The Beatles: A look back at their U.S. debut
The Beatles face the media at Idlewile Airport (now JFK) in New York on Feb. 7, 1964, after a welcoming by a screaming crowd estimated at 5,000 people. (Charles Tasnadi / Associated Press )
Longtime CBS mainstay Ed Sullivan rehearses his Sunday night television variety show with the Beatles in their first appearance in the United States, Feb. 9, 1964. (Edward T. Adams / Associated Press )
The Beatles relax on the lawn of their rented Bel-Air mansion in August 1964. (Larry Sharkey / Los Angeles Times)
Beatles figurines, part of Chris Ridges’ collection of Beatle Memorabilia. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
A Beatles button, part of Chris Ridges’ collection of Beatle memorabilia. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
The Beatles pose with an American flag in a Paris photo studio before their first visit to the United States, in January 1964. (Associated Press / Copyright Applecorps Ltd.)