This Day in Audio/Tech History - August 19th

August 19, 1964 – Beatles’ 1st U.S./Canada Tour starts

After an initial visit to the United States the previous February, the Beatles kicked off a month long North American tour on this date in 1964. The first date was at the Cow Palace near San Francisco, California, to a crowd of 17,130. Their set-list that night (and for the entire tour) included 12 songs: ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘You Can't Do That’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Things We Said Today’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Can't Buy Me Love’, ‘If I Fell’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, ‘Boys’, ‘A Hard Day's Night’, and ‘Long Tall Sally’. Supporting acts at the Cow Palace were The Righteous Brothers, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, and Jackie DeShannon.

They went on to play a total of 30 concerts in 23 cities, including Vancouver (Empire Stadium, Aug. 22nd), Toronto (Maple Leaf Gardens, Sept 7th), and Montreal (Montreal Forum, Sept 8th). There was also a small incident in Winnipeg during a refueling stop on the way to San Francisco. You can read about it here.

The tour finished in New York at the Paramount Theatre on Sept. 20th. The Fab Four would return for two similar concert tours in the summers of 165 and 1966.

Photo: Mews conference photo, Maple Leaf Gardens, Sept 7th, 1964.