The fourth date of The Beatles’ final tour took place in Washington, DC, where they performed one concert before 32,164 people at the DC Stadium.
Prior to the concert, five members of Prince George’s County Ku Klux Klan, dressed in red, white and green robes and led by the Imperial Grand Wizard of the Maryland clan, held a parade outside the venue in protest against John Lennon’s comments that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
Support acts for the entire tour were The Remains, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkle and The Ronettes. After the show The Beatles and their entourage immediately boarded their tour bus and began the journey to Philadelphia.
The Beatles’ standard set throughout the tour consisted of 11 songs: ‘Rock And Roll Music’, ‘She’s A Woman’, ‘If I Needed Someone’, ‘Day Tripper’, ‘Baby’s In Black’, ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Paperback Writer’ and ‘I’m Down’. During the tour they occasionally substituted the final song with ‘Long Tall Sally’.
The stadium was renamed in January 1969 after US Senator and presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy, who had been assassinated in Los Angeles the previous June. It subsequently became known as the Robert F Kennedy Stadium, or the RFK Stadium.
Also on this day...
- 2016: Paul McCartney live: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids
- 2010: Paul McCartney live: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
- 2009: Paul McCartney live: Piedmont Park, Atlanta
- 2003: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Grand Casino Gulfport, Biloxi
- 2001: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: USF Sun Dome, Tampa
- 1995: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Mesa Amphitheatre, Mesa
- 1992: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Austin Aqua Festival, Austin
- 1989: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Great Woods Centre for the Performing Arts, Mansfield
- 1973: Mixing: Rock And Roll People by John Lennon
- 1969: Recording: Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End, Something, Here Comes The Sun
- 1968: Recording, mixing: Rocky Raccoon
- 1965: The Beatles live: Shea Stadium, New York
- 1963: The Beatles live: Odeon Cinema, Llandudno
- 1962: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (evening) – Pete Best’s final show
- 1962: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (lunchtime)
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I was there to see The Beatles, at D.C. Stadium, Monday, August 15, 1966 and it was one of the best days of my life. I was 17. One year later, I was trying out for the Washington Senators at the same D.C. Stadium where a year before, I was amazed by the Beatles. What a memory…The Beatles, not my tryout. I was not signed.
Hey ? was there too. Awesome concert. Also warm up acts. Bobby hebb. Sunny.
Cyrcle. Red rubber ball. I think Ronnetts were there too.
Larry Jacobs.
Remember them leaving in a helicopter in right field.
I was there with 2 friends and the Beatles drove out of the stadium in a limousine. I know because we ran to the side and Paul waved to us as they drove out of the stadium field’s exit!
My sis and I was there also. My dad only agreed to let us go if we read a bit of the Bible every day, a week before the concert. I blame John, lol.
Also, we left our seats early to try to get a glimpse of them (getting lost in the stadium afterwards) as they left the area. We were about 50′ from the limo and we both just stood there, frozen. My little sister, who was 4, and folks were waiting in a gate area, and they came in and walked right past my folks, who weren’t impressed by this long haired band. So, no photo opportunity. It’s hard to believe that love for them has turned into nostalgia and the memory of that particular day oh by the way August 15th was my little sister’s birthday too.
I was there to see the BEATLES I was 10 years old and tagged along with my older brother and his girl friend. It was a life time memory all for 3 dollars and 50 cents.George was on our side and I recall someone getting by the cops and he ran up on stage and touched John,Paul and George. I still have the ticket stub !
Wayne, I was also there, and recall that incident. However, as I remember it, the guy punched Ringo Starr and knocked him off his seat at the drums. Metro DC police arrested him. The Beatles left the concert in a limo that was hidden beneath the stage which was near the pitcher’s mound.
I was there too. Ringo was not punched. He wasn’t touched. The guy was arrested because he rushed the stage. They didn’t leave in a limo it was a station wagon. I remember wondering why it wasn’t a limo.
i never tried to punch anyone……i touched john,paul,and george once then i touched them again,i turned to get a pair of ringo drumsticks ,since i was a drummer.got knocked off the stage by security taken into the first base dugout where the cops beat the crap out of me,got handcuffed and taken to a holding cell until my mother and oldest brother came down to bail me out.i was charged with trying to incite a riot and put on probation until i turned 18.
I saw them at the DC coliseum February 11, 1964. I still have my ticket stub( $3 folks for a 7th row seat) and most of the program. I don’t have, dammit, the button I bought that said The Beetles!
I saw the beatles there with my friend and her dad. Beautiful music, a lot of screaming going on.
Hi,
I was there too..I was 15 yrs old and had won the trip to see them along with about 30 other kids on a local radio station. I remember we had pretty good seats…right at first base if i recall, but, I couldn’t hear anything for the screaming. I remember thinking how dumb all those girls were. I was there to hear as well as see them…but, I did get to ‘see’ Paul..one of the girls had binoculars so that made it a little better to be able to see him up close even if I couldn’t hear a thing! I wish I had been able to afford a program, I would have loved to have that souvenier.
Hi Teresa! I was also there to see the Beatles at DC stadium! I also rode on a bus sponsored by a radio station – WROV in Roanoke, VA, Could this possibly be the same as yours? I am a novelist and am writing a book about two teenage girls during the late ’60’s and would love to find someone who went on the WROV bus. Please let me know if that is you. Thanks! L. Lincoln Clark
I was also there by winning a ticket from our (Greensboro, NC) radio station, WCOG, same here about the program, I was 8 1/2. We flew up and back. Top 10 greatest days of my life!
Me and a friend of mine ,we left from Norfolk Va on a bus tour with radio station WNOR . It was $20.00 a ticket that included the bus ride , lunch on the bus and a tour of Smithson museum then tickets to see the Beatles that night in Aug 15 1966 I was 14 years old , and yes 3 or 4 fans ran across the top of 3 base dugout and jumped on to the field and ran to the stage. Their were Cops all the way around the field almost shoulder to shoulder. What a deal for $20.00 I will never forget it. My first concert . Anybody that might have been on that Bus would love to hear from you .
I was there too, as a guest of my on-off again high school sweetheart. What I most remember is the opening act The Cyrcle (Red Rubber Ball), the lousy sound system and the Beatles appearing in their grey tunic band uniforms. The screaming was way too loud to hear their music but I still had a good time being a witness to a performance by revolutionary group in pop music.
pk – do you remember the guy who ran up on the stage and touched all four of them on the head. As I recall they were singing I wanna be your man. An army of police consumed this guy and the Beatles hardly missed a beat.
Yes I was there and I remember that – the police were mostly fat and slow! Do you remember people in closed boxes turning their lights on and off around the stadium?
Wild night for me, I was 13. What a way to start seeing live music. Haven’t stopped yet!
I was at this concert, too! I was 15 and so thrilled that I could buy a ticket for myself and my older brother, who “chaperoned” me. We were sitting right behind the dugout that the Beatles came out of, in the second row, and when Paul came out, turned around, and waved to the crowd…….I about fell out of my seat! I remember the Ronettes. I kept thinking there was a comedian, but evidently that memory came from somewhere else! 🙂
I was there – just finished 6th grade – my dad took me on a bus from Charlottesville VA – Cyrkles played Red Rubber Ball
I believe the guy who jumped on stage tried to touch Paul, George, and John but only got to George as Paul and John got out of the way. He didn’t punch Ringo. The stage was on top of second base and the limo was parked behind the stage. Never forget the night. We sat in the Mezznine on third base side.
I was there and 17 yes old. Sat behind home plate. The lady next to me had flown in to see them from Spain. Hard to hear anything, but a wonderful memory.
We had front row tickets for, I think, $3.75. The guy who ran on stage was with us. His name is Gerry Canning, and he was the drummer in our little garage group.
I was there also. I was only 8 years old at the time. I and my two older sisters talked our parents into taking us as our family vacation. We traveled from North Carolina to see them. I still have my ticket stub. It cost $5 dollars…$25 for my entire family. We were pretty much “in the rafters” of the stadium and could only hear an occasional note that would make it through the constant screaming.
Hey all, I was also at this concert. Correct me if I’m wrong but the band that played Red Rubber Ball opened before the Beatles. They (Beatles) also came in on a Helicopter. I was 10 and thats what I remember. Soooooo much screaming that we had concert deafness in the car on our way home. My friend Deb and her father took me, how lucky I was!
I was there, at age 15. They didn’t arrive in a helicopter. My ticket was $5.00. They were driven off field after their performance in some kind of armor car type. I DO remember that. They wore light blue suits. 🙂
Hi this is Wayne again , the Beatles pulled onto the field in a limousine and left in limousine with a police escort… we could see them from the stadium driving up the highway.. Myself and my wife saw Paul recently at John Paul George arena in Charlottsville… I texted to my freinds a photo of the original 3.50$ ticket and stated the price of bottle water tonight cost more !!
Wayne, the Beatles walked out of the first base dugout. The left in a station wagon. I remember wondering why they weren’t leaving in a limo. I guess the ticket price depended on where you sat, mine was $5.00
I was there and screamed my head off! I was 13 and went with my friend, Karen, and my brother, Terry. Was wonderful!!
I was at the 8-15.66 concert in D. C..My wonderful Dad took me..I was 11 years old. the ticket was 5.00. I remember it was threatening rain.AlsO the good year blimP was circling the stadium. Bobby Hebb Performed “Sunny”
and the Cyrcle Performed Red Rubber Ball. the Beatles were only onstage for one half hour.I still have the ticket Stub and the NewsPaper article.
I was there and was 12 for just a few days! We were so lucky!
I was there in the stands above and left of home plate 20+ rows up.
I remember waiting and waiting for the Beatles limo to arrive (many did but were decoys). When they did arrive, it was by helicopter.
The sound quality was very poor and I heard very little other than those stupid girls screaming. I mean, did they not notice there was NO WAY anyone (including themselves) could hear the music?
I remember the guy who rushed the stage and McCartney’s and Lennon’s guitars swinging like barroom doors.
It was an experience of a lifetime and I wish only that I could have heard the Beatles play!
That would have been amazing.
In 1966 I was a student volunteer in senator Robert Kennedy’s office I was attending Kansas State I got my beatle tickets from a sports writer that knew Kennedy. Bobby Hebb sang Sonny before the Beatles came out of the first base dugout. I later was a student volunteer on the Kennedy presidential campaign in 1968. I missed my college graduation at KSU. I was in Oregon on the Kennedy campaign. In 1969 I lived in London England and would go to pub would go
YI
Our 72-year-old great aunt took my sister and me (14 and 11) on the bus from Richmond. She knew the significance of this band and, even though we couldn’t hear most of the concert, we were ecstatic.
The afternoon of the concert my buddy Bobby down the street called and said his dad was taking he and his sister to the show, but, for some sort of lame reason, she didn’t wanna go. He asked me if I did. It was a week before my 13th birthday, so I had to ask my mom. She said she had to ask my dad, who was out of town on a work-related trip. He said “Well, the kid’s dad is taking them, so…let him go.” I went. We were up in the upper deck I believe. I remember the guy getting on stage and touching the front three. Before that, I was planning on going to law school and becoming a Congressman, like my dad. Later that week I got a guitar, and that was all she wrote, for Congress, college and whatever else I was scheduled to do. I’ve been writing songs and recording albums ever since…