Sixty years ago this Friday, February 9th, 1964 (a Sunday), the world changed when The Beatles performed for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show.
An estimated viewing audience of 73-million on 86% of the country's televisions tuned into the CBS show that night.
With Sullivan uttering those famous words, "Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles!" they did five songs over two segments:
Segment One:
- "All My Loving"
- "Till There Was You"
- "She Loves You"
Segment Two:
- "I Saw Her Standing There"
- "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
Prior to the live show, they taped three songs -- "Twist and Shout," "Please Please Me" and once again "I Want to Hold Your Hand" for broadcast on Sullivan on February 23rd.
After the show on the 9th, they visited two of Manhattan's hottest night spots, the Playboy Club and the Peppermint Lounge.
Their second appearance on the show was February 16th from the Hotel Deauville. They did "She Loves You," "This Boy," "All My Loving" in the first part, and then returned to close with "I Saw Her Standing There," "From Me to You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
Squeezed in between the Sullivan appearances were three concerts -- one in Washington, D.C. and two in New York.
When The Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th, 1964, it not only had a profound effect on culture, but also the lives of many of the 73-million who were watching, some of whom were inspired to pick up a guitar.
Among them were:
- David Crosby
- Randy Bachman
- Bob Seger
- Tom Petty
- Mike Campbell
- Joe Walsh (who became Ringo's brother-in-law)
- Don Felder
- Steve Van Zandt
- George Thorogood
- Billy Joel (whose lawyer was Paul McCartney's late brother-in-law John Eastman)
- Jackson Browne
- James "JY" Young and Tommy Shaw of Styx