After performing their postponed concert in Cincinnati at midday, The Beatles flew 341 miles to St Louis, Missouri, where they performed one show at 8.30pm.
The concert took place at the Busch Stadium, and was seen by 23,000 people. The support acts were The Del-Rays, The Remains, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkle and The Ronettes.
The show took place in heavy rain, with a makeshift shelter over the stage to protect the musicians, although water still dripped onto the amplifiers. It was this incident which finally convinced Paul McCartney that The Beatles should cease touring.
It rained quite heavily, and they put bits of corrugated iron over the stage, so it felt like the worst little gig we’d ever played at even before we’d started as a band. We were having to worry about the rain getting in the amps and this took us right back to the Cavern days – it was worse than those early days. And I don’t even think the house was full.After the gig I remember us getting in a big, empty steel-lined wagon, like a removal van. There was no furniture in there – nothing. We were sliding around trying to hold on to something, and at that moment everyone said, ‘Oh, this bloody touring lark – I’ve had it up to here, man.’
I finally agreed. I’d been trying to say, ‘Ah, touring’s good and it keeps us sharp. We need touring, and musicians need to play. Keep music live.’ I had held on that attitude when there were doubts, but finally I agreed with them.
George and John were the ones most against touring; they got particularly fed up. So we agreed to say nothing, but never to tour again. We thought we’d get into recording, and say nothing until some journalist asked, ‘Are you going out on tour?’ – ‘Not yet.’ We wouldn’t make The Big Announcement that we’d finished touring forever, but it would gradually dawn on people: ‘They don’t appear to be going on tour, do they? How long was that? Ten years? Maybe they’ve given it up.’
That was the main point: we’d always tried to keep some fun in it for ourselves. In anything you do you have to do that, and we’d been pretty good at it. But now even America was beginning to pall because of the conditions of touring and because we’d done it so many times.
Anthology
Due to the torrential rain the running order for the show was changed. The Beatles appeared after The Del-Rays, The Remains, and Bobby Hebb, and the show closed with The Cyrkle and The Ronettes.
The Beatles’ standard set during their final tour consisted of 11 songs: ‘Rock And Roll Music’, ‘She’s A Woman’, ‘If I Needed Someone’, ‘Day Tripper’, ‘Baby’s In Black’, ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Paperback Writer’, and ‘I’m Down’. During the tour they occasionally substituted the final song with ‘Long Tall Sally’.
Following the St Louis concert The Beatles flew to New York, where they arrived at 3.50am the following morning.
Paul McCartney performed solo shows at Busch Stadium on 29 April 1993 and 13 August 2016.
Also on this day...
- 2003: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Horseshoe Casino Tunica, Robinsonville
- 2001: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Fox Theatre, St Louis
- 2000: Album release: Liverpool Sound Collage by Paul McCartney
- 1998: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
- 1992: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Freedom Hall, Louisville
- 1972: Wings live: Congresgebouw, The Hague
- 1969: Mixing, editing: The End, You Never Give Me Your Money, Sun King, Mean Mr Mustard
- 1968: Recording, mixing: Sexy Sadie
- 1968: George and Pattie Harrison return to England from Greece
- 1966: The Beatles live: Crosley Field, Cincinnati
- 1965: The Beatles live: Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis
- 1964: The Beatles live: Coliseum, Seattle
- 1963: The Beatles live: Gaumont Cinema, Bournemouth
- 1963: Editing, mixing: With The Beatles
- 1961: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (lunchtime)
- 1960: The Beatles live: Indra Club, Hamburg
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I attended the aug.21,1966 concert and remembered seeing five limos drive into the stadium as the beatles were finishing their show, I then walked around the stadium to the other side where I witnessed the beatles run out a door by the ticket stand a jump into a waiting lincoln continental. I jumped out in front of them trying to get a picture. the car almost hit me and swerved around meand as it did, I plainly saw Paul McCartney riding in the front passenger seat and he waived at me. I hope this is true as I read differing accounts of their escape
I was there. I remember it raining but I don’t remember it being a LOT of rain, but enough that some of the opening acts got bumped and all of a sudden The Beatles came out. Lots of flashbulbs. If you went in the Mens room all you could hear was the vocals …as the stadium sound system included speakers in the bathrooms! So you could hear them singing LOUDLY in the bathroom. But we wanted to SEE them so we went back to our seats. Quite a night!
I was there! It is my memory they did the song “Rain”
I was there that night with my brother, and radio friend Marty Markowitz. Marty and I had worked so hard using every angle in the book to get in. I remember there was a black promoter with whom we’d spoken the week before. Marty had a ligitimate radio station, albeit 100 watts. Marty knew all the record and radio people in town,and getting in seemed like a shoe-in. But come Sunday night, no go. I got my brother, along with Marty on the elevator and made it down, to the field level and got off… There was the promoter, and when we asked if we could go in, he shook his head “no”…Everyone from KXOK went in. We three stood there, terribly disappointed…
Oh, yea, the other person there that night was a young girl by the name of Susan Busch. 9 years later on November 29th I would marry her. Tomorrow night, we are going to the Paul McCartney concert, and all three of us will be together again.
I was there too! My dad surprised my sister and I with tickets. I remember a lot of rain!
My dad took me and my siblings, along with a friend, to this show. We were among the unlucky few sitting in the upper deck. There were so few people at the show up there, that we were able to move to center section seats. Although I was 11 at the time, we knew all of their material and I was taken by how many older hits they played, give what they were doing in the studio then. I don’t remember it raining all that hard. The sound was horrible, though.
I saw the Beatles at Busch Stadium. I was sixteen when my My mom, a cousin and three freinds made the trip from Madisonville, Kentucky.
We had a sign in the back of the car that read: “BEATLES OR BUST” as we drove, and people in passing
cars would honk and wave.
It was on that trip that we first heard Ringo sing ‘YELLOW SUBMARINE’. from a St. Louis radio station.
Ringo was my favorite.
There was a misting rain and we couldn’t hear them very well, but we were glad to be there to see a live
concert…we knew they were making music history! Now 50 years later I still listen to Beatle music…
She love you …Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!
I am writing a book about the Beatles in St. Louis and I would LOVE to include any of your memories. Thank you Beatles Bible for all of the information you provide!
I was there 50 years ago and yes it rained for awhile then stopped. I remember hearing The Beatles singing and saying it didn’t sound like them, my brother said it was because they were live and I was use to hearing them on records. I still have my ticket and my brothers. I remember seeing a bunch of ticket stubs on the ground, I should have picked them up but didn’t. I remember Paul singing Yesterday and you could of heard a pin drop at that point. I screamed so much I was hoarse for a week. What a great time to be had by all and great memories. I have been to all Ringo and Paul’s concert here in St. Louis since. When Paul came Oct 9, 2002 I got a front row seat and he autographed a collage picture I drew I couldn’t believe it when he did that felt like I was in slow motion dream. Can’t wait for August 13th will be seeing him again!!!!
Don’t forget to mention that the Del Ray’s which later became the Guild played prior to the Beatles
I was so excited the night before And the night after I couldn’t sleep! I was 14 and my mom and 13 year old cousin and I rode downtown on the bus from Northland Shopping Center in St.Louis County. I remember the sleeveless hip hugger shift I wore.. I remember the drenching downpour and the crackle of the speakers as we sat perched in the nosebleed seats.. on the edge; electrified with adrenaline and screaming til we were hoarse! I wrote down the playlist in my diary which I had religiously saved until my dog ate the diary…51 years, 4 children and 4 grandchildren later… now 72 and Still playing the Beatles… the St.Louis concert remains a defining Memory of my life!
I was there as well. I was 14 years old and my 24 year old sister in law took me….she was 6 months pregnant!!!!!
No one was hurt, and it has been the memory of a lifetim!!
I was there! It rained like crazy, and was hard to hear them clearly, but it was an experience I’ll never forget.
I was there with my best friend Joan. I was 15. I can remember all the screaming and feeling so incredibly happy just to be in their presence and part of the screaming crowd. After the concert, my friend and I actually got down onto the field and I grabbed a handful of grass, which I later kept in a piece of plastic in my Beatles scrapbook. My friend and I were certain this handful of grass had been walked on by our Beatles!! Still to this very day I am a huge Beatles fan – have had the privilege of seeing Paul in concert many times in the past years. Looking forward to seeing him again in St. Louis on August 13 this year !! I am originally from St. Louis, but now happily reside in Liverpool, England !
I had lived and breathed Beatles for over 2 years and my Dad wouldn’t let me go due to Lennon’s comments. Then I won tickets from KXOK contest (won at least 10 of the 100) and we all took a bus to the stadium! We had good seats and even touched Paul’s guitar that a rodie was carrying. Can’t say I heard them because I was screaming and crying so much. Don’t remember rain, except that they played earlier due to weather. We left right after they played to try and see them drive away. We could hear The Cyrcle playing Red Rubber Ball and didn’t care. We saw the decoy limos only. The Beatles set my life from the first song on Sullivan. I got in an all-girl band (Sweet Young Things) and now 50 years later am playing in a classic rock band in WI, called Radio Flyer. I retired on Feb. 7, 2014 with a huge Beatles 50th party. Will party again this Aug. 21 to celebrate the St. Louis anniversary. Still have the ticket and huge trunk of original Beatle memorabilia.
I was there. I heard the contest on KXOK where you had to identify 10 Beatles songs played in about 10 seconds. I sent in answers for me and nine of my friends and won 10 of the 100 tickets that they gave away. Couldn’t hear much with all the screaming girls. I still have the ticket.
Don Stone
I was there too. I was almost seven but a huge fan. I remember the rain and all the rligious nuts that were passing out pamphlets denouncing the Beatles. They only played about 20 minutes but I will treasure that night forever.
I was 15 and hitchhiked from Louisville Ky with my friend Ray Steilberg to St. Louis . I remember being handed a pamphlet that said “ we are more popular than Jesus “ from an adult protester.
Tom Raymer
I’ll never forget that night! I was 12 years and my step sister and I went. She had gotten tickets through her job with 7-Up, who was a sponsor for the concert in STL. I was crazy about the Beatles, and my mom got every 45 for me at Walgreens where she worked at the time. My mom was a great seamstress and made a dress for me to wear. It was a very emotional night with the rain mixed in with tears of happiness. The concert seemed to be over before it began with only 11 songs played. It was my first concert and my first time at Busch Stadium, August 21, 1966.
BEATLES/PERSONAL REFLECTION
Beatles7th grade Tulsa Ok…new girlfriend at beginning of Jr high Sept 1964. My friend won tkts to the Dallas, Tx BEATLES concert after last minute switching with her older sister.
The BEATLEMANIA Began for us both.
Then my younger sister & I had a friend of my moms buy us tkts for BUSCH STADIUM STL 1966 CONCERT. American Airlines went on strike the wk we were to fly & stay with her friend. My dad & Mthr were kind enough to drive us 5 hrs to STL. THE BEST GIFT FROM MY PARENTS THAT I EVER RECD!! And the love affair has continued now thru my 3 grndkids.
The BEATLES & Paul have been the SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE ???????
Color photos of this gig, the only color shots from the entire tour, have surfaced:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7256365/Only-known-color-photos-Beatles-1966-tour-hammer-time.html
Some friends of mine said that they were offered the opportunity to PLAY in front if The Beatles but they declined because they wanted to WATCH them!
Another friend of mine said that he had worked at Busch Stadium and ran across them underneath and got Paul’s autograph and ended up selling it to some girl for a lousy $10!!!
I am not sure if either of these occasions
concerning my friends happened this night. A neighbor years later worked at the Rodeway Inn hotel by Union Station
around 1972 and John and Yoko strolled in walked up to the desk and put his finger to his lips to say, “Please don’t tell anyone” and slipped a $20 bill which in 1972 was a whole days pay back then!
One last item- the previous friend mentioned above that had a chance to play in front of The Beatles in the mid-80’s had a small marketing firm in St. Louis and I was working with him. A guy who had just opened a small art gallery downstairs had found out that a crate full of Linda McCartney photos was laying over in St.Louis and somehow had the chance to get those photos and show them – all good but he didn’t have a car so we used my little 82 Ford Escort that was a five-speed and we went up thee and got them although he had to straddle the stick shift to do it since the crate took up all of the space in back!
We got a nice thank you card from Linda! That’s all i’ve got
I was at Busch also, with my sister, friend, and my Dad, who was Sales Manager at KMOX-TV at that time. He had some sort of press pass or tickets, my vivid memory is of being just a few feet from the band, as they were waiting to be announced to run out onto the wet field to the stage. Sadly, there was a fence between us, and even sadder I have no photos! I do have #400 of a KXOK Beatles book which documents the tour nicely.
As another stated; they’ve been the soundtrack to my life. I cannot put into words the importance they brought to my life, especially as we acknowledge the anniversary of John’s assassination.
I have 6 Unused tickets and photos of all Beatles from 1966 in St. Louis Mo. to sell.
I was there but I do NOT recall any rain. It certainly wasn’t a deluge by any means as described in this story. Fun times!
I received 2 tix for my HS graduation from my aunt / Godmother. She had the presidential suite booked at the BelAir Hotel in ST. Louis. It was so CRAZY! My BFF and I could barely contain ourselves.
We met kids from Chicago and invited them
up to our room. No shenanigans, just pure adrenaline and excitement!
I was there with my older brother Edward Ellis, my name is Kenny Ellis, I was 13 years old and a student at Niper in Kirkwood, I remember everything about the concert like it was yesterday. I’m still a Beatles fan and always will be. I do remember losing my binoculars and camera in all the madness, but so glad to be a part of music history.
I want to thank my parents in heaven for buying us tickets and taking us there and picking us up, I love you forever, see you in heaven.
Seems that a lot of the info in this story is incorrect. My husband (who has read probably everything ever printed about the Beatles) said that the “empty steel-lined wagon” exit happened in San Francisco. That is corroborated by the earlier comment on this thread that says he remembers seeing the band get into limos after the concert.
The remains did not play St. Louis. A local band, the Delrays, were an opening act. Also, Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes was not on this tour. Phil Spector was jealous of John Lennon and refused to let her go on the tour. Her cousin, filled in for her.
I was at that concert that night. I am from St. Paul Mn. and had won a trip through our local radio station, WDGY. I was 14 years old then. I had seen them the year before on then same date in Minneapolis at Met Stadium. This was a trip of a lifetime and we flew there and went straight to Busch Stadium and after the show went straight back to Minnesota, quick trip. Wonderful memory!!!
I don’t remember any rain at all. I do remember Ringo wore a madras kind of cap. Couldn’t hear them very well. But who cared? Still have my ticket stub, third base side. The funny thing was that Mercury Outboard Motors advertised on the back of the stub. Right, my friend and I, both 15, were going to rush out the next day and buy an outboard motor. Stix, Baer and Fuller and Seven-Up made sense as sponsors to kids, but not “Ski Mercury”. I’m 73 now. If I need an outboard motor I’ll think fondly of Mercury for helping bring JPGR to St. Louis.