The DC Traveler

The Ultimate Boy Band, Live in DC…43 Years Ago Today

by Jon on February 11th, 2008

It’s Monument Monday, so I guess I’ll write about a different kind of monument today, a monumental band that changed rock and roll music – The Beatles.

Just two days after their U.S. debute on the The Ed Sullivan Show, The Beatles performed their first U.S. concert here in DC on February 11, 1964.

The show was held at the 7,000 seat Washington Coliseum near Union Station, where the sound was said to be horrible, not to mention the music being drownded out by the constant screaming of fans.

Covering 12 songs in about 30 minutes, the concert was set up as a show-in-the-round, but strangely, only Ringo’s drum stand rotated. The other three Beatles had to turn their backs to the front audience to perform to the back audience.

The concert and the band was panned by newspapers around the country, many calling the Beatles “just a fad”. And the rest as we all know, is music history.

All My Lovin

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I Wanna Hold Your Hand

And if you’re a fan of all things Beatles, make sure to check out The Beatle Invasion for a daily fix of Beatles history, trivia, clips and more.

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POSTED IN: City History & Information, Music