Elvis and the Beatles

My brother Bill remembers the first time he heard an Elvis song. He was 16 and had just walked into the Rendevous restaurant with his girlfriend Carole when he heard Heartbreak Hotel. He recalls their looking at each other in amazement and running to the juke box to find out who this was.

Now retired, both of them have fond memories of Elvis’s presence throughout their lives, and so do I.

When Bill was stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky as a paratrooper with the 101^st, when he and Carole (now his new wife) drove to Memphis on his first long leave. They joined others at the musical note embellished gate of Graceland, much like pilgrims at Mecca. To their utter astonishment, after just a short time taking pictures at the gate, it opened, and Elvis drove out in a Cadillac waving to everyone as he passed.

When the letter detailing this adventure arrived at our house, complete with pictures, it was a big, big moment for his little 8-year-old sister. Some of my earliest childhood memories have Elvis in the background being played on the 45’s that Bill cherished. I don’t remember if my parents had any objections to this. Bill could pretty much do what he wanted. None of us realized that he was in that generation that first gave teenagers their own music.

That’s right boomers, most of us were pretty small when rock and roll entered the culture. But if our parents were hip and we had older siblings, chances are that rock and roll is the soundtrack of our earliest memories.

I’ve been thinking about all of this because of the 50^th anniversary of the Beatles arrival in the USA. I’ve been watching the promos on television for the big show which will feature Paul and Ringo together. My friend Laura and I are planning our evening of watching it much as some plan the Super Bowl.

We boomers can claim the Beatles as our own. We have bought their records and followed all their escapades for 50 years now. Do you remember when you heard your first Beatles song? I sure do. I was riding in the car with my dad, and I was 13. The radio announcer was singing the praises of this British group which had 3 hit records on the charts. The first song I remember was I Saw Her Standing There. From there it’s a little blurry with I Want To Hold Your Hand, Love Me Do, and All My Lovin’.

What does stand out in my memory and my friend Laura’s was how much our dads hated the Beatles. Laura remembers crying her eyes out when her dad tore down all the pictures and posters she had on her bedroom walls. I remember my dad going into tirades when he would find me glued to my turquoise clock radio swooning over Beatles songs.

Wasn’t it amazing how threatened the establishment was by the Beatles? I look at that early photo of them in their neat grey suits – George with his unibrow and Paul with his cigarette, and they look so cute and clean cut now. Parents everywhere were crazed by their long hair, and the screaming that their performances evoked.

I’ll bet you remember where you were when you watched them on TV for the first time on Ed Sullivan. Fortunately, my dad was at work that night and so I watched them on our black and white TV – February 9, 1964. It was just my mother and me and a big bowl of popcorn. The anticipation was huge. It was all we talked about in school for days leading up to it. I remember feeling my heart beat so fast when they came out, and just being mesmerized. I also remember my mother looking at me quizzically and asking, “Do you really like this music?”

I really did. And I still do. Ed Sullivan and Dick Clark are no longer with us, but happily there is someone in charge who knows what this music meant to us boomers. So, tonight I will once again be glued to the television – now flat screen HD and wow – in color. I hope you’ll make a big bowl of popcorn and join me.