I came across an interesting article written right at the beginning of Beatlemania in America. It had the title above, "If You Don't Care For Music, You May Like The Beatles," and was written by Roy Lee Harmon, published in the Raleigh Register (Beckley, WV, Feb. 7, 1964, p. 4).In the article, Harmon is quick to dismiss the Beatles as no-talent morons. He says they are "a motley, idiotic-looking group," then later calls them "idiotic looking" again with "psychotic actions which constitute anything except music." Plus they're "wild and stupid."
Psychotic? Idiotic? That all seems pretty harsh. I'm trying to think of any psychotic actions the Beatles might have shown (and this was written before they actually got to America.) Maybe "woooo" and shaking their heads?
As I said, Harmon declares that the group is "a no-talent group," and laments, "In spite of the fact that this gosh-awful group has no talent, I predict these boys will get rich in America." He says one reason for this is that the "American people today would rather wallow in the gutter than gaze at the stars," with American taste having sunk so low that "mere words can hardly describe it."
Harmon notes that Ed Sullivan arranged to have the Beatles on his show, but gave this piece of sage advice: "Don't watch them or listen to them if you have a queazy stomach."
Well, anyway, I guess we all know how that turned out. It was sort of disclosed in the course of time that the Beatles did have at least a smidgen of talent, and went on to do some work that (so far) has stood the test of time. So sorry, Roy Lee Harmon!
