The hallways of Arlington Mill Community Center resounded with Beatles songs on Monday afternoon.
But instead of John, Paul, George and Ringo, it was Ken, Judy, Sherry and Cameron performing hits — and a few obscurities — from the 1962-69 period when the Fab Four dominated the airwaves.
This was one of five stops the foursome undertook over the course of a week, performing at all of the Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation’s 55+ centers.
“It’s hard to hit a lot in an hour,” said Ken Schellenberg, who performed keyboards while Judy McVerry, Sherry Hickey and Cameron Fletcher handled the vocals.
But “hit a lot” they did — all or parts of 21 songs in 60 minutes, starting with “I Saw Her Standing There” from the early days of Beatlemania and concluding with one of the group’s biggest hits, 1968’s “Hey Jude.”
All four performers are Arlington residents. They can frequently be found at local events, together or in other combinations, with a repertoire ranging from Duke Ellington and Cole Porter to Carol King and holiday favorites.
There’s even a “Beatles II” series slated for next year, drawing on more songs from the Beatles’ extensive catalog of hits.
There was a little nervousness as the clock approached 1 p.m. and only a few seats were occupied in the fifth-floor space overlooking Columbia Pike where the concert would take place. But a late rush filled all the room.
“Without you all here, it’s no fun for us,” Schellenberg said as the audience settled in.
It was designed as an audience-participation event, musicians made clear. Attendees also received a crib sheet, listing the songs to be performed, with background notes supplied by Dalal Musa.
“She’s such a Beatles fanatic — I knew I had to lean on her,” said Schellenberg.
The local performers are taking November off as a group, but will be back in December with concerts featuring holiday tunes. Concerts with other Beatles works are planned for the springtime.
The D.C. area played a small but seminal part in Beatles history. The group played its first U.S. concert before more than 8,000 screaming fans at the former Washington Coliseum on a very snowy Feb. 11, 1964.
This was just two days after the Beatles’ first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” with 73 million Americans tuned in — nearly 40% of the country’s population at the time.
The group performed only one other time in the region, in front of 32,000 fans at D.C. Stadium (now Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium) in August 1966. Less than a month later, the Beatles gave up touring entirely to concentrate on studio work that continued until their breakup in 1970.
