The greatest rock band that ever was

Today is the day.  Beatles Rock Band for Wii is finally here! Needless to say, I have been waiting impatiently for this very day to arrive. In fact, I've been obsessing about this particular game for quite some time. Sure, we like RB1 and RB2 decently, sneaking in some play time when the kids are asleep or when we have guests. But, to have Rock Band comprised of ALL Beatles tunes is something to foam at the mouth for. 
     
My first real music recollection, I believe, was hearing "She Loves You" by The Beatles. I can't pinpoint the year or even how old I was. It was definitely after the age of four or five because I don't have any memories prior to these ages. I was only four when my family immigrated to the USA in 1975 and I stand by my belief that although my first language was Vietnamese, my first memories seem to be in English. My mom has told me that I used to play with neighborhood kids and although I couldn't speak English yet, I would play alongside the other kids just fine all the while jibber jabbering away in Vietnamese.
     
My only memory of these early times is a brief snippet of me as a very young girl knocking on a neighbor's door asking to play. My childhood memories always seem to come in snippets.
     
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is vivid in my memories as were "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" (I knew all the lyrics and used to sing them to myself all the time--I still do sometimes). Funny note--I used to think "Dear Prudence" was "Dear Brutus" (outrageously funny, I know)! 
     
There is one particular memory that solidified my love for the Fab Four. This crisp and clear memory brings me to the age of eight or nine years old when I was knocking on doors throughout my neighborhood collecting unwanted items for some school project (now forgotten). I remember one particular neighbor, an elderly gray-haired woman who lived alone. She invited me in and offered milk and cookies while I waited for her to gather her discards. She reappeared with boxes (the number of boxes is unclear) of some very cool stuff!
    
"Please take these--my girls are all grown and I don't have any use for them," the nice lady said.
     
One box held a bounty of costume jewelry. At that time, it felt like I had just received a bottomless treasure chest of the most exotic jewels in the world. I still think about those baubles from time to time even though I cannot recall any specific individual piece. Another box held a bunch of random magazines.  Old issues of "Life", "Saturday Evening Post" and others. I thought little of the box of magazines at the time.

     
At home, after playing at length with the costume jewelry, I started browsing through the magazines. They were filled with 1960's culture--clothing, hairstyles, advertisements, and The Beatles. Every magazine seemed to have an article about them. Pictures of girls screaming at concerts, snapshots of Paul, John, Ringo, and George either together or alone, all splashed throughout the magazines. I read and reread these magazines over and over and I came to treasure the magazines more than the costume jewelry. I became obsessed with the Fab Four--I often wished that I could transport back in time and live in that era. So, in the late 1970's, I discovered and became fascinated by The Beatles and the 1960's era (another story entirely).
     
In 1980, I was nine and walking down the steps of my elementary school (Oak Park Elementary--Des Moines, IA) when I first heard that John Lennon died. I remember being very sad. 
     
The Beatles is one of, if not the greatest, rock band that ever was and perhaps will be. I still listen to them every week and hope to expose my own kids to their magical, simple yet profound lyrics and music. Today on 09-09-09, there will be a musical tribute to The Beatles in this household.