I was five and a half when the Beatles made their debut on the Ed Sullivan show. I’m sure our family gathered around the television, but have only vague memories of the event. In fact, it was until much later, when I got a copy of The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring the Beatles, that I realized that there was more than one appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. One fun thing about the Sullivan DVDs is that it includes the whole show AND the commercials. Humor in the early 1960s is so corny. In the segment featuring the kids from the musical Oliver, I’m wondering if one of the actors is the future Monkey, Davy Jones. I can’t imagine how it hard it had to be for the “variety” acts that had to follow the Beatles. And the commercials, with the clean cut announcers were great and oh so serious. Before rewatching the DVDs, I wonder how much of my “memories” are more from later things like watching the Hard Day’s Night or later movies, in this pre-VCR era, when you could only watch whatever the networks and local stations broadcasted live. Of course they were on the radio and their records were played at home constantly. I can only imagine how annoying my Sinatra and Big Band loving folks found the phenomenon. 

Me, Matt, Mom and Michaela enjoying an evening watching TV in Mission Viejo CA in 1967.
Me, Matt, Mom and Michaela enjoying an evening watching TV in Mission Viejo CA in 1967.

For those Beatles history nerds, besides having a copy of the Ed Sullivan DVDs, you should find a copy of the documentary, The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit, which includes the press conferences, behind the scenes antics of the boys from Liverpool in New York and as they took the train to Washington D.C. for a show and then down to Miami for the second Ed Sullivan appearance. It’s fun watching the Sullivan shows, but the documentary producers, Albert and David Maysles, used cutting edge portable audio and film recording technology, to capture the Beatles and friends on their first brief U.S. visit. It’s hard to imagine how big they were in the U.S. in 1964 with genuine crowds meeting them at the airport and line the streets just to catch a glimpse of them. It was a different time. 

  • 1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
    1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
  • 1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan-WSJ
    1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan-WSJ
  • 1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan-WSJ
    1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan-WSJ
  • 1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
    1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
  • 1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
    1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
  • 1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
    1964-02-09 The Beatles on Ed Sullivan

My oldest sister, Kathie, being all of 12 and a half in 1964, was the resident Beatle fan and got a chance to see the Beatles at their last live touring show in the United States at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in August of 1965. My friend, Debra, was also lucky enough to see the Beatles live in 1964 at the Hollywood Bowl. I wish I remembered more from those days. I remember seeing their albums for sale in the window of a record store in Los Angeles and singing their songs acapella with my siblings on the porch of my grandmother’s house when one of our uncles said something negative about them. I remember seeing Let It Be in the theater in Covina, CA with my siblings and cousins but not really understanding what was going on. It would be another decade or so before I’d begin my own personal musical journey and find the mop tops as my inspiration and spiritual ancestors. Funny who over these six decades I have found revisiting their music and those days a wonderful source of fun and creative connection. What do I remember from the Ed Sullivan shows? Not a lot, but I’ve been living in the echo of that event and those times ever since. 

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