The Cavern Club (Photo from The Henry Ford website)
You'd be hard pressed to find a musical group that had more influence on culture and music than the Beatles. Whether you were alive when they first stormed America in the early 1960s, doesn't matter. These guys made history.
So "The Magical History Tour: A Beatles Memoribilla Exhibition" at The Henry Ford in Dearborn is a must-see, Mike McGonigal writes in the Metro Times:
A brick-by-brick re-creation of the Cavern Club — replete with period instruments, amplifiers, and scratched graffiti — is the standout of the exhibit. "My favorite part of the show is the creation of the environments of the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, where members of the Beatles first performed under John Lennon in 1956," says John Neilson, Henry Ford's senior director of museum and attractions. "The Beatles made their first appearance at the club in February 1961 after returning to Liverpool from Hamburg, Germany, where they had been playing at similar clubs.
From 1961-63, the Beatles made nearly 300 appearances at the club, their last occurring in the summer of 1963 — six months before the Beatles' first trip to the U.S. They really coalesced as a group in this period [when] 'Beatlemania' was sprouting across England. This was the end of one era; the small club of their early years could no longer satisfy audience demands."
This self-described "most exhaustive Beatles exhibition ever assembled" . . . is up until Sept. 18. These artifacts can have a shards-of-the-true-cross feel to them, especially the one-of-a-kind objects. This can spur deep feelings of devotion and reverence in the heart of even the most casual fan. Conversely, when you reflect that such museum showings are sure to help to increase each object's monetary value, it's easy to be a little skeptical. A Google search of auction results for some of these items shows that Beatle memorabilia remains very much a growth industry.
Some items are sad, he adds, including the band's actual breakup letter which is "nothing more than a letter sent to Paul McCartney's lawyer, it's more a weird curio than a sock to the gut."
Plan your visit
- When: 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Sept. 18
- Cost: $5, plus museum entry ($19 adults, $17 seniors (62+), $14,25 youths (5-12), kids free (4 and under). Online rates shown. Each is 10% more at museum.
- More info: The Magical History Tour
