From the Beatles to Adele, 20 unforgettable Hollywood Bowl concerts
LOS ANGELES — By its very nature, a visit to the Hollywood Bowl is a memorable event. Even before stepping into the venue itself, attendees might enjoy a preshow picnic, while the trek up Peppertree Lane feels like you're hiking the final few steps of the Yellow Brick Road.
Since 1922, this journey has been made by countless music lovers, mostly fans of the classical repertoire in the early decades. The orchestral shows eventually started sharing seasons with big bands and crooners, and by the late 1950s rock 'n' roll had earned enough attention to warrant a daylong 1958 teeny-bopper event featuring Duane Eddy, Bobby Darin, the Champs and others.
The Bowl's pop and rock bookings increased in the early '90s when, facing budget deficits and wide-open schedules, organizers contracted with an outside production company, Andrew Hewitt & Bill Silva Presents, to promote concerts. The relationship doubled the annual number of concerts, and the Los Angeles Times has covered a whole lot of them.
Here are some of the most memorable pop and rock shows at the Bowl over the last six decades, as chronicled in the L.A. Times.
The Beatles, Aug. 23, 1964
The most famous performance ever delivered at the Bowl, the Beatles' Los Angeles debut was greeted with the maniacal wails of fans receiving some kind of divine missive. Here's part of the L.A. Times' somewhat sniffy account: "With 18,700 teen-age fans shrieking hysterically, not much
