John's One-night Stand -- Were you there?
John Herdan writes:
I just purchased a brand new book that should be of interest to JHS Boomers and might make a great Christmas present. However, if you were a part of the history contained in the book, as I was, it is a mandatory purchase.
August 21, 1965
The name of the book is "The Beatles! A One-night Stand In The Heartland." The book is a collection of original photographs all taken on August 21, 1965, the day the Beatles appeared at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. The book was just released in the last month. The photographer Bill Carlson (no, not that Bill Carlson) and I have two things in common.
We were both 17 years old and we were both there.
Bill was a high school student working in the studio of renowned photographer Merle Morris. Morris was a stringer for AP and when the press passes came through and no one else was interested, Bill Carlson grabbed the passes and two cameras and headed for Bloomington. Most of the pictures were taken at the press conference held at the stadium although there are also pictures from the airport, outside the stadium, and at the concert.
George Harrison
A few familiar faces show up in the book. Phil Spector (yes, that Phil Spector) is shown near the fence getting his credentials. There are also several pictures of Bill Diehl, WDGY disc jockey and master of ceremonies for the concert. There is a great series of pictures of George Harrison receiving a 360/12 Rickenbacker Guitar (serial #2) from the owners of B# Music. Most of these photos have been residing in a file cabinet for the last 40 years.
In case you were wondering, ticket prices were $2.50, $3.50, $4.50, and $5.50. My cousin Jeanne (Franzen) Hilton and I set in the seventh row behind third base. I¹ve looked as hard as I can and can¹t find us in the pictures. However, I did see one time a picture from ³Life² Magazine that I do believe was us.
Second base
The Beatles played on second base and entered from the first base dugout.
Everyone knows that there is a plaque showing where home plate was in the rotunda at the Mall Of America. What is not as well known is that 180 feet in front of that plaque is another one on the exact spot where the Beatles played.
As of this date I only know of three other people that were also there: a social studies teacher from Holdingford, a band director from Maple Grove, and one of my former band parents. Were any of you there? Please blog in if you were or if you know of anyone who was.
The only other time I came close to connecting with the Beatles was when my father-in-law, Bob Murphy, was selected to be the head sauce cook on Linda McCartney¹s line of vegetarian foods. They were manufactured in Fairmont, Minnesota and Bob was Paul and Linda's host every time they came to visit.
He was never allowed to tell us about their visits until after they left.
I purchased my book on-line at Barnes and Noble since I couldn't make the book signing and concert that were held at the mall three weeks ago.
John
(After Wednesday, please send any replies or reactions to jherdan@yahoo.com since I won't be at this e-mail for a few days.)
I just purchased a brand new book that should be of interest to JHS Boomers and might make a great Christmas present. However, if you were a part of the history contained in the book, as I was, it is a mandatory purchase.
August 21, 1965
The name of the book is "The Beatles! A One-night Stand In The Heartland." The book is a collection of original photographs all taken on August 21, 1965, the day the Beatles appeared at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. The book was just released in the last month. The photographer Bill Carlson (no, not that Bill Carlson) and I have two things in common.We were both 17 years old and we were both there.
Bill was a high school student working in the studio of renowned photographer Merle Morris. Morris was a stringer for AP and when the press passes came through and no one else was interested, Bill Carlson grabbed the passes and two cameras and headed for Bloomington. Most of the pictures were taken at the press conference held at the stadium although there are also pictures from the airport, outside the stadium, and at the concert.
George Harrison
A few familiar faces show up in the book. Phil Spector (yes, that Phil Spector) is shown near the fence getting his credentials. There are also several pictures of Bill Diehl, WDGY disc jockey and master of ceremonies for the concert. There is a great series of pictures of George Harrison receiving a 360/12 Rickenbacker Guitar (serial #2) from the owners of B# Music. Most of these photos have been residing in a file cabinet for the last 40 years.
In case you were wondering, ticket prices were $2.50, $3.50, $4.50, and $5.50. My cousin Jeanne (Franzen) Hilton and I set in the seventh row behind third base. I¹ve looked as hard as I can and can¹t find us in the pictures. However, I did see one time a picture from ³Life² Magazine that I do believe was us.
Second base
The Beatles played on second base and entered from the first base dugout.
Everyone knows that there is a plaque showing where home plate was in the rotunda at the Mall Of America. What is not as well known is that 180 feet in front of that plaque is another one on the exact spot where the Beatles played.
As of this date I only know of three other people that were also there: a social studies teacher from Holdingford, a band director from Maple Grove, and one of my former band parents. Were any of you there? Please blog in if you were or if you know of anyone who was.
The only other time I came close to connecting with the Beatles was when my father-in-law, Bob Murphy, was selected to be the head sauce cook on Linda McCartney¹s line of vegetarian foods. They were manufactured in Fairmont, Minnesota and Bob was Paul and Linda's host every time they came to visit.He was never allowed to tell us about their visits until after they left.
I purchased my book on-line at Barnes and Noble since I couldn't make the book signing and concert that were held at the mall three weeks ago.
John
(After Wednesday, please send any replies or reactions to jherdan@yahoo.com since I won't be at this e-mail for a few days.)
