It was 60 years ago this week that I boarded a Trailways bus and rode all night to Pittsburgh in my quest to get an interview with the Beatles, who were the hottest thing on the planet at the time.

I was a junior in high school, but I worked nights and weekends as a disc jockey at the local radio station (WCVA) where, like every other rock DJ in the country, I got caught up in Beatlemania.

So, when I learned that the Fab Four were making a second trip to the United States (they had appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” the previous February), I decided to try to track them down. I know, pretty brash for a 16-year-old kid, but I decided to give it a try.

A few phone calls and a letter on WCVA stationery and I had a pass to the group’s press conference and a ticket to the Beatles concert at the Civic Arena on Monday night, Sept. 14, 1964.

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The cost of the ticket? Five dollars. Yep, $5. Add 40 cents federal tax and 50 cents city tax and for $5.90 I had a ticket to see a group that was dominating the Billboard Hot 100 and fast becoming the best entertainment act in the world.

Why did I choose Pittsburgh? Because I was a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and listened to all the team’s games on KDKA. I knew the names of several announcers who worked at that station (which incidentally broadcast the first baseball game ever on radio) and I figured that if I ran into trouble, those guys might assist a country kid who had never been in a big city before in his life.

I took no clothes, no suitcase, only a bulky old electric radio station tape recorder that must have weighed 25 pounds, and my Kodak Brownie Starflash camera with an extra roll of color film.

The bus rolled into downtown Pittsburgh about 8 a.m. on a bright, sunny early fall morning. I rented a locker, stashed my tape recorder, and set out to explore the city.

My first stop (I’m walking, of course. I had no money for a taxi or a bus, maybe $5 total in my pocket) was at KDKA where I asked for Paul Long (I knew the name from Pirates broadcasts) and the radio executive graciously came down to meet this crazy kid from Virginia. He gave me directions to the Civic Arena and a few other pointers. Really nice man.

I walked to the arena (I have no idea how far, maybe a mile) so I would know where I was going that evening, and on the way I met a group of girls from Morgantown, West Virginia. They, with the permission of their parents, had skipped school to spend the day in the city before attending the 8 p.m. concert.

It was a fun day, lunch at an outside café and conversations about the Beatles’ new movie, “A Hard Day’s Night” and the group’s music. When the girls discovered that I was actually going to meet the performers during the press conference, two of the young ladies gave me gifts to pass on to Paul and Ringo, which I later did.

By the time I arrived at the Civic Arena that evening, a mob of girls had gathered. I would later learn that the crowd got so excited that one girl was pushed through a plate-glass window. She was not badly hurt.

My first impression of the Beatles was how short they were. I guess you think of larger-than-life performers as tall people, but these guys were relatively small.

I had set my recorder up before the Beatles came in so I would be ready. Reporters from other radio stations had their fancy little portable battery recorders and I had this big one, a relic from the early 1950s. But it worked, and that’s all I was worried about.

I was able to ask a number of questions, gave Paul and Ringo their gifts and even got John Lennon to say hello to a girl from school.

Perhaps the biggest lesson I learned from this press conference is that you should know what you’re talking about before you ask a question. Some of these reporters obviously knew nothing about the Beatles or their music and asked really stupid questions. Thankfully, my questions were intelligent, and in my future life as a newspaperman, I was always prepared.

I did not stay for the concert. I know that sounds crazy, but the thought of being a country kid in the middle of a big city at night was a bit unsettling, especially when I had no place to sleep.

Besides, I had what I came for, an interview with the Beatles for my radio show. So, I headed down to the bus station and again rode all night, getting back in town in time for school on Tuesday.

I still have the audio tape and memorabilia from that trip, including the bus, press conference, concert tickets and my personal photos.

In 2014 I collaborated with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on a story about my experiences 50 years before. As it turned out, the photos I took with my little Brownie Starflash camera were the only ones shot in color that day.

I kept in touch with two of the girls I met for a number of years, although we never saw each other again.

Oh, and I got an unexcused absence for missing school that Monday. My teachers just didn’t understand that my trip was a true educational experience.

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