This Day in History: <br />Beatles Arrive in New York February 7, 1964 Arriving at Kennedy Airport, <br />the visit marked the British <br />rock band's first to the U.S. <br />and the arrival of "Beatlemania." They were greeted by <br />3,000 screaming fans who <br />caused a near riot when <br />they stepped off their plane. Two days later, Paul McCartney, <br />Ringo Starr, John Lennon and <br />George Harrison made their first <br />appearance on the popular 'Ed Sullivan Show.' About 40 percent of the <br />U.S. population — 73 million <br />U.S. television viewers — <br />tuned in to watch. The Beatles’ first <br />American tour left a <br />major imprint in the <br />nation’s cultural memory. The band was the perfect <br />catalyst for America's youth to <br />shift away from the culturally <br />rigid landscape of the 1950s.
