Feb. 9, 1964

If we had to pinpoint a date where our affection for the Beatles really came together, it was Feb. 9, 1964. There, I watched with my family (and the rest of the country) as the Beatles made their "Ed Sullivan Show" debut. It was electric. The four were smiling and clearly having a great time ... as well they should have been. Watching clips doesn't bring back the full experience of what it was like. Those were different times. Four guys with long hair was an unusual sight. But they came, we saw, they conquered. Thanks for the memories, guys.

We never got to see the Beatles back then. The closest any of my family got to them was my dad, who was a repairman and not a fan at the beginning. (He kept commenting about their hair during the Sullivan show.) He was driving his truck in Boston when first a policeman, then a motorcade with you know who passed by. It made all us kids very jealous. By the way, my dad did eventually grow to like them ... once the Rolling Stones came around.

(Please add your comments about the Sullivan show and Beatlemania. If you had a close -- or not so close -- encounter with them back then, we'd love to hear about it, too.)