08/29/2026
60 YEARS AGO TODAY: THE BEATLES PLAYED THEIR FINAL CONCERT. BUT THE BAY AREA STORY STARTED WITH A SAN JOSE PROMOTER.
On August 29, 1966, The Beatles walked onto a stage at San Francisco's Candlestick Park for what would become their final ticketed concert.
Here’s a San Jose connection to the story.
Two years earlier, when The Beatles launched their North American tour, the man who put them onstage at the Cow Palace was a San Jose promoter: Paul Catalana.
Operating from San Jose and running the legendary Safari Room at Story and White roads in San Jose, Catalana secured The Beatles for the Cow Palace on August 19, 1964—the first concert of their 1964 US tour.
The show sold out.
And Catalana did it again.
When The Beatles returned to the Bay Area in 1965, Catalana promoted their two Cow Palace performances on August 31.
That second booking became the center of a fascinating Bay Area promotional battle. San Francisco promoters Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell's Tempo Productions reportedly believed they had an agreement to promote the 1965 shows. Instead, the contract went to Catalana. A legal dispute followed, eventually resulting in Tempo receiving the opportunity to promote The Beatles when they returned to the Bay Area in 1966.
Meet Paul Catalana and see extraordinary photographs from his years with The Beatles:
https://sanjoserocks.org/creators/paul-catalana/
