Dateline: February 10, 1964 Hy Lit Meets the Beatles
Philly Beatlemania begins with a riddle on a cold December morning. Hy Lit - Hyski O’Roonie McVoutie O’Zoot, the No.1 jock on WIBG, the city’s AM powerhouse-walks out to his car. On his windshield are the letters “B” and “E”. The day after that there was an “A”, followed by a “T”. Each morning, another couple letters were added. By the end of the week the message on Lit’s windshield was complete: “The Beatles are coming!”
It’s February, 1964 and WIBG jocks Hyski & Joe Niagara are knocking back complimentary beverages at a swanky “Meet the Beatles” cocktail party at the Plaza in New York (see picture above). Hyski staggers out of the cocktail party with one thing on his mind: getting the Beatles to Philadelphia. The next day, Lit calls William Morris, the Beatles booking agency, and asks what it will take. “Twenty-five thousand dollars,” they say. Hy doesn’t even blink. He’ll be there tomorrow with a certified check. The Beatles will be on his doorstep on September 2nd.
Dateline: September 2, 1964 Philly Beatlemania begins
Hy Lit-
"In the late summer of 1964, there was a rather unusual excitement building throughout the entire Delaware Valley that something rather historical was going to take place. A group called the Beatles, part of a British musical invasion was landing in the United States for one incredible tour. Earlier that year, representing all the fans in the city of Brotherly Love, I traveled to New York’s William Morris agency, to book this new, and as of yet unseen ‘in person’ group.
In the week before September 2, 1964, I would hear from Frank Rizzo, Captain of the Philadelphia Police. He had called to say his boss and children wanted to meet the Beatles. I said you got it. But there is a problem. We’re being outnumbered by the fans. So Rizzo Said, “The only problem you have is getting them into convention hall, and I’ve got an idea”.
Frank and I arranged to have the Beatles smuggled in, from Atlantic City, where the day before they were performing at the Jersey Shore. While a decoy limousine procession traveled up the New Jersey White Horse Pike, a Hackney’s fish truck, carrying the Beatles, slowly rolled up the Black Horse Pike, and casually passed thousands of screaming fans, into the food service entrance at convention hall.
And so it had worked. We held a news conference that the Beatles are in the building September 2, 1964." (See picture above).
Within weeks after Hy books the Beatles to appear in Philadelphia, they appear on Ed Sullivan, which commands a Super Bowl-sized viewership, and overnight America falls hard for the Fab Four. Tickets go on sale in May, starting at $2.50 and topping out at $5.50. Convention Hall’s 13,000 seats sell out in 90 minutes. A mini riot ensues when word of the sellout reaches the scores of Beatlemaniacs still in line for tickets.
Hyski will be hit up with so many VIP won’t-take-no-for-an-answer ticket requests that when it’s all said and done and the Beatles have left, he’ll be out $5,000. In fact, the whole thing will turn out to be a really big headache, with the suits at the station giving him static about that stunt he pulled on a Bulletin reporter who was writing trash about Beatles fans the day of the ticket sales.
Hyski gave up the reporter’s office number on the air and told listeners to call him up and scream in his ear. The Bulletin guy complained to his boss, who then turned around and gave Hy’s boss an earful when they were out on the back nine together. At which point the boss comes back to the clubhouse, calls up Hyski and tells him he’s off the air for a couple of days. No pay.
On top of that, Hyski’s getting static from the local 7-UP guy, one of the stations biggest sponsors, who had been demanding exclusive pouring rights for the concert through the station. Hyski told Mr. 7-UP no. He didn’t need this crap from some soda jerk, and Hy cordially invited him to shove it. The 7-UP guy threatened to stop all soda sales. Hy said, “So what, you ever heard of water?”
Well, the station brass wanted to suspend him for that too, but Hyski wasn’t having it. He was untouchable, and he knew it. He reminded them that he took a bullet for the team back in ’60 when payola hit the fan, off the air briefly and now he was done taking bullets. He wasn’t interested in going on another ‘vacation’. “If you suspend me, I’ll resign and take the Beatles with me,” Lit said. And that was the end of that.
Hy took to the stage to introduce the Beatles. The crowd immediately enveloped into a roaring frenzy for the entire duration of the concert. In fact the cheering and the screams were so loud and at times there was such emotion that it was difficult to even hear the Beatles sing.
When the concert was over the security issue facing the Beatles getting into Philadelphia confronted them again.
It was determined that all the hotels in town were being staked out by frantic girls, and that secure lodging would be a problem. So the Beatles were secretly whisked to Hy's house where they were able to spend the night and get some r&r before traveling to the next city.
Once the Beatles left, Hy created a clever contest. He would give away the sheets and pillow cases that the Beatles slept on in a major WIBG Radio contest, which sent the city into a frenzy once again.
So very cool - brings back a local memory - originally WIBG opted to play the B side "I saw her standing there" more in Philly rather than "Hand" which got more airplay elsewhere. I remember Hyski saying on the air he liked that track better when they broke the Beatles and that it was a rocker better suited for Wibbage's audience. So when we got the 45, we thought "I saw" was the hit. :0)
-Hugh Peche - Wallingford, PA
Thanks for posting these Sam. I was at that exciiting concert. First concert I ever attended.What local teen in the sixties didn't listen to WIBeatle G and Hyski?
Hugh "I Saw Her Standing There is the best song EVER!!!!! I just needed to say that.
-Joy Musiker Cohen - Philadelphia Pa.
So great to see this again! Will never forget those days with HY. He got me a ticket for the concert on Sept 2nd - my birthday!
Charlene Nolten - Philadelphia
Some random quick comments
-Reggie Rubin - I went to that.
-Jack Taddeo - FANTASTIC. Thanks, Sam!
-Jeanne Foti-Cordes - How cool is this! Thanks for posting!!!
-Gavin Stief - WOW! Great Find!
-Carol Lieberman - Strawberry Fields Forever. Love the Beatles and Love the Photos.
-Dave Lyons - Wow Sam, killer pics!
Hi Sam,
Back in the 60's Hy, used to MC the Paul VI school dances in Haddon Twp., NJ. Me and my band played there many times alongside other acts he would bring in from his TV show and elsewhere. One night backstage, I vividly recall, I asked Hy to give us a big intro and he did. He was impeccably dressed in a white suit with a colorful tie (I forget the color...blue maybe or red). When it was our time to go on, his intro to our band went something like this:
"Now these guys just came from the Ed Sulligan show. That's Ed Sulligan, my butcher of Sulligan's Meat Market (said in a lower voice). Let's give them a big hand..."
Well, we were thrilled and put on a pretty good show that night, especially since quite a lot of kids thought he said 'The Ed Sullivan Show'... I remember even seeing a few girls crying while we were playing. Maybe their boyfriends just broke up with them or could it have been some of the residual Beatlemania effect? That we'll never know.
Kind regards,
Fran Maholland
Voorhees, NJ
Look for HyLitRadio classic cars at many of the HyLitRadio Live appearances.
We want to see your face in the place!
Private Party?
Live Broadcast Services Have HyLitRadio broadcast live from your location. Pick the time and place. We do the rest.
Contact Sam Lit: SamLit@HyLitRadio.com
Most of all, we want to thank you for making all the HyLit.com destinations some of the most popular on the Internet.
