Over the years, countless fans have expressed their love for iconic Beatles musician Paul McCartney. But for one woman, a special moment came when a clip from 1964 resurfaced on social media. In May 2024, the 82-year-old singer-songwriter shared the vintage clip, adding a heartfelt response to a fan named Adrienne, who stood out in the video.
Representative Image Source: Paul McCartney of The Beatles plays his violin bass guitar on stage during rehearsals for an ABC Television music television show. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
"Paul McCartney, if you are listening, Adrienne from Brooklyn loves you with all her heart," Adrienne cheered on the mike in the vintage clip. Almost 60 years later, McCartney responded to her saying, "Hey, Adrienne. Listen, it's Paul. I saw your video. I'm in Brooklyn now. I'm in New York. I finally got here. We got an exhibition, a photo exhibition. Come along and see it." The musician was referring to “Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm,” an archival presentation exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum from May 3 to August 18.
Representative Image Source: February 1964: The Beatles arriving at London Airport after a trip to Paris. (L-R) Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)
According to the museum's website, the exhibition features more than 250 photographs captured by McCartney on his Pentax camera during the "frenzy of Beatlemania in 1963–64, when the band’s first U.S. tour skyrocketed them to superstardom." On Instagram, the museum addressed Adrienne and wrote, "And Adrienne from Brooklyn, if you are listening, Paul McCartney from Liverpool loves you too."
Soon after, the vintage clip went viral on social media, sparking curiosity about “Adrienne from Brooklyn.” Who was she, and where is she now? Rolling Stone magazine provided a clue, identifying the woman as likely Adrienne D’Onofrio, a mom from Staten Island.
The full 1964 clip soon surfaced online, showing teenage Adrienne saying, “I love the Beatles and I’ll always love ’em, even when I’m 105 and an old grandmother.” The now-viral video was shot by CBS News during the Beatles’ first U.S. visit in 1964 and was later featured in Ron Howard’s 2016 documentary “Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years.”
The woman was identified by her children after the video went viral. Nicole D'Onofrio Pan posted a TikTok video claiming the woman was their mom, Adrienne, who passed away in 1992. Pan captioned the video, “Hi @paulmccartney we believe we have the answer! Our mother may very well have been ‘Adrienne From Brooklyn!’” Three women also featured in the video and they can be heard saying, "Hey, Sir Paul! I hear you’re looking for our mother.”
After Adrienne’s death, as John and Nicole rummaged through her stuff, they discovered old Beatles records from her closet, the only records she would play around the house. One of the records, John recollected, had “Adrienne and Paul” scribbled on the sleeve, with a heart doodled around it. Adrienne had also gifted Beatles commemorative coins to her niece, celebrating the band’s 1974 trip to the US. If she could hear McCartney’s message, she would, of course, be ecstatic right now.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 6, 2024. It has since been updated.
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.