"THE BEATLES: SIX DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD" AT THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Bill Eppridge was sent on a photo assignment for Life Magazine on Feb. 7, 1964. Based on how his editor described the job, Eppridge had no way of knowing it would be one of the most important days of his career.

"Dick Pollard at Life told him 'go the airport, JFK, there's a rock group arriving called The Beatles,'" said Adrienne Aurichio, wife of the late photojournalist. "[Pollard] was not too impressed by them. He said for him to just get pictures of them arriving."

Eppridge, however, was impressed, not just by the four musicians, but also by the mob of fans. They were everywhere: against barricades, on the roof, inside and outside the terminal, most of them young girls, holding banners, reaching out to touch the stars, shrieking for all they were worth.

"He told Dick 'this is kind of interesting, I'd like to stick with it for a few days,'" Aurichio said. "He was more interested in the reaction. He liked to see what people saw in them."

He tagged along on their U.S. journey for six days. That road trip was the basis for a 2014 book, "The Beatles: Six Days that Changed the World," with 148 pictures. That book has been condensed into a 55-item exhibit, which is on view now at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Eppridge died in 2013 in Danbury, after living his last years in New Milford. Aurichio, who was married to him for 16 years, curated the exhibit.

On Feb. 7, 1964, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr arrived at JFK and held a press conference, then went to the Plaza Hotel in New York City, where they monitored their publicity. On Feb. 8, a sick Harrison missed a Central Park photo op, then he joined the boys at a rehearsal at the Ed Sullivan theater. On Feb. 9, they rehearsed, performed on Sullivan's show and had dinner at the Playboy Club. On Feb. 10, a reception at the Plaza was attended by reporters and DJs. On Feb. 11, the Beatles took a train to Washington, D.C., met the press at the Coliseum, performed a concert and went to a party at the British Embassy. On Feb. 12, they took a train back to New York's Penn Station and performed at Carnegie Hall.

A fan outside the Plaza Hotel grabs guitar case belonging to one of the Beatles moments after the group was hurried inside, Feb. 7, 1964. (Bill Eppridge / Copyright Bill Eppridge)

After that point the Beatles went to Florida to perform, and Eppridge handed the assignment over to another photographer. "He was the sort of person who, when he felt that he had the story, he didn't want to do it again," Aurichio said.

Eppridge's photos convey madness with a few moments of quiet. They show teenagers crazed to the point of criminality, a crush of cops, photographers and reporters, a swag merchant who misspelled the group's name, and the band's handlers: manager Brian Epstein, press agent Brian Sommerville and road manager Neil Aspinall. Aspinall got the ultimate fantasy bucket-list job: standing in for George at a rehearsal. In the center of it all are the unflappable foursome, who seemed to enjoy most hanging out with DJs.

"With the DJs, suddenly they look like little kids amongst their idols," Aurichio said. "[The DJs] were their heroes because they played their music."

Some of Eppridge's photos call to mind "A Hard Day's Night," the movie the Beatles made based on their own experiences. Besides The Beatles, other celebrities appear frequently in his photos, most prominently the "fifth Beatle," DJ Murray the K; the legendary documentarians the Maysles brothers; and photojournalist Eddie Adams, who five years later took the unforgettable photo of a Vietnamese man being executed.

The Beatles with the WMCA "Good Guys" radio DJs, at a press reception, Plaza Hotel, Feb. 10, 1964.
(Bill Eppridge / ©The Estate of Bill Eppridge)

Eppridge worked in Vietnam, too, and he covered Robert F. Kennedy's presidential run up until the day of Kennedy's assassination. He covered Woodstock and the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. But the Beatles assignment always held a special place in his career and his heart. Aurichio compared Eppridge's experiences with those of photojournalists today.

"You can't do this now. We can't get close to rock stars. They all want to control everything," she said. "He had six whole days of watching the drama unfold."

"THE BEATLES: SIX DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD" will be at the Visual and Performing Arts Center on the Westside campus of Western Connecticut State University, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury, until March 13. The opening reception is Feb. 6 from 4 to 7 p.m.