There was electric excitement in the air that night of February 9, 1964. On the surface, four young men with unconventionally long hair sang simple but irresistibly infectious tunes, transforming lyrics as objectively banal as “yeah, yeah, yeah” into something empowering, liberating, and fun. Girls screamed and swooned, and guys found the exuberant energy of the Beatles exhilarating. At a deeper level, though, a seismic shift was taking place. As it became clear in retrospect, a fundamental shift had occurred—a passage from a pre-Beatles world to a new, exciting, more colorful era. That was the night when what we now think of as “the ‘60s” was born.
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