Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!
A Beatles traveling exhibition presented by the Grammy Museum and Fab Four Exhibits, LLC
The Grammy Museum
Cleveland, Mississippi
March 5 - June 12, 2016
The public grand opening of the first Grammy Museum facility outside of Los Angeles was held on Saturday, March 5, 2016 in Cleveland, Mississippi. We're proud to say that "Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!" was the new venue's first official exhibit.
Opening ceremonies were attended by more than 2,000 music (and Beatles!) fans. The ceremonial ribbon was cut by Mississippi governor Phil Bryant, Bob Santelli (Executive Director of the Grammy Museum in L.A.),
Emily Havens (Grammy Museum Mississippi Director), and Neil Portnow, President and CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) in Los Angeles.
The official grand opening black tie reception was held the previous evening, Friday March 4th, and no expense was spared. Dozens of servers wandered the venue's large open lobby and outside veranda with trays of hors d'oeuvres as VIP guests arrived on the red carpet. FFE partner Russ Lease reported that the opening was also attended by Andy Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC and ex-president of NBC in
New York. Russ gave Lack, a huge Beatles fan himself, a personal guided tour of the exhibit the following day.
Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles! had the honor of being the first traveling exhibit hosted by the brand new Grammy Museum in Cleveland, Mississippi. The museum is a 28,000 square-foot tribute to the Mississippi Delta Blues, but is also dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of all music genres.
Grammy Museum Mississippi VIP Reception, Friday, March 4, 2016
Fab Four Exhibits partners Russ Lease (far left) and Chuck Gunderson (third from left) visit with VIP guests of the exhibit.
Many of the guests arrived at the Grammy Museum's VIP gala in stretch limos
before walking the red carpet into the venue.
"Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!" at the GMM
The Ed Sullivan Show stage set-up, Mississippi-style.
Paul McCartney's Shea Stadium jacket
from 1965.
The FFE's latest acquisition: Ringo Starr's jacket worn in the opening sequence of the Beatles' debut film, A Hard Day's Night. Also worn by Ringo on the cover of the group's 1964 UK Parlophone LP, Beatles For Sale.
The Beatles' Washington concert set list (left) and Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics to What You're Doing (right).
Talk about toys...yeah yeah toys! The Woolworth's window. (Photo courtesy of Billboard.)
Putting the "beat" in "Beatles": A young Beatles fan gets a video drum lesson from Ringo Starr.
Showcase featuring artifacts from the Beatles'
early days in America.
Original guitars from Elvis (left)
and Buddy Holly (right).
Beatles Symposium at the Grammy Museum Mississippi,
April 1-2, 2016
Presented by the Grammy Museum Mississippi in conjunction with Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!, "Beatles 2016: From Cavern to Candlestick Symposium" featured Beatles authors
and historians as well as plenty of live Beatles music. Above,
symposium organizer Jude Kessler talks to attendees with
Fab Four author and expert Bruce Spizer standing nearby.
Among the guest speakers was
Ivor Davis, a British journalist who accompanied the Beatles on their entire first North American tour in August and September, 1964....
....and Freda Kelly (left), the Beatles' beloved fan club secretary, who worked for the group from 1962 until 1972. Pictured with Freda is her daughter Rachel.
Other special guests of "Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!"
"An Evening with Geoff Emerick": On April 30, 2016, in conjunction with Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!, the Grammy Museum Mississippi presented one of the most innovative and influential GRAMMY®-winning audio engineers of all time -- the legendary Geoff Emerick (shown right). Emerick is best known for his work at Abbey Road Studios in London and with the Beatles on their albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (The White Album) and Abbey Road.
In late May, John Lennon's younger half-sister, Julia Baird (second from left),
visited the exhibit.
The Beatles To Open Grammy Museum Mississippi
Article by Jacob Threadgill, The Clarion-Ledger, January 14, 2016
As the Grammy Museum finishes work before its March 5 grand opening, it has announced its first official exhibit will offer an in-depth look at the phenomenon known as "Beatlemania."
Taking its name from Ed Sullivan's 1964 introduction of The Beatles to American audiences on the Ed Sullivan Show, "Ladies and Gentleman ...The Beatles" will be on display at the museum in Cleveland, Mississippi, from opening until June 12.
“This exhibit celebrates the Fab Four landing in America and changing pop culture forever,” said Emily Havens, the museum's director, in a press release. “The exhibit has visited New York, Minneapolis, Miami, Tulsa and Austin prior to landing in Mississippi, and we are thrilled to bring The Beatles to this region.”
The exhibit will focus on the band's origins in Liverpool, England; the build-up and performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," and
the group's first U.S. tour in August 1964.
In conjunction with this exhibition, the museum will present a variety of education and public programs that explore the musical
and cultural influence of The Beatles, including Beatles Symposium 2016: From The Cavern To Candlestick, scheduled for April 1-2.
The symposium will feature discussions with noted Beatles historians, live music, films screenings and more.
For more information on the museum, which is the only Grammy museum outside of Los Angeles, visit grammymuseumms.org.
The website includes access to teacher curriculum and resources and museum membership information.
The museum's opening will follow the 58th annual Grammy Awards to be held Feb. 15. The museum will be operated by the nonprofit Cleveland Music Foundation in association with the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live and The Recording Academy. The 27,000-square-foot Grammy Museum Mississippi is located on the Delta State University Campus, which is also home to the
Delta Music Institute, the state's only accredited music industry studies program.
Mississippi has the most Grammy nominations of any state on a per capita basis. The state holds the academic claim as the "Birthplace of America's Music" because the state is home to Jimmie Rodgers, the grandfather to country music, Ike Turner, whose song "Rocket 88" is considered the first rock and roll song, and the origin of the blues in Delta, specifically Dockery Farms.