Rock icons The Beatles introduced themselves to 73 million Americans on Ed Sullivan’s broadcast sixty years ago. The Beatles debuted in New York on Ed Sullivan’s then-very-popular CBS Sunday Night Variety Show on February 9, 1964. The rock band legends were well-known in their homeland, England before they took center stage following their incredible performance on Ed Sullivan’s show!
The Beatles Made Themselves Known To 73 Million Americans 60 Years Ago With Ed Sullivan’s Show
Sullivan’s show “CBS Sunday Night Variety Show” had the rock band legends perform five songs, “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” which won the hearts of 73 million Americans. The band wasn’t that popular in New York and was comparatively new to the people watching them at their homes.
The rock band Legends made their debut on the CBS Sunday Night Variety Show, and who would have thought they would be nervous? Well, it appears that our guys experienced some degree of anxiety. But the Americans greeted them with open arms; of those who owned TVs in America, 60% turned it on to watch Sullivan, and 45.3% of viewers tuned in to the broadcast. The legends described their first-hand experience of appearing in an American show for which the memory was great but scary!
“When we first came here, we’d never seen this kind of thing. TV studios in England were kind of all on one floor… But here is’ like an apartment block! The memory of being here is great. It was kind of scary the first time.”
-Paul McCartney
The rock band Legends piqued Sullivan’s interest in 1964, with his talent booker, Jack Babb, attending their England concert at the request of Peter Prichard, friends with Beatle’s manager, Brian Epstein. Sullivan was convinced enough to introduce the Beatles to millions of Americans when he saw 1500 fans welcoming the boys back in English with cheers.
60 years ago, The Beatles played "The Ed Sullivan Show".
A record-shattering 73 million people tuned-in live to see what all the excitement was about and watch the Beatles for the first time.
It was the largest TV audience ever & is still considered a milestone in pop culture. pic.twitter.com/r5gaRghu55
— The Beatles Earth (@BeatlesEarth) February 9, 2024
The news of them being booked for Sullivan’s show spread like wildfire with something like “England’s Hottest Act Was Coming Stateside,” and overnight, fifty thousand people booked seats for the show at a venue holding a capacity of only 720 seats!
Nevertheless, the show was a massive hit, and from then on, England’s “Hottest Act” started their rule through Beatlemania. The rock band made two more appearances on Sullivan’s show, one on February 16, and another final one on February 23.
