Music Appreciation

FEB 9, 3:35 PM

Beatlemania In D.C.: 60 Years Ago, The Beatles Performed Their First U.S. Concert At The Washington Coliseum
Elliot C. Williams elliotw@wamu.org

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[H]ow did the Beatles, who already had three hit singles by late 1963, end up playing their first major U.S. show in D.C.?

According to [Beatles historian Bruce Spizer, a tax attorney in New Orleans] and an episode of WAMU’s former show Metro Connection, it all comes back to Marsha Albert, then a 15-year-old student at Sligo Junior High (now Sligo Middle School).

Local radio helped launch Beatlemania in the U.S.

Like millions of Americans, Albert saw the CBS Evening News segment on The Beatles and wrote to WWDC (now DC101) requesting they play some of the band’s records.


WWDC disc jockey Carroll James got his hands on “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and invited Albert to join him on the air on Dec. 17, 1963, to introduce the song. Other radio stations around the country played recorded versions of that segment, and Capitol Records, in turn, released the record in the U.S. the day after Christmas, six weeks earlier than the label had originally planned.

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DEEJAY CARROLL JAMES DIES
FIRST TO PLAY BEATLES IN U.S
By Claudia Levy
March 27, 1997 at 7:00 p.m. EST

Carroll James Jr., 60, the Washington disc jockey who in 1963 was the first to play a Beatles record on the radio in the United States, died of cancer March 24 at Holy Cross Hospital. He lived in Silver Spring.

In 1963, the Beatles were beginning to make their mark in Britain but had not yet toured the United States. A teenage fan asked Mr. James, then working at radio station WWDC, to play their hit "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The record was not due to be released in the United States until early 1964, just before the Beatles were to appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

WWDC arranged for a British flight attendant to carry a copy over. After Mr. James played the record Dec. 17, the station was swamped with requests for the song. A tape made of Mr. James's show was soon playing on stations across the country. As excitement over the group grew, Capitol Records released the record, six weeks earlier than planned.

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How The Beatles Finally Took Off on American Radio

Dave Swanson

On Dec. 17, 1963, the U.S. still had no idea what was in store. The Beatles had yet to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, where they seemingly overnight changed the landscape of pop music forever. That wouldn't occur until February 1964. But on a mid-December day in 1963, Carroll James of WWDC in Washington, D.C., played a Beatles record. He wasn't the first to do so in the U.S., but it was when things really caught fire.

According to Beatles Interviews, a D.C. teenager had mailed in a request to WWDC to hear the Beatles. "I wrote that I thought they would be really popular here, and if [James] could get one of their records, that would really be great," said Marsha Albert, that insightful teen who made the request.

Carroll James somehow secured the Beatles' new single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which had yet to be issued in the United States. The phones lit up and made the song an instant listener favorite. Capitol Records released "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in the U.S. the following week, and it eventually reached the No. 1 spot in Billboard on Feb. 1, 1964 – a place it would occupy for 11 straight weeks.

A month earlier on Nov. 18, the Beatles made their first appearance on U.S. television as part of the Huntley-Brinkley Report, which featured a four-minute segment by reporter Edwin Newman. Three weeks before that, on Oct. 29, the Washington Post ran a story with the headline, "Thousands of Britons 'Riot' – Liverpool Sound Stirs Up Frenzy." Both Time and Newsweek published their own Beatles stories in mid-November. The rest is history.

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WHEN THE BEATLES FINALLY HIT U.S. RADIO



Dave Swanson | Published: December 17, 2023

On Dec. 17, 1963, the U.S. still had no idea what was in store. The Beatles had yet to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, where they seemingly overnight changed the landscape of pop music forever. That wouldn't occur until February 1964.

Then Carroll James of WWDC in Washington, D.C., played a Beatles record on a mid-December day in 1963. He wasn't the first to do so in the U.S., but it was when things really caught fire.

A D.C. teenager had mailed in a request to WWDC to hear the Beatles, according to Beatles Interviews. "I wrote that I thought they would be really popular here, and if [James] could get one of their records, that would really be great," said Marsha Albert, that insightful teen who made the request.

Carroll James somehow secured the Beatles' new single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which had yet to be issued in the United States. The phones lit up and made the song an instant listener favorite. Capitol Records released "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in the U.S. the following week, and it eventually reached the No. 1 spot in Billboard on Feb. 1, 1964 – a place it would occupy for 11 straight weeks.

The Beatles made their first appearance on U.S. television a month earlier on Nov. 18 as part of the Huntley-Brinkley Report, which featured a four-minute segment by reporter Edwin Newman. Three weeks before that, on Oct. 29, the Washington Post ran a story with the headline, "Thousands of Britons 'Riot': Liverpool Sound Stirs Up Frenzy." Both Time and Newsweek published their own Beatles stories in mid-November. The rest is history.

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WHO PLAYED THE BEATLES ON AMERICAN RADIO FIRST?



Dave Lifton | Published: December 18, 2013

Earlier this week, we celebrated what we thought was the 50th anniversary of the first time the Beatles were heard on U.S. airwaves. However, some new information has come to light, providing definitive evidence that ‘Please Please Me’ had received airplay in several major U.S. markets long before Carroll James spun ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ on Washington, D.C.’s WWDC on Dec. 17, 1963.

On his blog, The Hits Just Keep On Comin', Madison, Wisc. DJ and Top 40 historian J.A. Bartlett calls us - and the sources we cited - out for providing wrong information. Reprinted, with his permission, are his findings:

My own research a couple of years ago indicated that the Beatles had made the radio in the States in early 1963, although they were nothing special at the time. Today I consulted the fabulous Airheads Radio Survey Archive, which has collected (as of today) 35,487 radio station music surveys dated from 1955 to 1996, for the data. ARSA shows that the first Beatles song to get on American radio was “Please Please Me.” It further shows that five radio stations charted “Please Please Me” before December 1963. Others might have too, but here’s the ARSA tally:

—WLS in Chicago charted it for the weeks of March 8 and March 15, 1963 (peaking at #35), before dropping it off. Some fairly exhaustive research at Kent Kotal’s Forgotten Hits establishes pretty clearly that WLS was the first station in America to play the Beatles, in late February 1963, nearly a year before the outbreak of Beatlemania across the country.

—KFXM in San Bernardino, California, charted it on the week of April 6 and again on charts dated April 27, May 4, and May 11. I don’t know about the weeks of April 15 and 22, but the April 27 survey shows “Please Please Me” in its first week on the chart, so I am guessing it probably didn’t appear.

—WQAM in Miami got on it for the last two weeks in April.

—KNUZ in Houston has it for the week of May 3.

—KEWB in San Francisco charted it for the same week, although their chart date was shown as May 4.

The most amazing tidbit of Kotal’s research claims that WFRX in West Frankfort, Illinois, was on “Please Please Me” in June 1963. A 1997 article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that George Harrison’s mother sent a copy to his sister Louise, who lived in Benton, Illinois (where George would spend three weeks on vacation in September 1963), and she passed it along to a DJ at nearby WFRX. (In addition, New York DJ Murray the K claimed to have played the Beatles in late September 1963.)

Most of the early survey citations list the song as “Please Please Me” by “the Beattles,” which was how the band’s name was spelled on the record. The release was on the Chicago label Vee Jay, and because a Chicago station would have likely have paid special attention to releases on a local label, that’s more weight on the WLS claim to be first. Dick Biondi, who was on WLS in 1963 and is on WLS-FM today, has long claimed to have been the first DJ in America to play the Beatles, and there’s no reason to believe he wasn’t.

Regarding “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” Carroll James may have been first to play it on December 17—or he may not have been. It shows up on surveys for WGR and WKBW in Buffalo for the week of December 27, and on WABC for the week of December 31, and it’s reasonable to assume, as was the case with WLS, that the stations played the song for a week or two before it appeared on their surveys.

As Bartlett hints, although ‘Please Please Me’ was put in rotation in those cities, it didn’t gain traction for long anywhere. It wasn’t until the famed WWDC airing, coupled with the ‘Huntley-Brinkley Report’ segment the next day, that the American version of Beatlemania kicked off in earnest, which is probably why the James story had been accepted as gospel for so long.

We thank Bartlett for bringing this piece of rock history to our attention.

Moment 47: The Beatles Are Played on the Radio for the First Time
While Beatlemania arrived in the United States in 1964, the first time a Beatles song was played on the radio in the U.S. was in late February 1963. Dick Biondi of WLS in Chicago was the first American DJ to play the Beatles hit “Please Please Me." It peaked the WLS charts at #35 for the weeks of March 8 and March 15, 1963 and then dropped off. The Beatles had other songs released in America in 1963, but none charted nationally on Billboard.

WLS

The bright sound of Chicago Radio

SILVER DOLLAR SURVEY

MARCH 8, 1963

Survey courtesy Doug Scherer and Aaron Mintz

LAST THIS WEEKS
WEEK WEEK PLAYED

3 1. The End Of The World.................................Skeeter Davis-RCA 8
1 2. Walk Like A Man......................................Four Seasons-Veejay 9
2 3. The Rhythm Of The Rain...................................Cascades-Valiant 10
4 4. Ruby Baby...........................................................Dion-Columbia 10
5 5. Wild Weekend........................................................Rebels-Swan 8
20 6. South Street..........................................................Orlons-Cameo 7
11 7. Our Day Will Come..............................Ruby & Romantics-Kapp 8
6 8. You're The Reason I'm Living......................Bobby Darin-Capitol 9
15 9. Linda............................................................Jan & Dean-Liberty 5
17 10. Blame It On The Bossa Nova..................Eydie Gorme-Columbia 5
9 11. What Will Mary Say..............................Johnny Mathis-Columbia 9
8 12. Little Town Flirt..........................................Del Shannon-Big Top 11
7 13. Hey Paula.....................................................Paul & Paula-Philips 13
31 14. Our Winter Love.........................................Bill Pursell-Columbia 4
-- 15. He's So Fine........................................................Chiffons-Laurie 3
14 16. I Wanna Be Around................................Tony Bennett-Columbia 8
24 17. I Got Burned.................................................Ral Donner-Reprise 5
27 18. One Broken Heart..........................................Elvis Presley-RCA 6
29 19. Sun Arise............................................................Rolf Harris-Epic 5
18 20. Butterfly Baby............................................Bobby Rydell-Cameo 7
21 21. In Dreams..............................................Roy Orbison-Monument 5
30 22. I'm In Love Again/That's All........................Rick Nelson-Imperial 6
26 23. Love For Sale...............................................Arthur Lyman-Hi Fi 5
32 24. How Can I Forget....................................Jimmy Holiday-Everest 5
28 25. Yakety Sax.......................................Boots Randolph-Monument 6
-- 26. Tell Him I'm Not Home.............................Chuck Jackson-Wand 3
37 27. Theme From Lawrence Of Arabia...........Ferrante & Teicher-UA 5
35 28. Don't Wanna Think About Paula.....................Dickey Lee-Smash 4
-- 29. Young Lovers...............................................Paul & Paula-Philips 3
-- 30. Don't Set Me Free...................................Ray Charles-ABC Para 5
-- 31. Yellow Bandana........................................Faron Young-Mercury 5
-- 32. Blue............................................................Jack Reno-FonoGraf 4
-- 33. Young & In Love.......................................Dick & Dee Dee-WB 3
-- 34. Do The Bird............................................Dee Dee Sharp-Cameo 4
-- 35. Sax Fifth Avenue.........................................Johnny Beecher-WB 3
-- 36. Mr. Bass Man...........................................Johnny Cymbal-Kapp 3
38 37. All I Have To Do Is Dream..............Richard Chamberlain-MGM 5
-- 38. Don't Say Nothin' Bad..................................Cookies-Dimension 3
-- 39. On Broadway.....................................................Drifters-Atlantic 3
-- 40. Please Please Me..............................................Beattles-Vee Jay 3

Note the early appearence of the Beatles at number 40 spelled "Beattles".

FEATURED ALBUMS
THE KINGSTON TRIO #16--KINGSTON TRIO--CAPITOL
TEENAGE TRIANGLE--DARREN, FABARES, PETERSON--COLPIX
OUR WINTER LOVE--FELIX SLATKIN--LIBERTY

WLS 1963 index

WLS

The bright sound of Chicago Radio

SILVER DOLLAR SURVEY

MARCH 15, 1963

Survey courtesy Rick Rumick

THIS LAST WKS
WEEK WEEK PLD

1. The End Of The World.........................Skeeter Davis-RCA 1 9
2. He's So Fine.................................................Chiffons-Laurie 15 4
3. Wild Weekend.................................................Rebels-Swan 5 9
4. Rhythm Of The Rain...................................Cascades-Valiant 3 11
5. Walk Like A Man................................Four Seasons-Veejay 2 10
6. Ruby Baby.....................................................Dion-Columbia 4 11
7. South Street...................................................Orlons-Cameo 6 8
8. Our Day Will Come.......................Ruby & Romantics-Kapp 7 9
9. Linda......................................................Jan & Dean-Liberty 9 6
10. Our Winter love....................................Bill Pursell-Columbia 14 5
11. Blame It On The Bossa Nova...........Eydie Gorme-Columbia 10 6
12. Please Don't Mention My Name.....Shepherd Sisters-Atlantic -- 6
13. Sun Arise.....................................................Rolf Harris-Epic 19 6
14. In Dreams........................................Roy Orbison-Monument 21 6
15. Out Of My Mind...........................Johnny Tillotson-Cadence -- 5
16. Don't Wanna Think About Paul................Dickey Lee-Smash 28 5
17. All I Have To Do Is Dream........Richard Chamberlain-MGM 37 6
18. I Got Burned..........................................Ral Donner-Reprise 17 6
19. Don't Be Afraid Little Darlin'.........Steve Lawrence-Columbia -- 4
20. One Broken Heart For Sale......................Elvis Presley-RCA 18 7
21. How Can I Forget..............................Jimmy Holiday-Everest 24 6
22. Young And In Love.............................Dick & Dee Dee-WB 33 4
23. Blue...................................................Jack Reno-Phono Graf 32 5
24. Love For Sale.........................................Arthur Lyman-Hi Fi 23 6
25. Tell Him I'm Not Home.......................Chuck Jackson-Wand 26 4
26. Do The Bird......................................Dee Dee Sharp-Cameo 34 5
27. Young Lovers........................................Paul & Paula-Philips 29 4
28. Yellow Bandana.................................Faron Young-Mercury 31 6
29. Sax Fifth Avenue...................................Johnny Beecher-WB 35 4
30. Pipeline............................................................Chantays-Dot -- 2
31. Castaway...................................................Haley Mills-Vista -- 5
32. Mr. Bass Man.....................................Johnny Cymbal-Kapp 36 4
33. On Broadway...............................................Drifters-Atlantic 39 4
34. Don't Say Nothin' Bad............................Cookies-Dimension 38 4
35. Please Please Me.........................................Beattles-Veejay 40 4
36. Pin A Medal On Joey...........................James Darren-Colpix -- 3
37. Can't Get Used To Losing You.......Andy Williams-Columbia -- 2
38. Sandy.................................................................Dion-Laurie -- 3
39. Little Star.......................................Bobby Calendar-Roulette -- 5
40. Puff.................................................Peter, Paul & Mary-WB -- 3

FEATURED ALBUMS

THE END OF THE WORLD--SKEETER DAVIS--RCA
I WANNA BE AROUND--TONY BENNETT--COLUMBIA
GOLDEN HITS--VOL. 2--BROOK BENTON--MERCURY

WLS 1963 index