The Beatles on Sullivan Remembered

You may recall that back in December I started asking for 1st generation fans to send in their memories of seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.    I got a great response!   Interestingly, I got a lot of men who answered the questionnaire.   I love that because the stereotype is that only little girls watched the Beatles on the Sullivan show.    I set out to find more fans from facebook and various people that I personally know.   

Garry Berman, author of the book We're going to see the Beatles! was very helpful in getting me in touch with some of the fans.   His book is full of great fan stories and is a must read.   If you haven't gotten a copy, you can order it from amazon.   

I also used Bruce Spizer's great book, The Beatles are coming as a resource for some details in this article.

Once again thank you to everyone who sent in these wonderful stories.   I really would like to get all of the answers to the questions put on the blog, because so many of you had such charming, delightful memories.  

This article has been a true labor of love and I am sort of emotional getting to work on it for the Beatles 50th Anniversary.   I worked all of these months to put this together because of my love for the Fab 4 and my appreciation of their music and what it means not just for me, but for Beatle fans everywhere. 

I am not a professional writer.  I am sure that my grammar is wrong.  I am sure that my syntax isn't right, but I hope the spirit of the article is still in tact.

Happy 50th Beatles Anniversary!!!!!!

Peace and Love,
Sara (aka Starshyne)

The Beatles on Sullivan Remembered

By Sara Schmidt

Written for "Meet the Beatles for Real" February 2014 in celebration of the Beatles 50th Anniversary

There are many days in American history that individuals can recall exactly where they were and what they were doing.  Most of these days are full of sadness and grief: the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Kennedy’s assassination, John Lennon’s murder, the Challenger explosion, September 11^th are all days that if you were alive, you can remember not only where you were, but how you felt because they are historical events that caused us to have deep emotions. 

February 9, 1964 seems to also be a day many people remember in detail.  One first generation Beatles fan named Michael even recalls that he ate his Grandma’s special lasagna for dinner before the Sullivan Show that night. 

Seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show also evoked strong emotions, but unlike those other events I mentioned, there was no sorrow or grief that night but just pure joy.  The Beatles performance on the Ed Sullivan Show just might be the one event where people can universally remember because it was a happy occasion. 

History was forever changed and the lives of millions of people altered after February 9, 1964.  The Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan was more than just a pop band performing on a television show.  For countless American Beatle fans they can pinpoint that one Sunday night as the moment that changed the rest of their lives. 

There is a misconception that fans had never heard of the Beatles until they appeared on the Ed Sullivan show.  That does not make logical sense.  As first generation fans explained, pre-Beatlemania began several months before the Sullivan show.  As Jim remembers, “when school was excused for Christmas break, I remember going to the movie theater in our small town and talking about the Beatles with people standing in line.  Someone had a transistor radio and we were listening to ‘I wanna hold your hand.’”

While some fans remember hearing them on the radio, others recall seeing them on television.  As Linda recalls, “the very first time I saw the Beatles was on a short snippet on the Jack Parr Show.  My parents always watched him.  I was lying on my tummy doing homework and heard him mention this English group.  I looked up and watched them for the few seconds they were on.  Then I was up and over to the telephone and called my best friend Sharon to tell her about it.  Before the Sullivan show, Sharon and I had bought the ‘I wanna hold your hand’ single.”

In 1964, most households had one 12 inch black and white television.  That television broadcasted eight or less channels.  The Ed Sullivan show was a staple in American homes on Sunday nights for about 15 years before the Beatles graced the New York City studio.  While some families, especially those with young children, watched the “wonderful World of Disney” on ABC at 8:00pm, most families tuned to the Ed Sullivan Show for the variety of entertainment. 

The young people would typically not pay too much attention to who was on television.  They would rather be chatting on the telephone or finishing up last minute homework.  But it was different on February 9, 1964, the teenagers were eager to watch the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Jim says, “Waiting for the Beatles February show was worse than waiting for Christmas.  Kids in my grade were actually counting the days before the broadcast.”  Mark recalls, “We were a family of Ed Sullivan watchers anyway.  We’d have watched it anyhow, but I anticipated seeing and hearing the Beatles because the kids at my school had been talking about them for weeks.”   Nancy says, “I kept hearing ‘The Beatles are coming’ and that they would be on the Ed Sullivan show in February so of course myself and my mom and dad watched the show.”

Janet was a little younger (7) and watched the show with her family because she liked Topo Gigio.  She was listening to Walt Disney albums at that time in her life, but her older sister had heard the Beatles music and was excited to see them on television.   Linda’s family did not watch the Sullivan show, but Linda had a plan, “I had my dad drive to me to Sharon’s house so I could watch it there.”

And what about those kids who did not know about the Beatles on Ed Sullivan?  Larry, who was sleeping at 8pm that Sunday night can recall, “That Sunday night my father got me out of bed to watch the second set of the Ed Sullivan Show.”  George and his sister were in his bedroom watching TV on a small set, “we were watching Disney.  They were showing ‘The Scarecrow’ with Patrick McGoohan.  About five minutes into it, my mother came in to say, ‘you kids gotta see this’ and we went out to the big TV that my parents were watching.”  And poor Joann missed the whole thing because her family went to Sunday night church services every week.   She didn’t know what she had missed out on until the next day. 

Ed Sullivan’s theater had 728 seats and it was estimated that 73 million people tuned into the show that night.  By the time Mr. Sullivan had introduced the “four youngsters from Liverpool,” fan across the country were experiencing a variety of emotions.

As Michael explains, “I was awe struck.  I had never seen anything like them.”  Mark says, “I was blown away by them – in absolute awe!”  Sherry recalls, “I screamed!  The experience was highly exciting.  We danced around the living room.  We loved their ‘long’ hair and their accent.”  Pam was 7 years old and remembers that she “stared at them in disbelief and couldn’t believe how the audience was reacting.”  Linda had a very exciting reaction, “I am a crier.  Sharon’s father handed me his handkerchief so I could muffle my tears.  I was so wrapped up in the show and I did not realize I began to eat the cotton material.  When the show as over, all was left was the rolled border of the handkerchief.”

Photo from Vincent Vigil's collection.  Used here with permission.

The second song performed was the love song from “The Music man”, ‘Til there was you.  It was during this song that the names of each Beatle flashed on the screen with the important information about John.  Tony said, “I was young but the one thing that stands out in my mind is flashing their names across the screen.”   And Nancy recalls, “I sat on the floor, fairly close to the set and just watched in awe.  I laughed when they identified each Beatles by name and it said ‘John-sorry girls, he’s married.’”

That was a defining moment because it was the first time many fans were able to put a name with a face.  As Jim says, “you have to remember back then all we had was the radio and few stray articles in the newspaper.  Live on TV was as good as it got!”

The adults who tuned in with their children had a variety of reactions.  Harold’s mom was a fan prior to the show, “Mom and I saw the first show together.  My mom knew all the words to all theirs songs and sang along.”  “At my house,” Michael said, “it was mixed.  My mother liked them and my father didn’t.  My grandmother didn’t like their haircuts and my grandfather didn’t say anything because he was an opera lover.”  

Tom’s dad was not a Beatle fan, “he said it was just noise by guys who need a haircut.  The comment I recall either of my parents making was by my mom.  There was a close-up of Ringo on his drums and he was shaking his head to the music, causing his hair to flop around.  Mom said in a matter of fact tone, ‘He looks like he’s gonna throw up.’”

The length of the Beatles’ hair seemed to matter to a lot to the “over 30” crowd.  During a time when all the boys wore crew cuts and could get kicked out of school for having their hair too long, the length of the Beatles hair was considered shocking.  Beatle fan John said that his parents thought, “The Beatles looked like girls and their hair was too long.”  As my mom, Coral remembers about my Grandpa, “He didn’t like the Beatles.  He thought they were long haired freaks and he didn’t like the music.”

After the Sullivan Show performance, the Beatles made an impression on the majority of young people who saw the show.  New Beatlemaniacs chose their favorite Fab.  Their dedication to their favorite Beatle remains strong 50 years later.  Jim said that John is his favorite, “always was, always will be.  I love them all of course, but I’m a John Lennon person.”  And Janet says, “I told my friends that I loved Paul, and I don’t even think I knew what that meant.  Paul was my favorite, John was a close second but he was married.  Paul remains my favorite to this day.”   Coral states, “I liked Ringo right from the start.  He was the cutest.  He has always been my favorite Beatle.”

The effects of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show had a direct impact on these young people that began to be seen on the Monday after the show and continued for months and years afterward.

As one anonymous fan remembers, “I went to a Catholic School, I wrote ‘The Beatles’ in the middle of my school bag and ‘John, Paul, George and Ringo’ in the four corners.  A nun picked up the bag and said ‘Who does this belong to?’  I raised my hand.  She said, ‘Why don’t you put YOUR name on the bag so I know who it belongs to?’  The Beatles got me in a lot of trouble!”

Another anonymous reader tells us, “Everyone was talking about them in school the next day.  The girls were in love.  Paul and Ringo were the favorites.  Most of the boys didn’t know what to make of them. They felt threatened!” 

Jim recalls the drama around the Beatles at school the week after the Sullivan show, “We organized a pantomime during lunch lip syncing to ‘I wanna hold your hand.’  We used mops for guitars, empty trash cans turned upside down for drums and rulers for microphones!  It was so cool; the teacher had us do it again during the last few minutes before class was dismissed for the day.”

Michael says, “I started seeing Beatles everywhere.  Posters in shop windows, transistor radio at lunch time played nothing but Beatles all day.  Suddenly Beatles cards were starting to appear everywhere.  Everyone had some.”

Gary remembers that week vividly, “The girls were going crazy! Most of the boys thought the whole thing was ‘stupid.’  And me?  I distinctly remember running around the schoolyard trying to find three friends so we could jump up and down just like on the cover of the brand new ‘Twist and Shout’ album.  When I got home from school I took one of my Dad’s tennis racquets downstairs, tied some kite string from it to an up-turned cardboard box, held the racquet to my chest and started strumming.  Suddenly I was John Lennon!” 

A quite boy named George found himself some new-found popularity that Monday thanks to his name, “My popularity went through the roof!  All the girls had seen the show and they were fawning over me, John, Paul and Richard.  Our teacher was young and she liked The Beatles too.  We had a record player in the classroom and were allowed to play Beatles albums at recess.”

Pam said that the Beatles were the main topic of conversation, “we were all talking about how wonderful they were and how cute they were.  We were very excited!”

Not everyone share in that excitement as Susan shared, “Some kids made fun of those of us that were going gaga over what we had seen on Ed Sullivan the night before.”

It might sound overly dramatic to state that the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show changed peoples’ lives.  However, the first generation fans all agree that Sunday night impacted them in big and small ways.

John talks of this impact, “From the moment I saw them, my life was changed forever.  I became a DJ because of them.  I learned the guitar because of them.”  Janet also felt a change in her life, “That day in February affected the person I became:  a girl who could never get enough of the Beatles or the music they created.”

Don tells about the impact in his life, “being able to experience the Beatles and their 50 years of success is one of the most significant parts of my life.  To this day they remain my favorite band.  I listen to them daily; even in the operating room as I am a neurosurgeon.”  

John B. simply states, “Life in general was never the same again.”

Gary really felt the Beatles impact, “up to that day I would have been happy to be either a race car driver or an archaeologist.  Since that day, however, all I wanted to do was play guitar in a rock and roll band.  And now I do!”

“Their performance was for me, a game changer,” said Jim, “I am forever grateful.”

Another important impact their performance made for many people is that of a very nice memory of being together as a family.  As many first generation fans’ parents have passed away, the memory of watching the Ed Sullivan Show with the Beatles is like a snapshot in time.

Susan laughs as she recalls, “We three girls are the oldest and each of us picked our favorite Beatle that day.  We gave our brothers Ringo.  It was family night watching Ed Sullivan introducing the Beatles.  Eating popcorn and giggling over the cute lads from Liverpool.”

As Jim realized later in life, “coming from a family of six brothers and one sister, that night was memorable as all of us were together in one spot – our living room, at the same time.  We were all there to watch the Beatles.”

Of course it was that show that set the ball in motion in America for a fandom that has lasted for 50 years.  All of the concerts, the books, the conventions, the web sites, etc. can be traced back to February 9, 1964.  And those fans who saw it live have passed the excitement they felt that night onto a second and third generation.  And so the Beatles live on, even 50 years later.

The last quote goes to Freda, a woman who shared her love for the Beatles with me in the late 1980’s.  “I saw the Beatles on all three Ed Sullivan Shows in 1964.  By the time the first show was over, I had fallen in love with them.”

That love for the Beatles remains strong among all fans even 50 years later.