The Beatles' Historic Shea Stadium Concert
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Beatles started playing live shows at the tiny Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, in 1957 when they were called The Quarrymen. Little did they know what lay ahead in eight short years.
The Beatles' first big performance in America was on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. They played three consecutive Sundays, and Beatlemania was birthed in the States.
The Beatles toured constantly for the next two years, their popularity surging to levels that not even the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley, had enjoyed.
The Beatles arrived at the stadium by helicopter. The sound of the fans was so deafening, they couldn't hear what they were playing.
In 1965, The Beatles announced the first big stadium concert in the history of Rock & Roll.
Specially designed 100-watt amplifiers weren't anywhere close to loud enough, so they played the show over Shea's PA system.
During one point in the concert, John Lennon was so giddy he played his piano with his elbos, knowing that nobody could hear what they were doing anyway,
The historic concert was front page news the following day.
The Beatles played Shea again the following year, but gave up touring soon after and became primarily a recording band, putting out several of Rock & Roll's best albums before calling it quits in 1969.