Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World

by Rob Sheffield

“Please allow me, if I may, to address myself to just four very special people: John, Paul, George and Ringo, the Beatles. Lately there have been a lot of rumors to the effect that the four of you might be getting back together. That would be great.” To lure them onto the show, Michaels presented a check. “If it’s money you want, there’s no problem here. The National Broadcasting Company has authorized me to offer you this check to be on our show. A certified check for $3,000. Here it is, right here. Dave, can we get a close-up on this?” The check was made out to the Beatles. “You divide it up any way you want. If you want to give Ringo less, it’s up to you. I’d rather not get involved.” Lorne went back on the air a few weeks later to sweeten NBC’s offer to $3,200. Don Pardo chimed in to offer the band free hotel accommodations at the Crosstown Motor Inn. “They’ll be treated like royalty as pitchers of ice water are hand-delivered to their rooms, and they can drink that water from glasses sanitized for their convenience!” As everybody found out years later, John and Paul were watching together that first night, at the Dakota, with Yoko and Linda. For a minute they talked about grabbing their guitars and heading downtown to join the fun. “We nearly got into a cab,” John said. “But we were actually too tired.”