One of The Beatles biggest influences, the great Buddy Holly, died in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, February 3, 1959 after a concert at the Surf Ballroom. What made Buddy so important to The Beatles and to music history was a combination of not only his talent as a singer AND a songwriter (a rare combination in the 1950s), but his looks and his rock and roll attitude which paved the way for countless others. In 1958, John, Paul & George  made their first record. It was That’ll Be The Day. (Anthology 1). As The Beatles, they recorded Words Of Love. In their solo careers both John and Paul recorded Peggy Sue. His songs, owned and in good hands by Paul McCartney, are now known world wide with big hits by Peter & Gordon, James Taylor and Linda Rondstadt so name just a few. His legend and his music will live forever. For those who may not be old enough to know, The Day The Music Died, is from Don McLean’s classic American Pie. Long Live Buddy.

Nobody in this part of the world had any idea what was happening in the heart of London at lunchtime on a chilly Thursday, January 30, 1969. The Beatles were being filmed all month while recording songs which would eventually become the Let It Be album, released some 15 months later. They wanted to finish the movie with a live concert and they decided on the rooftop on their own Apple office building at 3 Savile Row, a very staid and proper street! Well, it certainly didn’t take more than an instant for the passersby five stories below to realize the music they were hearing was new Beatles music, being performed BY the Beatles themselves! The surrounding streeet became packed as a most rare and exciting musical event was happening right there in front of their ears! It was to be The Beatles last live public performance, 44 years ago today. By the way, there are very strong rumblings that Let It Be will finally be released on DVD in 2013. If and when that is officially announced, we will pass that information to you immediately.

The hotel located at 2 Harmon Plaza, Secaucus, NJ has been the home to most of our NY METRO FESTS since 1980. It was called the Meadowlands Hilton until 1998, when it changed its name to the Crowne Plaza Meadowlands. A few weeks ago they once again changed names. It is now called the EMPIRE MEADOWLANDS HOTEL BY CLARION. All reservations for our 39th Annual NY METRO FEST FOR BEATLES FANS 2013, April 5-7 are being honored as the management is still the same (phone number unchanged – 201-348-6900). The hotel sold out of sleeping rooms the same day they went on sale, in September, and our overflow hotel is once again the nearby Meadowlands Plaza Hotel (201-272-1000). The Empire Meadowlands has made some changes and we have already met with them for review. The Marketplace (Exhibit Center) has been completely redone. All sleeping rooms have brand new mattresses and every registered guest will be welcome to free Continental Breakfast. They will also have the elevators totally overhauled and renovated by the time we arrive there in April. We expect to announce all FEST details and ticket information within the next two weeks. We are VERY excited about our Special Guest lineup for this FEST, but you will have to wait until we reveal them to you. We have at least three first time NY METRO FEST guests, so stay tuned.

If you do not receive our email newsletters, we encourage you to sign up for them. They are  free and are very often where FEST and new product information is first announced.

January 6, 1964: I have told this story before, but it’s the anniversary, so here it is again. It was on this day, a Monday evening, first day back at school after a two week vacation (Christmas and New Years fell on Wednesdays and it worked out that year), that I first heard I Want To Hold Your Hand. It was on New York’s WABC on the legendary Scott Muni Show at 7:45PM. I can still remember getting so excited about the song and wondered who’s song was it. Scott announced it was a group from England called The Beatles. The song and the band grabbed me and never let go!!. The next day it was the Number One Song in NY. Within two weeks it was #1 in the U.S. and we were all ready to see them live on TV in another two weeks…

So many of the calls that have come in today begin with the question, Can I get my order for Christmas? The answer is YES. Our best advice is DO NOT WAIT  much longer because extra shipping charges will start to occur to the South, Midwest and West. The Northeast is still Okay for early Thursday with regular shipping, but we strongly suggest you don’t wait that long. If you need your order by a certain advance date, please let us know so we can meet your needs. If there are any backordered items, we will notify you about them to give you all of your options. Of course you may still place your orders on line.

On the day we are headed to Madison Square Garden for the 12/12/12 Concert, I think back to that summer day in 1971 where in the same venue, I first saw Ravi Shankar in Concert at the Concert For Bangla Desh. That was the first big rock benefit concert and tonight’s may be the biggest ever. But Ravi opened the show that night – an Indian musician who asked his friend George Harrison to help his country. Although it was something I had not experienced before, I remember really listening to him and enjoying the set, even though the entire audience was waiting for the ‘rest’ of the show. We now all know so well how this man singlehandedly influenced George, who singlehandedly exposed the western hemisphere to this music. This was never a passing fad for George. It stayed with him his entire life. They worked on quite a few projects together over the years – Albums, Films, Concerts, Special & more. We mourn the passing of another singular music legend, at the age of 92. As George put it so well, All Things Must Pass.

December 8, 1980 – The darkest day in Beatles history, and one of the darkest ever in our society. John Lennon was assassinated by a crazy person who had no trouble purchasing a gun legally and using it that night. Yoko lost a husband, Sean and Julian lost a father, and the rest of us lost someone who moved and changed us in a most profound way. Beatles fans are all ages and no matter how old you are we all have that common love for the Beatles. But  let’s go back to the beginning. In early 1964, it was the heart of the baby boomer generation that REALLY got hooked on John, Paul, George & Ringo – fans aged primarily 9-16. I was 16 at the time . It has occurred to me that, at 64, I can divide up my life so far, in 16 year increments.
1.     1948 – January 5, 1964 just a kid who grew up in a musical home and got hooked on rock and roll early.
2.     January 6, 1964 – December 7, 1980 – I first heard I Want To Hold Your Hand by a new group out of England called The Beatles. I can still remember hearing it and getting so excited abut this totally new sounding song. It was like the song jumped out of the radio and into my being. It still has a hold on me. Those last years and high school and all of college seemed to be full of Beatles  connections and events, but it always revolved around the music.
In June, 1969, I first met John outside Apple offices in London. I spoke with him, got a picture,autograph, shook his hand and walked around all evening looking at my hand, realizing I had just met a Beatle in person. Fast forward 5 years to 1974 when, after bumping into John at numerous Apple Records events in NYC , I sit down with him in his hotel suite (4/28/74) to tell him my idea of a Beatles Fans’ Celebration. He says, “I’m All For It. I’m A Beatles Fan, Too.”  Yes, it was John who turned my dream into a reality. The night of December 8, 1980, Carol and I were at LAX waiting for the redeye back from another LA FEST. I was hand carrying a 4′ new poster of Double Fantasy that I didn’t want to have crushed, when I was paged and told the news that shook the world.
December 8, 1980 – today – 32 years in a world without John physically being with us. The excitement and possibilities of where John would take us after his first new music in 5 years are dashed forever. Any thoughts of a Beatles reunion (at such events as the one coming up this week (12/12/12) are also dashed. Of course, we were all forced to go on in a world without John, but it was so hard to get over it (if one can ever get over something like that). We feel so fortunate to have presented so many friends and family members (at our FESTS) who have shed new light on John (Paul, George and Ringo, too of course) shared stories and help us realize just what kind of a man he was and how totally unique a man he was. As Elton sang in his Empty Garden tribute (words by Bernie Taupin), “A gardener like that one, no on can replace”. All these years later we still have his music to listen to and cherish, and yes all those wonderful memories.

On a personal note, looking at this 16/32 year increments idea –  my father,  who was a band leader and my musical inspiration was 32 years old when I was born and 64 when John passed. Dad was also born on October 9th.

Listen to you favorite Beatles and Solo music today and remember why we have such strong emotional ties to them. John sent a message to our FEST in 1979. He said, “Tell the fans the music was the thing”. Only John could have summed it up so perfectly.

Peace and Love,

Mark

This newly uncovered photo was taken that night at about 6PM with Dave Sholin of RKO Radio who had just completed what would become John’s final interview.

It was a sad day, November 29, 2001, when we learned of the passing of George Harrison. We were all still trying to get used to a new world order after 9/11, 2 1/2 months earlier. George lost his battle with cancer, so on this day, we want all of you to know we lost a Beatle because of cigarettes. For those few who still do smoke, take this day and give them up in George’s memory. Most of the public gives the praise to John Lennon (and deservedly so) for giving us music and message of peace, love, truth, and reality. Let us never forget that George’s 2nd Number One song Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) had an equally strong message. While John’s journey was outward in the public eye, George chose the inward method, improving the world through inner strength and awareness. Both ways worked. and we are forever grateful for their journeys. We must take this day to celebrate George’s amazing life and help make the world a better place for all. We welcome any thoughts or ideas on this subject. In the meantime, put some George music on your Record Player, CD Player, iPod, iPhone, iTunes or however you listen to music and just marvel at the body of work he left us. There aren’t many musicians/songwriters who created such an amazing musical legacy. I can think of two others at this moment. I am going to listen to the Living In The Material World CD now. Peace and Love.

These absolutely Brand New Beatles Yellow Submarine Plush Toys were just announced yesterday and are not in our Holiday Catalogue. They’re soft, unusually cuddly, and stand 12 inches tall. We are thrilled to announce that the makers of our very popular Blue Meanie and Yellow Submarine Plush toys have released this fantastic addition to the collection – The Beatles themselves. Just in time for the holidays (And in stock next week!), snuggle up with your favorite Beatle, available for just $20 a piece, or get the whole fuzzy Fab Four set for $75. These hot new items make the perfect gift for young fans, fans young at heart – or perhaps something for ♫ youuuuu. You-ooo-oooooooo! ♫

We have noticed the dates for next summer’s Chicago FEST were nowhere to be found on our site. We will fix that in the next few days. In the meantime, the dates are August 9-11, 2013. We did announce the dates in the Program book from this year’s FEST, and it will be in the new Holiday Catalogue, being mailed out by tomorrow. Look for them in your mail box by next week.

We thank all of you for your thoughts and concern after last week’s Hurricane Sandy. We were lucky. We did not lose power but did lose phones and internet access. Very eerie.

Today is Election Day and we urge all to get out and vote. It is our obligation and our right as citizens. “Power to the People” as John sang about. Today, we have the power and we are the people!!