Well, most people over sixty will probably remember what happened sixty years ago this evening. It was a television evening that will go down in history. The Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show!
The Beatles began as a band around 1960. They became very popular in England and by 1964 they were number one around the world. They brought a new sound, look and show. They were some what controversial as so much of their performance had never been seen before. The hair almost blotted out the music. The Beatles had many critics. They were new and different and people have a problem accepting that.
I was not a big Beatles fan when they first came on the scene. I was still too wrapped up in Elvis, Buddy Holly, Pat Boone, Paul Anka and many more performers. However, you couldn't help but follow the Beatles. Beatles were everywhere.
The Ed Sullivan show was a classic and every Sunday night people were glued to their TV. Ed Sullivan booked the Fab four for his show. There was a tremendous amount of media coverage for weeks before the big show. The show was a huge hit and of course media coverage continued.
Now others can tell about Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show better than I can.
Up until today I always thought that I had seen the Ed Sullivan show with the Beatles. I was sure I had seen it. Today as I looked at the date , Feb. 9, 1964 , I suddenly realized where I was. I was 2400 km (1500 miles) from the nearest TV that got any reception! I don't know why I think I saw the show. Was there a rerun? Do I remember from what I saw in magazines and newspapers? It was rather surprising to make this discovery
So I guess I had a phantom memory!
Note: An apology
It seems that I have a problem with telling time. I meant to say 50 years rather than 60 years for the time the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show. My apologies for this error.
(it was 50 yrs ago tonight if my math serves me). :) i'd have been 6 mo. old so i didn't watch it. :)
ReplyDeleteI thought about people who were either too young or unborn and that this wouldn't have too much significance to them.
DeleteObviously I never saw the Ed Sullivan show but I did grow up in Liverpool with the Beatles so I've always taken them rather for granted. They will no doubt though go down as one of the most enduring and popular bands of the last century.
ReplyDeleteThe older I get the more I like them and listen to their music.
DeleteYes, it would be 50 years ago because I was a baby and don't remember it. My husband is older than me. He doesn't remember for sure if he saw the Ed Sullivan show that night or not. It sure changed music, didn't it?
ReplyDeleteI realized that I would be talking to people who would not have experienced this event.
DeleteYour phantom memory seems to have a phantom calendar to keep it company. ;)
ReplyDeleteFifty years ago, I was watching, cross-legged in the living room and way more quiet than the girls in the audience screaming their fool heads off.
Nice one on the phantom calendar. I did make a big boo boo.
DeleteI've never heard the term "phantom memory" but I know exactly what you're talking about. Friends of mine are constantly telling me that I took part in events where I could not possibly have been. That's okay, though; anything that makes my life more interesting is fine by me.
ReplyDeleteHey, I'd never heard of phantom memory before either. I just made it up. Memory is a very interesting topic though.
DeleteYes, you just aged me by ten years!!! I remember seeing them live in Bradford long before they went to the States - I can't be that old surely!
ReplyDeleteNice one! You caught me on a big boo boo.
DeleteYou are so fun! Memory is a weird sort of creature.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. I am just hanging in.
It's all exacerbated by the fact that my daughter told my husband that I shouldn't attend the funeral, out of respect for wife #2. I'm still wrestling with this one.
Hubby awaits his pathology test results. I will be glad if this is all over, though. I'm a tired woman.
Memorials for exes can be very tense as there are many people to consider and many different views. Last year at my friend AJ's memorial none of his three exes showed up?
DeleteI hope your hubby gets a clear bill of health.
That is strange indeed that you had that memory! Maybe you saw it so often afterwards on tv, you might have thought you did see it the first time yourself. I went to Liverpool in 1964 when I was 16 with school and went to the Cavern club. I even walked along the house were Paul had lived and took some leaves of his hedge home!
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that I saw a rerun. Cool that you got to visit places where Paul Harrison had lived.
DeleteMemory is a funny thing - not terribly reliable. I think I like the Beatles more now than I did back then.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. I like the Beatles more all the time.
DeleteAs a very young girl I watched it with my sisters and brothers I was so attracted to their music, their look and their dress. And yes, Red, there was a rerun and Ed also had them return to the show. Of course I was also following Elvis, Paul Anka and of course Buddy Holly - Elvis was the rage, but I liked Buddy Holly better. No, Dorothy, you did not have a phantom memory - you probably saw the rerun or the return. Don't be offended by the "Dorothy" part - its just the way we Maritimers sometimes answer a question. Have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteIt took me quite a while to warm up to the Beatles. there were many other very popular performers. I wonder how Buddy Holly would have compared if he had lived.
DeleteJust my opinion, but I think if Buddy Holly had lived, he may have surpassed Elvis.
DeleteI hd TV back then but don't remember watching it. I was a young mother taking care of my little one and pregnant with another. It wasn't on my radar, I guess.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how a couple of kids will completely alter your life. We look back and say how did we ever do it when we think of the times when our kids were little.
DeleteOh 50 years ago today I remember sitting in front of the B&W TV with my huge family and watching them it was very cool:) I was 10. I thought Paul was dreamy:) just saying:) I loved the Ed Sullivan Show ritual in our family.Hug B
ReplyDeleteYes, black and white TV, the whole family watching and everybody was quiet.
DeleteI really wish I had been able to see them perform live :)
ReplyDeleteI think many people would have the same wish as you have.
DeleteIt seems like it wasn't that long ago.I had a few friends come to watch them.
ReplyDeleteTime goes by in a hurry when you're having fun.
DeleteThey were quite the sensation in their day. I don't remember seeing them.
ReplyDeleteI like the term you use. Yes, they were a sensation and even sensational.
DeleteI never really appreciated them at the time. I have come to enjoy much of their early stuff during the last twenty years.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same as you. I didn't follow them at all when they were at their peak. I listen to them much more now.
DeleteIt is funny the tricks memory can play on us. Apparently many of our earliest memories are made up. They are events our parents told us about and we think we remember them.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting that in young children the brain is not developed far enough to make permanent memories until they are about two.
DeleteI wasn't born yet, so I obviously didn't watch it. But my parents spoke of it, and I've seen clips, so I know of it!
ReplyDeleteYou'd have to had been there to really appreciate this event. Up to this time all the number one stars and music were American. The Beatles were the first to compete in the american music scene.
ReplyDelete