Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" hitting #1 on US charts, according to a report I heard. That song is as fresh today as it was then.
Hard to believe that it's been fifty years; it seems like yesterday. I remember it well. A few weeks prior to this my cousin told me about a new group from England .... he said they "all looked like Moe" (referring to their haircuts). That was the first I heard of them.
Personally, it was a mixed time for me. I was busy studying for my bar mitzvah (which would follow on Feb 22nd) when my favorite uncle died suddenly (50 years ago today - Feb 1st). His death really crushed me but I did watch the Ed Sullivan Show the following week to see the Beatles first appearance. (I would often watch the show when I was at my uncle's house on Sunday).
A few weeks later, three nights after my bar mitzvah, heavyweight champ Sonny Liston lost his title to a brash upstart named Cassius Clay (later changed to Muhammad Ali). I taped the fight on my tape recorder (off the radio - this was LONG before videotape). It was an exciting time in history to be around.
