Beatlemania Arrived In Boston 50 Years Ago

BOSTON (CBS) – John Collins was mayor. Tony C. and Yaz played at Fenway Park. And the Beatles took Boston by storm.

Fourteen thousand people squeezed into the Boston Garden that night. But every baby boomer you meet will say they were there.

The Beatles arrived at Hanscom Field in the early morning hours of September 12, 1964.

WBZ’s Gary Lapierre, then a cub reporter, was there.

“That was my first huge event that I covered. And I don’t think I realized at the time how big it was,” Lapierre told WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s Carl Stevens.

Before the concert, the Beatles “held court” with a press conference at the Hotel Madison, where the group stayed while they were in Boston.