The Beatles

The Beatles have come to The Henry Ford Museum.

The Magical History Tour, a 10,000-square-foot exhibit that explores the full history of the iconic rock band is coming to Dearborn. The exhibit takes fans through the band's early days in Liverpool through its break-up in the 1970s and the solo careers that followed. 

While there are millions of fans of the band in the Great Lakes State, the number of significant connections to Michigan is relatively minimal (Paul McCartney has a Detroit Red Wings sticker on his guitar!). So why was Michigan chosen as the first stop on this tour? 

The Beatles’ Yesterday is widely considered one of the most iconic songs of all time.

On the track, you can hear Paul McCartney playing his famed Epiphone Texan.

For nearly four decades, the Epiphone has sported a Red Wings decal, all thanks to Mike Kudzia of Clinton Township.

Kudzia tells us he was just swinging by Olympia Stadium the night of the Wings concert in 1976 to pick up a paycheck when his coworkers invited him to stay for the rest of the show.

“It was a great show, I was really enjoying it,” he says. And then he was struck with an idea.

Most of us are pretty familiar with the sounds of a coffee shop, from the clink of cups and spoons, to the hiss of the steam wand on the espresso machine, and to voices in conversation.

At one coffee shop in downtown Bay City, you'll hear music of the Beatles. Apart from that, Brad Wilderman and his wife Peggy have turned their coffee shop, Beatles and Beans Coffee Emporium, into a shrine to the Fab Four. 

"As soon as you walk in, it literally opens a time portal to 1964, when the greatest music explosion of all took place. You'll never believe from the outside in what you're about to encounter," says Brad Wilderman. 

On Sept. 6, 1964, the Beatles came to Michigan.

The familiar sounds of the Detroit Red Wings playing at Olympia Stadium gave way to something completely different: 30,000 teenagers screaming for John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

They played two shows at Olympia Stadium.

Bob Green was right there, seeing Beatlemania unfold in Detroit.

He was a disc jockey on WKNR, Keener 13, the legendary Detroit radio station. He wasn't just there as the Beatles played Olympia, he was onstage introducing them.

Dec. 10, 1971. Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. John Lennon steps up to the microphone.

"It ain't fair, John Sinclair…” the former Beatle sings.

In his new book, "The Walrus And The Elephants: John Lennon's Years of Revolution," author James Mitchell tells the story of Lennon’s trip to Michigan, and why Ann Arbor was the perfect launchpad for Lennon's new life as a revolutionary.

Listen to the full interview above.