MusicGoldmine has acquired the exclusive rights to a set of rare photographs of the Beatles on their first full U.S. tour. The photos were shot on August 27, 1964 at Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was the seventh stop on the Fab 4's 25-date U.S. tour, a run which kicked off Beatlemania in the USA.
These fantastic photos, shot that day by photographer Walt Burton, were acquired as original Kodak Tri-X 35mm negatives. Photographer Burton was a leading figure in the Greater Cincinnati photography world for decades. He started his photography career in the Army in the 1950's and his work was published in Vogue, Newsweek, Playboy, and Look.*
A precursor to this first full U.S. tour took place on February 9, 1964, when about 73 million people tuned in to see the the group live on The Ed Sullivan Show. In a record at the time, a staggering 45% of U.S. homes with televisions watched the Beatles that evening.
The first of four shows in quick succession which took place in February 1964, including two televised appearances on the Sullivan show, set the stage for the monumental tour that followed later that year.
During the 25-date August to September U.S. tour it is estimated that the group played to over half a million fans. The images from the August Cincinnati show capture the excitement and energy of the Beatles on stage at the performance in front of the 14,000 fans who attended.
For the shows taking place in August and September, the group typically performed their standard 12-song set running about 28 minutes featuring "Twist And Shout,", "You Can't Do That," "All My Loving," "She Loves You," "Things We Said Today," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Can't Buy Me Love," "If I Fell," "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "Boys," "A Hard Day's Night," and "Long Tall Sally."
Whether driven by nostalgia or a peak at Beatlemania in its' prime, images such as these will always be great collectibles. MusicGoldmine is offering both individual framed photos from the rare set here, along with four-photo collages, which can be customized with the images desired here. Check them out and grab some rare Fab Four memories!
We have other great Beatles collectibles —check them all out here.
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*Walt Burton bio excerpt courtesy Legacy.com
All photos ©2025 MusicGoldmine
