While John and Cynthia Lennon were holidaying in Paris, and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr flew to Greece with their partners, George Harrison and his brother Peter visited their sister Louise Harrison Caldwell in Benton, Illinois.
Although The Beatles would conquer America in February 1964, with this trip Harrison became the first of the group to travel to the US.
I’d been to America before, being the experienced Beatle that I was. I went to New York and St Louis in 1963, to look around, and to the countryside in Illinois, where my sister was living at the time. I went to record stores. I bought Booker T and the MGs’ first album, Green Onions, and I bought some Bobby Bland, all kind of things.
Anthology
Ringo Starr originally planned to join Harrison on the US trip, but eventually decided to go to Greece instead. Most of the group wanted a restful holiday, and Louise Harrison was keen to promote The Beatles’ music with local radio stations.
She had previously been sent a copy of ‘From Me To You’ by their mother, which she took to the WFRX-AM radio station in West Frankfort, IL. The song was played by DJ Marcia Raubach in June 1963, one of the first times The Beatles’ music had been broadcast in the United States.
When the Harrisons arrived in Benton in September, George and Louise hitchhiked to WFRX with a copy of ‘She Loves You’, which had been released the previous month in the United Kingdom. The single was also played by the station.
The Harrisons stayed mainly at Louise’s house at 113 McCann Street, Benton. The small city of around 8,000 people had a substantial coal mining community; Louise had emigrated there in early 1963 as her Scottish husband Gordon was a mine engineer.
While in Benton, George Harrison performed with a local group, The Four Vests, at the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Hall in Eldorado, IL. The guest spot was arranged by Louise. The Four Vests played their normal set during the first half of the show, then returned to the stage and introduced Harrison as “the Elvis of England”.
Harrison wore a dark suit and white shirt with no tie. They performed songs including ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Johnny B Goode’, ‘Matchbox’ and ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’.
He also performed with the group at the Bocchi Ball Club in Benton, and with the group’s Kenny Welch and Gabe McCarty in Louise Harrison’s living room. Although The Four Vests had been given a selection of Beatles records, they played mostly Hank Williams songs.
Two members of The Four Vests, Gabe McCarty and Vernon Mandrell, took Harrison to the Fenton Music Store at 601 South 10th Street, Mt Vernon, IL. At the store Harrison bought a fireglo red Rickenbacker 420 guitar.
The guitar had the serial number BH 439 and was manufactured in August 1962. Harrison asked for the guitar to be refinished in black to match John Lennon’s, so the store owner, Lester “Red” Fenton, reluctantly agreed to carry out the work.
Harrison returned with McCarty to collect the guitar around a week later. He plugged it into an amplifier in the store and jammed for around half an hour, with McCarty playing bass guitar.
The instrument cost around $400. Harrison reportedly had little idea of the value of US dollars, so brought around $800 to the store. The Rickenbacker was first played in public on the UK television show Ready Steady Go on 4 October 1963.
Harrison and Gabe McCarty also visited local record stores, in one of which Harrison bought the James Ray single Got My Mind Set On You. Harrison released a cover version of the song, which was written by Rudy Clark, in 1987.
George and Peter Harrison also travelled to New York for a couple of days before returning to England on 3 October 1963. It has been claimed that they were on a New York street corner when President Kennedy passed by in a limousine, and that they also visited Washington DC, but these stories are untrue.
Louise Harrison Caldwell moved out of 113 McCann Street some time later. It was sold in 1995 after being slated for demolition, but was saved by local investors after a campaign. The exterior was refurbished to how it had looked in 1963, and it was converted to the A Hard Days Nite B&B and a museum commemorating George Harrison’s stay and the birth of The Beatles in America.
Also on this day...
- 2023: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Fruit Yard Amphitheater, Modesto
- 2022: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
- 2020: The Beatles announce Get Back book
- 2010: Paul McCartney to reissue Band On The Run
- 2005: Paul McCartney live: American Airlines Arena, Miami
- 1975: Wings live: City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne
- 1969: Maclen (Music) Limited begins legal proceedings against Northern Songs
- 1968: Recording: I Will, Glass Onion
- 1967: Recording, mixing: Your Mother Should Know, Blue Jay Way
- 1966: John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Brian Epstein meet in Paris
- 1964: The Beatles live: City Park Stadium, New Orleans
- 1963: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr holiday in Greece
- 1963: John and Cynthia Lennon holiday in Paris
- 1962: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (evening)
- 1961: The Beatles live: Aintree Institute, Liverpool
- 1960: The Beatles live: Indra Club, Hamburg
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I get such a kick out of the fact George sat in with a local group when he was visiting in Benton, Illinois, in 1963, pre-Stateside Beatlemania. The local group was called the Four Vests, and was playing in a humble local venue. I remember reading somewhere that Louise, George’s sister, was blown away by George’s performance, and thought something like, “If he, alone, is just one-quarter of his group, I can’t imagine what the whole group together is like.” I would suppose that George played the songs that were his showcase pieces, such as “Roll Over Beethoven,” which a reasonably competent bingo hall-type band would know or could pick up very quickly, and would allow George to deliver the full force of his abilities.
There’s a book about this trip that I haven’t yet read, called “Before He Was Fab.” Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Before-He-Was-Fab-Harrisons/dp/1889899054/
Here’s an interview with the author: https://www.classicbands.com/JimKirkpatrickInterview.html
So what did Louise Harrison do in the years following George’s visit to Benton, IL? It appears she has been a custodian and promoter of George’s legacy. Example: she has a show in Branson, MO.
Quote from a press release:
“Recently, the news services reported that Sir Paul McCartney had come to pay a visit in Branson, where Louise presents her Liverpool Legends Beatles tribute at The Mansion Theatre.”
I have a question about where Paul & Ringo went during George’s trip to America. It says Paul went to Greece with his partner. Was this already Jane Asher? I was always under the impression that they met later. Does anybody know more about their first encounter?
In the Anthology, Ringo talks about traveling to Greece with Maureen, Paul, and Jane. Apparently Jane wanted to walk around the Parthenon, an activity which wore Ringo out.
Does anyone know if you can visit 113 McCann Street? Or even stay?? The only reference I have found with Google is the venue is ‘closed’. After all the work saving the building from demolition in 1995, it would be a shame that work was lost. Also to have a museum commemorating George Harrison’s stay and the birth of The Beatles in America must be beautiful by any definition.
The Last I heard, 113 McCann is still there but it is now a 4 unit apartment rented out to students. I believe the exterior is still preserved in the condition it was in when George visited in 1963.
The article says it was converted into a B&B called A Hard Days Nite. Nite is nite. You can google it comes up but it appears it was shut down. You can check it out tho and see if it’s still closed. What a waste if it is. ??
What an awesome story! it amazes me after so many years of reading BEATLE things, there is still so much fresh stuff thanks to sites like this Thanks big time.
Do you remember the scene in “Back To The Future” when Michael J. Fox went onstage at a 1950s dance, played the electric guitar in a 1980s hairmetal band manner, and stunned the crowd into silence?
That’s what I imagine happened when George played for the folks at the VFW club.
J.R. Clark, indeed! Can you imagine hearing George perform these old Rock & Roll standards and realizing – This is the future….
Ever heard of The Bizarre Beatle Mystery Story?
https://repforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/topic,5997.0.html
I’ve always wanted to see the home movies that George and Peter took while they visited their sister…I guess his son might know where they are…I think Dick Biondi gets the credit for being the first to play “From Me To You”…he aired it , saying he “like to play foreign platters” and did throw it into the mix when he played local sock hops…I think “The Wild Itralian” was fired and had moved to LA before George arrived in Benton…while Dick was in LA he started the first US Beatles fan club…pre- Sullivan it would seem? I also heard that George was pissed at his sister for “taking advantage of the Beatles” when she set up he Beatle Bread and Breakfast…tho its none of our business its said she got zero in George’s will… also the Four Vests remember George fooling around with the Daytripper riff while he was in Benton. Lennon says HE wrote the riff…oh well!
Glad to see this post. I agree that WLS in Chicago was the first radio station in the USA to play a “Beattles” record (VeeJay and WLS Incorrectly spelled the bands name wrong) on the air. It was likely that Dick Biondi was the DJ, but not confirmed. The song they played on air was the American release of “Please Please Me” (not From Me to You) and was issued by the VeeJay record label in Chicago in February 1963, almost 7 months prior to George’s visit in Benton. This fact has been well documented on the March 8, 1963 WLS Silver Dollar Survey weekly flyer which indicates the song entered their charts at No.40 and had been played on the air for 3 weeks.
Please visit the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 for more information about Illinois music history.
I was in Benton a few years ago. The house is still there. The record store mentioned is now an antique store. His sister’s autograph is on the counter. The museum in town has the turntables that played the first Beatles record in the U. S. The man at the address given for the store where he bought the guitar said a lot of people stop in asking about it, but he knew nothing about it. The music venues are still there. There is an historical marker in town and a sculpture that can be seen from the interstate highway. Benton is a neat little town.
We stopped here on the way home from a Beatles Fest in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. That little town also has a neat history with the Beatles. Google it!
I would love to see your photo of the plaque located in front of the VFW. Please email it to me at andyc@roadtorock.org We may be able to use it for a display at the IL Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66. Thanks!
I may have to take exception to George’s apparel while playing with the Four Vests at the VFW in Eldorado. The article claims he wore a dark suit, white shirt and no tie. But being born and raised in Eldorado Illinois, I happen to know for a fact that Mr. Harrison went to Edward’s Men’s Store to purchase a tie for his performance. It is a tiny town, and I am still friends with Lum Edward’s widow Patsy. (Still going strong at age 90) She recall’s her late husband telling her an English boy had come in to buy a striped tie that day as he needed one to play at the VFW that evening. I suppose it is possible he didn’t wear that tie while performing, but I have it on good authority that he bought one. lol
btw… In September of this year, the Eldorado VFW installed a large plaque in front of their building commemorating Harrison’s performance. The first by any Beatle in the USA… I have photos of it if you can tell me how to upload one.
I love this post however there is one statement which is not accurate regarding WFRX being the first station in the USA to broadcast the Beatles music. In fact, WLS in Chicago was the first radio station in the USA to broadcast a “Beattles” record (VeeJay and WLS Incorrectly spelled the bands name wrong) on the air. It was possible that Dick Biondi was the DJ, but not confirmed. The song they played on air was the American release of “Please Please Me” which was issued by the VeeJay record label in Chicago in February 1963, almost 7 months prior to George’s visit in Benton. This fact has been well documented on the March 8, 1963 WLS Silver Dollar Survey weekly flyer, which indicates the song entered their charts at No.40 and had been played on the air for 3 weeks prior.
Please visit the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 for more information about Illinois music history.