The Beatles were to have had a rest day in Jacksonville, Florida, but stayed in Key West until Hurricane Dora passed.
Much of the day was spent drinking, but The Beatles also jammed at their hotel with New Orleans rhythm and blues singer Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, plus members of their tour support acts The Bill Black Combo and The Exciters.
The Key Wester Motel, where The Beatles stayed, was later demolished and replaced with the Hyatt Windward Pointe. An open-air structure named the Beatles Hut commemorates the place where the group stayed.
The Beatles’ stay in Key West was later obliquely referenced in ‘Here Today’, Paul McCartney’s 1982 tribute to John Lennon: “What about the night we cried/Because there wasn’t any reason left to keep it all inside”.
We were in Key West in 1964. We were due to fly into Jacksonville, in Florida, and do a concert there, but we’d been diverted because of a hurricane. We stayed there for a couple of days, not knowing what to do except, like, drink. I remember drinking way too much, and having one of those talking-to-the-toilet bowl evenings. It was during that night, when we’d all stayed up way too late, and we got so pissed that we ended up crying – about, you know, how wonderful we were, and how much we loved each other, even though we’d never said anything. It was a good one: you never say anything like that. Especially if you’re a Northern Man.
The Guardian
Also on this day...
- 2014: New Paul McCartney song Hope For The Future unveiled
- 2010: Yoko Ono opens art installation in Berlin
- 1975: Wings live: Hippodrome, Bristol
- 1973: John Lennon and Yoko Ono put Tittenhurst Park up for sale
- 1969: Self-Portrait and Mr & Mrs Lennon’s Honeymoon by John Lennon and Yoko Ono are premièred in London
- 1968: Recording: Helter Skelter
- 1963: Lennon and McCartney given Variety Club award
- 1962: The Beatles live: Queen’s Hall, Widnes
- 1962: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (lunchtime)
- 1961: The Beatles live: Casbah Coffee Club, Liverpool
- 1960: The Beatles live: Indra Club, Hamburg
- 1939: Cynthia Lennon is born
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
– The Guardian, Friday 11 June 2004
Two lines from the song have always intrigued me: “What about the night we cried/ Because there wasn’t any reason left to keep it all inside.”
“We were in Key West in 1964,” he says. “We were due to fly into Jacksonville, in Florida, and do a concert there, but we’d been diverted because of a hurricane. We stayed there for a couple of days, not knowing what to do except, like, drink. I remember drinking way too much, and having one of those talking-to-the-toilet bowl evenings. It was during that night, when we’d all stayed up way too late, and we got so pissed that we ended up crying – about, you know, how wonderful we were, and how much we loved each other, even though we’d never said anything. It was a good one: you never say anything like that. Especially if you’re a Northern Man.”
I was almost 9 years old when the Beatles stayed at the Key Wester. Some friends and I snuck as close to the hotel as we could and tried to see the Beatles. I remember one of them (from the distance we thought it was Paul) played peek-a-boo from behind a palm tree with us! The thrill of our lifetimes! Thanks for the memories!
My dad was the lounge manager at the Key Wester when the Beatles stayed there. He was the one who took drinks to them in their room. One story he shared was that he had just bought a clip on tie and Ringo had never seen one before. Ringo borrowed it and walked around the room wearing it saying he wanted to get all of his ties just like that. Wish I knew where that tie was today.
I WAS STATIONED AT KEY WEST FLEET SONAR SCHOOL 1964. I do not recall a hurricane Dora or Donna but I do remember a hurricane Isbell in 1964, I think the Beattles were supposed to stay at a hotel on Roosevelt Blvd called Seven Seas or the Villa but they left the island. That was almost 50 years ago…….ohhh to be young again. Robert Good Johnstown, Pa
I remember Hurricane Isabell in 1964. I helped to board up the school for civilians who were allowed onto the base. I also remember a shark and jelly fish scare which closed down Patio Beach for a few days. I graduated in March of 1965. Man, the memories of that place. One officer on base had the experimental
bronze colored Chrysler Turbine car.
Robert is right. Isabel crossed over the Keys and into the west coast of Florida in 1964. Dora slammed into Jax that same year. But they are different storms.
Thanks both.
Al I was stationed at Boca Chica in 1964; when we got word that the Beatles were coming to Key West, my wife and I waited by the curved driveway of the KeyWester. As the Beatles were leaving; Paul gave my wife a wave. She will never forget that morning, 49 years ago.
My dad, Norris Earley was the bartender at the Key Wester the night the Beatles stayed there. He took drinks and sandwiches to the band. He had just bought a clip on tie. Ringo thought it was great invention. Dad got a photo signed by the guys and gave it to my babysitter. One of the housekeepers went to Woolworth and bought some sheets; she cut them up and sold them as pieces of the sheets the band slept on. Her name was Ramona. Someone else sold small bottles of the pool water that the Beatles swam in.
My Dad , Jim Wiggins also tended bar when the Beatles were there.
The tiki bar is now named “Abbey Road”. Still at the Hyatt on Roosevelt.
As a Beatle fan and seeing them 3 times when I was in high school. I had to search out the place they stayed in Key West. Found it, but was disappointed that they really didn’t play up the merchandise or history of the place.