The Beatles kicked off their first full-blown North American tour on August 19, 1964.

Yes, the Fab Four had played shows on the East Coast in early 1964, most notably their appearances on the Ed Sullivan show where 74 million people tuned in.

But the tour starting at the Cow Palace in San Francisco was a proper tour, and quite the whirlwind where John, Paul, George, and Ringo would play 32 shows in 31 days.

But why the Cow Palace? Apparently Beatles manager Brian Epstein was nervous the Liverpudlians wouldn't be able to fill the nearby Candlestick Park baseball stadium and it's 50,000 seat capacity, so he played it safe and booked the humorously named arena to the west in Daly City.

17,130 tickets were gobbled up quickly for that opening night where The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, The Righteous Brothers and Jackie DeShannon filled the bill.

In all, the most popular band in the world played just 29 minutes, that first night.

It would have been a shorter set but there were two interruptions due to a bombardment of jelly beans being hurled at the young men dressed in dark blue suits.

What had happened was, the year before the Beatles crossed the pond, George Harrison was being interviewed and he mentioned that he loved Jelly Babies, a British treat similar to jelly beans but softer and shaped more like a tiny infant that had been smothered in confectioners sugar.

Soon after the interview, the band began being pelted the soft treat by British audiences. Since the Bellies were not sold in the States, the mop tops foolishly thought they'd be safe from the sugary barrage.

Instead things were worse: Americans had endless supplies of jelly beans which flew faster and further.

Harrison told the press in Ohio he was worried about being blinded by the misdirected affection.

Fortunately the lads survived.

Their set that night and many days throughout that first tour began with The Top Notes' "Twist and Shout." The herky-jerky original was first recorded in 1961 and produced by Phil Spector, it flopped.

The following year the Isley Brothers slowed it down and restructured it in a direction The Beatles would follow - including the whooooos.

The Brothers got it to the Top 20.

Even though the Beatles were able to sell a million copies of the cover, it got stuck at #2, because "Can't Buy Me Love" was #1 for four weeks.

The tour only lasted four weeks which was probably all the continent could stand. Beatlemania was crazier than anything that has been seen since.

9,000 fans waited for the band to arrive at the airport before that first show at the Cow Palace. Swifties are loyal, but 9,000 of them aren't waiting for her plane to touch down at LAX.

A week after the San Francisco show, the Beatles made their first visit to the Hollywood Bowl. A live recording was attempted by Capitol Records, whose headquarters was in walking distance from the famed outdoor venue.

But as soon as the label heard the tape all they could hear was screaming girls. Beatles producer and arranger George Martin said that first recording sounded like, "putting a microphone at the end of a 747 jet."

It wouldn't be until '65 when the foursome returned to the Bowl that the label gave it another go, but even that attempt was so meh it wasn't released until 1977.

Paul is taking a break from touring but Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band is on the road. For years the drummer has surrounded himself with rockers like Todd Rundgren, Joe Walsh, Clarence Clemons, and Peter Frampton who all take turns playing a song or two from their deep catalogues before joining in Beatles sing-a-longs.

This year Ringo is out there with Warren Ham (Kansas), Edgar Winter, Colin Hay (Men at Work), Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), Gregg Bissonette (Spinal Tap), and Steve Lukather (Toto).

Tickets available on his website.