Local Students Introduced To The Beatles
WEXFORD (KDKA) -- America met the Beatles on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964.
Not so well-known is their very first recording session in Hamburg, Germany on Nov. 8, 1961.
Beatles' songs have withstood the test of time, generation after generation. For proof, you don't have to go any further than Saint Alphonsus School in Wexford.
"We all live in a yellow submarine..." The voices of fourth graders mingle with the songs on a tape of Beatles songs.
Teacher Shirley Bates began "Beatles Friday" several years ago. It's not just "a day in the life" or "any time at all" for these kids. It's a mix of library books and Beatlemania. Select a book, and then read it to music.
"I play the Beatles music while that's going on," Bates said. "Then they come back and they listen to the tapes. They usually sing, tap their feet. Sometimes they do projects while they're listening."
Beethoven roll over! Library books are their "ticket to ride."
"I find that their parents are really telling them about the Beatles," Bates said. "And they do know who the Beatles are. And if not, I introduce them to them and they love them."
It's been a "long and winding road" since their moms and grandmothers went all "helter-skelter" to the request: "I wanna hold your hand." But these kids "believe in yesterday."
"Sometimes I like old-fashioned," one boy said.
But will they still love it when they're 64 years old?
"I think they're going to live forever," Bates said.
At least "eight days a week."
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