It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
49 years ago today, one of the most significant cultural events of the 20th century took place: The Beatles debuted on The Ed Sullivan Show. Less than 90 days after the country was horrified by the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the arrival of the Beatles provided a much needed diversion. As quaint as it may seem now, their hair and music was deemed dangerous and controversial and the media ran with it. The event almost singlehandedly broke the nation out of its collective mourning.
The Beatles first live performance on American television was a watershed event; one of those rare moments in popular culture that millions of people experienced simultaneously and had seared into their collective consciousness (according to Wikipedia, 73 million people watched that night -- about 45% of all of the TVs in the country. By comparison, last week's Super Bowl was seen by a paltry 20%). Countless future musicians were minted watching the black and white images that Sunday night. Everyone wanted to be a Beatle. Further, the appearance marked the end of the relatively pastoral 50s and the beginning of the momentous changes of the 60s that would change the country forever. We can debate the effect that had on our culture and the country, but the fact that the Beatles lit the fuse that night is undeniable.
The video above is a restored and remastered version of the complete Sullivan show set. Everyone has seen moments -- Sullivan's introduction with his weirdly Frankenstein-like posture, the screaming girls, the Beatles smiling and their mop tops swaying. But do yourself a favor and watch the entire 13 minute video. What is so striking and perhaps now overlooked is that these guys could play. And they were playing -- no Beyoncé style lip-syncing going on here. At this early stage in their careers, they were already a great band, due in no small part to the fact that the Beatles had paid their dues. By 1964, they'd been together for close to 8 years, playing the bars of Liverpool and Hamburg. They had the infectious music and charisma to push through the tiny flickering television screens across the country. And as we now know, almost 50 years later, the talent to make them the best band in history.
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Comments:
Jan '12
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Thanks Blue Yeti. A delight. I've often thought that the Beatles were a kind of Rorschach Test for attractiveness. I can see liking Paul, but Ringo?
May '10
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
I give many seminar classes in the summer for my school and one of the most popular was a short history of the Beatles. Their's is an amazing cultural story that's probably a once in a millennium as far as the impact on a generation.
For a short time, my wife and I were houseparents in a girls' dorm in 2007-2008. Often, we needed the girls to spend some time working to clean the hall, and they always requested music to be played while they worked. They argued over the choice (from hip-hop to pop to musical theater). In the end, the one choice EVERYONE approved of was...Beatles. I don't remember ever feeling that way about ANY of the music of my parents.
By the way...they knew all the words...unbelievable.
Mar '11
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Excellent and interesting remaster, too. Let's not forget the engineers here. This was almost certainly a mono recording, but a nice stereo mix has been produced from it. The technology, today, that allows such things! (Did you catch Edith Piaf singing in Inception as though she were recorded with modern technology?)
Nov '11
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Youtube is a hell of a thing.
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Now I really do feel old. I returned to Denver that evening from a trip up to Winter Park for skiing and saw the show.
Mar '11
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
I forgot there was a Meredith Wilson cover in that set. Thanks, Yeti.
Oct '10
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Blue Yeti
And as we now know almost 50 years later, the talent to make them the best band in history.
Yeti, you old dog. You're going for the comment record with this aren't you? No Fred Cole headline, no Palin or SSM, just this quiet final sentence slipped in as a statement of fact. You are a media master, you are.
Sep '11
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
I was 5, and watched it at my grandparent's house.
May '10
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
You have no idea. Two inch video tape could be a nightmare to work with. These machines were huge, required an air compressor and if the tape tension wasn't just right you'd get a venetian blind effect across the screen.
The Beatles final Ed Sullivan Show appearance was also the last telecast of the show in black and white. Had CBS not been so slow to color (because it meant using RCA/NBC technology) this is what you would have seen:
Sep '12
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
What a great way to start a Saturday morning. Thanks, Yeti!
May '10
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Music was forever changed once teenage girls could buy their own records.
Aug '12
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
It's still astounding to me just how good the Beatles were. Very few musical missteps, and even some of those widely accepted missteps, I would argue about.
In my opinion, the best impact the Beatles had on music was popularizing the idea of a band consciously evolving it's sound and style.
I don't trust people who don't like at least one version of The Beatles.
Side Note: It's kind of bizarre how the Velvet Underground's first album was just 3 years after this.
Jul '11
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Severely Ltd.
Blue Yeti
And as we now know almost 50 years later, the talent to make them the best band in history.
Yeti, you old dog. You're going for the comment record with this aren't you? No Fred Cole headline, no Palin or SSM, just this quiet final sentence slipped in as a statement of fact. You are a media master, you are. · 1 hour ago
No kidding. I was about to pounce on that line until I realized he was baiting us. Clever Yeti.
Oct '10
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
This is very interesting. Things accelerated very fast after this. And what a diversity of styles and sounds. Herman's Hermits to Hendrix to CCR to Donovan and on and on. The youth movement of the sixties was a largely self-indulgent tantrum, but as with anything so large and sweeping, there was some good mixed in. Some of the music fits in the latter category for me.
Aug '12
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Severely Ltd.
This is very interesting. Things accelerated very fast after this. And what a diversity of styles and sounds. Herman's Hermits to Hendrix to CCR to Donovan and on and on. The youth movement of the sixties was a largely self-indulgent tantrum, but as with anything so large and sweeping, there was some good mixed in. Some of the music fits in the latter category for me. · 7 minutes ago
A lot of musicians like Lou Reed, started bands because of Buddy Holly and Elvis. But it was the Beatles who broke open the record industry and made it possible for the Stones, VU, and many more to get signed.
It's equivalent to the cotton gin, or the internet, in terms of what those innovations did for their industries.
May '10
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Proud to be in your distrust. I listened to all of their stuff because I had an older sister and never came away impressed with any of it.
On the other hand, I know that I have a great deal in common with John Lennon. He was a huge Bing Crosby fan. Elliot Mintz, Lennon's friend and publicist recalled in a TV interview:
Jun '10
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Like Dr. Rahe, I am of an age where I too have a vivid memory of this episode of the Ed Sullivan show. Beatlemania was real.
Apr '12
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
"She was just 17. You know what I mean..." Bob Menendez
Aug '12
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
EJHill
Proud to be in your distrust. I listened to all of their stuff because I had an older sister and never came away impressed with any of it.
I never trusted you anyway...
Oct '10
Re: It Was 49 Years Ago Today …
Steven M.: A lot of musicians like Lou Reed, started bands because of Buddy Holly and Elvis. But it was the Beatles who broke open the record industry and made it possible for the Stones, VU, and many more to get signed.
It's equivalent to the cotton gin, or the internet, in terms of what those innovations did for their industries.
Yes, and Motown was already cranking out great stuff before this. The breadth of music played on my local station WKKO, doesn't happen today. They played Rockabilly, Soul, British invasion, Sinatra (Frank and Nancy), psychedelic rock, novelty pop, country, nothing was out of bounds.
I don't really listen to anything now that they played, but what an education in American popular music. And the diversity within the genres then was very broad also.