Spokane prepares to ‘Meet The Beatles!’ again

When Jonathan Fickes and Robbie Berg walk onstage as John Lennon and George Harrison with the Fab Four on Friday night at the Bing Crosby Theater, the venue will brew with Eastern Washington Beatlemania. Fickes is from Moses Lake. Berg is from Spokane.

The band they will be playing homage to is … legendary.

In January 1964, the Beatles released a groundbreaking collection of works titled, “Meet the Beatles!” It was their second American studio album and their first to be issued by Capitol Records. In just two short weeks, “Meet the Beatles!” skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart where it remained for 11 weeks. At one point in 1964, Beatles songs occupied all top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Life would never be the same for them.

Contributing to that quick success was their first visit to the United States in February 1964, when the band played live on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” The appearance attracted a record-setting 73 million television viewers and is now hailed as one of the most pinnacle events in broadcast history. Many people vividly recall where they were on the historic evening.

Spokane Beatles fans will soon have a chance to relive that iconic moment.

“It shot them into stardom,” said Berg, who will reprise his role as Harrison with the Fab Four at “USA Meets the Beatles! A 60th Anniversary Concert.” “At the beginning of this new show we’re going to be recreating ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ with the songs that they performed,” he said. “You get to hear some songs that you don’t normally get to hear live. The first song George Harrison ever wrote, ‘Don’t Bother Me,’ ‘Hold Me Tight,’ ‘It Won’t Be Long.’ There’s a Ringo song in there, of course, along with some big hits: ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There.’

“The rest of the show is still going to cover other Beatles eras like Sgt. Pepper and the later years of the Beatles.”

Scheduled to appear on stage with Berg and Fickes on Friday at the Bing is founding Fab Four member, Ardy Sarraf, who taught himself to play the bass guitar left-handed for his role as Paul McCartney, Richie Lewis as Ringo Starr and Jeff DeHart, who will portray the venerable, Ed Sullivan.

For a nation in mourning, “Meet the Beatles!” could not have arrived at a better time. Released shortly after the 1963 death of President John F. Kennedy, the album brought happiness and hope back to a country riddled with despair.

“There have been videos of McCartney and the other Beatles talking about it and how Kennedy was assassinated and America was in this dark hole and (the Beatles) were kind of the light that brought America out of it,” Berg said.

Energized by a cultural revolution, “Meet the Beatles!” helped fuel the influx of British rock bands such as the Rolling Stones and Kinks into the United States. The expressive lyrics of tunes on the album became a catalyst for changing teen attitudes, hairstyles and attire.

“It’s definitely had its impact. There’s been so much history and documentation about that era of the Beatles,” Berg said. “People had never heard music like that before and seen haircuts like that before. There was just something about the four of them together that was so impactful and the music speaks for itself.”

Indeed, it’s what lies between the grooves of “Meet the Beatles!” that stands out.

“I enjoy doing this one because it’s got some interesting guitar work on it,” Berg said. “George Harrison’s licks in ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ impressed Paul and John at the time and that really helps the song musically.”

“It’s a good balance of really good songwriting and hits with rarities,” said Berg, who always enjoys coming back to perform for his hometown audience … especially at the Bing.

“The great thing about the Bing is how intimate it is. The front seats are right at the edge of the stage. The balcony view is great. The capacity is less than a thousand. It makes for a great environment for a show,” he said. “We’ve been to the Spokane area many times and we have our regular show and with this show you get to see something a little different.”