I was thirteen years old.

I was in the eighth grade.

But I can remember this day as if it were yesterday. (Which is a pretty good thing because I have a hard time remembering yesterday.)

It was a Sunday, and the day began as most Sundays did back then. I got up for the 10 o’clock mass and joined a few hundred of my fellow students at Blessed Sacrament Church to sing the mass in Latin. But my mind was not on singing the Kyrie or Credo, but instead, I Want To Hold Your Hand, and She Loves You.

The Beatles had surpassed the Gregorian Chant in all of our music listening and singing preferences.

The Beatles landed at the newly named JFK International Airport (formerly Idlewild) on Friday and were going to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday night. The joy and excitement that the Beatles brought with them from England allowed many Americans to forget their grief suffered at the hands of the Assassin in Dallas.

I always thought I Want To Hold Your Hand was a metaphor for what the Beatles did for America that bleak winter.

All that my friends could talk about during the weeks leading up to their American visit, which continued long after they returned home to England, was the Beatles.

Who is your favorite Beatle?

What is your favorite song by the Beatles?

Everyone had an opinion.

Some scoffers mocked their haircuts and unfavorably compared them to American singers like Elvis. Still, eventually, they all came around and marveled at their music and realized that Beatlemania was not hype or a product of mass marketing (whatever that was) but just a phenomenon worthy of the greatest rock and roll band ever.

Of course, in 1964, no one could have predicted just how big and influential the Beatles would become. We just loved them in the moment, and listening to I Want To Hold Your Hand, Please Please Me, All My Loving, and Twist And Shout suspended time and made a lasting impact on how we would view the world.

The funny thing is I think The Beatles were as surprised as we were.