Did JFK's assassination help The Beatles break the US?


The Beatles rose to global fame after their first US tour, and there has been some speculation that their success was due in part to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Paul McCartney has suggested that America needed something like The Beatles to lift the country out of its sorrow. While many cultural historians have noted the band’s impact on an America in mourning, it’s difficult to say whether they would have had the same impact if Kennedy hadn’t been killed.

Dr Patrick Andelic, an assistant professor of American History, argues that JFK was similarly youthful, witty, and energetic, projecting those traits through his pop culture persona. He goes on to explain that Kennedy was the first TV president, which was relatively new at the time. At the beginning of the ’60s, 90% of American families had TVs, which changed the way news and media was consumed. Kennedy was well-suited to this medium, which made the shock and trauma of his death sharper for the American public.

When The Beatles arrived in America, they became an unstoppable force, thanks in part to their impact on British teenagers. Beatles scholars agree that winning over a portion of America’s youth was a significant factor in their success, but cracking the national market was a different story altogether. Many British acts had tried and failed to make it big in the United States. Capitol, one of the country’s largest record companies, even refused to distribute The Beatles’ music for fear of the same result.

However, the band’s manager, Brian Epstein, and Capitol’s parent company, EMI, managed to change the label’s minds. In December 1963, a month after Kennedy’s assassination, The Beatles released “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” Its impact was huge, and by the first week of February, it was at the top of the US charts. The success meant more than 3,000 fans and a large press pack were at the airport when the band touched down.

While some speculate that Kennedy’s death created a void that The Beatles helped to fill, the facts suggest otherwise. The Beatles had already signed a contract to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show before Kennedy was killed. Senior music industries lecturer Dr Holly Tessler argues that it was this show that made The Beatles stars overnight. American audiences were captivated by the band’s performance, and it marked a turning point in their global success. By the end of February, more than 70 million people watched The Beatles perform and were swept up in Beatlemania.

The notion that The Beatles owe their US success to JFK’s assassination is simplistic. While it’s true that the country was mourning during the band’s tour, it’s unlikely that this was the primary factor in their success. The Beatles’ popularity was due to their musical talent, youthful energy, and charisma, which captivated audiences around the world

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