Beatlemania was a force to be reckoned with during the '60s, and it transcended far beyond continents. That is why when The Beatles launched their US invasion in 1964, something had to be done for them to even breathe in peace. And something was done, and it all came down to The Ronettes taking The Beatles to a particular New York neighborhood: East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem.
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"We were already friends with them from England. George [Harrison] was dating Estelle, my sister, so it was very simple," Ronnie Spector said. She appears alongside other musicians and industry giants in the new Disney+ documentary "Beatles '64", produced by Martin Scorsese. "John called me at my house, and he said, 'Ronnie, we're prisoners. We can't get out. The whole place is surrounded by girls around the whole Plaza building'," she continued.
At that moment, The Ronettes knew exactly what needed to be done. They had to go to Harlem. "I said, 'I'm taking you to Harlem. Nobody will notice you up there.' And they didn't," Ronnie said. "They thought they were a bunch of Spanish dorks, because it was Spanish Harlem. So they didn't pay them any mind."
The Fab Four went on to enjoy some BBQ in Sherman's Bar-B-Q. Moreover, they got to enjoy the privilege of becoming unknown fellows for a bit, after no one recognized them inside the restaurant.
The Beatles US Invasion
The Beatles were no strangers to American culture. Not only did they idolize musicians such as Little Richard or The Miracles, but they even got to include some famous covers in their early albums. Such is the case of "Twist and Shout", a song The Beatles recorded and released for their first album Please Please Me. The song had been previously recorded by The Isley Brothers, and written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns.
"We were glad, we were so glad. It was great for us that they did our songs," Ronald Isley, one of the "Isley Brothers, said. "Paul McCartney would often say, 'If it wasn't for the Isley Brothers, we would still be in Liverpool'."
The Beatles US invasion was a cultural phenomenon. Their appearance in the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, was watched by more than a third of the US population at the time. America, at the moment, needed a break, and The Beatles knew how to provide one.
"When we came, America had been in mourning," Paul McCartney said. "It was quite shortly after Kennedy had been assassinated. Maybe America needed something like The Beatles to lift it out of mourning and just sort of say, 'Life goes on.'"
