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