Arts & Entertainment

50 Years of Beatlemania: Fab Four Visited Atlanta

The Beatles performed Aug. 18, 1965, in Atlanta. Listen to portions of the performance here and share your memories.

By Deb Belt and Hunt Archbold

Fifty years ago on Sunday teenagers screamed and cried as The Beatles performed for an American mass TV audience for the first time, singing “I Want to Hold Your Hand" on The Ed Sullivan Show.

An astounding 73 million viewers tuned in to see the beginning of the British Invasion.

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The following year, The Beatles played at what was then known as Atlanta Stadium (later to become Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). Fans began showing up at the stadium at 4:30 a.m. the day of the concert, which featured field level tickets priced at $5.50 face value.  

Click here to listen to a rather good recording of this live performance that came just three days after the group's legendary performance at New York's Shea Stadium.

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Did you see The Beatles perform live in Atlanta? What is your favorite memory from Beatlemania? Share your recollections in comments. If you have a photo from a Beatles concert to share, email a copy to hunt.archbold@patch.com; we’ll share some with readers.

The Feb. 9 anniversary is being noted in various ways. CBS wraps up the nostalgia on Sunday with the broadcast of "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles,” taped a couple weeks ago at the theater, now home to the Late Show with David Letterman.

Artists sang their versions of Fab Four classics, and were joined by surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The telecast will air Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.



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