Having been in radio thirty years, I’ve had my share of memorable experiences in this crazy medium. Highs and lows, thrills and disappointments. I wouldn’t trade it all for anything.
But my story only covers the 90s, 00s, and 10s. And I got to thinking about what it must have been like to be on the air way back when the Beatles arrived in America. So I posed this question on a radio DJ page:
“Was anybody here on the air in 1964, when the Beatles dominated everything? What was that like?”
As is the case anytime you ask a question on social media, there were plenty who went way off topic. Some said where they were in 1964 (not radio). Some challenged the Beatles value. Some complained about current music trends. Some were not friendly.
This of course, was not what I asked.
There were however, many who told the wonderful stories I was looking for. Stories of request lines blowing up. Stories of song rotations transformed because of one group. Stories of the Beatles owning the top five slots on the charts all at the same time.
And the stories of pure joy in the wake of a national season of mourning following the assassination of president John F. Kennedy.
It was so cool to hear these old guys reminisce about the hey day of chart topping hits, screaming teen girls, and yeah, yeah, yeah,
Because while the Beatles proper place in music history can and will always be debated, what can never be questioned is the joy!