Beatlemania hit the U.S. shores 50 years ago when The Beatles gave their first live USA performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th, 1964. “Whether you were alive to witness it on television that night, or you’ve just known about it all your life, that first television appearance by the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show is historic”.
The Beatles played 5 songs that night: “All My Loving”, “Till There Was You” and “She Loves You” were the first set, followed by a magician. Other acts that evening were an impressionist, acrobats, a comedy team and a Broadway cast of "Oliver" including a fellow named Davy Jones (later of The Monkees!). The Beatles final set that night was two songs, “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.
Watch for specials to air on or near this date. I've found reference to:
50th Anniversary
- The two surviving Beatles could show up on David Letterman’s late-night show during his network’s week-long celebration of the Fab Four.
- CBS is also airing the Grammy special on Feb. 9, ‘The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles’. The two-hour program will include performances by modern-day artists covering the same songs the Beatles played on that night in 1964. The show will also feature covers of other Beatles songs spanning their entire career, as well clips from the original Sullivan broadcast.
The Ed Sullivan Show
- The Fab Four were 21-23 years old on that US debut show.
- The Beatles made 9 appearances on the "Ed Sullivan Show" during their career. They had four appearances in 1964, one in 1965, one in 1966, two in 1967 and one in 1970.
- They were paid $10,000 for those first 3 shows. Total, not each.
- Only the first appearance was actually live at The Ed Sullivan Theater.
- Their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show actually wasn't the first time the Beatles had been seen on American television. The CBS Evening News (hosted by Walter Cronkite) ran a story about their popularity in England, and a film clip of them performing aired on The Jack Paar Program one month before their US live debut. Sullivan gave them their first live TV appearance in America, after personally contacting Cronkite to ask about them.
Albums
- In February 1963, the Beatles recorded ten songs during a single marathon studio session for their debut LP, "Please Please Me" (UK release). The album was supplemented by the four tracks already released on their first two singles.
- "Introducing... The Beatles" is the first Beatles album released in the United States. Originally scheduled for a July 1963 release, the LP came out on 10 January 1964, on Vee-Jay Records, ten days before Capitol's "Meet the Beatles!".
- By contrast, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967), estimates are that the entire album took 700 hours to complete over a period of 129 days. It was the first album to feature printed lyrics of all songs on its sleeve.
- "Abbey Road" was the last album the Beatles recorded together, but it was released in the fall of 1969, several months before the "Let It Be" album was issued in May, 1970.
- "The End" is a song by the Beatles composed by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) for the album Abbey Road. It was the last song recorded collectively by all four Beatles, and is the final song of the medley that comprises the majority of side two of the LP version of the album.
- They released 13 original albums, but other albums were released later. Please Please Me (1963) With The Beatles (1963) A Hard Day's Night (1964) Beatles For Sale (1964) Help! (1965) Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The Beatles White Album (1968) Yellow Submarine (1969) Abbey Road (1969) Let It Be (1970)
In The Beginning
In July of 1957, in Liverpool, Paul McCartney met John Lennon. Both were teenagers. Paul impressed John with his mastery of acoustic guitar, and was invited to join Lennon's group, The Quarrymen. George Harrison joined them in February of 1958. In 1959 they played regular gigs at a club called The Casbah. They were joined by vocalist Stuart Sutcliffe, and by drummer Peter Best, whose mother owned The Casbah club. Early incarnations of the band included The Quarrymen, Johnny & the Moon Dogs, and The Silver Beetles. John Lennon dreamed up the band's final name, The Beatles, a mix of beat with beetle. In 1960 The Beatles toured in Hamburg, Germany. There they were joined by Ringo Starr, who previously played with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. In Hamburg, The Beatles made their first studio work as a backing band for singer Tony Sheridan's recordings for the German Polydor label, however, in the credits the band's name was changed to The Beat Brothers. From February 1961 to August 1963, The Beatles played a regular gig at the Cavern. They were paid five pounds for their first show, rising to three hundred pounds per show in 1963. In two and a half years The Beatles gave 262 shows at the Cavern in Liverpool.
Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act and producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. They acquired the nickname the "Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market.
I Want To Hold Your Hand (original sampler)
If you still need more, Beatles Bible and IMDB BIO
