“Hair-Raising Experience” (02/12/1964)
by Eddie Germano (1924 – )
11 x 15 in., ink and wash on board
Coppola Collection

A native Bostonian, Germano became a full-time cartoonist in 1948, at age 24, after serving in WWII. Among other positions, he worked as the editorial and sports cartoonist for the Brockton Enterprisefrom 1963-1990.

The Beatles “Invasion” – the band landed in the US on Friday, February 7, 1964, and appeared on the Ed Sullivan show Sunday evening, February 9. The immediate reception in the media was not positive. The New York Times reviewers called them a “placebo” and a “fad.” The Herald Tribune called them “a magic act that owed less to Britain than to Barnum,” and described the performance as “75 percent publicity, 20 percent hair, and 5 percent lilting lament.”

Germano definitely reflects the snark, here.