Ladies and gentlemen, THE BEATLES!
If your family had a TV that could pick up a CBS channel in the 60's (or 50's and early 70's for that matter), you likely had Ed Sullivan on every Sunday night.
The show was aimed at entertainment for the whole family. And Ed reached out to teenagers, too.
Witness the four legendary appearances by The Beatles. My father, who enjoyed the circus acts and comedy, was aghast that these long-haired kids were on the stage and that you couldn't even hear their music over the high-pitched screams of the younger female audience members.
I wouldn't let him turn it off, though. I was mystified by the spell they cast over the audience, as well as the rest of the nation. I became a lifelong fan on the spot.
I'm not sure if I saw their first 1964 appearance. But I did see them after that, and news that they would be appearing on an upcoming episode would be the talk of the elementary school. Come the fateful Sunday night, life stopped for a while. The next morning, we were singing their songs, listening to them on the radio, talking about them, and buying little plastic guitars with rubber band strings with their names printed on them.
Man, I wish I had some of those Beatles memorabilia today.
Comments (5)
I remember the first one. Theye were on a stage with a bunck of big arrows pointing at them.
Posted by Bob Chartain | November 10, 2006 9:05 AM
Posted on November 10, 2006 09:05
Hi,
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Just saved your feed in my reader, have a nice day :)
Posted by Florian | January 29, 2007 11:26 AM
Posted on January 29, 2007 11:26
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan was an amazing event. My husband grew up in Hong Kong and though I have tried to explain it to him, I can't quite capture the emotion of everyone in my grandparent's basement watching this little 19" black and white TV and me absolutely flipping out when they came on. Dancing, shaking my head at the "ooo" parts - I think I even kissed the screen a couple of times!
Posted by Cathy | February 18, 2007 10:21 AM
Posted on February 18, 2007 10:21
Hi, great web site, thanks! I clearly remember seeing the Beatles and the Rolling Stones on the Ed Sullivan Show. They were on in the later part of the show - Sullivan knew that most viewers that night were waiting just for them. Some of the preceding acts were pretty hard to sit through, for kids any older than toddler age, especially Topo Gigio the Little Italian Mouse. Remember him? He'd tell Ed how much he loved him. "Kissy, kissy, Eddie!" Sullivan ate it up, and we kids were repulsed!
Pete
Posted by Pete | November 22, 2008 6:25 PM
Posted on November 22, 2008 18:25
I've got Blistas on my fingas!!!
Again, I was to young to remember the Sullivan first appearance. However, I have seen it a billion times through out the years! I really didn't start liking the Beatles until around Yellow Submarine came out! The Beatles are probably one of the greatest bands ever and it is ashame we will never have it again! But thanks to Sullivan reruns and clips, we can see the early Beatles anytime!
Posted by Rivers End | April 24, 2009 10:10 PM
Posted on April 24, 2009 22:10