This Date In Music – Beatles Play Shea Stadium (August 15, 1965) [VIDEO]

It was 46 years ago today (August 15th, 1965) that the Beatles played their legendary show at Shea Stadium inNew York City.  It was the first open air stadium rock concert, and for its time, by far the largest.  The Beatles played to over 55,000 fans that night, and none of them were on the field in front of the stage.  It's still strange to see the footage at Shea with the Beatles on stage in an empty football field, and thousands of fans screaming from the stands.

Even the band  remembers how far away the audience was.  The New York police officers who acted as security were kept busy removing fans from the field as they jumped over the railings and tried to rush the stage.  That show would be the first of the Beatles' 1965 Summer tour.  It ended up being shown on tv in December of 1966, but is STILL unavailable commercially.  But through the magic of YouTube, you can see videos of songs at Shea including this one: