If you were a teenager in America in 1964, you know what it was like. If you weren’t, the new documentary is a chance for you to learn a little more about how The Beatles quickly conquered the musical scene and culture in America..
The streaming service Disney+ will present a new documentary called Beatles ‘64. It’s set to air the day after Thanksgiving, November 29th, 2024. It includes new interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and some fans who were there. It also has archival footage, including some that has never been seen. The film is directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese.
(The picture sleeve from The Beatles first #1 in America.)
What was to later become a “British Invasion” began when American radio stations started playing “I Want To Hold Your Hand” toward the end of 1963. They had heard about Beatlemania in England, and obtained the records from overseas. Officially, Capitol Records realeased the single (with “I Saw Her Standing There” on the flip side) on December 26th, 1963.
For teens, the combination of those two songs was like an explosion of a completely new and energetic musical sound. That was especially true when compared with the mostly tame Pop music of the teen idols and the left over old-fashioned singers from the 40s and 50s.
But it was a lot more than one single.
(My Beatles singles from 1964)
Before “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was released by Capitol Records, three other labels had been given the rights to Beatles recordings that had been released earlier in England. Soon, those small labels rushed-released “She Loves You”, “Please Please Me”, “Love Me Do”, “Twist And Shout”, “From Me To You” and more.
January of 1964 also gave us two albums filled with more songs.
Both of these albums were out before The Beatles came to America, so we heard even more great songs like “All My Loving” and “This Boy”. Beatlemania was already dominating our radio stations and turntables by the time The Beatles’ Pan Am plane touched down in New York City on February 7th, 1964.
Thousands of screaming fans greeted them, and two days later, a record 73-million tuned into the Ed Sullivan Show to see The Beatles perform in the U.S. for the first time.
We finally got to see the four young men who had already captured the musical hearts of America’s teens, and the group’s popularity soared even higher. Then on February 11th, 1964 they played their first U.S. concert in Washington DC. All archival footage used in the documentary has been restored in 4K, and the sound has been remixed by Giles Martin.
Beatles ‘64 covers the three weeks of The Beatles’ first visit to America, but there were another four albums released that year in the U.S.
You can see that among the albums is A Hard Day’s Night. Somehow during all their songwriting, recording, and touring, The Beatles filmed what turned out to be a very popular movie. It also gave us two more #1 singles “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “A Hard Day’s Night”. In total, The Beatles had 19 Top 40 hits in 1964, and six of them made it to #1. Those are numbers very few artists have reached in their entire careers.
Let’s hope the new Beatle’s ‘64 documentary can capture the spirit of that year.
Update: Here’s the trailer for the documentary:
https://youtu.be/sBiq39gfBh4?si=zBkrcngLNWQAVuH1
The movie uses film shot during that three-week period of The Beatles coming to America in February of 1964.
(Four photos Disney provided with the news release.)
What about on Blu-ray and DVD
Editor: The official press release didn’t mention physical sales, but it’s likely to only be on Disney+ for quite some time.