again
That boy
Isn't good for you
Though he may want you too
This boy wants you back again
Oh, and this boy could be happy
Just to love you
But oh, my
That boy won't be happy
'Til he's seen you cry
[Paul] Liverpool guys,
15 years after World War II,
and we're now here in Miami.
This is the one that sums up
the good life in Florida.
He's got his shades on,
he's got the sunshine,
he's got his drink,
and he's got the girl
in the yellow bikini delivering it to him.
[guitar playing]
When I get up in the mornin'
Gonna die
Get to bed at eight o'clock
Comin' home, I'm back again
Here he comes, Arthur Pem!
Singing guitar blues
[Ringo] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- You got a pick?
- [Ringo] Kinda wacky.
[Ringo] Up in the morning
Out to the sun
Nobody knows when we're gonna come
- [George laughs] Okay. Good morning.
- [Ringo laughs] Okay.
[George] Oh, it's out of tune.
[Ringo]
That's why I'm not singing.
[George] What chance have I had
of tuning it up?
Very crummy guitar anyway.
Yeah.
[Tedeschi] What would you say
to John or to George
if they were here today?
I would say, "I love you."
'Cause growing up in Liverpool,
you never said that.
You never told a guy
you loved him.
Unless he was like
your brother or something.
And they were brothers.
[crowd cheering]
[indistinct chatter]
Good evening, sir. [chuckles]
Wow, look who's here. [chuckles]
You're on our flight?
[Epstein] Yeah.
[Ringo] And where are you going?
- [girl] He's sitting right there!
- You're goofballs.
Leave us alone. [laughs] Leave us alone.
[David Maysles] Uh...
push the drape back a little bit. Look.
[Jack] I got a job
down at the Record Plant
and worked my way up.
Me, editor. Now, I go in there.
Um, it's the "Imagine" album.
I'm in here with these tapes.
It's all fucking magical.
And the door opens up,
and there's Lennon
standing in the doorway.
And he looks at me and he says,
"Do you mind if I come in here
and just hang out
for a little bit?"
'Cause it was quiet in my room.
And my... [chuckles]
And my heart, I almost peed myself.
There he was in person.
And he said, "Can I sit down?"
And just, I said, "By all means.
I'm the guy editing your stuff."
He said, "Yeah, yeah. Thank you.
You're doing a great job."
And he sat on the other side
of a console.
And then finally,
after a few minutes,
I said to him,
"I've been to Liverpool."
Now, his head popped up.
And he looked at me, and
he said, "Where are you from?"
I said, "I'm born and raised,
really, in New York, New York area."
"So, why, uh, would you
want to go to Liverpool?
Everybody there
wants to come here,
including me. I'm here now."
You know, um, "And it's not a great place,
like, not a tourist spot."
No, I said, "No, I was a musician,
and... and everything was happening there.
The music for me was... that was the source.
So, he said, "Well, how did that
work out for you?"
And I said,
"Well, good and bad."
I said, "Bad, I was deported."
He looked at me and I said,
"But good, I made a lot of noise
before they threw me out."
And he looked at me,
and he said...
"Were you one of those two
crazy Yanks that were in all the papers?"
And I said, "Yeah, that was me."
He said, "We release a record,
and in our hometown paper,
you were on the front page."
I said, "Sorry about that."
He goes, "No, no, we had
all a good laugh about it."
He said,
"This is really amazing."
He said,
"Of all the places I come...
I run into this guy that
we kind of had a feeling for.
So, what do you do?"
"I... I'm editing this."
He goes, "Nah, you're one
of the engineers now."
I asked him once, I said, "Why,
of all the people you could ask
to produce you, why me?"
And he went like this.
I said, "What's that?" He said,
"Good antenna. That's all it takes."
[Jamie] I can't listen to the Beatles
in a casual way.
If I'm in the supermarket,
and they have some
Muzak version of a Beatles song,
it's like I have to stop
in my tracks,
and just put my head down,
and wait for it to be over.
It's like I can't think,
I can't live
if Beatles music comes on.
It's too personal.
Van Morrison always talks
about music as healing.
That's what music does.
It stops the bleeding.
My father never recovered
from Kennedy's assassination,
but we did.
[crowd cheering wildly]
[indistinct chatter]
[crew member] Running.
[laughter]
- George.
- Yeah?
George, your fans obviously
enjoyed it over there.
I... I assume the press
enjoyed it. Did you enjoy it?
Yeah, it was marvelous.
Yeah, yeah, everything.
Every bit of it was a knockout.
Even the work?
Yeah, we enjoyed it, you know.
It was different.
- Yeah.
- Working in different places
with the audience
all around us, and you know,
it was a novelty.
[interviewer]
It seemed that you did minimize
a little bit what the effect was and
its value, its lifestyle,
and all that.
You said that there was
almost nothing left of Beatles.
Well, yeah, I get bitter, too,
you know.
And, uh, also, it was always
the insistence that the Beatles led...
something, you know.
And if anything, they were
figureheads, you know.
And the thing I didn't like
was the insistence that we led
something, you know.
So, my, uh, picture of it now
is there was a ship
going to discover
the New World, you know?
And The Beatles
were in the crow's nest
on the same ship.
You know, maybe The Stones
were up there, too, or whoever,
but let's say Beatles
were up in the crow's nest.
And we just said, "Land ho!"
[rock music plays, The Beatles
"Roll Over Beethoven"]
[audience cheering]
We're gonna write a little letter
Gonna mail it to my local DJ
It's a rockin' little record
I want my jockey to play
Roll over Beethoven
I gotta hear it again today
You know my temperature's rising
And the jukebox blows a fuse
My heart's beating rhythm
And my soul keeps singing the blues
Roll over Beethoven
Rocking in two by two
Well if you feel it and like it
Get your lover and reel and rock it
Roll it over and move on up
Just a trifle further
and reel and rock it
Roll it over
Roll over Beethoven
Dig to these rhythm and blues
Well, early in the mornin'
I'm a-givin' you the warnin'
Don't you step on my blue suede shoes
Hey diddle diddle
gonna play my fiddle
I ain't got nothing to lose
Roll over Beethoven
Tell Tchaikovsky the news
Well, she wiggles like a glow-worm
She dance like a spinning top
She got a crazy partner
You should have seen her reel and rock
Long as she got a dime
The music will never stop
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Roll over Beethoven
Dig these rhythm and blues
[song ends]
[interviewer] This afternoon
in our Paris studios,
we're visiting
with four young men.
And if I just mention
their first names,
such as Paul, and George,
and Ringo, and John,
I doubt if you'd know
about whom we're speaking.
But if I said we're here
this afternoon with the Beatles,
and if we were in England,
I think we'd get a great big
rousing "Hurrah!"
- Wouldn't we, boys?
- [George chuckles] Oh, yeah.
George, what is the Liverpool sound?
[George] Oh, it's more like the old rock.
It's just, you know,
everything's a bit louder.
More bass and bass drum.
But we don't like to call it anything,
but the critics, you know,
they have to call it something.
[interviewer] Uh, Ringo here.
Now, you're the drummer.
We caught your act at
the Olympia the other evening.
How long have you been
beating those skins?
[Ringo]
Oh, about five years now.
[interviewer]
How about the French girls
compared to the British girls?
[Ringo] Oh, we haven't seen any yet.
[laughter]
[George chuckles] I think
they don't let the girls out
at night.
[interviewer] Let's ask John Lennon this.
Do all your songs have a basic theme
or story or message?
[John] Um, no.
[interviewer chuckles]
Well, that's a quick one.
[Paul] That was a quick answer!
[interviewer] Since you boys
have gained, uh,
your current popularity,
have there been many other organizations
trying to imitate you
or perhaps take the, uh,
thunder away from you?
[John] Uh... Well, I suppose,
a couple of people
have jumped on the, uh...
railway carriage.
[chuckles] I mean, the bandwagon.
But it doesn't really matter, you know,
because it's flattery and...
and it sort of promotes the whole idea
of us if we're away,
and there's a few little Beatles
still going to remind people of us.
[interviewer]
Well, Paul, what do you think
of your trip to the States?
I understand in about
a week or ten days
you're going to be
on The Ed Sullivan Show.
[Paul] Yeah, that's right.
We're gonna do Ed Sullivan's
show in New York.
And we're taping one
for later release, or something.
And we're looking forward to those,
then we go down to Florida, Miami.
Can't wait. And we do
another Ed Sullivan there,
but I think before that we do,
uh, Carnegie Hall, don't we?
[bandmates] Yeah.
[interviewer] Perhaps when you get to
The Ed Sullivan Show
there will be, uh, more girls for you.
- [George] Ah, hope so.
- [John] Hope so. Yeah.
[interviewer] So, it's on the line.
Back to you, Jim, from Paris.