If you weren't alive then, you can't possibly know. A YouTube video seen last week? No. What was that Sunday night like in suburban America that drew a whopping 73 million viewers to their TV sets?
Impressive work, from every single point of view. I love how you, early in the piece, included the recollections of established artists whose names are instantly recognisable. As I was reading, I was sitting there thinking… of course we all know the Beatles had a tremendous impact in music history, but to see it all laid out like this? It just brings the whole “transcendence” element to a whole new level (literally and metaphorically). At least from my perspective, it just made me comprehend, not just understand or acknowledge, the tremendous influence they had/have, across all genres.
I also loved how you focused not only on the brilliant music, but also the image, the attitude, the sub-text, so to speak: all those elements which perhaps were, still early in their career, more subtle or less pronounced than they later became.
After reading this article, I have no doubt that the Beatles were not just “part” of the swinging sixties: they WERE the swinging sixties.
Thank you, Brad. And thank you also for including my statement (and, again, great choice of pic 😉). As someone who wasn’t even remotely a “project” in the 60s, this has been thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you, Andy....profusely. Your reaction was anxiously awaited, and I'm thrilled you love it so much! My goal was to help those your age, a tad older, and, certainly younger, get a feel for not only the moment, but the rolling snowball of "future music from future stars" that night brought us all!
Thanks for re-posting this Brad! It's a very enjoyable piece, especially the memories from the great musicians who were teenagers at the time.
There's a wonderful DVD out there with all 4 of the Fab's Ed Sullivan show appearances in the settings of the complete original shows, including commercials. You can watch just their performances via the DVD menu, but it's kinda fun to see them in the complete context, at least once or twice. Worth hanging on to your DVD player for!
Thanks, Hugh....for enjoying the enclosed, as well as the deets about the DVD.....I think I've heard of that, but haven't seen it! It'd be fun to re-visit it all in the ways I'm sure I saw ALL the first-air shows following the historic first one! I'll have to search online.....no telling where my last DVD player ended up! Thanks again!
I'm a week or two late, but better late than never! I like the way you structure this as a sort of oral history project. It's kind of a visual historical book. I will need a month off work to watch all the videos but I can still appreciate all the time and energy put into this piece! Congrats!
Thank you, Steve.....This one had to be "right"! If I did nothing else, this salute to the literal start to my life's music journey had to hit just the right note: Celebrate with those who, like me, were there, and to take people (like you and Andy, to pick two in particular😉) there who couldn't be there in front of their TVs that night!
I had a story to tell, you're right, but I realized early on, that no one needed to hear ME tell it (short of my age-8 recounting)....I let those who were there tell it.....I was amazed at the news stories and vids I found! It was fun going back. Thanks again, Steve.....you know how much I value your input and reflections!
Reading your essay and the many people's quotes about how life-changing that moment was, really put your piece into context.
What is so important to note is how much of a cultural earthquake this was. The Beatles transformed the cultural landscape, and music today & pop stardom owes so much to that seismic moment on US TV. Time does funny things with history....as life goes on and new generations populate the earth, monumental moments, become stories from the past, and often the context of their importance is lost on those who were not there.
Between 1946 and 1964, there were 76 million babies born in the Baby Boomer generation. The US population in Feb. 1964 was approx. 190m. And, 73 million people watched The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Quick math shows that 38.4% of the country and an entire generation tuned in. What the Beatles did culturally in 1964 changed a generation, and their legacy & records will continue to inspire future generations. There's no denying the enormous impact that night on TV made on our country.
Thank you for the kind words, Michael! That was my generation...Boomers! Right smack dab in the middle, 1955 (born the same year as rock'n'roll and Disneyland)!
The word that ended your first sentence drives a lot of my content....context! That's why I ask for birth years, record labels, single and album release dates, etc! When someone writes "I discovered KISS with their debut album," it means something completely different if that was day-of-release or when one was 13 in 2016!
Those are some amazing numbers, too! As many millions will watch the Super Bowl Sunday, I don't think the percentage will be anywhere near 38% of the population!
True, and I've had that discussion in years past, and this article, hopefully, touched on this: The cultural merging of everything that came together to create that melting pot of incredibility and incredulity that led to just that cultural volcanic eruption...somewhere, the healing America was desperately needing after JFK was mentioned, and then, add the drowsy musical element, with pop radio devolving into a flaccid cesspool of Pat Boone, Bobbys Vee and Vinton, and Frankies Avalon, Laine, and Sinatra (whose '50s output is ace, make no mistake!).
I've even gone so deep (not in print, but in many past discussions) as to wonder about the "hand of fate" that created the Pete Best exit and the Ringo entrance, and how Paul and John were just '50s blokes hoping to "land the birds" by forming a band, and only because they had to provide the label with more than just '50s R&B covers did they discover that they were world-class, generational songwriters! That, at the start, was NOT Job 1! And, the merging of the perfect producer into their midst who had every reason to water them down (due to his career output to this point) and the manager who kept his eye on their appearance, and shrewd early gigs.
One....just one of these elements goes off the rails at any point, and we may not have had the magical musical alchemy we were blessed with.
Best piece you've done since I started reading you, Brad. Congratulations! I was living in Europe at the time, so we only heard about it in the news--but it was all over the news, even there. My mom and dad argued about the Beatles--my mom thought they were cool, and my dad despised them. Not the only thing they disagreed about! The quotes from all the musicians are priceless.
Thank you, Charles! My role here was enjoyably musical: arranging and composing! This was one where no one wanted or needed to hear from me (except my 2c I included watching the show). Everyone else has the story worth sharing! The Beatles, the press, and the (literal) kids who were inspired to become entertainers (of various stripes), themselves! I just had to "put 'em in the right place" to tell the story!
We all pretty much reacted "the way we should have"! Parents were horrified and outraged, just as they should've been (your mom notwithstanding), and how their parents were at Frankie a generation before! And, we kids were entranced, enthralled, and thoroughly enchanted! The legion of kids who were inspired to learn instruments, singing, songwriting, and just entertaining (after the show) is what's jaw-dropping!
I had a cool mom and an even cooler aunt. They introduced me to Cream, Blues Project, the Doors and more. My aunt took me into New York to see hippie magic shows, watch anti-war protests, and took in a Jefferson Airplane concert when I was 11-12-13 years old. By then my dad had long gone, along with his Goldwater politics!
That's amazing.......when one finds folks who are behaving "outside their prescribed lanes," wonderful discoveries tend to take place!! All those things....and an Airplane concert as a junior higher! Incredible! I'm not sure I've heard this phrase before: "hippie magic shows"! Magic hippie shows? Now, that's something else entirely!😂
That was my catch-all term for the wide variety of events we went to, from audience-participation finger-painting shows to plays about elves and fairies to actual magic shows. There was one actress for whom I had a huge crush, until I saw Grace Slick and just lost my mind.
Wonderful post! Love the Sullivan video and all those memories of people being struck with a lightning bolt during the broadcast or during their first Beatles encounter.
I remember watching the show at age 8 and then, for days to come, singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at the top of my lungs out on the sidewalk in front of my house with a friend. Mortifying for my parents who thought even Simon and Garfunkle's "The Sounds of Silence" was 'out there' and heresy coming from 'those Beatniks". Of course I thought it was far out, man.
Thanks, E.Z.! I love the first sentence of your second paragraph! Having taught 8-year-olds, I can just picture that image of an unselfconscious 3rd grader unabashedly and proudly singing as if no one's watching (or listening)!! Thanks for sharing your story, too, and adding yours to the others'!
Thank you for this incredibly comprehensive and fun piece about The Beatles, Brad. I was already exposed to their music as an embryo in my mother's belly, so whenever I hear a Beatles song, it always feels like "home" to me. It's in my DNA! It was lovely to read how many fellow musicians were inspired and touched by them.
For me, The Beatles were the perfect package and certainly inspired me to become a musician - and a perfectionist, at that! When I write songs, I always think, "Would Paul approve of that?".
The egg began to crack when I acquired my first acoustic guitar at 8. I was already a full-on fan! School was suddenly fun, as I joined the boys' guitar class, where we'd play Beatles songs. When the teacher started pressuring me to "move up" from playing rock to joining the girls' classical class, I quit! The Beatles also inspired me to start writing songs, my first one I believe at the age of 8. I remember trying out a whole bunch of other instruments over my school years and, like you, I discovered the joy of harmonising - recording me, myself and I singing harmonies to 'Twist And Shout' on tape (I still have that somewhere!). I was on a lifelong quest to be a Beatle! I truly went nuts over the band. Meeting Paul McCartney in Australia was overwhelmingly breathtaking.
The egg finally hatched when I finally found the chance to become a full-time musician ten years ago. I owe it all to them.
I wasn't old enough to see the Ed Sullivan Show, but I do believe I have a copy of some (or all) of it on VHS that someone had sent me from the States. Most of my Beatles collection was damaged in transit, so I can't recall if that survived. I'm curious, now, I must go and search for it! Thank you so much for making my day with this article!
Thanks so much, Jo! I haven't posted on there since they started "Low-fi-ing" external links away from the site! And, I haven't yet experimented with 'Stack's new set of special download pix which are meant for X. Other than that, I'm covered on several other social media sites, including a dozen FB rock-type groups (including several Beatles groups), LinkedIn, and a couple others! But, thanks a ton, Jo!
While I've got you, I'll e-mail you a guest post pitch, OK?
Yes, I also stayed away for a long while because of their antics with Substack. That led to a mass exodus for a while. Understandably. But I have too many followers over there to just abandon it, so I got back there again.
I hope to have the proper time to get to this tonight but wanted to comment anyway and say ditto to what everyone else says. Except for the guy who says “Beatles suck!” There’s always one of those. And if you don’t get one, I’ll do it. “Beetles suck!”
Great idea, fantastic perspectives. I missed the boat on this one, I was way too young to remember. My first contact with The Beatles was much later via my older cousin, who was completely obsessed with the Fab Four.
Good idea to relay the impact this event had on all different musicians. I remember watching it cause we always had Ed Sulilivan on that time on Sunday nights. Lots of memories here...Thanks, Brad
Thanks, Paul......One of those where I felt no one wants to hear from me on this.....let's hear from those who were impacted and inspired. Yes, one of those was me, but part of my inspiration was the love of writing about music that moves and inspires me!
The avalanche of artists and musicians, players, singers, and songwriters that came out of that one night is what I wanted to capture. Past that one storied night, the story then shifts to the tsunami of songs and artists they left in their wake!
Sullivan's "rilly big shew" hosted many show business legends over its 23 year run, but I doubt if too many people today know many of them besides Elvis and The Beatles.
Good point, David......but, the spate of (mostly) '60s and '70s variety shows helped take up Ed's slack, after his show stopped production in '71. While we mostly saw stars singing their latest hit songs on those variety shows, Ed showed middle America the acrobats and plate spinners no one would or could see, and also brought the Vegas and Atlantic City main-room entertainers into our living rooms (Joey Heatherton, Leslie Uggams, Lola Falana, Al Martino, Jack Jones, Vic Damone, et al)!
All of which points to the vast exposure of talent whelped by the spate of "reality" talent shows ("American Idol," "The Voice," and, as I liked to call it by its full name, "America's Got Talent, But You'd Be Hard-Pressed to Tell it By This Show") in the 21st century, not to mention the multitude of streaming options and YouTube and their ilk the last couple decades, too!
Well done! I would have enjoyed contributing to this, but considering I was three months away from being in utero, I couldn't possibly know. Enjoyed reading how others remember that night!
Impressive work, from every single point of view. I love how you, early in the piece, included the recollections of established artists whose names are instantly recognisable. As I was reading, I was sitting there thinking… of course we all know the Beatles had a tremendous impact in music history, but to see it all laid out like this? It just brings the whole “transcendence” element to a whole new level (literally and metaphorically). At least from my perspective, it just made me comprehend, not just understand or acknowledge, the tremendous influence they had/have, across all genres.
I also loved how you focused not only on the brilliant music, but also the image, the attitude, the sub-text, so to speak: all those elements which perhaps were, still early in their career, more subtle or less pronounced than they later became.
After reading this article, I have no doubt that the Beatles were not just “part” of the swinging sixties: they WERE the swinging sixties.
Thank you, Brad. And thank you also for including my statement (and, again, great choice of pic 😉). As someone who wasn’t even remotely a “project” in the 60s, this has been thoroughly enjoyable.
Thank you, Andy....profusely. Your reaction was anxiously awaited, and I'm thrilled you love it so much! My goal was to help those your age, a tad older, and, certainly younger, get a feel for not only the moment, but the rolling snowball of "future music from future stars" that night brought us all!
And you have succeeded! BIG TIME!!!
Woo-hoo!🍾🥂🎉😁👍
Thanks for re-posting this Brad! It's a very enjoyable piece, especially the memories from the great musicians who were teenagers at the time.
There's a wonderful DVD out there with all 4 of the Fab's Ed Sullivan show appearances in the settings of the complete original shows, including commercials. You can watch just their performances via the DVD menu, but it's kinda fun to see them in the complete context, at least once or twice. Worth hanging on to your DVD player for!
Thanks, Hugh....for enjoying the enclosed, as well as the deets about the DVD.....I think I've heard of that, but haven't seen it! It'd be fun to re-visit it all in the ways I'm sure I saw ALL the first-air shows following the historic first one! I'll have to search online.....no telling where my last DVD player ended up! Thanks again!
I'm a week or two late, but better late than never! I like the way you structure this as a sort of oral history project. It's kind of a visual historical book. I will need a month off work to watch all the videos but I can still appreciate all the time and energy put into this piece! Congrats!
Thank you, Steve.....This one had to be "right"! If I did nothing else, this salute to the literal start to my life's music journey had to hit just the right note: Celebrate with those who, like me, were there, and to take people (like you and Andy, to pick two in particular😉) there who couldn't be there in front of their TVs that night!
I had a story to tell, you're right, but I realized early on, that no one needed to hear ME tell it (short of my age-8 recounting)....I let those who were there tell it.....I was amazed at the news stories and vids I found! It was fun going back. Thanks again, Steve.....you know how much I value your input and reflections!
Reading your essay and the many people's quotes about how life-changing that moment was, really put your piece into context.
What is so important to note is how much of a cultural earthquake this was. The Beatles transformed the cultural landscape, and music today & pop stardom owes so much to that seismic moment on US TV. Time does funny things with history....as life goes on and new generations populate the earth, monumental moments, become stories from the past, and often the context of their importance is lost on those who were not there.
Between 1946 and 1964, there were 76 million babies born in the Baby Boomer generation. The US population in Feb. 1964 was approx. 190m. And, 73 million people watched The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Quick math shows that 38.4% of the country and an entire generation tuned in. What the Beatles did culturally in 1964 changed a generation, and their legacy & records will continue to inspire future generations. There's no denying the enormous impact that night on TV made on our country.
Thanks for sharing and your article, Brad!
Thank you for the kind words, Michael! That was my generation...Boomers! Right smack dab in the middle, 1955 (born the same year as rock'n'roll and Disneyland)!
The word that ended your first sentence drives a lot of my content....context! That's why I ask for birth years, record labels, single and album release dates, etc! When someone writes "I discovered KISS with their debut album," it means something completely different if that was day-of-release or when one was 13 in 2016!
Those are some amazing numbers, too! As many millions will watch the Super Bowl Sunday, I don't think the percentage will be anywhere near 38% of the population!
Nor will the Super Bowl, or even the World Cup, have as dramatic and lasting impact on its viewers as The Beatles did on Ed Sullivan!
True, and I've had that discussion in years past, and this article, hopefully, touched on this: The cultural merging of everything that came together to create that melting pot of incredibility and incredulity that led to just that cultural volcanic eruption...somewhere, the healing America was desperately needing after JFK was mentioned, and then, add the drowsy musical element, with pop radio devolving into a flaccid cesspool of Pat Boone, Bobbys Vee and Vinton, and Frankies Avalon, Laine, and Sinatra (whose '50s output is ace, make no mistake!).
I've even gone so deep (not in print, but in many past discussions) as to wonder about the "hand of fate" that created the Pete Best exit and the Ringo entrance, and how Paul and John were just '50s blokes hoping to "land the birds" by forming a band, and only because they had to provide the label with more than just '50s R&B covers did they discover that they were world-class, generational songwriters! That, at the start, was NOT Job 1! And, the merging of the perfect producer into their midst who had every reason to water them down (due to his career output to this point) and the manager who kept his eye on their appearance, and shrewd early gigs.
One....just one of these elements goes off the rails at any point, and we may not have had the magical musical alchemy we were blessed with.
Best piece you've done since I started reading you, Brad. Congratulations! I was living in Europe at the time, so we only heard about it in the news--but it was all over the news, even there. My mom and dad argued about the Beatles--my mom thought they were cool, and my dad despised them. Not the only thing they disagreed about! The quotes from all the musicians are priceless.
Thank you, Charles! My role here was enjoyably musical: arranging and composing! This was one where no one wanted or needed to hear from me (except my 2c I included watching the show). Everyone else has the story worth sharing! The Beatles, the press, and the (literal) kids who were inspired to become entertainers (of various stripes), themselves! I just had to "put 'em in the right place" to tell the story!
We all pretty much reacted "the way we should have"! Parents were horrified and outraged, just as they should've been (your mom notwithstanding), and how their parents were at Frankie a generation before! And, we kids were entranced, enthralled, and thoroughly enchanted! The legion of kids who were inspired to learn instruments, singing, songwriting, and just entertaining (after the show) is what's jaw-dropping!
I had a cool mom and an even cooler aunt. They introduced me to Cream, Blues Project, the Doors and more. My aunt took me into New York to see hippie magic shows, watch anti-war protests, and took in a Jefferson Airplane concert when I was 11-12-13 years old. By then my dad had long gone, along with his Goldwater politics!
That's amazing.......when one finds folks who are behaving "outside their prescribed lanes," wonderful discoveries tend to take place!! All those things....and an Airplane concert as a junior higher! Incredible! I'm not sure I've heard this phrase before: "hippie magic shows"! Magic hippie shows? Now, that's something else entirely!😂
That was my catch-all term for the wide variety of events we went to, from audience-participation finger-painting shows to plays about elves and fairies to actual magic shows. There was one actress for whom I had a huge crush, until I saw Grace Slick and just lost my mind.
Grace could do that, I've heard (and read)!
Wonderful post! Love the Sullivan video and all those memories of people being struck with a lightning bolt during the broadcast or during their first Beatles encounter.
I remember watching the show at age 8 and then, for days to come, singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at the top of my lungs out on the sidewalk in front of my house with a friend. Mortifying for my parents who thought even Simon and Garfunkle's "The Sounds of Silence" was 'out there' and heresy coming from 'those Beatniks". Of course I thought it was far out, man.
Thanks, E.Z.! I love the first sentence of your second paragraph! Having taught 8-year-olds, I can just picture that image of an unselfconscious 3rd grader unabashedly and proudly singing as if no one's watching (or listening)!! Thanks for sharing your story, too, and adding yours to the others'!
Thank you for this incredibly comprehensive and fun piece about The Beatles, Brad. I was already exposed to their music as an embryo in my mother's belly, so whenever I hear a Beatles song, it always feels like "home" to me. It's in my DNA! It was lovely to read how many fellow musicians were inspired and touched by them.
For me, The Beatles were the perfect package and certainly inspired me to become a musician - and a perfectionist, at that! When I write songs, I always think, "Would Paul approve of that?".
The egg began to crack when I acquired my first acoustic guitar at 8. I was already a full-on fan! School was suddenly fun, as I joined the boys' guitar class, where we'd play Beatles songs. When the teacher started pressuring me to "move up" from playing rock to joining the girls' classical class, I quit! The Beatles also inspired me to start writing songs, my first one I believe at the age of 8. I remember trying out a whole bunch of other instruments over my school years and, like you, I discovered the joy of harmonising - recording me, myself and I singing harmonies to 'Twist And Shout' on tape (I still have that somewhere!). I was on a lifelong quest to be a Beatle! I truly went nuts over the band. Meeting Paul McCartney in Australia was overwhelmingly breathtaking.
The egg finally hatched when I finally found the chance to become a full-time musician ten years ago. I owe it all to them.
I wasn't old enough to see the Ed Sullivan Show, but I do believe I have a copy of some (or all) of it on VHS that someone had sent me from the States. Most of my Beatles collection was damaged in transit, so I can't recall if that survived. I'm curious, now, I must go and search for it! Thank you so much for making my day with this article!
Thank you, Jo! It's great to hear your story, and how similar AND different it is from others'!
Thanks Brad.
I just shared your post on Twitter, as they're celebrating over there, too!
Thanks so much, Jo! I haven't posted on there since they started "Low-fi-ing" external links away from the site! And, I haven't yet experimented with 'Stack's new set of special download pix which are meant for X. Other than that, I'm covered on several other social media sites, including a dozen FB rock-type groups (including several Beatles groups), LinkedIn, and a couple others! But, thanks a ton, Jo!
While I've got you, I'll e-mail you a guest post pitch, OK?
my pleasure, Brad.
Yes, I also stayed away for a long while because of their antics with Substack. That led to a mass exodus for a while. Understandably. But I have too many followers over there to just abandon it, so I got back there again.
Sure, thank you so much. I Look forward to it.
I hope to have the proper time to get to this tonight but wanted to comment anyway and say ditto to what everyone else says. Except for the guy who says “Beatles suck!” There’s always one of those. And if you don’t get one, I’ll do it. “Beetles suck!”
Great idea, fantastic perspectives. I missed the boat on this one, I was way too young to remember. My first contact with The Beatles was much later via my older cousin, who was completely obsessed with the Fab Four.
Thanks, Nic! Ah, Beatlemania.....thank goodness we weren't force-fed vaccines for it! Although, I too, have met my share of Beatle boosters!
Good idea to relay the impact this event had on all different musicians. I remember watching it cause we always had Ed Sulilivan on that time on Sunday nights. Lots of memories here...Thanks, Brad
Thanks, Paul......One of those where I felt no one wants to hear from me on this.....let's hear from those who were impacted and inspired. Yes, one of those was me, but part of my inspiration was the love of writing about music that moves and inspires me!
The avalanche of artists and musicians, players, singers, and songwriters that came out of that one night is what I wanted to capture. Past that one storied night, the story then shifts to the tsunami of songs and artists they left in their wake!
Sullivan's "rilly big shew" hosted many show business legends over its 23 year run, but I doubt if too many people today know many of them besides Elvis and The Beatles.
Good point, David......but, the spate of (mostly) '60s and '70s variety shows helped take up Ed's slack, after his show stopped production in '71. While we mostly saw stars singing their latest hit songs on those variety shows, Ed showed middle America the acrobats and plate spinners no one would or could see, and also brought the Vegas and Atlantic City main-room entertainers into our living rooms (Joey Heatherton, Leslie Uggams, Lola Falana, Al Martino, Jack Jones, Vic Damone, et al)!
All of which points to the vast exposure of talent whelped by the spate of "reality" talent shows ("American Idol," "The Voice," and, as I liked to call it by its full name, "America's Got Talent, But You'd Be Hard-Pressed to Tell it By This Show") in the 21st century, not to mention the multitude of streaming options and YouTube and their ilk the last couple decades, too!
Well done! I would have enjoyed contributing to this, but considering I was three months away from being in utero, I couldn't possibly know. Enjoyed reading how others remember that night!
Holy zygote, Batman! Thanks, Glenn! Needless to say, a fun one to compile!!
Wow.
I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but your writing makes me want to go back and look at them from a different point of view.
Well done.
Thanks so much, Bob! Musical mission, then, accomplished! Enjoy your magical musical tour!🎵🎶
This one made me happy. :)
Thank you, Andrew.....this one not only had to be written, but it was a labor of love, as I think you know! And, your comment makes me happy!😊💖🙏