feb 9, 1964 - The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show

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The Beatles made several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, including three in February 1964 that were among their first appearances in front of an American audience. Their first appearance, on February 9th, 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.

CBS saw huge anticipation for the Beatles' first appearance, with 50,000 ticket requests for the 728-seat Studio 50 (now known as the Ed Sullivan Theater) where the band was to perform, far surpassing the 7,000 requested for Elvis Presley's 1957 debut. Among those in attendance were Richard Nixon's daughters, Julie and Tricia, who had been invited by NBC host Jack Paar's daughter, Randy. Backstage before the show, freshly minted Olympic gold-medal speed skater Terry McDermott, a part-time barber, posed for photographs with the band in which he pretended to cut Paul McCartney's hair as the other band members and Sullivan looked on with mock horror.

Sullivan began the show by telling the audience that Elvis Presley and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had sent the Beatles a telegram wishing them success in America (though it was reported later that Parker sent the telegram without Presley's knowledge). Sullivan then introduced the Beatles, who opened by performing "All My Loving"; "Till There Was You", which featured the names of the group members superimposed on closeup shots, including the famous "SORRY GIRLS, HE'S MARRIED" caption on John Lennon; and "She Loves You". The act that followed the Beatles in the broadcast, magician Fred Kaps, was pre-recorded in order to allow time for an elaborate set change. The group returned later in the program to perform "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand".

The appearance on February 9th is considered a milestone in American pop culture, and furthermore the beginning of the British Invasion in music. The broadcast drew more than 73 million viewers, a record for U.S. television at the time (broken three years later by the series finale of The Fugitive). The broadcast drew a rating of 45.3 and a 60 share, and was Sullivan's first time in seven years that he topped the nightly ratings. (A typical Sullivan broadcast at the time drew about 21 million viewers.)

The Beatles had mixed reactions to the production value of their performance, with Paul McCartney later remarking that Lennon's microphone volume was too low.

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