But Harrison's sister Louise lived in the small town of Benton in southern Illinois--and 50 years ago George and his brother Peterson visited her.
From the Southern Illinoisan:
"He was just my kid brother and his band back then. I didn't know they would become planetary icons," she said. "I read that at any time, day or night, a Beatles song is being played somewhere on the planet. No one could have anticipated that."This anniversary is something for Illinois to be proud of--a rare thing these days
Harrison and [local resident Marcia Schafer] Raubach will be among the speakers at the dedication of the Harrison historical marker and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Beatle in America in Benton Saturday.
"I think his visit was of significance historically, definitely in The Beatles world," Harrison said. “He was the first Beatle to set foot in this country and perform live in this country. In Beatle history, that is very significant."
The marker, presented by the Illinois State Historical Society and Franklin County Historic Preservation Society, will be unveiled during a ceremony beginning at 2 p.m., Harrison Committee Chairman Jim Kirkpatrick said.
UPDATE 9:45pm CDT: A few hours after my post, Gov. Pat Quinn declared September 21--this Saturday--George Harrison Day in Illinois. It's best that he doesn't show up in Benton--Quinn was loudly booed when he spoke at the Chicago Blackhawks victory rally and the Chicago Democrat is even less popular downstate.
Related post:
Paul McCartney at Wrigley Field
Technorati tags:
entertainment
rock 
music
Beatles 
culture 
Illinois 
george harrison 
history 
america 
usa 
on this day history 
uk
No comments:
Post a Comment