Saturday is George Harrison Day in Illinois. The honor commemorates the former Beatles' visit to southern Illinois in the fall of 1963.
The Beatles would not officially invade the United States until their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in February of 1964. But that previous fall George Harrison - then unknown in the US - came to Benton to visit his sister Louise. I talked with Louise Harrison about her brother shortly before his death in November 2001. At the time, she spoke fondly of her brother's two week visit to southern Illinois and the fact that he could just be a regular person. She says he thoroughly enjoyed his time here. She says he got to just be George and enjoy the people and the region. Harrison says her brother thought the people of southern Illinois were wonderful.
While in southern Illinois George went camping with his sister in the Shawnee National Forest and made an appearance a local radio station in West Frankfort that was the first to play the Beatles music in the US. The single, She Loves You, had just been released in Britain prior to Harrison's visit to Benton. Harrison also played with several local musicians during his stay.
Saturday, the Illinois State Historical Society and the Franklin County Historic Preservation Society will dedicate a marker commemorating the 50th anniversary of George Harrison's visit to southern Illinois. The ceremony takes place at 2:00 pm at Capitol Park in Benton.
