photo– Karen McClintock   artist–Michael BonitThe John Lennon graf mural along the railroad tracks sent me off in search of other Beatle murals.

I was in 7th grade – First Form (I Form) – when the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan on February 9, 1964.

The television that my family watched together then was:

Friday night: The Wild Wild West and Hogan’s Heroes (starting in 1965)

Saturday night: The Jackie Gleason Show.

Sunday night: Disney (mostly earlier years) and Ed Sullivan.  It is hard to believe that America sat entranced watching Ed Sullivan talking with a foam mouse with an Italian accent asking Sullivan to “Keesa me goo’night!”

Or the Spanish ventriloquist Señor Wences.

Or Eric Breen the plate spinner or Satani Demon the fire juggler or the foot juggling Baranton Sisters or the Claytons and their whip act.  But – we did.

I really fell for the Beatles.  I bought their records – albums for $2.89 and singles for $.99 from Mad Records on Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore.

I’d stop off on my Merion to Bryn Mawr trip home on the Pennsylvania Railroad and go to Mad’s.  I sang along with them in my room. I read fan magazines, mostly at my cousin Jay’s.  He had a ton of them, and had fold-out posters from the magazines all over his wall.

I parted my hair on the right instead of the left so it looked longer – only in my room – and tucked my collar under.   All in my room, looking in the mirror on my bureau.

My mother was a great seamstress.  She made me a jacket without collars or lapels like the Beatles wore.  It was called a Cardin jacket.  I wore it to school once, in 9th grade (III Form).  Mr. Muir made it fairly clear that I was not to wear it again.

In our folk rock band in 1969, Cathy and I played three Beatles songs, “Nowhere Man,” “Rain,” and “Obladi-Oblada.”   That year I also remember Cres Fraley’s Land Rover full of boys driving to school singing along with “Hey Jude” on AM radio.

I associate the song with Dr. Don Rose on WFIL.

That is odd because we usually listened to Joe Niagra on WIBG.  I know that he was gone for a while on account of payola incidents and allegations, but we usually listened to him.  Don’t know.

 

 

Peter Korn and I made it through freshman year at Penn in no small part because of Abbey Road.

My oldest daughter Julia was born on John Lennon’s birthday.  And so on.

I still find comfrot and stength in the Beatles today.  Confession!

Back to the murals – I found a few:

I also found a few of just John, one fourth of the Fab Four, the fab one.

Photographer Karen Harlow-McClintock commissioned this mural for her store located at 802 E. Olive Ave., Fresno, CA. It is an original painting by Michael Bonit. Karen made this photograph and owns copyright on the photo.  The mural is in my opinion one the best of the Beatles murals.

Quirkiest of all, the Beatles House in San Francisco.  It was at 191 Precita Avenue.  This is what the house looks like now:

And this is what it looked like then

Pretty danged cool.

My friend holds John Lennon in the highest esteem.   I asked him to take a look at these photos and tell me what he thinks.   He saw the first few photos and then went to get “some sides to percolate to.”  A record.  This is what he brought:

So predictable.  “First state, dude” he said to me about the album cover, whatever that means.  He handed me a photo he had in his desk.

“John and Julia, 1948.”   I thanked him.

What about my photos?