This Day in Pop Culture for March 4

1966: The Beatles Become More Popular Than Jesus

There is no doubt that the Beatles were extremely popular in the mid 1960s and apparently, they knew it. During this time, Maureen Cleave of the London Evening Standard ran a series called “How Does a Beatle Live?” interviewing each of the Beatles. On this day in 1966, Cleave interviewed John Lennon in his home where she spotted a copy of The Passover Plot by Hugh J. Schonfield which influenced Lennon’s views on Christianity. During the interview, he was quoted saying, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first—rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.” Apparently those in the UK were not fazed by his comments, but those living in the U.S. were up in arms. (Image: Photo by Fedor on Unsplash)

1974: People Magazine Prints Its First Issue

Originally titled People Weekly, the leading news and gossip magazine was first published on this day in 1974. It featured Mia Farrow on the cover and her role in The Great Gatsby. It also featured stories on The Exorcist, Gloria Vanderbilt’s fourth marriage and Vietnam wives whose husbands were still missing in action. Published by Time Inc., People has a readership of 46.6 million, the largest of any American magazine. The magazine is infamous for its yearly issues of “Sexiest Man Alive,” “Best & Worst Dressed” and others.