Top of the Mountain

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.