The Beatles’ Press Conference

The press unabashedly loved the Beatles, taken by their new, cheeky version of celebrity, and the fact that these irreverent upstarts were ensconced in the posh Plaza only made the story better. The Beatles returned the favor by giving the media something to write about. Over the five days that the Fab Four spent in Manhattan, they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, gave a press conference, partied at the Playboy Club and the Peppermint Lounge, and performed back-to-back concerts at Carnegie Hall.

The press conference (pictured here) was held on February 10, 1964 in The Plaza’s Baroque Room, where the group was presented a pair of gold records for their album Meet the Beatles and their single “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” Dr. Joyce Brothers reported the event for the New York Journal-American, and here, Ringo takes her pulse, for reasons now unknown but no doubt amusing at the time. Dr. Brothers had the last laugh, however. The following day, her column, “Why They Go Wild Over the Beatles,” summarized their appeal: “The Beatles display a few mannerisms which almost seen a shade on the feminine side, such as the tossing of their long manes of hair.… These are exactly the mannerisms which very young female fans appear to go wildest over.”