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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, September 17, 2003 marks the 40th Anniversary of
3 former Beatle George Harrison's visit to Benton and Southern
4 Illinois; this is a significant anniversary and until
5 recently, it was long overlooked; and
6 WHEREAS, The visit occurred just five months before the
7 Beatles' first performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the
8 rise of Beatlemania; at the time of his visit, the Beatles
9 were not known in this country; and
10 WHEREAS, Mr. Harrison's visit to Southern Illinois
11 occurred as a result of his sister living in Benton; her
12 husband was an engineer with the Freeman Coal Company in West
13 Frankfort, and it was an opportunity for George to get away
14 from the fame and fanfare that the Beatles were already
15 experiencing in England; their song "She Loves You" was the
16 number one song in England the week he arrived in America;
17 and
18 WHEREAS, What makes George Harrison's trip so significant
19 for Beatle historians is that there were several firsts that
20 occurred just prior to and during his visit to Southern
21 Illinois; and
22 WHEREAS, During the early summer of 1963, his sister
23 Louise was trying to promote the Beatles in this country by
24 having local radio stations play the English group's songs;
25 the first radio station in the United States to do so was
26 WFRX in West Frankfort, and the first song that deejay,
27 Marcia Schafer Raubach, played was "From Me To You"; when he
28 visited the area, one of the first things he wanted to do was
29 to thank Marcia and visit the station, where she interviewed
30 him; this was the first time any Beatle was interviewed in
31 the United States; and
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1 WHEREAS, George Harrison also played music with a local
2 group, the Four Vests, during his visit at two locations, the
3 Eldorado VFW and the Boccie Ball Club in Benton; and
4 WHEREAS, Another interesting event that happened during
5 George's visit was his purchase of a new guitar at a Southern
6 Illinois music store; Gabe McCarty took him to the Fenton
7 Music Store in Mt. Vernon, where he bought a Rickenbacher 425
8 and later used it to play with the Beatles; and
9 WHEREAS, The home where Louise Harrison lived during her
10 famous brother's visit in 1963 was scheduled to be demolished
11 during the mid-1990s to make way for a parking lot for the
12 local Illinois Department of Mines and Mineral office;
13 however, a group of interested individuals, including Louise,
14 later persuaded the State to spare it; today, the home
15 located at 113 McCann Street, is a bed and breakfast and is
16 owned by Jim and Daryl Chady and Cornelius and Dorothy
17 Schultz; and
18 WHEREAS, George Harrison passed away on November 29,
19 2001, after a long bout with cancer; a memorial service was
20 held at the home; therefore, be it
21 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
22 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
23 we recognize the 40th anniversary of former Beatle George
24 Harrison's visit to Southern Illinois; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
26 presented to Louise Harrison, Gabe McCarty, Marcia Schafer
27 Raubach, Jim and Daryl Chady, and Cornelius and Dorothy
28 Schultz as an expression of our respect and esteem.