Dear congregation,

Our friend Jack Comstock approached me several months ago to ask if we could host an event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Beatles premiering on the Ed Sullivan show back in 1964. To me, it sounded like fun. Probably like most people, I’ve always held a soft spot for the Beatles. I was born 8 years after that famous Ed Sullivan show and two years after they broke up, but my mom was a “Beatles Girl.” She said she was one of the people sitting around the TV screaming when they came on the tube. It’s an interesting phenomenon for me to witness on TV, but I come from a more punk lineage where people throw themselves at each other as a form of dance. To each their own.

In preparation for the event, I did a little research on the moment itself. I guess I’d never put two and two together about the assassination of JFK only being a few months before the Beatles. The way it was described by historians was that America was still reeling from the president’s death and needed a bright spot on the horizon, which apparently was filled by these four boys from Liverpool. Though I have no personal connection to that moment, I do remember fondly buying the “Best of” collection in the early ‘90s and singing along to every song, very loudly, in my friend’s car as we drove around Chicago. Their music has always been so ubiquitous that we all know most of their hits without having to have even purchased a record. That’s how I knew the Beatles and later grew to appreciate them. I also knew them as the standard bearers for music for generations. My favorite band is Nirvana. Always has been and always will be. I remember Kurt Cobain talking how much he liked the Beatles and wanted his band to be like the Beatles. He said something the effect of how the Beatles went from “Love me Do” to “Sgt. Pepper” within three years. I guess we have the Maharishi and lots of drugs to thank for that. Sadly for Kurt Cobain (RIP), the drugs didn’t do the same for him or his band, but I digress. If you listen to the Beatles’ music, from the Ed Sullivan show until they were singing on the rooftop in that famous last concert, you get to see growth that maybe comes from aging a few years and also the weariness of living through a very tumultuous time—not only the war in Vietnam but also the strife in the streets. It seemed like these were rough years, so it’s interesting for me to see all the young women screaming as these four “long haired” men as they hit the stage. It’s also kind of cool.

What I appreciated with UUCP hosting the event was that it gave us the opportunity to get a little nostalgic, but also to not get fixated on the nostalgia. Remembrance is important, and it’s important to celebrate youth and youth culture. It’s also cool to just have a nice night where you’re around your friends and everyone is singing along. We don’t get enough of that.

One of my favorite moments of the night was looking out and seeing everyone singing along to “Hey, Jude,” as it’s being playing in its original day—the vast sea of humanity in the room as the band played the song—and our friends all sitting around in the congregation, swaying in their seats singing “Na na na na na na.”

Jack Comstock really did a mitzvah for us when he introduced this event, and I think it’ll be one that we can look back on with fond memories. A memory celebrating a memory, during a tumultuous time in the world. The overall message is still relevant: we get by with a little help from our friends. It was a nice night. Thanks, John, Paul, George, and Ringo for all the memories…and thanks to Jack for keeping the spirit of youth alive in UUCP.

❤,

Scott

Scott Satterwhite