Monroe Gallery of Photography specializes in 20th- and 21st-century photojournalism and humanist imagery—images that are embedded in our collective consciousness and which form a shared visual heritage for human society. They set social and political changes in motion, transforming the way we live and think—in a shared medium that is a singular intersectionality of art and journalism.
— Sidney and Michelle Monroe
Saturday, April 5 - Sunday, August 17, 2014 Open during regular museum hours
Included in regular museum admision; $5.00 for Special Exhibit ONLY
ON SALE: Tickets by phone: 1-800-745-3000
4/5/2014 10:00 AM
Never-seen photographs shot by LIFE photographer Bill Eppridge as he spent six days photographing the young pop stars during their first visit to the U.S., and their performances on the Ed Sullivan Show. The exhibit will also feature an amazing collection of albums, posters, figurines, pins, fan club ephemera, and collectibles as it explores the idea of fan devotion and Beatlemania.
Many of Eppridge's Beatles photographs will be on exhibit during The AIPAD Photography Show April 10 -13 in Booth #421, Monroe Gallery of Photography. On Thursday, April 10, there will be a special book signing with Bill Eppridge's wife and editor, Adrienne Aurichio, of Six Days that Changed the World. The book was created
before Mr. Eppridge died in 2013, and was published posthumously.
From April 25 through June 22, the exhibition Bill Eppridge: 1964 will be on view at Monroe Gallery of Photography.
The 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first visit to the United States is shaping up to be nearly as noisy as the original event, but without crowds of screaming fans congregating at Kennedy Airport and the Plaza Hotel and, of course, without the Beatles themselves. CBS announced on Thursday that it would show a two-hour special, “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles,” on Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. – the same date and time slot (and on the same network) as “The Ed Sullivan Show,” on which the Beatles made their live American television debut. The show will include covers of Beatles songs by current stars (none of which have been announced) in performances to be taped Jan. 27.
Two days later, on Feb. 11 – the anniversary of the Beatles’ first American concert, at the Washington Coliseum – a tribute band, Beatlemania Now, will re-enact that concert at the Coliseum (also called the Uline Arena) as a benefit for the DC Preservation League.
The Beatles exiting Pan Am Flight 101 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Feb. 7, 1964. The photograph, taken by Bill Eppridge, is included in the exhibit (Photo by Bill Eppridge. All rights reserved.)
The black and white photographs, taken for CBS television and LIFE magazine, recall the arrival of the Fab Four in New York, their historic appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and much more.
Bill Eppridge, 75, of New Milford, Conn., a contract photographer for LIFE magazine at the time, is responsible for 33 of the 84 photographs in the exhibit. He was initially assigned to cover The Beatles’ airport arrival on Feb. 7, 1964. Instead, he photographed and chronicled their first six days in America.
When Eppridge arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport, he knew that long-haired musicians from England “who have caused a bit of a stir” were about to land.
“I thought this would be ‘four guys getting off a plane,’ but it turned out to be so much more,” Eppridge recalled. “Half of the New York photographer news corps was out there.”
Many members of the press expected a surly, possibly drugged out, rock’n’roll quartet to stumble off Pan Am Flight 101, but were instead charmed by The Beatles, he said.
“They were perfect gentlemen. These guys were laughing, smiling and treating the press with respect – perhaps deserved, perhaps not,” Eppridge said. “They were perfectly synchronized. One could start a sentence and the other could finish it. These guys were intelligent and they had control of the situation.”
He added, “There was something going on. I could feel it.”
Eppridge immediately called Richard Pollard, director of photography at LIFE, and offered to photograph The Beatles at the Plaza Hotel, Ed Sullivan show, Carnegie Hall performance and train trip to a Washington, D.C. concert
Unlike today when photographers typically deal with agents and handlers, Eppridge spoke directly with The Beatles.
Ringo Starr asked of him, “All right Mr. LIFE photographer, what can we do for you?”
“I told him, ‘Mr. Starr, just be yourselves and this will be painless,’” Eppridge responded.
A classical music aficionado, Eppridge experienced a Beatlemaniac’s fondest dream by witnessing the band’s first U.S. performances at CBS-TV Studio 50 (now the Ed Sullivan Theater), Carnegie Hall and the Washington D.C. Coliseum.
“The teenyboppers, the little girls, were just out of their minds. You couldn’t hear yourself from the screaming. You couldn’t hear the music at the concerts,” Eppridge said. “It was wonderfully crazy.”
Eppridge’s negatives went missing for several years before making their way back to him 1994. He is planning a book of his Beatles photography next year.
“As time goes by, you come away with a greater realization of what you have done,” Eppridge said.
While Eppridge never photographed the Fab Four again, he captured other historic moments for LIFE, National Geographic and Sports Illustrated.
He followed Robert F. Kennedy in the months leading up to his assassination on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles.
Eppridge said he and other journalists viewed Kennedy as “totally reckless” for failing to take stringent security precautions in the wake of his brother’s assassination nearly five years earlier.
Eppridge said he was standing 12 feet behind Kennedy when the fatal shots rang out.
“Having been in Vietnam, I knew what incoming sounded like. The only thing I was wrong about was that I thought it was .25 caliber and it was .22,” Eppridge recalled.
Eppridge photographed the slain presidential candidate on the floor of the Ambassador Hotel.
“You operate on instinct. You do what you have to do,” he said. “You don’t even think about crying. I cried later.”
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Bill Eppridge will share reflections on his memorable career at the D’Amour Museum on April 21 at 2 p.m.
IF YOU GO
Exhibit: “The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes” When: Tuesday through June 2 Where: Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield Cost: Adults, $15; seniors and college students, $10; ages 3 to 17 year, $8; ages 2 and under and museum members, free. Admission includes all four Springfield Museums. Springfield residents receive free general admission with proof of address For more info: Call (413) 263-6800 or online at springfieldmuseums.org
Bill Eppridge will be in atendance during the AIPAD Photography Show in New York at Monroe Gallery of Photography, Booth #419, April 2 - 7, 2013.
