27 August 1964: Beatles' Records

     On 27 August 1964, The Beatles flew into Cincinnati's Lunken Airport from Denver at 5:05pm. After posing for photographs and answering a few questions from reporters on the plane steps, the group were ushered into a waiting Cadillac to make the trip to Cincinnati Gardens. As the group's motorcade arrived to the venue, someone (presumably a fraternity member) pushed an LP into George's hand. In the below photo George can be seen holding the LP as they walked away from the car.

(The Beatles arrive to Cincinnati Gardens, 27 August 1964)

    The album in question is the recently completed Songs of Phi Kappa Psi LP. The liner notes tell us that the twenty-five song long-player was recorded over two years under the production and arrangement of Richard Maltby and finished (i.e. mixed and mastered) in July at the Gotham Recording Corporation in New York City. Songs of Phi Kappa Psi features twenty-five of the sixty-one song repertoire of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. The fraternity has had sixteen different chapters in Ohio since 1861. Copies of this album were available from a Cleveland address. The vocalists featured on the recordings, however, came from chapters all across the United States.

    The producer, Maltby - "a veteran of over 20 years as a conductor, arranger and performer," was heavily involved in the song selection and presentation, conducting his own orchestra behind the college boys. Maltby produced a very similar album in 1960 with the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity (the liner notes of which were written by a member of the Wesleyan University chapter). Maltby's son, Richard Maltby Jr, is a celebrated American theatre director, producer, lyricist and screenwriter.

    This was not The Beatles first brush with American "frat" boys. In fact, during their first US visit, The Beatles were made honorary pledges of the Miami Gamma Phi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity. They were presented with a plaque by students Bill Marsh and Tom Hill at the Deauville Hotel on the same day they recorded their third appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

(The Beatles are presented with an honorary pledgeship plaque by Bill Marsh and Tom Hill of the Miami Gamma Phi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, 16 February 1964)