Remembering The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show from 1964 is our blog post today, on Fat Tuesday, February 9th. Today is the 52nd Anniversary of the Beatles first live television appearance in the USA. on The Ed Sullivan Show. There are numerous articles recalling the day, I just didn’t want it to go by without it being included here among the daily blog posts.
Remembering The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show
Some of you may remember where you were when this event happened – it was watched by over 73 million viewers on that Sunday evening in 1964. Apparently The Beatles were featured on The Ed Sullivan Show 9 times, they only actually appeared at The Ed Sullivan Theater once, on the February 9th historic show according to this article.
“Ladies and Gentlemen…The Beatles!”
– Ed Sullivan Introducing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964
For me, I was five years old at the time and my memories of it are not as vivid as remembering watching just a few months earlier the evening broadcasts with Huntley and Brinkley with the horrible news of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. There was a 1967 taped broadcast of The Beatles on Ed Sullivan that we watched on our new color TV that I do recall watching the “older girls” all screaming and crying as The Beatles sang.
From this article today, Remembering The Beatles’ Momentuous Ed Sullivan Performance, On This Day In 1964:
The author recalls: “In 2014, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Beatles first televised performance in America, I asked my father for his reflections. What it was like to watch The Beatles live, on TV, in 1964? He was only eight years old at the time, but distinctly remembers the event. “What we saw changed everything.” …
Ed swiftly recognized that The Beatles were something monumental. He made sure that their first live televised performance in the US would be on his show. And, on February 9, 1964, the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. This was a seminal moment in history; a day burned into our collective consciousness.
The performance could not have come at a better time. The country was in a deep emotional depression after the John F. Kennedy assassination, and Americans were eager for anything to lift ourselves from that funk.
… So what was it that made The Beatles so great? The harmonies were wonderful, the musicianship was incredibly tight. But most of all, they wrote songs that were beyond legendary. And they made it look so easy. Lennon and McCartney no doubt had a gift from God. They were our generation’s Mozart…” <-End of Excerpt from article
While it was a Sunday evening at 8pm when The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show – the calendar finds the date today falling on Fat Tuesday wrapping up Mardi Gras. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday beginning the Lenten season until Easter on Sunday, March 27th.
Thank you for joining me today for my blog post on Remembering The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Time to get out my Beatles ‘1’ album CD …
Anchors Aweigh,
Helen
Attribution & Thank you to the following who are referenced today —
Image shown upper left today US Stamp 2009 44c Early TV Memories The Ed Sullivan Show Commemorative Issue on U.S. Stamp Gallery
52 Years Ago: The Beatles Perform on The Ed Sullivan Show February 9, 2016 95.5 KLOS web site.
The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” May 16, 2011 EddieDeezen.com
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan – Part 2
Excerpt from Remembering The Beatles’ Momentuous Ed Sullivan Performance, On This Day In 1964 February 09, 2016
This Blog post UPDATED January 30, 2017 – Please note the YouTube that was embedded above is no longer available and it has therefore been removed. “(I Want To Hold Your Hand at Ed Sullivan Show” posted by The Beatles)
