On a sweltering Sunday evening in August 1965, 56,000 people traveled by
plane, car, bus, ferry, and subway train to pack New York's Shea
Stadium. They were there not for a ballgame, but a rock and roll
concert--the audacious dream of promoter Sid Bernstein. No band had ever
played a baseball stadium, and few believed it could be pulled off, but
on that glorious night, The Beatles sold out Shea Stadium, shattering
all existing box office and attendance records in show business history.
Against a backdrop of mounting political and cultural tumult, Top of the
Mountain delivers the details and excitement of Shea and the spirited,
curious new generation who would soon claim the decade for its own.
Packed with hundreds of color photographs, it gives a one-of-a-kind
account of this monumental event, gathering first-person interviews and
quotes from dozens of those who experienced a piece of pop-culture
history--celebrities, writers, agents, producers, photographers, opening
act performers, security guards, radio personalities, cameramen, and
fans of all kinds. Among them were young Caryn Johnson (Whoopi
Goldberg), Mary Louise Streep (Meryl Streep), and Steven Lento (Steven
Van Zandt); future Beatle wives Linda Eastman and Barbara Bach;
established stars like Bobby Vinton and Ed Sullivan; and artists such as
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Felix Cavaliere and The Rascals, Marvin
Gaye, and more. Together, they paint an unforgettable picture of a night
like no other.
