The Beatles' Last Concert

On August 29, 1966, the Beatles' last concert occurred at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. (I'm not counting the impromptu rooftop appearance during the '69 "Let It Be" sessions.) Even in late summer it was a cold, windy, foggy night at the Stick. In a bit of irony one of the opening acts, Bobby Hebb, performed his hit "Sunny." The 45,000 seat ballpark was just over half full because allegedly the fire marshal limited ticket sales, but that has never been confirmed. There wasn't any big announcement - the Fab Four figured it would gradually dawn on people they would do no more live appearances. Knowing this was their last public show, the boys took selfies on stage with real cameras, mind you. The craziness of performing on four continents, working virtually nonstop for over five years with just one break of any length, having to arrive and depart the shows in armored cars, and constantly being mobbed by shrieking fans finally caught up to them and pushed John, Paul, George and Ringo to quit touring. On the flight home to England, George said, "That's it, then. I'm not a Beatle any more." Of course that didn't happen, but that's how the guys felt. They took three months off before starting work on their "Sgt. Pepper" masterpiece. In 2014 Paul returned to Candlestick to play the last concert prior to its demolition.