The Indiana State Fair has a long history of bringing musical acts to perform. Between August 19 and September 20, 1964, the Beatles were on their second North American tour which included a stop in Indianapolis. They had briefly been in the United States in February 1964 when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Afterwards, their fame skyrocketed.
They were the headline act at the Fair on September 3. Other acts on the bill were The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman Henry, and Jackie DeShannon. Originally were scheduled to play one concert at the Indiana State Fair, the demand for tickets was so strong that the Fair added a second concert later that evening. Since the Coliseum was booked for another event, the second concert was outdoors in the Grandstand adjacent to the one-mile dirt racetrack. In total, the Beatles played twelve songs beginning with “Twist and Shout.” Never mind that those in attendance couldn’t hear them singing anything.
So, what does this have to do with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? They were to stay at the Essex House Hotel in downtown Indianapolis for two nights. Wanting to see The Beatles, fans descended upon the Essex House, stole doorknobs and ripped up wallpaper. The plans were quickly changed and instead, they stayed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Motel, later known as the Brickyard Crossing Inn.
The two-story Indianapolis Motor Speedway Motel opened in 1963 outside of Turn 2 with 96 rooms. Over the years, many notable people including James Garner, Jim Nabors, and Paul Newman stayed at the motel while in town for the Indianapolis 500. It was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Motel that some scenes for James Garner’s movie “Winning” were filmed. His co-stars were Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward.
After playing at Philadelphia, The Beatles arrived around 1 a.m. at the Allison Division landing strip at the Weir Cook (Indianapolis) Airport by chartered plane and were driven, complete with a police escort, to the Speedway Motel where they all stayed in the same room. Indianapolis-based reporters would later note that the security measures taken for their visit surpassed those used when John F. Kennedy was in Indianapolis in 1962.
George Harrison was asked what he knew about Indianapolis. He replied, “It’s the place with the hot rod races, isn’t it? It’s the only sport I like.”
Before they played the two concerts, they golfed at the Speedway golf course and met Miss Indiana State Fair Cheryl Lee Garrett.. The first show was held at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The Coliseum was already booked for another State Fair event. The second show was held at the Grandstand overlooking a one-mile dirt racetrack. The first concert was broadcast live by WIFE-AM. The concert film was shot using 16 mm by WISH-TV and parts of it were included on a TV special, “Our Fair Beatles” which was broadcast on September 8, 1964. It was broadcast a second time on July 29, 2008, at the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library.
In total, 12,413 fans attended the first show which began at 6:21 p.m. A ticket cost $5. The second show had 16,924 in attendance. Ringo Starr was late for the first concert and arrived minutes before they hit the stage. He explained that he had lost track of time while driving a police car around the dirt racetrack at the Fair.
The night after the shows, Ringo couldn’t sleep and was sitting by the motel pool where Indiana State Patrolman Jack Marks, one of the two state troopers assigned to guard the Beatles, took Ringo on a tour of Indianapolis which included Monument Circle. In his 1982 radio program ‘Ringo’s Yellow Submarine,’ Ringo talked about his experience in Indianapolis. “I was wandering around the hotel ‘round about 4 one morning in Indianapolis, and I met these two policeman who had a police car outside. So I said, ‘Ahh, just nothing to do and I can’t sleep.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s go for a ride.’ So, they let me drive the car which was great. Then we went screaming all over the city and it got so crazy that we were being chased by another cop car. We had to pull into this alley and turn the lights off and all hide in this police car—me and two big cops are all hiding in a police car in Indianapolis. And this other cop car goes past us…and then the guys say ‘Well, we got out of that so what else are we gonna do?’ But it was fun…in a police car hiding from the police. I think they thought someone just stole it. (laughs) Probably my driving on the wrong side of the road.”
Marks suggested that they have breakfast at his house near Noblesville, Indiana. When they arrived, Marks told Ringo to go to the barn and asked his wife to fix something for them to eat. From the living room window, his daughter 11-year-old Karen watched in amazement as Ringo exited the car. His wife was getting their horses ready to show at the Fair. Karen, reported that her mother responded to Ringo's request, “You’ll have to hold your horses until I’m finished working on mine.” As they got ready to leave, Ringo kissed Karen on her right cheek. She told Dax Lowery of the Indianapolis Monthly that “Ringo Starr was the first boy who ever kissed me.”
In his Anthology, George Harrison wrote, “As we were leaving, on the way to the airport, they took us round the Indy circuit, the 500 oval, in a Cadillac. It was fantastic. I couldn’t believe how long the straightway was; and to be on the banking and see all the grandstands was great.”
The Beatles earned $85,231.93 for the two concerts after paying state income tax of $1,719.02.