Cast

Mark Benson was introduced to music playing drums and piano at age eight.

At age 17 he started playing guitar and became fascinated by the different sounds that different guitars made and started servicing, repairing and building guitars which he learned how to do at Lay's guitar Repair in Akron, Ohio.

He made guitars for Eddie Van Halen and Jackson Browne and sold vintage guitars to The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bad Company, Hall and Oates, Ted Nugent, ZZ Top, The Eagles, Alvin Lee, Joe Walsh, The Allman Brothers, The Cars, David Lindley, Cheap Trick, and the Doobie Brothers.

Mark played guitar in the local Ohio bands Ashes, Raintree, Coconut, Mr. French and Bock (with 1964 co-founder, Gary Grimes).

In 1984 Mark and Gary, started “1964 The Tribute”.

"We had no idea when we first started this band, that it would lead to us performing at so many of the venues The Beatles played, like Carnegie Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheater, The Deauville Hotel, Shea Stadium, and The Cavern in Liverpool, England."

He currently produces all aspects of the show and produced the “1964” CDs, “All You Need Is Live”,“Nine Hours In November”, “Bootleg Vol. 1” and "30/50 Celebration".

Mark says, “'1964' shows the audience what it was like to attend a Beatles concert in the early sixties and generates the same feeling of happiness that is still generated by the music of The Beatles. We get so much of this positive energy back from our audiences, it reassures us that for now, we are where we are supposed to be”.

Mac Ruffing was born and raised near Cleveland, Ohio and as a young child started listening to his older sisters' Beatle records. The first album he ever bought was "The Beatles 1962-66," which is exactly what 1964 The Tribute does, and is still his favorite music.

Mac started playing the drums at 15, and at 17 he bought a Kingston violin bass (a Hofner knockoff) at a local music store and unknowingly started his role as "Paul."

He played in several Southern California original, Top 40 and Beatle cover groups, including 'Help!,' 'Imagine,' 'The Yanks' and 'ATP', all while working full time as a land surveyor.

Mac, not a natural 'south paw', spent the better part of a year training himself to play the bass guitar left handed, like Paul McCartney. In 1993 he joined the Beatles tribute 'Beatlemania Live!,' touring the world which led to his "passing the audition" in 2009 and joining the touring cast of the Beatles show 'RAIN' on Broadway and in theaters and Performing Arts centers all over the world.

In 1982 he met 1964 The Tribute co-founders, Mark and Gary, and over the years subbed on occasion with the band. He joined the band full time in 2013, and has since been performing some of the world's best music with the world's best Beatles tribute band.

Joseph Bologna was born and raised in Warren, Michigan. Joe started his journey into music at the young age of 6 when he received his first drum set.

He performed and recorded with many local bands including several gospel groups in Nashville, TN.

In the early 2000s Joe officially became “Ringo” and hasn’t looked back - performing in various Beatle tribute shows,before joining 1964 The Tribute full time in 2021. He’s performed around the world including 2 seasons in an award winning Broadway show in New York City, Dodger Stadium, Blossom Music Center, Busch Stadium, Caesars Palace, the Olympia Theater in Paris and Joe performed on Good Morning America and The Ellen Show. Also, Joe has backed many artists such as Micky Dolenz from the Monkees, Mark Lindsey from Paul Revere and the Raiders and Peter Noone from Herman’s Hermits. When Joes not portraying “Ringo” in 1964 he resides in Grand Blanc Michigan.