The Grammys will be saluting the Beatles with a 2-hour star-studded
tribute. JFK Airport plans to dedicate a historical marker to
commemorate the moment the four lads from Liverpool arrived on a Pan Am
flight, to be greeted by hordes of screaming fans. And all across the
country, including in New York City, conferences, tribute band
performances, and reenactments will pay homage to Beatlemania and their
music.
While there is much to celebrate about the Beatles coming to America,
there is also much to regret, starting with the fact that while we may
remember the music of the Beatles, we’ve lost sight of the hope for
change and revolutionary spirit that were hallmarks of those days.
Indeed, the Beatles opened the floodgates of music with their riveting
Feb. 9 performance on the Ed Sullivan Show which was televised
to 72 million Americans in what has been dubbed “the night that changed
America.” Beatlemania, in turn, helped fuel a social, cultural and
political revolution that took aim at everything from war, capitalism
and racism to women’s rights, militarization and equality.