Philly Beatlemania begins with a riddle on a cold December morning. Hy Lit, Hyski O’Roonie McVoutie O’Zoot, the No.1 jock on WIBG, the city’s AM powerhouse-walks out to his car. On the windshield is the letter “B” and “E”. Day after that: “A”, followed by “T” the next day. Every morning another letter placed by and enterprising Capitol Records promo man, Hyski suspected. By the end of the week the message on Lit’s windshield is complete. “the Beatles are coming!”
It’s January 1964 and WIBG jock’s Hyski & Joe Niagara, are knocking back complimentary beverages at a swanky “Meet the Beatles” cocktail party at the Plaza in New York (see HyLit.com for picture). Hyski stagers out of the cocktail party with one thing in mind: getting the Beatles to Philadelphia. The next day He calls up William Morris, the Beatles’ booking agency and asks what it will take. Twenty Five thousand dollars, they say. Hy doesn’t even blink. He’ll be there tomorrow with a certified check. Thank you Mr. Lit, say’s the booking agent. The Beatles will be on your step Sept. 2.
Within weeks the Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan, which commands a Super Bowl-sized Viewership, and seemingly overnight America falls hard for the Fab Four. Tickets go on sale in May, starting at $2.50 for the nose bleed seats and topping out at a whopping $5.50 for the floor. Convention Halls' 13,000 seats sell out in 90 minutes. A mini riot ensues when the word of the sellout reaches the scores of ticketless Beatlemaniacs still in line. Hyski will be hit up with so many won’t-take-no for-an-answer VIP ticket requests that when it’s all said and done and the Beatles say goodbye, he’ll be out $5,000.
In fact the whole Beatles thing will turn out to be a really big headache. What with the suits at the station giving him guff about that stunt he pulled on a Philadelphia Bulletin reporter who was writing trash about the Beatles fans the day of the ticket sales. Hyski gave up the reporter’s office number on the air and told listeners to call him up and scream in his ear. The bulletin Guy complained to his boss, who then turned around and gave Hy’s boss an earful when they were out on the back nine together. At which point the bossman comes back to the clubhouse, calls up Hyski and tells him he’s off the air for a couple of day’s. No pay.
And on top of that, Hyski’s getting static from the local 7-UP guy, one of the stations biggest sponsors, who had been demanding exclusive pouring rights for the concert through the station. Hyski told Mr. 7-UP no we’ve gotta let the other guy’s in too, and that he didn’t need this crap from some soda jerk and cordially invited him to shove it. The 7-Up guy threatened to stop all soda sales. Hy said, so what. You ever heard of water?
Well, the station brass wanted to suspend him for that too, but Hyski wasn’t having it. He was untouchable, and he knew it. He reminded them that he took a bullet for the team back in ’60 when payola hit the fan, off the air briefly-and now he was done taking bullets. He wasn’t interested in going on another “vacation”. You suspend me and I’ll resign, and take the Beatles with me. And that was the end of that.
Part 3 Next: The seismic vibration that is a deafening unstoppable sound, supersonic in pitch and intensity, like sticking your head inside the roaring jet engine of a 747 achieving takeoff velocity. It’s a sound that until this time had not been heard in the entire history of human listening: the sound of 13,000 teenage girls losing their minds under one roof. Before the Beatles can even get out a single note, they are completely drowned out by the mega-scream of 13,000 teenage girls. It will be years before scientists invent a concert sound system that’s louder.
Hy Lit & Beatlemaniacs Come Together. Hear it on HyLitRadio.com, read about it first on Radio-Info
Part 1:
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,41731.0.html
It’s January 1964 and WIBG jock’s Hyski & Joe Niagara, are knocking back complimentary beverages at a swanky “Meet the Beatles” cocktail party at the Plaza in New York (see HyLit.com for picture). Hyski stagers out of the cocktail party with one thing in mind: getting the Beatles to Philadelphia. The next day He calls up William Morris, the Beatles’ booking agency and asks what it will take. Twenty Five thousand dollars, they say. Hy doesn’t even blink. He’ll be there tomorrow with a certified check. Thank you Mr. Lit, say’s the booking agent. The Beatles will be on your step Sept. 2.
Within weeks the Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan, which commands a Super Bowl-sized Viewership, and seemingly overnight America falls hard for the Fab Four. Tickets go on sale in May, starting at $2.50 for the nose bleed seats and topping out at a whopping $5.50 for the floor. Convention Halls' 13,000 seats sell out in 90 minutes. A mini riot ensues when the word of the sellout reaches the scores of ticketless Beatlemaniacs still in line. Hyski will be hit up with so many won’t-take-no for-an-answer VIP ticket requests that when it’s all said and done and the Beatles say goodbye, he’ll be out $5,000.
In fact the whole Beatles thing will turn out to be a really big headache. What with the suits at the station giving him guff about that stunt he pulled on a Philadelphia Bulletin reporter who was writing trash about the Beatles fans the day of the ticket sales. Hyski gave up the reporter’s office number on the air and told listeners to call him up and scream in his ear. The bulletin Guy complained to his boss, who then turned around and gave Hy’s boss an earful when they were out on the back nine together. At which point the bossman comes back to the clubhouse, calls up Hyski and tells him he’s off the air for a couple of day’s. No pay.
And on top of that, Hyski’s getting static from the local 7-UP guy, one of the stations biggest sponsors, who had been demanding exclusive pouring rights for the concert through the station. Hyski told Mr. 7-UP no we’ve gotta let the other guy’s in too, and that he didn’t need this crap from some soda jerk and cordially invited him to shove it. The 7-Up guy threatened to stop all soda sales. Hy said, so what. You ever heard of water?
Well, the station brass wanted to suspend him for that too, but Hyski wasn’t having it. He was untouchable, and he knew it. He reminded them that he took a bullet for the team back in ’60 when payola hit the fan, off the air briefly-and now he was done taking bullets. He wasn’t interested in going on another “vacation”. You suspend me and I’ll resign, and take the Beatles with me. And that was the end of that.
Part 3 Next: The seismic vibration that is a deafening unstoppable sound, supersonic in pitch and intensity, like sticking your head inside the roaring jet engine of a 747 achieving takeoff velocity. It’s a sound that until this time had not been heard in the entire history of human listening: the sound of 13,000 teenage girls losing their minds under one roof. Before the Beatles can even get out a single note, they are completely drowned out by the mega-scream of 13,000 teenage girls. It will be years before scientists invent a concert sound system that’s louder.
Hy Lit & Beatlemaniacs Come Together. Hear it on HyLitRadio.com, read about it first on Radio-Info
Part 1:
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,41731.0.html