The Beatles

This may be hard to believe, but once upon a time record companies did not believe the Beatles could have a successful career in America. Yes, you read that right. The Beatles. Not having success. Crazy right? Luckily, for all of us, one teenager knew better and lit the fuse for Beatlemania with a simple letter to her local D.C. radio station.

It's been over 50 years since the release of the Beatles' groundbreaking Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, lauded as the first "concept" album and perennially on critics' lists of the best of all time. There has also been a good deal of recent reflection on the Watergate scandal and the role of Washington Post journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, who broke the story that brought down an American president in 1974. But did you know there is a local connection between these seemingly disparate yet historically-significant events?

Although their first appearance in Washington D.C. was certainly more historic, the Beatles' last visit was nothing if not eventful, and verged on the downright bizarre. In stark contrast to that triumphant first U.S. concert at Washington Coliseum in February 1964, by August 1966 the Beatles were mired in controversy, struggling to sell out concerts, and creating music too complex to be replicated on stage.

In February 1964, the Beatles made their first visit to the United States, appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show before making their way down to Washington, D.C. for their first public concert at the Washington Coliseum on 3rd St. NE. To celebrate the 50th anniversary, the D.C. Preservation League and Douglas Development and recreated that historic show at the Washington Coliseum. Who says you can't turn back time?

After their first American concert at the Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964, the Beatles rushed to a British Embassy charity ball. There, they found chaos — snatched hair, desperate autograph seekers, and a night they would never forget.

On February 11, 1964 the Beatles played their first U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum to a screaming crowd of 8,000. Cavernous noise, jellied beans and a shaky sound system turned a historic debut into organized chaos — and changed Rock 'n' Roll forever.

It's hard to imagine that anyone would think the Beatles might not be a big enough concert draw. But when Harry G. Lynn, owner of the old Washington Coliseum at 3rd and M streets NE, was approached by local radio station WWDC in late 1963 about the possibility of booking the then-nascent British pop music sensations for their debut U.S. concert on Feb. 11, 1964,  he wasn't convinced that he would be able to sell the 8,000-plus tickets that it would take to fill his arena.

From Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington to the Beatles’ riotous 1964 U.S. debut—when fans pelted the band with jellybeans—the Uline Arena hosted decades of musical milestones.

If you ride the Red Line Metro, you've probably seen it out the window at the New York Avenue stop: A massive, rust-colored structure with a curvilinear-trussed roof. It looks like an abandoned warehouse or factory, or a repair shop for ancient locomotives. You’d probably never suspect that 50 years ago in February, the Beatles played their first U.S. concert there.   It also was the home of Washington’s first NBA team, and hosted events ranging from figure skating and midget auto racing to Dwight Eisenhower’s 1957 inaugural festival and a 1959 speech by Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad.