sensation as the beatles were as soon as they arrived at jfk airport. what was it about them? were they that different? there was elvis or a number of other people around. what was it about these guys? they weren t that particularly handsome, were they? you don t think the beatles are handsome? i think they re a handsome bunch of guys. certainly talented and charming. but they had a lot going for them timing-wise. we think about the 1950s as an era that was starchy and conformist. and yet by the time the beatles came to america, the baby boom generation was first beginning to reach its teenage years, and i think they were ready. they were galvanizing maybe a change in the broader culture s sensibility. so i think that was a big part of their appeal. people used to ask there s a big topic of conversation 50 years ago. newspaper editors and psychologists were weighing in, trying to understand, you know, what was the source of this reaction the beatles were provoking and to one ever