The Beatles' “Big Bang”
The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sulivan show in 1964, igniting a whole new generation of pop and rock music bands.
The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1964. Image Source
Musician (and actor) Stevie Van Zandt was recently asked on Twitter, “Is there any musician over the age of 60 who wasn't ignited by The Beatles on Ed Sullivan in Feb. '64?”
Van Zandt replied, “That’s why I refer to it as the Big Bang Of Rock And Roll.”
The Beatles Invasion
On 7 February 1964, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the four members of The Beatles (and almost always listed in that order), arrived nervously at JFK airport in New York from London. They were totally unsure of the reception they would receive and had no idea if the unprecedented popularity in the UK would carry over to the US.
They needn't have worried. They were met by thousands of screaming fans swarming around the terminus. Also waiting for them was a pool of cynical reporters; 200 of them were crammed into the lounge and they weren't buying the adulation of the fans. Who were these four long-haired British intruders?
The reporters blasted off rapid-fire—mostly hostile or cynical—questions to the lads. It was pandemonium. No one could be heard. Here is some raw footage from that press conference:
First Press Conference at JFK Airport (1964)
Quip pro quo
Brian Sommerville, the band's press officer tried to quieten down the crowd, eventually shouting, “All right then. Shut up! Just shut up!”
The boys had been meekly standing there looking quite stunned. Then John supported his man shouting, “Yeah, yeah, everybody just sharrup!”
And they did. And then, rather more meekly, the questions rolled in and the lads seemed to thrive on the situation. Remember that they were only aged 20 to 23 years old at the time.
“Will you sing something for us?”
“No!” (in unison). Then, John: “We need money first.”
“What do you think of Beethoven?”
Ringo: “Great, especially his poems.”
And so it went on for almost an hour. The press corp had dropped their cynicism and became the straight men for the boys' jokes.
They were mobbed by fans everywhere they went. The fans thronged the sidewalks around their hotel (Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue) chanting, “We want the Beatles! We want the Beatles!”
The positive press caused this near hysteria to spread to the rest of the country. And so, on the evening of Sunday, February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their first television appearance in the US before an audience of 73-million people.
Shortly after kicking off with their first number, All My Lovin'*, the first shots of hyperventilating, screaming girls were shown to the nation, even though it was pretty low-key at that point. It was when the started She Loves You—their most recent hit—that it really took off. The next two minutes-or-so is still regarded as the most important musical sequence broadcast in American television history. Here are some highlights of the performance:
The Beatles—Live at Ed Sullivan highlights
A new generation ignited
Among the 74-million people watching that night were many aspirant young musicians—some with garage bands, others just with dreams. Many were in their early teens. But what they saw changed them forever. Here were four kids, not much older than them, taking the world by storm. You didn't need to be Elvis to make it big. All you need was a look, some personality, some good songs and heaps of talent.
We gathered round to hear the sound comin’ on the little screen
The grief had passed, the old men laughed, and all the girls screamed
’Cause four guys from England took us all by the hand
It was time to laugh, time to sing, time to join the band.I Saw It on T.V. by John Fogerty
Here is a list of some of the musicians/groups whose lives were changed that night. Most of these went on to have careers that never would have dreamed possible without the influence of The Beatles:
- Billy Joel
- Bruce Springsteen
- Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders)
- David Crosby (The Byrds)
- Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- Gene Simmons (Kiss)
- Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
- Joe Walsh (Eagles)
- John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
- Nancy Wilson (Heart)
- Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick)
- Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi)
- Robert Cray
- Steven Van Zandt (The E Street Band)
- Tom Petty
They love you, yeah, yeah, yeah
With their charm and wit, they had conquered America and spawned the next—and perhaps greatest—generation of American rock bands.
They were loved. As Ed Sullivan, looking eerily like Richard Nixon, said on the final appearance:
You know, all of us on the show are so darn sorry—sincerely sorry—that this is the third, and thus our last current show with the Beatles, because these youngsters from Liverpool, England in their conduct here—not only as fine professional singers, but as a group of fine youngsters—will leave an imprint with everyone over here who's met 'em, and that goes for all of us on our show.
References:
History.com: America meets the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show
TIME: The Beatles Invasion, 50 Years Ago: Friday, Feb. 7, 1964
Beatles Songwriting Academy: The Night That Changed American Music: The Beatles On Ed Sullivan
UCR: The Beatles’ First ‘Ed Sullivan’ Appearance: 10 Rock Stars Remember
CBS News: The Beatles: When a new generation of musicians discovered themselves
Also posted on Weku, @tim-beck, 2018-12-30