The Beatles In Cleveland
John, Paul, George, Ringo - and Dave Schwensen, too
By Jennifer Grathwol / The Sandusky Register
The
British invasion is back. In Sandusky. John, Paul, George and Ringo will
be at Waldenbooks in the Sandusky Mall with the help of author Dave
Schwensen. At his Saturday book signing, Schwensen will show 15 minutes of
exclusive, never-before-seen footage from the Beatles concerts he's
attended and written about.
Former Sandusky Register columnist Schwensen wrote "The Beatles In Cleveland: Memories, Facts & Photos About The Notorious 1964 & 1966 Concerts," published in 2007.
"It's the Beatles live in concert like you've never seen them," Schwensen said. "No one else has this."
Schwensen's parents took him to the Beatles concert at Cleveland Stadium in 1966. They even bought the most expensive seats at $5.50 per ticket.
"I didn't realize what I had seen," Schwensen said. "I remember watching the riots - one guy jumped over the fence and 2,500 people followed immediately." It was his goal to capture the experience of those concerts and write about them in a way that would get readers' adrenaline pumping. The book takes the reader back in time step-by-step, song-by-song.
The book got its start in 2000 when Schwensen wrote a one-page review of the concert that was posted on his web site. He immediately got responses from Beatles fans who wanted more. Others sent e-mails and messages saying that they, too, were at the concerts and remember the mayhem. The response became so overwhelming that Schwensen started the site beatlesincleveland.com.
He began doing more research and contacted promoters, radio stations, music critics and other concert attendees. One person led to another as Schwensen began to assemble the story of the historic concerts from every perspective.
"It didn't happen once," Schwensen said of the riots. "It happened twice."
"At Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the goal was to actually touch a Beatle. Cleveland, don't forget, is rock'n roll," Jerry G. Bishop said in Schwensen's book. Bishop was the most-listened to deejay at Cleveland's most influential radio station of the time. He traveled with the Beatles during their 1966 North American tour.
The Cleveland show of 1966 was the only North American concert during which the Beatles played the same song twice. You'll have to read the book to find out which song it was, Schwensen said with a smile.
Schwensen now lives in Northern Ohio with his wife Debbie and two sons, Kevin 19 and Paul 12. He teaches courses at Cleveland State University and Youngstown State University. He is the author of "How To Be A Working Comic" and "Comedy FAQs And Answers." Schwensen said that while he has already started work on his next book, he's having too much fun with this one to let it go just yet.
The book has already seen national success from New York to L.A. and international success from London to New Zealand.