50 years of the Beatles

Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon. Ringo Starr

50 years of The Beatles Fifty years ago, The Beatles first appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and teenage girls across American became infected with "Beatlemania." Americans' love affair with the fab four hasn't ebbed in the following decades. Here are images of memorabilia related to the rock icons. (AP Photos)

AP Photos

THE BEATLES The Beatles wave to fans assembled below their Plaza Hotel window after they arrived in New York City on Feb. 7, 1964 for a short tour of the United States. From left to right are, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison. (AP Photo)

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Greet The Beatles 1964 Fans of the British rock band The Beatles scream from behind police barricades at New York's Kennedy Airport, Feb. 7, 1964. (AP Photo)

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John Lennon, center, holds his forehead as 5-year-old Debbie Fyall, of London, England, sits on his shoulders, in New York, Central Park, USA, February 8, 1964. The other two members of the Beatles are Paul McCartney, left, and Ringo Starr, right. (AP Photo/The Beatles)

AP Photo/The Beatles

New York Beatles Fans Police man the barricades outside New York's Plaza Hotel, on Feb. 7, 1964, as Beatle maniacs push forward in hopes of a view of Britain's singing sensations after their arrival for an American tour. (AP Photo)

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Beatles Fans USA 1964 Screaming teenagers, mostly girls, wave a banner "Beatles forever" welcoming the British band from Liverpool, The Beatles, outside the Plaza Hotel in New York City, USA, February 7, 1964. The band will appear on television and will give two concerts at Carnegie Hall. (AP Photo)

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New York Beatles Arrive Britain's Beatles make a windswept arrival in New York on Feb. 7, 1964, as they step down from the plane that brought them from London, at Kennedy airport. From left to right, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison (AP Photo)

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USA Beatles Sullivan McDermott American speed skating champion Terry McDermott, top centre,a barber by trade, prepares to take a swipe at the famed locks of Beatle Paul McCartney, seated , to the mock horror of the other Beatles and TV host Ed Sullivan, during rehearsals at the TV Studio, New York, Feb. 9, 1964. From left, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, McDermott, Ed Sullivan and John Lennon. (AP Photo)

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Lennon McCartney Starr Harrison Paul McCartney, right, shows his guitar to Ed Sullivan before the Beatles' live television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in New York City, Feb. 9, 1964. In the center are, John Lennon, left, and Ringo Starr, partial view. (AP Photo)

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John Lennon of the Beatles is shown backstage speaking with manager Brian Epstein at the "Ed Sullivan Show" in New York, Feb. 1964. In the background is basist Paul McCartney. (AP Photo)

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The Beatles meet reporters at Kennedy Airport in New York City, Feb. 7, 1964 on their arrival from London for their first American tour. The band members, from left, are, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and John Lennon. (AP Photo)

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McCARTNEY HARRISON LENNON STARR The Beatles perform on the CBS "Ed Sullivan Show" in New York Feb. 9, 1964. From left, front, are Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon. Ringo Starr plays drums. (AP Photo)

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SULLIVAN BEATLES STARR HARRISON Ed Sullivan, center, stands with The Beatles during a rehearsal for the British group's first American appearance, on the "Ed Sullivan Show," in New York on Feb. 9, 1964. From left: Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Sullivan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The rock 'n' roll band known as "The Fab Four" was seen by 70 million viewers. "Beatlemania" swept the charts with twenty No. 1 hits and more than 100 million records sold. The Beatles broke up in 1970. (AP Photo)

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Beatles Ed Sullivan Memorabilia This undated photo provided by Heritage Auctions shows autographs by The Beatles on a 4-foot-by-2-foot section of a backdrop wall from the New York theater where The Ed Sullivan Show theater took place. Between the group's sets during their historic television appearance Feb. 9, 1964, the four Beatles penned their autographs and drew caricatures at the urging of a stagehand. Now that artifact, believed to be the largest Beatles autograph, is being sold on April 26, 2014, by Heritage Auctions in New York where it could realize $800,000 to $1 million. (AP Photo/Heritage Auctions)

AP Photo/Heritage Auctions