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?
"We didn't chose Michigan, Michigan chose us," said Will Peterson from the Minnesota-based Exhibits Development Group (EDG), which is putting on the event.
The exhibit is broken down into four galleries. The first explores the life of the Beatles prior to the union of the band. It looks at what they were into and inspired by as they grew up in England.
The next is a gallery detailing life on the road, from the Beatles' perspective. It includes photographs of the 1964 tour of the Americas, which have not been on display before.
The third gallery joins the Beatles in the studio, putting some of the band's original recording equipment on display.
And finally, the fourth gallery is about the breakup, and the band members' careers and lives after the Beatles.
"It's a nice bit of closure to realize that though the band, as an entity, ended, the spirit and the life and certainly the influence of the Beatles, didn't," Peterson said.
The Magical Mystery Tour: A Beatles Memorabilia Exhibition will be at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn from now through Sept. 18. Details are at TheHenryFord.org.
Listen to the full interview with Will Peterson below to hear more about what fans can expect to see at the exhibit and why it doesn't just appeal to die-hard, screaming fans of the band.
