The 人妻少妇专区 Institute for Popular Music will continue its “In Performance” Series with a concert and lecture series celebrating the聽聽of the Beatles’ first U.S. performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.
On Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014鈥攅xactly 50 years, to the hour, after that famous nationwide broadcast aired to 73 million viewers鈥攁聽concert honoring the Beatles聽and their music will begin at 8 p.m. in Strong Auditorium on the University River 人妻少妇专区, featuring performances by faculty, students, and Rochester-area 60s band The Smooth Talkers.
“At the end of 1963, the Beatles took over British popular music in a way that no one had ever done before,” said John Covach, director of the Institute for Popular Music and chair of the music department in the University’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. “In 1964, the Beatles conquered America and the world.”
But according to Covach, the Beatles’ lasting contribution was their ability to cash in “that initial fan popularity for enough artistic freedom to really make a difference in the evolution and development of popular music.”
The Beatles celebration will kick off on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in Dewey Hall 1-101 with a lecture by Andy Babiuk, noted instrument expert and author, who will discuss the musical gear the Beatles’ used on stage and in the studio.
Walter Everett, professor at the University of Michigan and author of two books on the Beatles, will also give a Beatles celebration lecture on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. in Lower Strong Auditorium.
On Sunday, Feb. 9, Covach will also launch his free, six-week online course,聽, through massive online course platform聽. The class, which currently has over 23,000 enrolled participants, will analyze the musical development of the band.
All Beatles celebration events are free and open to University faculty, staff, students, and the general public, space permitting. For more information contact Elaine Stroh atestroh@ur.rochester.edu聽or call 585. 275.9397.
