Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…
In 1963, a man named Jack Babb visited the UK at the behest of Peter Prichard. Prichard was a London talent agent whose close friend, Brian Epstein, had recently begun managing a new musical group that was rapidly growing in popularity across Europe. Babb, who was a talent scout himself, was searching for acts to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, a successful music and variety show on CBS. He humored Prichard by attending two concerts of the four long-haired lads from Liverpool and, while he agreed the band had talent, he ultimately decided against inviting the group to perform on his show because “no one in America is interested in British music.”
A few months later, on October 31, Ed Sullivan himself–Babb’s boss–happened to be at London’s Heathrow Airport awaiting a return flight to New York at the exact time that same British band was returning from a tour of Sweden. A hysterical crowd of 1,500 fans crowded the terminal. Flabbergasted by the frenzy, Sullivan inquired about the group.
“It’s the Beatles,” an attendant told him, incredulous Sullivan had never heard of the biggest and hottest band in all of Britain. Having released their debut album ‘Please Please Me’ earlier in the year, which became an instant number one bestseller, the group hadn’t slowed down since, appearing on the British television show, “Val Parnell’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium” and even performing for the royal family. The Beatles–and their music–was everywhere in the UK. Did this old American man really not know about the Beatles?
Well, he did now. And Jack Babb’s protestation be forgotten–Sullivan was determined to have the group on his show.
Ten days later, Sullivan met with Epstein at the Delmonico Hotel in New York City and agreed to host the Beatles for three performances, two live and one a taped rehearsal, for $2,400 ($16,261 in 2021 dollars) in February of the following year.
But “Beatlemania,” as it turned out, was not willing to wait. And Sullivan had no idea that he’d just signed up for history in the making.
The band’s single “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was leaked in advance of its planned US release to radio stations across the country. When attorneys for Capitol Records were unable to stop American DJs from spinning the tune, the record label relented and, on December 26, 1963, dropped the album ahead of schedule. The record sold 250,000 copies in the first three days. By January 10, 1964 it had sold over one million units. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the number one song on the Billboard charts by month’s end. Radio stations played the band’s music nearly non-stop; teenaged fans sported “Beatle” wigs; girls screamed at the mention of their names.
And then the news began to spread: the Beatles would be appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show in early February.
The Beatles were coming to America.
The Beatles touched down at New York’s Kennedy Airport on February 7th, 1964. They were met by a throng of reporters and thousands screaming fans, creating a pandemonium the likes of which had never been seen. Upon disembarking the plane, The Beatles were whisked to a press conference hosted by Capitol Records in which they playfully answered questions from the media. (Example: When asked “How do you find America?” Ringo Starr jokingly replied, “Turn left at Greenland.)
For the next two days, the Beatles holed up in the Plaza Hotel. Fans camped outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the band. Meanwhile, 50,000 requests for the available 700 tickets poured into CBS Studios. On February 8–the day before their schedule performance–George Harrison came down with strep throat and had to be confined to the hotel while road manager Neil Aspinall and an Ed Sullivan Show staffer took turns standing in for him during the rehearsals in hopes he would heal.
Thankfully, he did.
Because at 8 o’clock on February 9th 1964, 73 million people gathered in front their TV sets to see The Beatles’ first live performance on U.S. soil. The television rating was a record-setting 45.3, meaning that 45.3% of households with televisions were watching. That figure reflected a total of 23,240,000 American homes. The show garnered a 60 share, meaning 60% of the television’s turned on were tuned in to Ed Sullivan and The Beatles.
“Now yesterday and today,” Sullivan began, “our theater’s been jammed with newspapermen and hundreds of photographers from all over the nation, and these veterans agreed with me that this city never has witnessed the excitement stirred by these youngsters from Liverpool who call themselves The Beatles. Now tonight, you’re gonna twice be entertained by them. Right now, and again in the second half of our show. Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles! Let’s bring them on.”
The opening chords to “All My Loving” mixed with the ear-splitting screeches from teenaged girls in the audience. Next came the McCartney-led “Till There Was You,” during which a camera cut to each member of the band and introduced him to the audience by displaying his first name on screen. The Beatles then wrapped up the first set with “She Loves You,” and the show went to commercial.
There were other acts on the show that night, too. Magician Fred Kaps performed some sleight-of-hand tricks. Comedian Frank Gorshin did impressions. Acrobats Wells & the Four Fays displayed amazing feats of poise and strength. The comedy team of McCall & Brill cracked jokes. Broadway star Georgia Brown performed with the cast of “Oliver!”
Unfortunately, those performances were overshadowed by the sandwich acts of the Beatles, who returned at the end of the hour-long show to sing “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
The Beatles appeared on the show again on February 16, February 23, and May 16 of 1964, as well as August 14, 1965. Even in their later years, when the group no longer appeared live, the group filmed promotional clips of songs to air exclusively on Sullivan’s program, including videos of both “Paperback Writer” and “Rain” from June 1966 and three clips from 1967, including “Penny Lane”, “Strawberry Fields Forever”, and “Hello, Goodbye”.
The Beatles’ last appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show came on March 1, 1970, when they released promotional videos for “Two of Us” and “Let It Be” just a month before announcing their break-up.
The group’s success had a profound impact, not only on music, but on the culture at large. And although the popularity of the Beatles began before their Sullivan appearance, it was that program that introduced untold millions to their unique style, personality, and sound, paving the way for the “British Invasion” of the 1960’s and becoming a defining moment of a generation.
