(WGHP) — “All you need is love, love, love is all you need.”

The lads didn’t sing that right away, of course, but there was plenty of love, love, love in the air 58 years ago today, when the Beatles first landed in America.

News reports at the time said there were 3,000 “screaming teenagers” on hand at Kennedy Airport on Feb. 7, 1964, when the Fab 4 walked off a Pan American World Airways jet.

Two days after arrival, the Beatles played on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and on Feb. 11 they had their first public concert: in Washington Coliseum, where 8,092 crowded inside. Price of tickets on tour? About $5.50 (tax included).

The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was No. 1 on the Billboard chart, and that’s why they finally came to the U.S., Paul McCartney said.

So in commemoration of that wonderful day nearly six decades ago, let’s recall five fun facts about the Fab 4.

1. What had the Beatles done before coming to the U.S.?

The group was born in the clubs of their hometown in Liverpool, England, and they first traveled to Hamburg, Germany, on the back of their first recorded single, “Love Me Do.” But then their second song, “Please Please Me” took off in 1963. By the end of that year they had released four singles and two albums, had made 49 appearances on radio and 35 on TV. They had performed live 287 times. “Please Please Me” was the first single released in the United States, but it only made it to No. 2 on the charts. “She Loves You” was their first million seller. “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was released on Jan. 13, 1964. Three weeks later, the band was in the air.

2. What was their first tour like?

The Beatles’ first visit to the U.S. was only 15 days, but it set the stage (literally) for their first full U.S. tour. Those first two weeks included the TV appearances and their first concert in Washington, they also played in New York and Miami Beach (where the clowned in pre-fight publicity with some guy named Cassius Clay). Then they returned in August and did 32 shows in 33 days, appearing at 26 venues in 24 cities, including LA, San Francisco, New Orleans and Jacksonville, Florida, covering 20 states and three Canadian stops (Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto). They reportedly made $1 million.

3. They did return.

After tours of Great Britain and Europe, the Beatles returned to the U.S. in August 1965, starting with their infamous appearance in Shea Stadium in New York that drew more than 56,000. They also met with Elvis Presley on this tour while doing 11 shows in 10 cities, including two shows each in Toronto and Portland, Oregon. They spread along the Deep South, too, with gigs in Atlanta (30,000 at Fulton County Stadium) and Houston (12,000 at Sam Houston Coliseum).  Their standard set list on that tour included “Twist And Shout,” “I Feel Fine,” “Ticket To Ride,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” “Hard Day’s Night” and “Help.”

4. Once more with feeling.

The very last tour the Beatles ever played was their third visit to the U.S. Arriving again in mid-August (was it the heat?) 1966, the band performed 18 shows in 14 cities, most of them in baseball stadiums. Right before the tour, John Lennon had suggested to the world that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus now.” That led to an uproar of outrage, and the tour almost was canceled. But the shows went on. On Aug. 21, they played a day-night doubleheader, if you will, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati and then Busch Stadium in St. Louis. They also played in the home stadiums of the Dodgers, Giants, Phillies, Indians, Senators and Mets. They drew 45,000 at Dodger Stadium and 44,000 in a return to Shea Stadium. Their final tour concert ever was at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, where 25,000 attended. Bizhat.com reports they performed their set inside a 6-foot-high wire cage to protect them. Why did they stop touring? They were tired of it, and the crowd noise affected their sound. But they also were under constant security threats.

5. How many of their singles and albums were sold in the U.S.?

The answers to that are very complicated. A site called beatlesfaq.com estimates the band recorded 63 singles and by 2014 had sold 1.6 billion in the U.S. There had been 13 albums and three anthologies. Their total album sales in the U.S. were by that time 177 million. Guess which album sold the most? “The White Album,” at 24 million sold. But three years ago “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was said to be No. 1 album, with more than 32 million sold. And those numbers have continued to grow. “Abbey Road,” produced in 1969, was the biggest-selling album of the 2010s (with more than a half-million sold). The “1” album of compiled No. 1 hits has been a most popular seller in the past decade. Business Insider in 2021 reported the Beatles had sold 183 million certified album units, followed in the top five by Garth Brooks (157 million), Elvis Presley (146.5 million), the Eagles (120 million) and Led Zeppelin (111.5). No matter which count matters to you, the totals are rising. In early December, “Let It Be” was atop the Billboard’s Top Rock albums list. The “Beatles: Get Back” miniseries on Disney+ was a big boost to sales, and the recording of their famed final concert on the roof of Apple Records in London just premiered at IMAX theaters.