The Beatles FBI Files & Other Government Documents

The Beatles FBI Files & Other Government Documents

This collection contains 605 pages of documents. Included in this collection:

The Beatles FBI Files

264 pages of files copied from FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., covering The Beatles. The files date from 1964 to 1992.

Memos amongst the material address: Furor over the album cover of the John Lennon "Two Virgins" record and its sparking calls for new obscenity laws; An alert about the sales of tickets to a non-existent Paul McCartney and Wings concert; Accounts of appearances during a 1964 Beatles tour; Concern that hysteria surrounding Beatles appearances could lead to subversives launching race riots; Investigation of a threat made by someone using the name "Beatle Hater" to throw a hand grenade at a Beatles concert; Efforts to deport John Lennon in 1972; A March 1973 memo about the Department of State issuing a waiver to George Harrison and his wife to come to the United States to visit Lennon in March 1973. The files document that waivers were necessary because the three had reputations in England as users of narcotics; Threats made against George Harrison in 1981 and 1990.

George Harrison FBI Files

87 pages of FBI files covering George Harrison. These well-redacted pages cover threats made against the life of Harrison.

Universal Newsreel Volume 37, Issue 12 - Beatles Arrive in United States

On February 7, 1964, the Beatles landed at New York City’s John F. Kennedy airport, which had just recently changed its name from Idlewild Airport, to honor the recently assassinated president. In this newsreel footage from Universal, The Beatles are seen being greeted by a reported 3,000 teenage fans while a condescending narrator comments, "There are rumors around that this is Britain’s revenge for the Boston Tea Party."

This newsreel also Includes stories about a violent conflict between Turkey and Greece, New Orlean's Mardi Gras, and coverage of the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Newspaper Articles

9 full sheet American newspaper pages from late 1963 covering the Beatles and their upcoming trip to America.

A Study of Musicology and Social Discourse in Midtwentieth-Century America (2020)

A 135-page 2020 master's thesis produced at the Naval Postgraduate School. This thesis examines music associated with mid-twentieth-century discourse movements in the United States. This thesis finds that music helps people form identities and worldviews. Throughout the report attention is often pointed at The Beatles

Such Beatles songs as “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “Day Tripper,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” and “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” are emphasized as being about drug use.

Deposition of John Lennon - Big Seven Music Corp., et al. v. John Lennon, et al.

This file unit consists of 200 pages from a deposition of John Lennon held in the civil case brought by Big Seven Music Corp. and Adam VIII, Ltd. The defendants, John Lennon; Apple Records, Inc.; Harold Seider; Capitol Records, Inc.; and EMI Records Limited, were sued for breach of contract.