British Invasion: The Beatles Began Their First American Tour In What Year

When Did Beatles Come To America? The Beatles first came to America on February 7, 1964.

They landed at John F Kennedy Airport in New York. The band's Boeing 707, Pan Am flight 101, took off from London Heathrow Airport for New York.

The four were joined by Brian Epstein, Neil Aspinall, and Mal Evans alongside some journalists. Upon landing, they were greeted with a massive reception of mostly young girls waving placards and banners and more journalists.

Every person who turned up at the airport would receive a dollar bill and a band T-shirt, provided by the Beatle's US merchandising organization operated by Nick Byrne.

Prior to the tour, Bryne had secured a deal with the WMCA and WINS radio stations. Unbeknown to Bryne, the Beatles label Capitol Records also arranged posters and banners throughout New York.

Upon arrival, the group toured the US for two weeks. This alongside several media appearances launched Beatlemania and began the British Invasion of American pop music.

The Beatles Ed Sullivan Show first appearance was on 9th February 1964. This marked the first time Beatles performed in front of an American audience.

On the big day, CBS saw a massive demand with over 50,000 ticket requests for Studio 50, which had a capacity of 728 seats.

The performance was attended by former US President Richard Nixon's daughters, Julie and Tricia, as well as many other high-profile personalities.

Sullivan started the show by introducing the Beatles, who then performed All My Loving, Till There Was You and She Loves You.

The act was followed by magician Fred Kaps's prerecorded footage. This allowed the staff to make some changes and then the group performed I Saw Her Standing There and I Want to Hold Your Hand.

CBS recorded 73 million viewers that night, a record for that time, and the first time in 7 years that the show topped the nightly ratings. Thus the event is considered a milestone in American pop culture.

The Beatles first number one hit in the United States was I Want To Hold Your Hands. It was released on December 26, 1963, in the US.

The song was rush-released three weeks ahead of schedule, in hopes that the Ed Sullivan Show appearance in February would help bolster the sales. The song peaked in the US chart before the US tour. 

It became their first song to top the Hot 100 chart. It debuted on the charts at No. 45 on January 18, 1964, and helped start the British Invasion.

The single eventually topped the chart on February 1, 1964, and held the spot for 7 consecutive weeks before being overthrown by She Loves You.

I Want To Hold Your Hands peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100 yearly chart. It is the 48th biggest hit of all time.

The single sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and was certified Gold By the RIAA, just three months into its release on February 3. 1964.

Beatles first US concert lasted from February 9, 1964, to February 16, 2023. The band returned to the UK on February 22.

The band kicked off their performance at the Ed Sullivan Show in New York on February 9, followed by a stage concert at Washington Coliseum on February 11.

Then they held a pair of shows in New York's Carnegie Hall on February 12 and headed South to Miami to feature in another episode of the Ed Sullivan Show.

On February 16, they made their second live television appearance performing six hit songs in front of a tumultuous crowd of 2600 and recording 70 million television audience.

Two weeks later, the iconic English band would depart America, arriving back in London to a crowd of some 10,000 fans who greeted them like they were national heroes back from a war.