The beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 : 50 years later

By now, you’ve likely seen or heard that Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the first time The Beatles set foot in America. It’s being hailed as the beginning of Beatlemania by some, an event that changed the course of history by others. In fact, the Beatles were already stars in Europe and No. 1 on American radio by the time they landed. What is often overlooked is how many times the Beatles had failed to catch on in the U.S. before 1964.

CBS chief Leslie Moonves recalled the first time that he heard the word, “Beatles.” He remembers that he thought the band was very cool, he told the Associated Press.

“…I watched, and I saw this unbelievable crowd reaction to these guys. And at school the next day, the Beatles were all anybody was talking about. And I felt very cool, because I had seen it,” Moonves said. “But three days earlier, I hadn’t heard of them.”

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the surviving members of the Beatles, took part in a tribute performance that will air on CBS this month. George Harrison died in 2001 and John Lennon died in 1980.

According to Reuters, Starr told the crowd, “We were in a band called The Beatles and whenever we play, George and John are always with us.”

Vince Calandra, program coordinator on the set of The Ed Sullivan Show told the AP, “They were all very professional, very respectful. They weren’t like other groups that came in, whose attitude was, `OK, let’s do the Sullivan Show and sell a bunch of records.”

The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles will air on Feb. 9.

Agencies/Canadajournal