Something about the anniversary of Kennedy's assassination (53 years ago today) brings me back to my first experiences with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

As a nation, we had just gone through the three most depressing months in our modern history with the assassination of JFK. We were so ready to sing, and laugh, and dance, and experience something new and exciting. As John Fogerty wrote:

"The grief had passed, the old men laughed, and all of the girls screamed"

I was about to turn nine years old in February, 1964, living in the small town of Martinsville, Virginia. I remember seeing a promo ad on Channel 7 from Roanoke that afternoon, saying "Tune in to the Ed Sullivan Show tonight for the American debut of the Beatles!," showing that famous black and white group photo,the same one that graced the "I Want to Hold Your Hand" single.

I thought it was some German trapeze act or something, not picking up on the fact that it was a musical group. We always watched Ed Sullivan religiously every Sunday night (as well as Bonanza), so this Sunday was no different. I remember sitting on a round footstool in our den when the Beatles were announced and hit the stage.

I was transfixed. Nothing I had ever seen or heard before could compare with what was coming over the TV screen.

I remember thinking that my dad had HIS music (big band jazz) and my mom HER music (Ray Charles and early R&B ), styles that I came to love later. But this was MY music. It spoke to me.

Dad and I had been riding in the car a week earlier when a song by Al Hirt, "Sugarlips," came over the radio. I had remarked that the tune was kind of catchy, and my dad said he would buy me the 45 the next time the two of us were in a record store.

That trip to the record store came about two days after the Beatles debut. Much to my father's chagrin, I no longer wanted the Al Hirt record. There was only one record in the world that mattered to me.

The following Sunday, my mom got the bright idea of taking a picture of dad and me before going to church. Dad, being a preacher, was dressed in his usual collar and black shirt, and I was in my knit pants and Hush Puppy shoes, and we were sitting together on the coach. The only thing different was the fact that I insisted on holding up my most prized possession, a picture sleeve copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Then came the avalanche of Beatles records, a plastic Beatles guitar (dang, I wish I still had that), Beatles cards, a Beatle wig, Beatles notebooks....if they had manufactured a Beatles left nostril inhaler, I would have probably bought it!

Never saw them live, but I have had the pleasure of seeing Paul three times, and George and Ringo one time each.

My next musical passion was the Rolling Stones, who I first read about in a teen magazine. I soon heard "It's All Over Now" on the radio, and I was immediately hooked. I went to the very same local record store and bought both that single and the "Tell Me" 45, and played all four songs over and over again until I thought my parents would toss me out of the house. None of my friends were really aware of who the Stones were until 'Satisfaction" came out, which of course put them front and center in front of the world. I remember thinking Brian was the coolest musician I had ever seen, but I didn't have much luck convincing my parents that I should die my hair blonde!

Needless to say, I became a die hard fan of both bands, and I never understood it when friends said, "hey, you have to pick one of the other, not both." Ridiculous. To this day, sometimes I am in a Beatles mood, other times only the Stones will do.

I only know that I've now seen the Stones ten times from 1975 - 2015, and I can't wait for the blues album to be released later this week. Here it is 52 years later since I bought that first Stones single, and we can celebrate new music being released and (hopefully) another chance to see them in concert.

My parents are both gone now (I lost my mom last July), but I am still playing music here in Atlanta with the Amazing Mongooses (with my oldest son on bass, you just can't get cooler than that!), covering lots of Beatles and Stones songs, and life is good.

Happy Holidays, my IORR friends!

Fun story!

Happy Holidays!!

Nice read.

Thanks for sharing,
Rock On, Mongoose.
Rock ON!

Happy Holidays to you too!

thanks for sharing that!

Great story!

If you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.

A nice story , thanks for sharing

Great story especially that I had almost the same age +1........but not in with this song...............it started with the more easy going All My Loving.........I was lucky with 8 older brothers and sisters, so the house was full with records of Beatles, Stones and Kinks and what ever was in the TOP40.........

__________________________

Great story! Is it Mongooses or Mongeese?

Fantastic story, Mongoose!

I also remember watching Ed Sullivan and Bonanza every Sunday evening with my parents. Sophie Tucker, Peter Gennaro Dancers, Topo Gigio, they were all the staples of Ed Sullivan. But when the Beatles debuted, it was incredible. I too was transfixed. Then came the Stones. I loved it all, my dad, a jazz aficionado, did not! Been hooked ever since!

Also, I clearly remember the time in 8th grade math class when a 9th grader, Betty Goldstein, walked into the class in tears, whispered something to Mr. Thompson, and then he announced that President Kennedy had been assassinated.

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DGA35
Great story! Is it Mongooses or Mongeese?

Great question! :-)

It's Mongooses!

We played the Roosterwalk Festival in Virginia a couple of years ago, with Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, the Infamous Stringdusters, and more.

Here it is on YouTube!

[www.youtube.com]

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Mongoose
Something about the anniversary of Kennedy's assassination (53 years ago today) brings me back to my first experiences with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

As a nation, we had just gone through the three most depressing months in our modern history with the assassination of JFK. We were so ready to sing, and laugh, and dance, and experience something new and exciting. As John Fogerty wrote:

"The grief had passed, the old men laughed, and all of the girls screamed"

I was about to turn nine years old in February, 1964, living in the small town of Martinsville, Virginia. I remember seeing a promo ad on Channel 7 from Roanoke that afternoon, saying "Tune in to the Ed Sullivan Show tonight for the American debut of the Beatles!," showing that famous black and white group photo,the same one that graced the "I Want to Hold Your Hand" single.

I thought it was some German trapeze act or something, not picking up on the fact that it was a musical group. We always watched Ed Sullivan religiously every Sunday night (as well as Bonanza), so this Sunday was no different. I remember sitting on a round footstool in our den when the Beatles were announced and hit the stage.

I was transfixed. Nothing I had ever seen or heard before could compare with what was coming over the TV screen.

I remember thinking that my dad had HIS music (big band jazz) and my mom HER music (Ray Charles and early R&B ), styles that I came to love later. But this was MY music. It spoke to me.

Dad and I had been riding in the car a week earlier when a song by Al Hirt, "Sugarlips," came over the radio. I had remarked that the tune was kind of catchy, and my dad said he would buy me the 45 the next time the two of us were in a record store.

That trip to the record store came about two days after the Beatles debut. Much to my father's chagrin, I no longer wanted the Al Hirt record. There was only one record in the world that mattered to me.

The following Sunday, my mom got the bright idea of taking a picture of dad and me before going to church. Dad, being a preacher, was dressed in his usual collar and black shirt, and I was in my knit pants and Hush Puppy shoes, and we were sitting together on the coach. The only thing different was the fact that I insisted on holding up my most prized possession, a picture sleeve copy of "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Then came the avalanche of Beatles records, a plastic Beatles guitar (dang, I wish I still had that), Beatles cards, a Beatle wig, Beatles notebooks....if they had manufactured a Beatles left nostril inhaler, I would have probably bought it!

Never saw them live, but I have had the pleasure of seeing Paul three times, and George and Ringo one time each.

My next musical passion was the Rolling Stones, who I first read about in a teen magazine. I soon heard "It's All Over Now" on the radio, and I was immediately hooked. I went to the very same local record store and bought both that single and the "Tell Me" 45, and played all four songs over and over again until I thought my parents would toss me out of the house. None of my friends were really aware of who the Stones were until 'Satisfaction" came out, which of course put them front and center in front of the world. I remember thinking Brian was the coolest musician I had ever seen, but I didn't have much luck convincing my parents that I should die my hair blonde!

Needless to say, I became a die hard fan of both bands, and I never understood it when friends said, "hey, you have to pick one of the other, not both." Ridiculous. To this day, sometimes I am in a Beatles mood, other times only the Stones will do.

I only know that I've now seen the Stones ten times from 1975 - 2015, and I can't wait for the blues album to be released later this week. Here it is 52 years later since I bought that first Stones single, and we can celebrate new music being released and (hopefully) another chance to see them in concert.

My parents are both gone now (I lost my mom last July), but I am still playing music here in Atlanta with the Amazing Mongooses (with my oldest son on bass, you just can't get cooler than that!), covering lots of Beatles and Stones songs, and life is good.

Happy Holidays, my IORR friends!

Wow! Right on all counts. I was 10 years old when President Kennedy was assassinated and remember our school principal coming over the PA to announce the President had been shot in Dallas. They dismissed classes and just before walking out, she came back on PA to announce he had died.

The debut of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan changed my life. My older brother and I started collecting records and that is one constant throughout all these years. Music is the passion of my and my wife's life. Our basement is totally dedicated to rock music.

Stones and Beatles at top of list. It was absolutely incredible that we got to catch Stones and Paul (as well as the others) at Desert Trip, weekend 2. Coolest music adventure we've ever experienced.

"Take all the pain...It's yours anyway"

Mogoose, great story, reminds me of younger, more innocent days.

~"Love is Strong"~

Mongoose, great story, reminds me of younger, more innocent days.

~"Love is Strong"~

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Mongoose
... but I am still playing music here in Atlanta with the Amazing Mongooses (with my oldest son on bass, you just can't get cooler than that!), covering lots of Beatles and Stones songs, and life is good.

Happy Holidays, my IORR friends!

almost the same here, I play lots of Blues and Rock'n'Roll, Stones, Beatles, Kinks, Clapton etc. Covers with our Red Monster Band here in Bern, Switzerland, with my oldest son on guitar and harp, even cooler than a son on bass ;-)

and life is good



Resotele

Yes, Happy Thanksgiving to all you grateful rockers.

Wait a minute; Mongoose, you are in Atlanta? Where do you guys play?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-11-24 14:11 by Palace Revolution 2000.

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Palace Revolution 2000
Yes, Happy Thanksgiving to all you grateful rockers.

Wait a minute; Mongoose, you are in Atlanta? Where do you guys play?

Yep! Our next show is our annual Toys for Tots Benefit, at the Tin Roof Cantina. We're playing an all Beatles tribute called Apple Scruffs. Free, but bring an unwrapped toy for a kid!

The next Amazing Mongooses show after that will be on February 24, at the Downwind, located at the Peachtree Dekalb Airport. You can find more info on our Facebook page, too.

Be sure to come up and introduce yourself! Cheers!!

Fantastic story and a very enjoyable reading, Mongoose. Thanks for sharing.
Happy holidays!

I remember the shock, horror and grief of the assassination and the joy of seeing the Beatles on the Sullivan show. But it was many years later that I realized that those two events were just three months apart. It's all in the timing. That band was the right band at the right time. They brought a fun breath of fresh air to a grieving nation. Those songs, those voices, their smart sense of humor...Kennedy started the 60's, the Beatles plunged the decade forward on so many fronts, musical and otherwise. So did Dylan.

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pmk251
I remember the shock, horror and grief of the assassination and the joy of seeing the Beatles on the Sullivan show. But it was many years later that I realized that those two events were just three months apart. It's all in the timing. That band was the right band at the right time. They brought a fun breath of fresh air to a grieving nation. Those songs, those voices, their smart sense of humor...Kennedy started the 60's, the Beatles plunged the decade forward on so many fronts, musical and otherwise. So did Dylan.

This is all cliché silliness. The Beatles success had very little if not nothing to do with the JFK assassination. Do you really think everyone or even a ton of people who were into the Beatles actually were grieving about JFK dying months earlier.

What happened to make Elvis that big?

The Beatles was the right band to spearhead the British Invasion to a nation traumatized just three months before. Like Arnold Palmer was the right golfer to bring the sport to the TV age. It was a fit of talent, personality and timing. For example, the Stones was not that band. Their first go around in the States was not nearly as successful.

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pmk251
The Beatles was the right band to spearhead the British Invasion to a nation traumatized just three months before. Like Arnold Palmer was the right golfer to bring the sport to the TV age. It was a fit of talent, personality and timing. For example, the Stones was not that band. Their first go around in the States was not nearly as successful.

Exactly, I agree 100%. As a kid growing up then, Kennedy was one of my heroes (mostly because my parents were big supporters of him). It was almost like Christmas was cancelled that year of the assassination, with nothing much ahead of us on the calendar but the rather cold and bleak months of January and February.

Then came the Ed Sullivan Show appearance, and it was like a bolt of electricity sent through the entire country. I remember going to school the next day and you could just feel the excitement in the room with my classmates.

As for Elvis, it was simply an explosion of talent and charisma that made him an immediate sensation. About 90% that, and about 10% a reaction to the rather boring Ike years of the 50s. The number one song the day I was born in 1955 was "Davy Crockett," so things were ripe for a big musical shake up then as well.