Marsha Albert

Last updated

Marsha Albert
Born1948 (age 75–76)
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Known forIntroducing The Beatles to American radio

Marsha Albert (born 1948) is an American citizen who triggered the early 1960s phenomenon known as Beatlemania in the United States, when as a 15-year-old girl, on December 17, 1963, she introduced The Beatles song "I Want To Hold Your Hand" on American radio. Beatles historian and author, Bruce Spizer, said in 2004, “Marsha Albert's actions forced a major record company to push up the release date of a debut single from an unknown band during the holiday season, a time when record companies traditionally released no new product.” [1]

Contents

History

On the morning of November 22, 1963, CBS Morning News , hosted by Mike Wallace, aired a light trend segment about The Beatles and the phenomenon surrounding the band known as Beatlemania. It was due to air again later that evening on the CBS Evening News , hosted by Walter Cronkite, but was shelved following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It was eventually re-aired by Cronkite on December 10, 1963. After viewing this re-aired segment, Albert, a 15-year-old living in Silver Spring, Maryland, wrote to her local radio station, WWDC-AM, asking disc jockey Carroll James Jr., "Why can't we have music like that here in America?". After receiving Albert's letter, James Jr. "pulled strings and called in favors" and obtained a copy of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" from a British Overseas Airways Corporation flight attendant. On December 17, 1963, James Jr. invited Albert to his studio where she introduced the song to America for the first time. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Marcia Schafer Raubach dispute

Marcia Schafer Raubach, who, in 1963, was a high school senior in West Frankfort, Illinois, claimed that she was the first to play a record by The Beatles in America on her father's radio station in September, but that was disputed by Chicago radio station WLS AM—though Raubach is credited with being the first American to interview, on American radio, a Beatle member, George Harrison, who at the time (September 1963) was in the southern Illinois region to visit his sister. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Invasion</span> Cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s

The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States with significant influence on the rising "counterculture" on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. UK pop and rock groups such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks, the Zombies, Small Faces, the Dave Clark Five, The Spencer Davis Group, Herman's Hermits, the Hollies, the Animals, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Searchers, the Yardbirds, Them, and Manfred Mann, as well as solo singers such as Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, Petula Clark, Tom Jones and Donovan, were at the forefront of the "invasion".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul is dead</span> Urban legend and conspiracy theory about Paul McCartney

"Paul is dead" is an urban legend and conspiracy theory alleging that English pop musician Paul McCartney of the Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike. The rumour began circulating in 1966, gaining broad popularity in September 1969 following reports on American college campuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Cronkite</span> American broadcast journalist (1916–2009)

Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years, from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll. Cronkite received numerous honors including two Peabody Awards, a George Polk Award, an Emmy Award and in 1981 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.

The CBS Evening News is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The CBS Evening News is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature stories and interviews by CBS News correspondents and reporters covering events around the world. The program has been broadcast since July 1, 1941, under the original title CBS Television News, eventually adopting its current title in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want to Hold Your Hand</span> 1963 single by the Beatles

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Recorded on 17 October 1963 and released on 29 November 1963 in the United Kingdom, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track recording equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She Loves You</span> 1963 single by the Beatles

"She Loves You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released as a single in the United Kingdom on 23 August 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States as one of the five Beatles songs that held the top five positions in the charts simultaneously, on 4 April 1964. It remains the band's best-selling single in the UK and was the top-selling single of the 1960s there by any artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Osgood</span> American television news anchor (1933–2024)

Charles Osgood Wood III, known professionally as Charles Osgood, was an American radio and television commentator, writer, and musician. Osgood was best known both for being the host of CBS News Sunday Morning, a role he held for over 22 years from April 10, 1994, until September 25, 2016, and The Osgood File, a series of daily radio commentaries he hosted from 1971 until December 29, 2017.

Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By October, the press adopted the term "Beatlemania" to describe the scenes of adulation that attended the band's concert performances. From the start of 1964, their world tours were characterised by the same levels of hysteria and high-pitched screaming by female fans, both at concerts and during the group's travels. Commentators likened the intensity of this adulation to a religious fervour and to a female masturbation fantasy. Among the displays of deity-like worship, fans would approach the band in the belief that they possessed supernatural healing powers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMCA (AM)</span> Radio station in New York City

WMCA is a radio station licensed to New York, New York. Owned by Salem Media Group, the station programs a Christian radio format consisting of teaching and talk programs. The station's studios are in lower Manhattan and are shared with co-owned WNYM. WMCA's transmitter is located along Belleville Turnpike in Kearny, New Jersey. WMCA's programming is simulcast on a 250 watt translator, W272DX, from a tower in Clifton, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWDC (FM)</span> Alternative rock radio station in Washington, D.C.

WWDC is a commercial FM radio station in Maryland, near Washington, D.C. The station is owned by iHeartMedia through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an alternative radio format. Studios and offices are in Rockville, Maryland. WWDC serves as the flagship station for the syndicated radio show Elliot in the Morning and as the local affiliate for Skratch 'N Sniff.

WQOF is a commercial radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., and serving the Washington metro area. The station is owned and operated by Relevant Radio, based in Wisconsin, and broadcasts its nationally syndicated catholic–talk radio programming. WQOF is one of two Catholic stations in the Washington area; the other is EWTN affiliate WMET.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Downs</span>

William Randall Downs, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He worked for CBS News from 1942 to 1962 and for ABC News beginning in 1963. He was one of the original members of the team of war correspondents known as the Murrow Boys.

Alexander Kendrick was a broadcast journalist. He worked for CBS during World War II and was part of a second generation of reporters known as Murrow's Boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beatles in film</span> The Beatles filmography

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are commonly regarded as the most influential band of all time. Between 1964 and 1970, they appeared in five major motion pictures, beginning with A Hard Day's Night (1964) and ending with Let It Be (1970). From late 1965 to 1969, the group also appeared in several promotional films for their singles, which have been credited with anticipating music videos and the rise of MTV in the 1980s.

In the year 1977, significant events in radio broadcasting included the President of the United States participating in a call-in radio program.

Daniel J. "Danny" Neaverth Sr. is an American disc jockey and television personality from Buffalo, New York. He is best known for a run of over 40 years as a morning disc jockey in Buffalo, including 25 years at heritage top-40 and oldies station WKBW/WWKB, another 15 years at oldies/classic hits WHTT-FM and a three-year run at WECK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Beatles' North American releases</span> Album releases by the Beatles in North America

The Beatles experienced huge popularity on the British record charts in early 1963, but record companies in the United States did not immediately follow up with releases of their own, and the Beatles' commercial success in the US continued to be hampered by other obstacles, including issues with royalties and public derision toward the "Beatle haircut".

David "Bruce" Spizer is a tax attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana, who is also recognized as an expert on the Beatles. He has published thirteen books, and is frequently quoted as an authority on the history of the band and its recordings.

Sanford Socolow was an American broadcast journalist who worked at CBS News from 1956 to 1988. He was executive producer of The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite from 1978 to 1981.

The Beatles on <i>The Ed Sullivan Show</i>

The Beatles made several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, including three in February 1964 that were among their first appearances in front of an American audience. Their first appearance, on February 9, was seen by over 73 million viewers and came to be regarded as a cultural watershed that launched American Beatlemania—as well as the wider British Invasion of American pop music—and inspired many young viewers to become rock musicians. The band also made another appearance during their 1965 U.S. tour.

References

  1. ↑ Vries, Lloyd (January 16, 2004). "Beatles' 'Helping Hand' Shuns Fame". CBS News . cbsnews.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ Roda, Jeff (November 22, 2013). "In 79 Days, Innocence Lost, Then Found". The Atlantic . theatlantic.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ Arak, Joel (February 7, 2004). "Girl Who 'Found' Beatles In US". CBS News . cbsnews.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  4. ↑ Gundersen, Edna (January 16, 2004). "Found: The teen who became Beatles' first fan". USA Today . usatoday.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  5. ↑ Harrington, Richard (January 16, 2004). "The Beatles' Helping 'Hand'". The Washington Post . washingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  6. ↑ Kozinnmarch, Allan (March 29, 1997). "Carroll James Jr., Disk Jockey; Early Backer of Beatles Was 60". The New York Times . nytimes.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  7. ↑ Furry, William (January 31, 2013). "George Harrison, the first Beatle in America, left his footprints all over southern Illinois". Illinois Times . illinoistimes.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.