Commentators were so lost for words to describe the power of what was happening that they fell back on natural phenomena, using terms such as “whirlwind,” “tidal wave” and “cultural earthquake.”
But the Beatles’ conquest of America, which began 60 years ago this week, was a man-made event. And the man most responsible was the band’s suave, self-confident 29-year-old manager. Brian Epstein seldom gets the credit he deserves, in part because he was gay in an era when British law still deemed homosexual acts a crime, and in part because he was Jewish, which British society largely disdained. But also because the Beatles, who were often coldhearted when it came to money matters, badmouthed his business acumen after his death in 1967.
Still, it was Epstein who discovered them, polished their act and their appearance, and instilled discipline, while preserving the high spirits, humor and musical creativity that made the Beatles so irresistible to teenage audiences. Without his charm, persistence and unwavering devotion, the Beatles would never have emerged from their hometown of Liverpool, let alone Britain, and never would have made it to America.
“Like (with) any success story, everyone wants to take credit,” Robert Precht, Ed Sullivan’s producer and son-in-law, would tell author Gerald Nachman, looking back four decades later. “My take on the whole thing was that it was Epstein who really engineered everything. It was largely his doing — the promotion and radio exposure and where he wanted the Beatles to go. That was all his maneuvering.”
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