It’s hard to avoid the “British Invasion” when you’re talking about the pop culture of the early ’60s, and two of the longest-lasting aspects of that phenomenon launched on this day 64 years ago. October 5 is officially “James Bond Day,” and it’s also the anniversary of the Beatles’ first major single, “Love Me Do.”

Why is October 5 James Bond Day? Because it also marks the 64th anniversary of the release of Dr. No, the first 007 film from EON Productions. In one day, Britain managed to launch two of the most durable cultural exports of the 20th century.

Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels had already been part of the cultural conversation on both sides of the Atlantic for a few years by 1962, but Dr. No established the cinematic pattern we’re used to, especially with Sean Connery in the lead. International intrigue, beautiful women, and exciting action are what we’ve come to expect from Bond films, and even though Dr. No still shows us that the series hadn’t found its footing yet, it was a promising debut.

Side note: Dr. No has sneakily become one of my favorites in recent years. The casting, including Zena Marshall, John Kitzmiller, Jack Lord, and Eunice Gayson, is nearly flawless, and Bryon Lee and the Dragonaires’ music is terrific. Ursula Andress is beautiful in the movie, but she’s basically putting in a pantomime performance since producers dubbed over her speaking and singing. As many times as I’ve seen it, there’s still something fun about watching the series establish itself in real time.

And then there’s “Love Me Do.” While it’s true that Beatlemania was a while away, the single was a far cry from the Cavern Club days and demonstrated that the Fab Four were a generational talent.

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Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — along with their producer, George Martin — had no way of knowing that in a few months, they would change the landscape of popular music forever. They had no clue that they would affect fashion, celebrity, and youth culture in the way that they did. They just released an exuberant yet somewhat innocent love song.

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The contrast between the two debuts couldn’t be more stark. Bond was urbane, polished, and tailored; the Beatles were irreverent, scruffy, and rowdy. I still chuckle and shake my head at 007’s Beatles diss in Goldfinger.

Yet both left their marks as cultural touchstones. James Bond represented a whole kind of masculinity, style, espionage, and fantasy, and in some ways he still does, despite modern culture’s attempts to dismantle him. The Beatles became shorthand for the modern pop band and for the cultural upheaval of the ’60s — heck, they played an active role in some of that upheaval.

Neither the 007 franchise nor the Beatles remained frozen in that 1962 amber. They evolved, grew, and reflected the changing times around them. For both, adaptation had a lot to do with ensuring longevity.

The vast majority of days go by without even the slightest ripples in culture. Oct. 5, 1962, saw the introduction of two indelible cultural landmarks. On that day, two markedly different versions of British cool launched on the same day — and both endured because they evolved without becoming unrecognizable.