The Beatles on “Ed Sullivan”: A Really Big Show

On February 9, 1964, Beatlemania took the U.S. by storm—that’s the night the Beatles played for the first time on the top-rated The Ed Sullivan Show. Here’s a look at that iconic episode, which aired 50 years ago this week.

Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show was a variety show, and the Beatles were one of the first times the show had booked a rock n’ roll act. The rest of the show’s running time was filled with the usual array of Sullivan performers: comedians, performances from a Broadway musical, and even a magician.

“This Next Song Is About…Me!”

Musicians often write songs about other musicians—the Commodores’ “Night Shift” is about Jackie Wilson, for example. And sometimes, the musicians who had songs written about them cover those very songs.

Songs about Me• The Barenaked Ladies’ hit “Brian Wilson” isn’t the most respectful song about the songwriter and major creative force behind the Beach Boys. The song references Wilson’s period in the ‘70s when agoraphobia, drug addiction, and obesity kept him housebound. The chorus of “Brian Wilson” is: “lying in bed / just like Brian Wilson did.” Still, Wilson thought “Brian Wilson” was a pretty good song. When he began recording music and touring again in the 1990s, he made the song part of his set list. A version appears on his 2000 live album Live at the Roxy Theatre.