It was 61 years ago today...

Saw the Beatles live at Busch stadium in St Louis, August of 1966. All in all, a totally underwhelming experience. Too weak sound system for such a large outdoor space. It rained and what little sound we heard was largely drowned out by the screaming girls. That part I never understood. I suppose it was because in all the news clips of the Beatles in Europe, all the girls were screaming so that’s how they they were supposed to act.

Perhaps because of that experience, I never was a fan. I didn’t dislike them. I just never understood the adulation. I was more caught up in the folk scare of that era.

Three months later I was off to boot camp for my four year stint and my journey from country mouse began.

Watched that on a neighbor's TV (we had none), then in September of that year my dad took me to their show, in Baltimore, on my 12th birthday.  My first concert.  With many more since then.  But that band, just the one time.  

So, how many Ed Sullivan Show "really big hits" end up being "really big duds"?

Yes! Amarcord! I watched the mop tops on Ed Sullivan too. And the screaming girls were in full force too. 
Fast forward to now and there’s a bra and panties ad on the bottom on this page. 
Perfect. 
Then and now all in a swirl. 

When the Beatles first hit our shores, I was firmly into the Motown sound and did not like the Beatles while in high school, yeah, yeah, yeah. Then I went to college, Sgt. Pepper's came out, and Vietnam war was killing my friends while I played baseball on a sports scholarship. Oh, and I discovered weed.

That synergistic interaction was a reality check on how I perceived my world. Forgetabout the old conservative, racist, religious shackles of the mind numbing 1950ies. Instead of Motown (still great) it was the Beatles, Stones, Doors, Led Zepplin, The Band, Airplane, Santana et. al.  Music fueled my generation and as a result I got my "head screwed on correctly" and have had a "wonderful life". Oh Yeah!