Birth of Beatlemania in USA

I have since seen a video clip of The Beatles on
Ed Sullivan that night, playing "I Want to Hold Your
Hand" -- which has always been
about my least favorite of their songs.

George Harrison's sister lives somewhere in Southern
Illinois, within radio listening distance of St Louis,
where I live. I heard her tell about one of the
(no doubt many) backstage dramas.

When The Beatles landed in America on Friday, George
had an extremely high 104 or 105 degree fever. A
doctor was called in as soon as they got into the
hotel, and immediately declared that he needed to go
into a hospital for days.

Told that was impossible -- George had to play on
Ed Sullivan in just two days, the doctor finally
agreed that he could stay in the
hotel as long as someone would look after him and
give him a complex series of antibiotics.

However, the doctor had to draft George's sister,
because she was the only woman available who was
not -- to use the vernacular of those times -- going
apeshit over The Beatles.

So his sister nursed him back to regain enough
strength to stand up and play on the Ed Sullivan
Show -- and so music, the music industry and even
history has never been the same.


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