SAN FRANCISCO — The Beatles performed their final paid concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on August 29, 1966. The band was escorted onto the baseball diamond in an armored car for the performance. Approximately 25,000 fans attended the concert, though about 10,000 seats remained empty. The stage was five feet tall and surrounded by a six-foot-high wire fence. Approximately 200 police officers provided security.

Photographer Jim Marshall documented the event, capturing images of the band. The Beatles' set lasted 33 minutes, concluding with the song "Long Tall Sally." Following the concert, upon leaving San Francisco International Airport, George Harrison said, "I guess I'm not a Beatle anymore."

Why It Matters

This concert marked the end of The Beatles' touring career, which included approximately 1,400 concerts. The performance followed commentary from John Lennon, who referred to the 1966 North American tour as the "Jesus Christ Tour." This nickname stemmed from fallout over Lennon's remark that "Beatles are bigger than Jesus," which was republished in Datebook.

Marshall's photographs from the Candlestick Park concert and of The Beatles in the Giants' locker room are compiled in the book "The Beatles by Jim Marshall: Live at Candlestick Park 1966." Amelia Davis compiled this book, which contains over 150 photographs. Following their final concert, The Beatles released studio albums including "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in 1967, "The White Album" in 1968, and "Abbey Road" in 1969. The film "A Hard Day's Night," directed by Richard Lester, was released in 1964; Samira Ahmed later authored a book about this film.