Jeff wrote:

> The rink was playing "Twist and shout" so maybe it was 1963?

This is a helpful clue, but the only way your skating rink could have 
played it in 1963 would have involved purchasing the British "Twist and 
Shout" EP or the "Please Please Me" LP from England. That's
a long-shot.

Your feeling that it was late 1963 is likely closer to the mark, but 
chronologically January 1964 makes a lot more sense because of the 
sudden availability of so many Beatles recordings.

For instance, that's when Vee Jay's "Introducing the Beatles" was 
released, as well as Canada's Capitol LP "Twist and Shout", which was 
almost the same format as "Please Please Me"; and both these albums 
included the song "Twist and Shout". If you remember a lot of Beatles 
songs being played at the rink, I'd suggest that one of these two LPs 
was the source, and that suggests that January 1964 was the time you 
heard these songs.

They could have been playing the American format "Meet the Beatles" too, 
but that LP doesn't have "Twist and Shout", so it was probably one of 
the other two mentioned above.

> They kept mentioning their names, and I had "John Lennon" mememorized
> before  they appeared on Ed Sullivan, in Feb of 1964.

Another good clue! This too suggests very early Jan. 1964, when news 
about the group was exploding all over the US and Canada. Your rink 
probably moved quickly to capitalize on the Fabs' growing popularity. 
Like you, I remember clearly knowing their names (and ages) well before 
the Ed Sullivan show.

----
saki{at}ucla.edu

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