Wednesday, June 6, 2007

SHE LOVES YOU, YEAH YEAH YEAH

In my last post, I mentioned Paul McCartney and his new CD (I'm so old...I always want to write "album" instead. Smile.). Today I just want to talk about Paul, and the rest of the Beatles.


I was a fan. A HUGE fan. I know some of you out there weren't even born until after the Beatles had broken up, and so you probably don't understand the LARGENESS of what it was like to be a Beatles' fan. I don't believe any group since then has inspired the kind of fanatic following that they had. Maybe I'm wrong. You can let me know.


Teen magazines were very popular then (I'm talking 1964 and following), and if their photo was on the cover, I owned the magazine. I had a scrapbook of photos....a big, thick one. Filled to the brim. I also owned a Paul McCartney bobblehead doll. He was my favorite. Swoon...... My best friend, Sylvia, loved George. She still has his bobblehead. I don't have mine. I don't have anything. My large scrapbook disappeared from the crawlspace in my bedroom when I moved out. I'm not sure what happened to it....assumed that Dad tossed it. Maybe one of my siblings has it????? Hmmmm.....Wouldn't that be a joy! I still have their first 4 record albums. Covers worn, vinyl scratched...but every once in awhile I'll dig them out and give them a spin. Relive some memories.


I remember their coming to America....can see the photo of them on the steps of that airplane as plain as if it were yesterday. And the Ed Sullivan Show appearance! Oh, not in our home!! My father refused to watch, and so my Mom took me (and probably my sisters) down the road to my grandparents home, so I could watch....and cry....and kick my feet as I lay on the living room rug. Yes, it's true. My Mom said she understood....that in her day, she'd felt the same way about Frank Sinatra. From comments my father made later, it became clear that he TOO had watched Ed Sullivan....tho of course, he had nothing good to say about it.


Can you believe how I felt when I got tickets to see them in person for my 18th birthday? My then-boyfriend, Mike, got them for me. Seattle Colliseum. August 25, 1966. The tickets were $6.00!!! He and I went, Sylvia and Rick, Sheryl,and Lora. Sylvia has photos of us....hair done, pretty summer dresses...like going to the prom! But then, girls always wore dresses "back then." And, we WERE going to the Big City. Olympia was much smaller then, and more "countrified."


The concert was amazing, of course. I took photos....pasted them into that missing scrapbook, so they are gone forever (Sylvia has some). I can remember the dark concert hall, them spotlighted on the stage, and the music totally drowned out by screaming fans that did not let up the entire night. Well...maybe during the ballads. It was incredible. A magical night, for sure.


And now, 41 years later, John and George are gone. Ringo is hiding out somewhere, and Paul still makes music. I find him more handsome than ever. I love the age that shows on his face, and the youthful spirit that still shines through. I suppose one has to be old one's self to appreciate that!

Paul turns 65 June 18......Happy Birthday, and thanks for the memories!



2 comments:

strauss said...

That was utterly fabulous Kathleen! I would love to have seen the photos of you all dressed up for the concert. Can Sylvia scan them for you? Sadly I have never felt that kind of fever and passion about a music group or movie star, but the phenomenon intriges me a great deal.
My Dad has told me about the Beatle mania of that era. He went to see their movies as a teen and girls were hysterical and crying - and that was just a movie. I don't think they ever made it to his neck of the woods.
One of my other favourite blogs is "Dribblingwitt", she writes both touching and funny posts, in Jan. she wrote one about her Beatles experience, you might be interested, he 9 year old daughter loves Ringo! Here is the link: http://dribblingwitt.blogspot.com/2007/01/santa-is-alive-and-well-and-lives-in_23.html

Thanks for sharing this memory, it was just wonderful.

Kathleen said...

I will get ahold of Sylvia and see what I can get from her attic! I checked out the post you mentioned: What a FABulous story! I liked her writing, and will have to read more often. Thanks!