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60 Years Later: How The Beatles Met the Moment on Ed Sullivan

On Feb. 9, 1964, Americans witnessed the first truly seismic television event. What stands out most 60 years later, is just how ready The Beatles were for their invasion.

Whereas, members of the older crowd seemed determined to practice tolerance for the follies of youth and set the good example, or perhaps conjure an anecdote for how things were better in their day. An estimated 73 million people saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, and though they couldn’t have known it, they were experiencing a band that had become a confident, driving beast of a unit born of beer-and-puke splattered clubs, constant gigging, and who-knows-how-much rehearsal time. They start with “All My Loving,” one of Paul McCartney ’s first big-time compositions, but with a tricky rhythm guitar figure requiring these very fast triplets from John Lennon with virtually no let-up.

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