The Beatles appeared on 'Ed Sullivan' 60 years ago, and music changed

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on Feb. 9, 1964. The 73 million viewers saw them 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."

Pandemonium that already had been labeled Beatlemania in Britain greeted them when they arrived at New York's Kennedy Airport on Feb. 7. There, they appeared for their first U.S. news conference.

"Will you sing something?" a reporter asked.

"No," they replied in unison, with Lennon then adding: "No, we need money first."

Hodo, his mom and two brothers watched The Ed Sullivan Show that Sunday in their living room in Doniphan. Hodo was 13 and overwhelmed by the experience, he said.

"It was life-changing," said Hodo, a local musician.

Within a short time, he and his brothers had guitars and drums, he said.

He had first heard "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in December. It had gone to No. 1 in the U.S.

"They were just having fun and making great music," said the 73-year-old Hodo. "It was the first time in my life I was struck by something."

Terry Smith, now a political science professor at Columbia College, was a student at Central Methodist University when the Beatles became big in the U.S. Someone in his dorm told him he had to hear this record, "Meet the Beatles," their first U.S. album.

"I knew I had never heard anything like it," Smith said.

And then, their appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Read More<<<
Source: columbiatribune.com