Baltimore • Sunday, September 13, 1964

About

From The Beatles Bible:

This was The Beatles’ only visit to Baltimore. They performed two shows at the Civic Center, to a total of 28,000 fans. The support acts were The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon. […]

This is the first show.

From baltimoremagazine.com, June 7, 2022:

On the morning of September 13, 1964, hundreds of teenage girls gathered outside the downtown Holiday Inn on the corner of Baltimore and Lombard streets to hopefully catch a glimpse of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.

But to the dismay of the giddy throng standing beneath overcast skies in a light rain, the British stud-muffins known as The Beatles—nearing the end of a 25-city landmark U.S. tour that exploded their worldwide popularity and fame forever—evaded their admirers. They bolted from the hotel in a limousine for a short dash to the Baltimore Civic Center, where they hid out in a dressing room, goofed off, tuned their guitars, and rehearsed in a communal bathroom shower.

When the quartet finally walked on stage and started playing the tune to “Twist and Shout”—like they famously did that February for 73 million television viewers in their U.S. debut on CBS’ The Ed Sullivan Show—you couldn’t even hear the lyrics amid the shrieks from roughly 13,000 hysterical fans at what is now the site of Royal Farms Arena.

“Everyone, including me, screamed for the next two hours,” says Cheri Milrad of Pikesville, a longtime teacher who was 14 when she attended one of two shows the Beatles played that day. She echoed the primary memory of roughly a dozen people I heard from who had tickets, which cost as little as $3. “It was my first concert, and it was the biggest thrill of life.”

This was Beatlemania in Baltimore, nearly 60 years ago, a cultural event etched in the memories of those who were there.

“It took hours for our hearing to return,” says Patricia Piraino of Towson, who went with her mother. “Yes, my mother. We could hardly hear any music from the screaming, but I’ll never forget the experience.” […]

According to an account from the Maryland Center for History and Culture (which features images from former Baltimore magazine photographer Morton Tadder), two girls unsuccessfully tried to have themselves delivered into the Civic Center in a box marked “Beatles Fan Mail.” Another young woman convinced a Civic Center employee to show her the band’s dressing room, where she left a note with her phone number and the message “I love you Ringo” affixed to a coat hanger.

Following the shows, the Beatles went back to their hotel—where they allegedly partied all night at La Ronde, the revolving restaurant atop the Holiday Inn. The next morning, they got in their limo again—amid more hysteria on the streets—to leave. They were bound for Pittsburgh, never to be seen performing as a group within the Baltimore city limits again.

From Beatlemania in Baltimore – Maryland Center for History and Culture (mdhistory.org):

Baltimore photographer Morton Tadder was there to document the performances. Born in 1929, Tadder began working as a photographer’s assistant while still in high school and over the next six decades established himself as one of Maryland’s premiere commercial photographers. His clients included McCormick, Baltimore magazine, U.S. Steel Corporation, and Playboy. He was also the official photographer for both the Orioles and the Colts.(1) Tadder was hired by the London Express to photograph the Fab Four for what would be their only Baltimore appearance. The newspaper asked him to only shoot only one roll of film, but Tadder ended up filling up more than ten rolls, capturing the Beatles in concert (only the afternoon performance), the between show press conference, and the masses of teenage girls.

The Beatles visit to Baltimore was typical of any of the group’s appearances at the height of Beatlemania: screaming girls, press conferences, high security, car chases, and hiding in hotels. The music itself was almost incidental. Crowds gathered all day outside the Civic Center and the Holiday Inn across the street, where the Beatles were staying, in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the group. Two girls unsuccessfully tried to deliver themselves to the concert in a box marked “Beatles Fan Mail.” Another girl, intent on fulfilling her plan to marry Ringo, persuaded a Civic Center employee to show her the Beatles dressing room. She left a note with her telephone number and “I love you Ringo” affixed to some coat hangers.

An estimated 26,000 screaming fans packed into the Civic Center for the two concerts. Seventy-one police officers were lined up three deep in the orchestra pit in front of the stage. After sitting in patient anticipation through the opening acts—Bill Black’s Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon—the crowd exploded in shrieks and applause when the Beatles hit the stage. Although little could be heard of their performance above the din of the audience, the group ran through a set list of 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.”

After an all night private party held at La Ronde, the revolving restaurant perched atop the Holiday Inn, the Beatles left the hotel by limousine destined for more of the same hysteria in Pittsburgh, the next stop on the tour. Despite the party, the frenzied pace of touring, and general condition of being a Beatle, The Sun reported that the group departed Baltimore looking “fresh and restive.” George and Paul “were neatly dressed in suits and blue shirts, Ringo was tie-less, and John, in sunglasses, long-hair and white shirt with bold black spots, looked like a blind Dalmatian.”(2) (Damon Talbot)

Last updated on June 12, 2022

Baltimore Civic Center

This was the 1st concert played at Baltimore Civic Center.

A total of 2 concerts have been played there • 1964 • Sep 13th • Sep 13th

Setlist for the concert