Ed Sullivan Appearance

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Lore & Background

The Beatles' fortunes changed after Ed Sullivan Show talent booker Peter Pritchard saw the band twice in concert in the UK in 1963. Pritchard, a CBS talent executive in New York, was initially uninterested in booking the group for the show, as British musical acts at that time experienced little commercial success in the U.S. Then, on October 31, Ed Sullivan was at London's Heathrow Airport waiting to board a flight back to the U.S. and saw a crowd of about 1,000 fans await the Beatles' return from a tour of Sweden. Struck by the crowds, Sullivan became interested in booking the Beatles for his show, and Pritchard notified Epstein. Another influence was a CBS Evening News segment on the group; Walter Cronkite recalled, "The minute I was off the air, Ed was on the phone: 'How do I get a hold of those people? What do you know about them?' I told him everything I knew, which was very little. I said, 'Get in touch with our London bureau.'" Epstein flew to New York on November 5 to promote another one of his acts, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Six days later, Epstein and Sullivan met at the Hotel Delmonico and agreed to have the Beatles perform three shows—two live and one taped. The Beatles ended up earning $2,400 total for the three appearances.

In Their Own Story

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 1956 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".

Reader's Guide

The Beatles flew into the recently renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on February 7 to a waiting crowd of 5,000 fans, and after a press conference arrived at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. During the February 8 rehearsals for their first performance, lead guitarist George Harrison was confined to the hotel while recovering from strep throat; Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall and an Ed Sullivan Show staffer took turns standing in for Harrison during the rehearsals. The appearance on February 9 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.

Did You Know?

• 50,000 ticket requests were made for the 728-seat Studio 50, far surpassing the 7,000 requested for Elvis Presley's 1956 debut.
• Backstage, Olympic gold-medal speed skater Terry McDermott posed for photos pretending to cut Paul McCartney's hair as the band and Sullivan looked on with mock horror.
• The Beatles earned $2,400 total for their three Sullivan shows.
• Ed Sullivan became interested in booking the Beatles after seeing a crowd of about 1,000 fans at London's Heathrow Airport on October 31, while waiting to board a flight back to the U.S.
• The famous 'SORRY GIRLS, HE'S MARRIED' caption appeared on John Lennon during the performance of 'Till There Was You'.