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Interview With Larry Kane

Aired September 18, 2003 - 15:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time to shift gears a little bit. "Ticket to Ride" with one of the biggest bands to cross the Atlantic, a tour which will never be repeated -- I think we can safely say -- like that.
At the age of 21, Larry Kane was the only American journalist to cover the Beatles' first North American tour. That was back in 1964.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And he's written about that experience in "Ticket To Ride: Inside the Beatles' 1964 Tour That Changed the World." Larry Kane joins us now live right here in Atlanta.

What a pleasure, and...

LARRY KANE, AUTHOR, "TICKET TO RIDE": It's great to meet you guys.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's great to meet you. We have the book, but we also have a CD.

KANE: A CD.

PHILLIPS: You actually include parts -- I mean, a lot of your interviews.

KANE: Well, the CD sort of validates the book, and the book does the reverse. And basically, it brings to life the kind of relationship I had with them. I was a newsman who covered politics, corruption, storms, hurricanes, things that I enjoyed. And I didn't want to travel with the band. And we grew to love each other in different ways. It was a very, very interesting relationship.

O'BRIEN: So, how did you happen, though? That you were a news director at a radio station in Miami. And how did you end up on the plane with them?

KANE: I was 21 years old. I sent a letter to Brian Epstein asking him for an interview in Jacksonville, which was the closest place to Miami. And on the business card, it said "WFUN Miami," which stands for "fun." And it listed six other stations, but they were all stations aimed at an African-American audience -- gospel and rhythm and blues. He thought that I was the newsman for all of those stations, and that I was some sort of media mogul. And he invited me on the tour at the age of 21.

O'BRIEN: So, a pleasant misunderstanding. KANE: A great misunderstanding.

PHILLIPS: So, you know, tell us some of the inside things about their personalities that we didn't know. I mean, you got to see everything, I mean, from the making of the music to meeting the stars to the women, to the parties.

KANE: Well, the women were not as numerous as you think, but there were a lot of women, not the teenage variety. They were very careful about their social lives.

PHILLIPS: They liked older women, right?

KANE: They -- well, an older woman to me at that age was 30. But today...

O'BRIEN: It's all relative.

KANE: That's very right. They liked older women. They did.

John Lennon was one of the most incredibly passionate persons in the world. He and I got along well, because we talked politics, racial polarization and all of the issues facing America.

Paul McCartney never met a mirror or a stage he didn't like. He loved performing. He made love to that audience with his eyes and with his lips, and he understood the showmanship.

Ringo Starr totally misunderstood. He is the one-for-all and all-for-one guy in the group.

And George Harrison, who was my really second favorite next to John, was a person who just exuded confidence about his music. The problem he had, he was extremely intelligent, very bright, but he had a face that was just past puberty. And he was 20 years old, and he looked like he was 15.

On the plane, I tried to sleep. I never bothered them. McCartney and Lennon constantly put mashed potatoes in my face. They tried to wake me up. I was a straight guy to them. They were very, very sensitive about the people who traveled with them, the opening acts. Nobody listened to them, the Righteous Brothers, Jackie Buchanan (ph). The parties were numerous. They met Elvis.

But the greatest moment for me was meeting Fats Domino, because Fat Domino was my date song from the '50s. And we got along really well.

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

KANE: There wasn't a lot of drugs on the first tour, a little marijuana on the second.

I introduced them to Bob Dylan in a funny way. He came to the lobby, and they said, "Can you go down and get him?" I greeted a guy who was probably -- looked like he hadn't a shower in eight weeks. And he said, "Bob Dylan," and I didn't understand a word he said. He chatted with Lennon all night on the final night of the concert. They smoked marijuana. It was a totally unintelligible conversation.

But they were just great to be with. And unlike a lot of the stars of today, they reached out to people. They were passionate. A girl -- the girls walked through a plate glass window in Dallas, Texas...

O'BRIEN: Wow!

KANE: ... and they were very seriously injured. Ringo broke down. The others called the hospital. They sent flowers. They checked on them for days. They felt a responsibility toward the people who loved them, and they were close to them in age.

PHILLIPS: So many people were obsessed with them and with the music and how it just changed an era. But you talk, for example, Ringo Starr was such a big fan of Johnny Cash.

KANE: Oh, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: And then, when they first met Elvis and how they were hanging out at his house playing roulette and having cocktails.

KANE: It was amazing, and they loved -- it's interesting the people that they liked. They loved Johnny Cash. They loved the actor, Edgar G. Robinson, who was a black and white film actor from the 1950s, because they grew up watching him. They loved meeting Jack Palance. They were less impressed with some of the Hollywood starlets. And they loved Elvis, but they did tell him they didn't like his music. They liked his music better from the '50s.

These guys -- and by the way, that meeting was negotiated like a Middle Eastern peace conference. Nobody would get the upper hand. There were no pictures taken of it, no sound recordings.

And, for me, it was just the beginning of the evolution of a revolution, and I'm really happy that people around the nation have enjoyed the book and they're having a good time with it. I'm happy you liked it, too.

O'BRIEN: You know, what's interesting to me, though, is how, when you listen to these recordings in particular, you really get a sense of how innocent they were. They were polite to a fault.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Very witty and very trusting in a way. And I know it took you a little while to get them to trust you. But nevertheless, I wonder if you had toured with them six years later what it would have been like.

KANE: I think it would have been a lot different. I interviewed them in 1968, some of the video which you have. And I think they were more worldly. You know, it's just like a kid who comes home from college. Every time your kid comes home from college, they're different. With each holiday, they grow up. And I think they also were a little more jaded later, because they realized that the press was a little tough on them. And they realized they were public people.

In the beginning, look, John Lennon was 23 years old. I was 21. Paul McCartney 21. George Harrison 19. Ringo Starr 24. They were young men, but I'll tell you one thing. They were the first people in the history of entertainment who used their position of respect and power to elicit and solicit good causes. Lennon was anti-war, but it wasn't necessarily Vietnam. He was an equal opportunity protester, and I think that's why the government tried to deport him back in 1985 when he came to do the weather with me in Philadelphia on the set there, a great guy, just a wonderful man.

O'BRIEN: All right, the book is "Ticket to Ride." The author is Larry Kane.

PHILLIPS: Don't forget the CD. Don't forget that. Parts of the interview. You've got to hear them.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

KANE: By the way, there is a secret, by the way. Wolf Blitzer is the fifth Beatle, and he was trying to fly away with them, you know what I mean?

O'BRIEN: It's either that or Mary Poppins. I'm not sure which.

(CROSSTALK)

KANE: It was a pleasure meeting you.

O'BRIEN: He's not sorry.

O'BRIEN: Good to have you drop by, Larry Kane.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Larry.

KANE: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired September 18, 2003 - 15:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time to shift gears a little bit. "Ticket to Ride" with one of the biggest bands to cross the Atlantic, a tour which will never be repeated -- I think we can safely say -- like that.
At the age of 21, Larry Kane was the only American journalist to cover the Beatles' first North American tour. That was back in 1964.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And he's written about that experience in "Ticket To Ride: Inside the Beatles' 1964 Tour That Changed the World." Larry Kane joins us now live right here in Atlanta.

What a pleasure, and...

LARRY KANE, AUTHOR, "TICKET TO RIDE": It's great to meet you guys.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's great to meet you. We have the book, but we also have a CD.

KANE: A CD.

PHILLIPS: You actually include parts -- I mean, a lot of your interviews.

KANE: Well, the CD sort of validates the book, and the book does the reverse. And basically, it brings to life the kind of relationship I had with them. I was a newsman who covered politics, corruption, storms, hurricanes, things that I enjoyed. And I didn't want to travel with the band. And we grew to love each other in different ways. It was a very, very interesting relationship.

O'BRIEN: So, how did you happen, though? That you were a news director at a radio station in Miami. And how did you end up on the plane with them?

KANE: I was 21 years old. I sent a letter to Brian Epstein asking him for an interview in Jacksonville, which was the closest place to Miami. And on the business card, it said "WFUN Miami," which stands for "fun." And it listed six other stations, but they were all stations aimed at an African-American audience -- gospel and rhythm and blues. He thought that I was the newsman for all of those stations, and that I was some sort of media mogul. And he invited me on the tour at the age of 21.

O'BRIEN: So, a pleasant misunderstanding. KANE: A great misunderstanding.

PHILLIPS: So, you know, tell us some of the inside things about their personalities that we didn't know. I mean, you got to see everything, I mean, from the making of the music to meeting the stars to the women, to the parties.

KANE: Well, the women were not as numerous as you think, but there were a lot of women, not the teenage variety. They were very careful about their social lives.

PHILLIPS: They liked older women, right?

KANE: They -- well, an older woman to me at that age was 30. But today...

O'BRIEN: It's all relative.

KANE: That's very right. They liked older women. They did.

John Lennon was one of the most incredibly passionate persons in the world. He and I got along well, because we talked politics, racial polarization and all of the issues facing America.

Paul McCartney never met a mirror or a stage he didn't like. He loved performing. He made love to that audience with his eyes and with his lips, and he understood the showmanship.

Ringo Starr totally misunderstood. He is the one-for-all and all-for-one guy in the group.

And George Harrison, who was my really second favorite next to John, was a person who just exuded confidence about his music. The problem he had, he was extremely intelligent, very bright, but he had a face that was just past puberty. And he was 20 years old, and he looked like he was 15.

On the plane, I tried to sleep. I never bothered them. McCartney and Lennon constantly put mashed potatoes in my face. They tried to wake me up. I was a straight guy to them. They were very, very sensitive about the people who traveled with them, the opening acts. Nobody listened to them, the Righteous Brothers, Jackie Buchanan (ph). The parties were numerous. They met Elvis.

But the greatest moment for me was meeting Fats Domino, because Fat Domino was my date song from the '50s. And we got along really well.

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

KANE: There wasn't a lot of drugs on the first tour, a little marijuana on the second.

I introduced them to Bob Dylan in a funny way. He came to the lobby, and they said, "Can you go down and get him?" I greeted a guy who was probably -- looked like he hadn't a shower in eight weeks. And he said, "Bob Dylan," and I didn't understand a word he said. He chatted with Lennon all night on the final night of the concert. They smoked marijuana. It was a totally unintelligible conversation.

But they were just great to be with. And unlike a lot of the stars of today, they reached out to people. They were passionate. A girl -- the girls walked through a plate glass window in Dallas, Texas...

O'BRIEN: Wow!

KANE: ... and they were very seriously injured. Ringo broke down. The others called the hospital. They sent flowers. They checked on them for days. They felt a responsibility toward the people who loved them, and they were close to them in age.

PHILLIPS: So many people were obsessed with them and with the music and how it just changed an era. But you talk, for example, Ringo Starr was such a big fan of Johnny Cash.

KANE: Oh, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: And then, when they first met Elvis and how they were hanging out at his house playing roulette and having cocktails.

KANE: It was amazing, and they loved -- it's interesting the people that they liked. They loved Johnny Cash. They loved the actor, Edgar G. Robinson, who was a black and white film actor from the 1950s, because they grew up watching him. They loved meeting Jack Palance. They were less impressed with some of the Hollywood starlets. And they loved Elvis, but they did tell him they didn't like his music. They liked his music better from the '50s.

These guys -- and by the way, that meeting was negotiated like a Middle Eastern peace conference. Nobody would get the upper hand. There were no pictures taken of it, no sound recordings.

And, for me, it was just the beginning of the evolution of a revolution, and I'm really happy that people around the nation have enjoyed the book and they're having a good time with it. I'm happy you liked it, too.

O'BRIEN: You know, what's interesting to me, though, is how, when you listen to these recordings in particular, you really get a sense of how innocent they were. They were polite to a fault.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Very witty and very trusting in a way. And I know it took you a little while to get them to trust you. But nevertheless, I wonder if you had toured with them six years later what it would have been like.

KANE: I think it would have been a lot different. I interviewed them in 1968, some of the video which you have. And I think they were more worldly. You know, it's just like a kid who comes home from college. Every time your kid comes home from college, they're different. With each holiday, they grow up. And I think they also were a little more jaded later, because they realized that the press was a little tough on them. And they realized they were public people.

In the beginning, look, John Lennon was 23 years old. I was 21. Paul McCartney 21. George Harrison 19. Ringo Starr 24. They were young men, but I'll tell you one thing. They were the first people in the history of entertainment who used their position of respect and power to elicit and solicit good causes. Lennon was anti-war, but it wasn't necessarily Vietnam. He was an equal opportunity protester, and I think that's why the government tried to deport him back in 1985 when he came to do the weather with me in Philadelphia on the set there, a great guy, just a wonderful man.

O'BRIEN: All right, the book is "Ticket to Ride." The author is Larry Kane.

PHILLIPS: Don't forget the CD. Don't forget that. Parts of the interview. You've got to hear them.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

KANE: By the way, there is a secret, by the way. Wolf Blitzer is the fifth Beatle, and he was trying to fly away with them, you know what I mean?

O'BRIEN: It's either that or Mary Poppins. I'm not sure which.

(CROSSTALK)

KANE: It was a pleasure meeting you.

O'BRIEN: He's not sorry.

O'BRIEN: Good to have you drop by, Larry Kane.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Larry.

KANE: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.