“Rain — A Tribute to The Beatles” comes to Wharton Center on Friday. Courtesy of Wharton Center.
It’s been more than 50 years since The Beatles first appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but guitarist Jimmy Pou still remembers it fondly as the day he decided to become a musician.
“I was 12 years old, watching it on a black-and-white television,” Pou said. “I told my parents, ‘This is what I wanna do. I wanna play guitar and have girls chasing after me.’”
Since the discovery, Pou has paid homage to The Beatles’ lead guitarist George Harrison in several tribute bands, such as Beatlemania. In 2010, he joined the Broadway production “Rain — A Tribute to The Beatles,” which will visit MSU on Friday at Wharton Center.
Despite attracting fans of all ages, Pou said the show is about more than playing dozens of The Beatles hits. Each musician must embody their designated band member the same way an actor would — down to their accents and mannerisms.
“There are a lot of fans all over the world, especially in the United States,” he said. “There’s a lot more devoted fans who want to hear the music, (who) come to the show and want to see us portray The Beatles.”
After the Broadway show’s success at Wharton Center in 2011, Wharton Center Public Relations Manager Bob Hoffman said they decided to bring it back based on its generational appeal.
“It’s cross-generational,” Hoffman said. “I don’t think The Beatles will ever really die. They’re so much a part of the history of rock and roll, and they’re so fun and reflect on youth.”
Pou, who also writes his own music, said his favorite part of the performances is talking to his youngest fans afterward and hearing about their new discovery.
“A lot of the young kids say ‘We knew every one of those songs, but we didn’t know The Beatles did them,’” he said. “(Their music) is all a positive message about love, and it’s very endearing.”
Supply chain management freshman Cody Peterson said the band was bargaining for change at a pivotal time.
“(The Beatles attempted to) bring social reform through music, and they have good intentions behind it,” Peterson said. “They were doing it at an interesting time, given what was going on with the war.”
Although he has performed in tribute to The Beatles for 35 years, Pou said the feeling of satisfaction on stage never gets old.
“When people get into it and start dancing … There’s a feeling that we’re doing our part and fulfilling what we came on stage to do, which is make everyone happy,” he said.
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