093_HR0474

                                     LRB093 13115 RCE 18609 r

 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
 
                            -2-      LRB093 13115 RCE 18609 r
 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.