Friday, July 01, 2016

The Beatles at the Grammy Museum

 

 The Grammy Museum has featured exhibits on the individual Beatles, but never on the group as a whole. That is, until now. A new exhibition, called "Ladies and Gentlemen . . . The Beatles!," opened today on the 2nd floor of the Museum. We, of course, were there.

Small, but nonetheless fun, the exhibit focuses on the band's early years, directly before and after they became famous and performed in the U.S. There's a short video of several women who saw the Beatles live on the Ed Sullivan Show, plus interviews with a handful of men who helped produce the show. Seeing the Beatles in-person and working with them, that unforgettable night on Sullivan, remains an obvious high point of all their lives.

There's also lots of memorabilia from the Beatles' heydays—posters, a lunchbox, and even candy bars—some of which I remember, but some I'd never seen. The exhibit is a nice overview for non-fans, who may not know all that much about early Beatlemania. Still, even old veterans, like Tim and me, learned at least a couple of new things. 

I wouldn't fly into L.A. just to see the exhibit. But if you already live here, there's no excuse, especially if you've never been to the Grammy Museum. Recommended!

 
Me, pretending to walk across Abbey Road 

 
Tim, pretending to be Ringo

 
The exhibition

 
Before fame: opening a concert for Chris Montez!

 
Famous: 1st U.S. tour

 
Memorabilia

 
Beatles cartoon Colorforms (hmmm, looks very familiar)

 
Lunchbox and candy bars

 
Tim taking it all in

 
Me and John (forever)

 
Paul's jacket from the Shea Stadium concert

 
George and John's guitars

 
Paul's guitar

 
their final one 

 
The infamous "butcher" album cover that was pulled after only
one day and is, of course, now worth a fortune 

 

 
Leaving the building 

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