Marsha Albert (born 1948) triggered the early 1960s phenomenon known as

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

when as a 15-year-old girl, on December 17, 1963, she introduced

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

song "

I Want To Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded on 17 October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment. With advance orders ...

" on American radio. Beatles historian and author

Bruce Spizer David "Bruce" Spizer (born July 2, 1955) is a tax attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana, who is also recognized as an expert on the Beatles. He has published thirteen books, and is frequently quoted as an authority on the history of the band and ...

said in 2004 that “Marsha Albert's actions forced a major record company to push up the release date of a debut single from an unknown band during the holiday season, a time when record companies traditionally released no new product.”

History

On the morning of November 22, 1963, ''

CBS Morning News The ''CBS Morning News'' is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlights. Since 2013, it has been an ...

'', hosted by

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...

, aired a light trend segment about The Beatles and the phenomenon surrounding the band known as Beatlemania. It was due to air again later that evening on the ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...

'', hosted by

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

, but was shelved following the assassination of

President John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until assassination of Joh ...

. It was eventually re-aired by Cronkite on December 10, 1963. After viewing this re-aired segment, Albert, a 15-year-old living in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

, wrote to her local radio station, WWDC-AM, asking

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

Carroll James Jr. "Why can't we have music like that here in America?". After receiving Albert's letter, James Jr. "pulled strings and called in favors" and obtained a copy of "

" from a

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

flight attendant. On December 17, 1963, James Jr. invited Albert to his studio where she introduced the song to America for the first time.

Marcia Schafer Raubach dispute

Marcia Schafer Raubach, who in 1963 was a high school senior in

West Frankfort, Illinois West Frankfort is a city in Franklin County, Illinois. The population was 8,182 at the 2010 census. The city is well known for its rich history of coal. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area. History Although one might associate the name " ...

, claimed that she was the first to play a record by The Beatles in America on her father's radio station in September, but that was disputed by Chicago radio station WLS AM—though Raubach is credited with being the first American to interview on American radio a Beatle member,

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, who at the time (September 1963) was in the southern Illinois region to visit his sister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Marsha 1948 births Living people The Beatles 1960s fads and trends