George, a true fan of music as well as a musician, had haunted the record stores in Illinois and NYC looking for gems that were hard to find at home. In his luggage, along with the precious Rickenbacker, was more treasure in the form of vinyl. George flew back to England on October 3rd. The patrons that night were the first Americans to hear George rip into, ‘Johnny B Goode’, ‘Matchbox’ and ‘Roll Over Beethoven’. He also hooked up with a guy called Gabe McCarty a member of a local group called the Four Vests and on 28 September George took the stage with them at The Veterans Hall in Eldorado. He would play this on the pioneering UK TV Show, Ready, Steady, Go’ on 4 October.Īlong with Louise he hitchhiked to Radio Station WFRX and presented them with a mint copy of, ‘She Loves You’. On that trip he bought a Rickenbacker at the Fenton Music Store at 601 South 10th Street, Mt Vernon, IL for $400. George would always remember his first, incognito, exposure to American culture and wonder at the freedom of being able to wander at will wherever he pleased. His time in Benton would be for George, as Paris and Greece would be for his fellow Beatles, the last time they could ever walk the streets of any town or city without being instantly recognised and/or mobbed. George, with brother Peter, went to Benton to visit Louise, arriving there on September 16th. John went to Paris while Paul and Ringo jetted off to Greece. Well, George was the youngest of the three Harrison siblings.īrother Peter was three years older than George but Sister Louise was 12 years older and long before The Beatles were even a madcap dream in the minds of John and Paul she had left the grim austerity of post War Liverpool to travel the world with her mining engineer husband.Īnd, in September 1963, she was living at 113 McCann Street, Benton, Illinois a coal town with a population of under 10, 000 souls.Īfter the release of ‘She Loves You’ in Britain in August 1963 Brain Epstein decided that in view of the immense workload they had already completed and the even more taxing plans he had for their future it was time The Beatles took a break. Embed from Getty Imagesįor though The Beatles didn’t land on the soil of the Promised Land until February 1964 George had spent two weeks there in September 1963. The ‘British Invasion’ had begun and from that day on for the rest of the decade there was no question about who the most popular and successful group in the world was and who were the most famous and instantly recognisable faces on the entire planet.īut, before an invasion there is usually a reconnaissance.Īnd, for The Beatles, the scout was George Harrison. When they touched down at JFK they were greeted by scenes of pandemonium as fans and the media pushed and shoved to get their first glimpse of the Fab Four. Those passengers were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – The Beatles! No, for Pan Am 101 was carrying a very special group of passengers whose arrival in America that day would change the course of History. Thousands of young women, barely controlled by massed ranks of British Bobbies in blue, screamed and sobbed as the plane took off. On 7 February 1964 Pan Am Flight 101 took off from London’s Heathrow Airport bound for New York City. ‘A true message always gets through – sometimes it just takes a while’ (Immortal Jukebox) It does not store any personal data.‘It’s gonna take time, a whole lot of precious time ….’ (Rudy Clark/James Ray) The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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