British invasion: 50 years ago this week, The Beatles landed in the U.S. (with video)

FAST FACTWith 23 songs on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, The Beatles are the most-represented musical act. They are followed by The Rolling Stones (14); Bob Dylan (13); Elvis Presley (11); U2 (8); The Beach Boys, The Jimi Hendrix Experience (7); Led Zeppelin, Prince, Sly & The Family Stone, James Brown, Chuck Berry (6).

LOCALS SAY …”As a matter of fact, we played a little club over in England [in 1963] and Paul McCartney came in to see us. The next time I saw them was on the Sullivan show. I remember thinking ‘I wonder if those guys will be a success,’ but they did all right. … I always loved their music. They were singing black people’s music like the Isley Brothers, and they were so different and the harmonies were just beautiful. Just beautiful. … To this day it makes my heart feel good that Paul McCartney says that ‘People Get Ready’ [by The Impressions] is one of his favorite songs.”- Fred Cash, 73, Chattanooga native and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with The Impressions”We always had gospel music and singers around the house. When they [The Happy Goodmans] started out, they didn’t have any money and they would come around to eat. Momma used to open her closet for Vestal all the time. … I loved The Beatles, but I was weird. I liked Conway Twitty and The Beatles at the same time. Oh, my parents totally disapproved, but I think they finally figured out that they couldn’t fight it. They disapproved of Elvis more than The Beatles though, because he couldn’t stand still. There was too much movement going on. … We were allowed to watch [The Beatles] on the Sullivan show. I think that might have helped to ease Momma into them.”- Jennifer Harris, niece of Cat Freeman of The Statesmen and Vestal Goodman of The Happy Goodmans”I started Black Jacket Symphony in 2009 because it was the 40th anniversary of ‘Abbey Road.’ It was still being talked about, like a Mozart piece, so I thought it should be treated like one.”- J. Willoughby, 54, founder Black Jacket Symphony, which presents classic albums live in their entirety.”I saw them not only once, but twice. The first time was in Atlanta Stadium in 1965 on Aug. 18. The second time was in Memphis a year later on Aug. 19. Their last concert was on Aug. 29 in San Francisco, so I saw one of their last 10 shows ever. In Atlanta, I remember being outside beforehand and their police motorcade drove by. I was 13 and in love with Paul McCartney and he was waving to everyone. They did about a 30-minute set. They had opening acts, but what I remember was the first thing was a fashion show from Rich’s. Can you imagine? They’d say, ‘This one [outfit] is one of George’s favorites’ and things like that.”- Jan Belk, marketing director, Chattanooga Theatre Centre”They’ve influenced my original music, and I play some covers of their songs. I’ve listened to them since I was about 5 years old and my parents would play their music. I think it’s because of how relevant their songs are. Their relevancy makes them timeless because they wrote about love, and things that were going on in the world at that time, but they are things that are still going on today.”- Ryan Oyer, 30, local musician

FIRST PRESS CONFERENCEPartial Transcript from Beatles Press Conference at Kennedy International Airport on Feb. 7, 1964. For full transcript, visit www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1964.0207.beatles.htmlQ. “Are you a little embarrassed by the lunacy you cause?”• John Lennon: “No, it’s great.”• Paul McCartney: “No.”• Ringo Starr: “Marvelous.”• George Harrison: (giggling) “We love it.”• JL: “We like lunatics.”Q. “You’re in favor of lunacy?”• Beatles: “Yeah.”• JL: “It’s healthy.”Q. “Are those English accents?”• GH: “It’s not English. It’s Liverpudlian, you see.”• PM: “The Liverpool accent — so, the way you say some of the words. You know, you say GRASS instead of GRAHHSS, and that sounds a bit American. So there ya go.”Q. “Liverpool is the …”• RS: “It’s the capital of Ireland.”• PM: “Anyway, we wrote half of your folk songs in Liverpool.”• RS: “Yeah, don’t forget!”Q. “A psychiatrist recently says you’re nothing but a bunch of British Elvis Presleys.”• JL: “He must be blind.”• RS: (Shaking like Elvis) “It’s not true!! It’s not true!!”Q. “Would you please sing something?”• Beatles: “NO!”• RS: “Sorry.”• Emcee: “Next question.”Q. “There’s some doubt that you CAN sing.”• JL: “No, we need money first.”Q. “How much money do you expect to take out of this country?”• JL: “About half a crown.”• RS: “$10.”Q. “Does all that hair help you sing?”• PM: “What?”Q. “Does all that hair help you sing?”• JL: “Definitely. Yeah.”Q. “You feel like Sampson? If you lost your hair, you’d lose what you have? ‘It’?”• JL: “Don’t know. I don’t know.”• PM: “Don’t know.”• Emcee: “There’s a question here.”Q. “How many of you are bald, that you have to wear those wigs?”• RS: “All of us.”• PM: “I’m bald.”Q. “You’re bald?”• JL: “Oh, we’re all bald, yeah.”• PM: “Don’t tell anyone, please.”• JL: “And deaf and dumb, too.”Q. “Aren’t you afraid of what the American Barbers Association is going to think of you?”• RS: “Well, we run quicker than the English ones, we’ll have a go here, you know.”Q. “Listen, I got a question here. Are you going to get a haircut at all while you’re here?”• Beatles: “NO!”• RS: “Nope.”• PM: “No, thanks.”• GH: “I had one yesterday.”• RS: “And that’s no lie, it’s the truth.”• PM: “It’s the truth.”Q. “You know, I think he missed.”• JL: “Nope.”• GH: “No, he didn’t. No.”• RS: “You should have seen him the day before.”