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Photos by Chuck Boyd
Yolanda (left) and Stephanie in hats on the podium with the Beatles
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Photos by Chuck Boyd
Stephanie (left) and Yolanda (center front) in matching outfits with The Fab Four.
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Photos by Chuck Boyd
She loves him yeah, yeah, yeah...Yolanda with her idol, George Harrison
It was 1964, I was 15 years old and my best buddy, Stephanie, and I were the co-presidents of the Dallas Beatles Fan Club Charter. We were Beatle crazy! When we heard the Beatles were coming to Dallas, Stephanie and I decided we would buy presents for them. And we were determined to give the gifts to the Beatles personally.
First, we went to the Cabana Hotel where the Beatles would be staying and introduced ourselves to the management. They were extremely kind and begged us to help them control the anticipated adoring, but possibly destructive, crowd of women who would arrive at their hotel. We made a pact to get the word out about respecting the hotel and its contents and, in return, they promised to help us get our presents to the Beatles. We purchased four monogrammed black 10-gallon hats that we prayed were the right size for each Beatle.
After a call from Carole, the public relations manager, our mothers drove us to the hotel at 10:30 p.m., where we patiently awaited the next step. About a half an hour later, the security guards came to tell us to follow them. They asked us to get in a large portable commercial laundry hamper that had a cover on it, and put the gifts in another one just like it. We were wheeled into the commercial freight elevator and taken to an undisclosed floor. When we walked in the room, Derek Taylor, the press agent for the Beatles was there. We were so excited to get to meet him because we had seen his picture in so many magazines. We started thinking this was the closest we would ever get to meet the Beatles.
After our brief chat, Derek told us that if we would be as professional and calm as we were talking to him, he would let us give our gifts to the Beatles ourselves. WHAT?! Our hearts dropped right to our feet. Both of us were immediately silent, afraid that if we spoke, he might change his mind. I said, “Yes, of course, we’ll be very calm, not scream and try to not maul them.”
Hearts pounding, off we went to the penthouse suite and there they were. Our dreams came true! We were with the Beatles and members of their entourage for a little over two hours. I’ll never forget Paul McCartney singing my name, saying how melodic it was, and that he might write a song with my name in it. Ringo Starr was doing what he was second most famous for: taking pictures – and he was actually taking pictures of us. George Harrison (my favorite Beatle) and John Lennon were fascinated about seeing the prairie with tumbleweed roaming around. We had to break it to them that wasn’t what was out there. John asked if we wanted tickets to the concert, and we thanked him, and told him we already had tickets. That was a mistake. We had tickets in the first balcony, and he could have gotten us front row seats. Duh! Derek gave us passes to their press conference that was taking place the next day.
Arriving at the press conference, we waited patiently for the Beatles to appear. Derek came to fetch us and asked us to wait in a corridor. Next thing, the Fab Four was there and greeted us by name. We presented them with their personalized hats and they said they LOVED them. We got a hug from each of them, and off they went. Watching the concert knowing we just talked to them and touched them was more than we could have ever hoped for. But the biggest surprise was the next weekend when we saw them featured on the cover of Parade magazine at the Pigman Riding Ranch, wearing those hats we had given them. I still swoon thinking about it.
Two years later, the Beatles returned for their second U.S. tour. There wasn’t a stop in Dallas, but Stephanie’s grandmother lived in Riverside, CA, so we asked if we could stay with her to attend the concert in L.A. She agreed, so we went full speed ahead to raise money for the trip and concert tickets by having garage sales and babysitting. The money for the Beatles’ gifts came from the still thriving fan club. This time, the gifts were branding irons with their initials.
Steph and I had bought two black 10-gallon hats and two exactly matching black sleeveless tops and print skirts to wear to the concert. We thought to contact Dick Clark who had an office on Wilshire Blvd. We arrived dressed alike in our concert gear and showed the receptionist the two-year-old photo of us with the Beatles. She asked us to be seated and wait. Mr. Clark wanted to hear our story about the photo and agreed to help us get our presents to the Beatles. He told us there was a press conference at Capitol Records a couple of days before the concert, and that we should meet him there with the gifts. He would get us seats and we were to get someone’s attention to have the gifts passed off to the Beatles.
When the day came, we had our wrapped gift boxes and wore our perfectly matching concert outfits. We were escorted to the front row and sat down, full of joy knowing we had a good chance of seeing the Beatles up close. However, two minutes before the press conference began, we were asked to give up our seats to a high ranking official. We begrudgingly left our seats and went to stand along a wall because now there was standing room only. I wanted to cry.
When the Beatles came into the room there was a frenzy of lights and action. We could barely see over all the photographers and cameramen. As time went by, I noticed George Harrison looking over at someone by where we were standing. I looked around, jealous of whoever it was that George had noticed. A couple of minutes went by and it happened again. Then George leaned over to Paul, who then leaned over to John, who leaned over to Ringo, and they all began a private conversation. George then motioned with his forefinger, as if beckoning someone to approach. Stephanie and I looked at each other and then at him, we then pointed to ourselves questioning, “do you mean us?” and George nodded yes. We quickly ran to the podium, where he helped us up.
As the cameras flashed away, George asked, “How have you girls been?” and they all pointed to our hats and gave us a hug. George asked me if I wanted a sip of his Coca Cola, to which I eagerly replied, “yes.” Oh, my lips had touched the Coke bottle that George Harrison’s lips had touched. Dick Clark asked the photographer, Chuck Boyd to send us the photos he had taken at the press conference. We never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Boyd, but the photos he took of us with the Beatles are spectacular.
Meeting the Beatles has been one of the highlights of my life. Without Stephanie and our mothers, who drove us around at all hours, and a few wonderful people who gave a chance to a couple of teenage girls that dared to dream, it would have never been possible! I love you, Mom!
