LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE BEATLES....
made
several appearances
on
including three
in
February 1964
that were among
their first appearances
in front of an
American audience.
Their first appearance,
on
February 9th
was seen by over
73 million viewers
and came to be
regarded as a
cultural watershed
that launched
American
Beatlemania
as well as the
wider British Invasion
of American
pop music
and inspired
many young viewers
to become
rock musicians.
The band
also made another
appearance during
their 1965
U.S. tour.
Background
American composer
and champion of music
Bernard Herrmann
recalled in 1970
that around 1962,
he had returned
to the U.S.
from a conducting job
in Liverpool
with early
Parlophone records
of the Beatles
that he received
from the band.
According to him,
the Beatles,
at the time
struggling to get noticed
and recorded
by major companies,
were interested in
an appearance on
U.S. television programmes
such as
the Ed Sullivan Show
and in
making recordings
with American
record companies,
in exchange for
a pay of about
a thousand dollars.
Herrmann claimed
to have
unsuccessfully attempted
to persuade the executives
of Universal Records
and
Columbia Broadcasting System
that
the Beatles
had something
novel to offer.
The Beatles'
fortunes changed
after Ed Sullivan Show
talent booker
Jack Babb
saw the band twice
in concert
in the UK
the following year,
after being invited by
Peter Prichard,
a London talent agent
who was also
a friend of
Beatles manager
Brian Epstein.
Babb was initially
uninterested
in booking the group
for the show,
as British musical acts
at that time
experienced little
commercial success
in the U.S.
Then,
on October 31,
Ed Sullivan was at
London's Heathrow Airport
and saw a crowd of
1,500 fans await
the Beatles'
return from
a tour of Sweden.
Struck by the crowds,
Sullivan became interested
in booking the Beatles
for his show,
and Prichard
notified Epstein.
Epstein flew to New York
on
November 5th
to promote
another one
of his acts,
Billy J. Kramer
and
the Dakotas.
Six days later,
Epstein and Sullivan met
at the
Hotel Delmonico
and agreed
to have
the Beatles
perform three shows
two live
and one taped.
The Beatles
ended up earning
$2,400
($18,025 in 2023 dollars)
for each
of the
three shows.
The Beatles
began to
receive attention
in the mainstream
American press
and radio play
in November
and December 1963.
On November, 18th 1963,
the Huntley-Brinkley Report
news program
aired a somewhat
derogatory segment
of the group while,
on
January,3rd
a more positive report
was done for
The Jack Paar Program,
both on NBC.
Due to rapidly
growing listener demand,
the band's first single on
Capitol Records,
"I Want to Hold Your Hand"
was rush-released
in late December,
three weeks ahead
of schedule.
Capitol had hoped
that the single's
original release date,
on January 16, 1964,
would allow
the Beatles'
Sullivan Show appearances
in early February
to bolster sales.
Instead,
the song reached
the top of the
Billboard
Hot 100 chart
on January 25, 1964,
just before
the Beatles
were due to
arrive in the U.S
TRACKLIST
All My Loving
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
Till There Was You
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
She Loves You
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
I Saw Her Standing There
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
I Want To Hold Your Hand
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
She Loves You
[Rehearsal - Live]
This Boy
[Rehearsal - Live]
All My Loving
[Rehearsal - Live]
I Saw Her Standing There
[Rehearsal - Live]
From Me To You
[Rehearsal - Live]
I Want To Hold Your Hand
[Rehearsal - Live]
Intro... / Twist And Shout
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
Please Please Me
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
I Want To Hold Your Hand
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
Interview: 1964-04/17; London, UK... /
You Can't Do That
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
I Feel Fine
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
I'm Down
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
Act Naturally
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
Ticket To Ride
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
Yesterday
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
Help! / Outro...
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
Speech: ; Ed Sullivan Show
(Intro to "Rain / Paperback Writer")...
[CBS-TV (US)]
She Loves You
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
This Boy
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
All My Loving
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
I Saw Her Standing There
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
From Me To You
[CBS-TV (US) - Live]
I Want To Hold Your Hand
(US) - Live]
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