Why People are Still Saying Yeah, Yeah, Yeah for 1964

June 30, 2004

“Ladies and Gentleman, here are The Beatles.”
When Ed Sullivan uttered those words to 73 million television viewers 40 years ago, he would have no idea that the words and The Beatles both would be immortalized in pop culture.
On February 9, 1964 when the Beatles took to the stage on the Ed Sullivan Show it would become the single most decisive moment in shaping what would become the rock revolution.
The Beatles not only changed popular music, they inspired and influenced a generation.
Forty years later a lot has changed on the musical landscape, but one constant remains: The Beatles.
Sure it has been 34 years since the group broke up. The murder of John Lennon in 1980 eliminated any chance of a reunion. Yet the Beatles music remains popular, not just with baby boomers but even with the rap-infested kids of today. For James Pou, who plays George Harrison in 1964 The Tribute, the continued popularity of The Beatles is simple: “The songs,” said Pou. “They simply wrote great songs and when those four guys took the stage it was magical.”

8 DAYS A WEEK
Pou and “1964” have become an intricate part of The National Cherry Festival. They will perform Wednesday night July 7 at the Bayside Entertainment Stage. They will reenact the Beatles stage from 40 years ago and perform several of the group’s hits, from “I Wanna Hold Your Hand to “She Loves You.”
Pou, like millions, became mesmerized by The Beatles 40 years ago.
“I was just 12 years hold when they played The Ed Sullivan Show,” said Pou. “After that night I wanted to become a guitar player. A week later my parents bought me a guitar and I started playing.”
Pou didn’t start out with ambitions of being in a tribute band.
“There were so many guitar players that I became a bass player in various regional bands,” said Pou. “I had a lot of people tell me I looked like George Harrison, so in 1978 I tried out for the Broadway production of ‘Beatlemania’ when they held auditions in Los Angeles. I got the part of George and toured around the world with them for five years.”

THE NEW GEORGE
While Pou was touring with the popular “Beatlemania” production, musicians Mark Benson, Gary Grimes and Greg George from Akron, Ohio were playing in local club bands. Benson just happened to look like John Lennon and Grimes like Paul McCartney. Another musician friend looked like George and they heard that drummer Greg George from across town looked like Ringo. In 1983 Benson and Grimes put 1964 The Tribute together for a few corporate gigs in Canada and a few class reunions in the Akron area.
What started out as fun and a few gigs led to fulltime careers for the four. In 1993 Pou would replace the group’s original George.
“The other George decided to leave and the three had seen me in Beatlemania,” said Pou. “They tracked me down and it has been the four of us ever since. They tried to get me to move to Ohio by saying the winters were not that bad. I live a few miles south of LA so there was no way I was moving.”

TOUGH ACT
Distance hasn’t been the challenge for “1964” as they perform 150 shows a year. Challenges are many and come in other forms when impersonating one of, if not the greatest rock groups of all time.
“I think the first real challenge was developing authenticity to our show. Gary spent two years learning to play bass left handed,” said Pou. “Greg is a lefty like Ringo, but Ringo has his drum kit set up for right-handed play, but played it left-handed.”
Another challenge is the songs themselves.
“First of all there are so many great songs it is hard to choose and hard to leave some out of the night,” said Pou. “The three-part harmonies are definitely challenging but we use in ear monitors and that makes it a lot easier to hear.”
After watching and continuing to watch hours of film footage the group has mastered playing techniques, voices and mannerism. One fan who is very impressed is George Harrison’s sister Lou who saw them a few years ago and became an instant fan.
“My friends 1964 The Tribute have captured the essence of the Beatles live on stage, the look, the sound is incredible,” said Lou Harrison. “They bring chills to those who knew and worked with the original band. If you missed the Beatles or ever wanted to be a part of a live show 1964 The Tribute is the number one Beatles show anywhere on the planet. You won’t want to miss them.”

PAYING TRIBUTE
Rolling Stone magazine backed those words up in February when they declared 1964 The Tribute, as not only the number one Beatles tribute band but also the overall number one grossing tribute band of any kind.
“Yeah it came as a surprise to us that there are all these tribute bands for Sinatra, Kiss, Aerosmith, Neil Diamond and so many others and we are number one,” said Pou.
So do Pou and his band mates start to feel like they are the Beatles at times?
“Oh no, there is and will only be one Beatles; we are actors and musicians. We are not trying to be them, but rather recreate the feel of the stage in 1964,” said Pou. “A few minutes before we go on stage we go into character and then after the show we return to ourselves. We always sign autographs after shows and people ask us what happened to our accents. We don’t live in these characters -- we all have lives outside 1964.”
Both Pou and Grimes have solo projects but 1964 keeps them busy and prevents solo touring.
“I have a great job, we work weekends primarily and are home Monday through Thursday most weeks. I don’t have time to tour as solo artist but my label has asked that I try and do some Barnes and Noble gigs in between “1964” performances,” said Pou. “The guys let me sell my solo CD at our gigs so I am getting my music out.”

THE LONG RUN
So how long does Pou see “1964” continuing?
“As long as the makeup and hair dye keeps working we will keep on going,” laughs Pou. “We have bookings into next year.”
What about dis-content, after all, the real Beatles didn’t get along at the end of their run?
“We get along great, no trouble here,” said Pou. “We are easy to get along with and that is why we get so many invitations back.”
The Cherry Festival is one of those repeat venues they look forward to each year.
“The Cherry Festival is one place we really look forward to every year,” said Pou. “It is among our favorite stops. Mike Jones who coordinates the music for them treats us great and he and his wife loads us up with homemade cherry pies and other cherry goodies. We have a day off this year and plan to spend some time at the Festival plus get in some fishing.”
The Bayside Entertainment Stage offers the group one special challenge each year.
“Yeah we all have swallowed our share of bugs when we are singing,” laughs Pou. “They taste okay but it would be nice if they were chocolate covered or cherry flavored.”
Chocolate Covered Cherry Beatles, now that’s one for the festival to work on.
For Cherry Festival Executive Director Tom Kern the decision to bring 1964 The Tribute back each year for the past 11 years is simple:
“They consistently draw the largest crowds during our concert series,” said Kern. “More importantly they embody the true spirit of the Festival because it is the one event that is the most intergenerational. You see kids from eight to 88 out there together singing and dancing.”

UPSCALING
The idea to bring in a Beatles tribute act was by committee effort as Cherry Festival organizers began to look at ways to improve the quality of entertainment at the open space.
“Our booking agent Rick Shimel came to us with some suggestions on how to upscale our entertainment. We talked about a country night, a classic rock night and someone suggested a Beatles night,” said Kern. “We decided if we were going to do a Beatles tribute we wanted the best. What we found was there were a lot of Beatles tribute bands out there but Rick found us the best.”
After leaving the Cherry Festival, 1964 has some impressive gigs that include Carnegie Hall in New York City. And over 9,000 are expected to see “1964” at the 40th anniversary of the Beatles performance at Red Rocks. Later in August, “1964” will travel to Liverpool to perform at The Beatles Convention.
When 1964 heads to England they will join Beatle tribute bands from all over the world.
“Yeah there are some good ones and definitely some interesting ones,” said Pou. “There is an all-girl band and even a Japanese tribute band.”
Tickets for their Carnegie Hall show range from $55 to $75, up from the normally $25 to $35 a ticket they get for their sold-out shows at 2,500 seat auditoriums. Pao believes Cherry Festival attendees get a great deal by having access to some great bands all week for only $3.
That $3 commemorative pin will gain holders access to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Asleep at the Wheel, Eddie Money, Gregg Rolie original lead singer of Santana and founding member of the band Journey throughout the week.
Despite a solid line up it will be 1964 The Tribute that will again steal the week. While the Blue Angels will draw the largest crowds and despite their impressive speed, only “1964” will be fast enough to take the crowd back in time. Back to an era when life was simple and the music was as fresh and tasty as grandma’s homemade cherry pie.
To get the full line up of activities for the National Cherry Festival visit their website at www.cherryfestival.org. According to Kern, if you want to get a good seat on July 7 for 1964 you better get their early as people start showing up around 5 p.m. to reserve their space.