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Friday, March 29, 2024

Art Talk – In my life

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I forgot . . . I forgot what it was like to be an awkward pre-adolescent girl growing up in the 60s. I forgot how reassuring it was to discover that millions of my peers were exactly like me. I forgot what it was like to be exuberant. But I was reminded of it all when I sat in a sold-out auditorium watching Ron Howard’s entertaining new documentary, “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week-The Touring Years.” It all came back: the energy, the excitement, the thrill of a new age of music and innovation and unity brought forth by the lads from Liverpool.

Watching the film made me wonder: How did the Beatles conquer the world? Some attribute the Beatles’ success to the timing of their emergence: America’s youth were despondent over the death of President Kennedy and yearning for relief. Additionally it was a time of unprecedented economic prosperity and teens had cash to burn. But timing was just one of the many things the Fab 4 had in their favor: they had ambition, sensuality and talent, lots of talent. Beatle music blew up the record charts. In the spring of 1964, Beatle songs held the top 5 spots on the Billboard Top 100 (with 9 more songs appearing throughout the list). They were also groundbreaking. Not only did the Beatles introduce new studio techniques, the music video and the inclusion of printed lyrics with their records, they staged the world’s first stadium-rock concert at New York’s Shea Stadium and sold 55,000 tickets within a matter of hours.

And they were cool. Fun, funny and articulate, Paul or John or George or Ringo could be counted on to liven up any interview. In one scene, when asked if he knew why people were so crazy about them, Lennon responded that if they knew, “we’d form another group and become managers.”

The Beatles wrote the soundtrack of my youth and Ron Howard reminded me of how lucky I was to grow up during their reign. . “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week-The Touring Years” is a perfect film for anyone who experienced Beatlemania first hand and it is a great introduction for those who didn’t. It is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD, 2 disc special edition and digital download just in time for the holidays.

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Debbie Venezia
Debbie Veneziahttp://www.artsdupage.org
Debbie Venezia is the Director of Arts DuPage, a DuPage Foundation initiative. Contact her at debbie@dupagefoundation.org or visit www.artsdupage.org.

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