That was it. That was the moment.
Ed Sullivan didn't know it, but he had just introduced the most legendary rock band in history and ushered in a new era of music, television, and culture. As John, Paul, George, and Ringo stood on that brightly lit stage, with appropriately placed cardboard arrows pointing to the area of about ten feet in radius, everything changed. And it was 50 years ago today.
Ten feet and thirty minutes rocked the world. 73 million people watched The Beatles bob up and down, play songs written hastily on scraps of paper in the corner of a bus in between concerts, and (to the detriment of many a young female) shake their heads with a wild "OOOOO!" Criminals paused in their dark pursuits to watch four young guys from a city in England people barely even knew about. Parents, teenagers, politicians, everybody watched The Ed Sullivan Show. And for the boys, they were along for the ride. Though, I think they knew what they were doing.
The idea of The Beatles as a positive force in the United States was epitomized on Sunday, February 9, 1964 on CBS at 8 pm eastern time. Americans still reeling from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy that past November, flocked to see the new generation from England. The Beatles sang of young, innocent love, holding girls' hands, writing letters, and they did so with smiles on their faces and and an incredible amount of energy. The Beatles helped the United States to her feet, launching the second British Invasion of music and injecting a positive atmosphere into Americans in the process. 1964, effectively, can mark the beginning of the sweeping change that characterizes the 1960s. The world, namely the United States and Britain, were standing on the brink of counterculture and upheaval when The Beatles performed that Sunday night, and no one but probably The Beatles were aware of what was happening.
It was no mystery to the boys of the effect that they had. As the first band to break the barriers of the powerhouse of the American music industry, The Beatles were aware of the momentous nature of their visit to the States. Earlier that year, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," (christened as the song that launched the British Invasion) had reached number one in the American charts, something unheard of for music coming outside of the United States. The Beatles were ready for America, but America was not ready for The Beatles.
For those who can't come to terms with, what some have called the overexposure of The Beatles, from a purely historical perspective, at the very least, the significance Fab Four's performance on The Ed Sullivan Show cannot be understated. Music, television (still a burgeoning medium in the mid 1960s), culture, and by extension politics was transformed almost instantaneously, one of the few times in history that such rapid change occurred. They say that the world can't change in one day, but it did. The Beatles blew everyone out of the water, especially that phrase. The world changed in thirty minutes.
Tonight, in honor of this incredible historical event, The Grammys will pay tribute to The Beatles in a two-hour special airing on CBS at 8 pm, the same time, network, and day that the performance originally aired half a century ago. Mark today as a day to remember in the future.
FEBRUARY 9, 1964
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