BY THE NUMBERS: The Beatles on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
One of the biggest events in TV history occurred on February 9, 1964. After landing at New York’s JFK Airport two days prior, The Beatles made their American television debut…
One of the biggest events in TV history occurred on February 9, 1964.
After landing at New York’s JFK Airport two days prior, The Beatles made their American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Sullivan introduced The Beatles by saying the following:
"Now yesterday and today our theater’s been jammed with newspapermen and hundreds of photographers from all over the nation, and these veterans agreed with me that this city never has witnessed the excitement stirred by these youngsters from Liverpool who call themselves The Beatles. Now tonight, you’re gonna twice be entertained by them. Right now, and again in the second half of our show. Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles! Let’s bring them on."
Getting a ticket for The Beatles' first performance was really hard to come by. The Ed Sullivan website states that many celebrities called CBS to get tickets for their children. Among the celebrities to snag tickets for their children were Walter Cronkite, Jack Paar and Richard Nixon. Composer Leonard Bernstein attempted to get tickets but was denied. Even Sullivan joked on his show a week before this legendary performance, "Coincidentally, if anyone has a ticket for The Beatles on our show next Sunday, could I please borrow it? We need it very badly."
The impact of this moment is something Paul McCartney has talked about on the podcast McCartney: A Life in Lyrics. Sir Paul explains how many people have told him they decided to pursue music after seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.
"Our current manager of Beatles’ Apple Records says that, Bruce Springsteen says that, David Letterman says that," said McCartney. "They all formed on that night … this future for themselves."
To honor this iconic moment in pop culture history, here are some statistics every music lover should know.
Date of performance
Daily Express/Archive Photos/Getty ImagesThe Beatles first performed on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' on February 9, 1964. The Fab Four would then perform on the variety show three more times. The second time was on February 16, 1964. The third time was February 23, 1964. Finally, the fourth time was on August 14, 1965.
Distance from Heathrow Airport to JFK Airport
Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThe distance from Heathrow Airport to JFK Airport is 3,446 miles. Coincidently, The Beatles were met by about the same amount of fans as there were miles separating Heathrow and JFK. It's still amazing to look at those photos of fans waiting for The Beatles to land. In a post 9/11 world, something like that is unheard of now.
People who tuned in to watch
Central Press/Getty ImagesA staggering 73 million people tuned in to see The Beatles' for performance on 'Sullivan.' Fun fact: Their second performance on February 16 attracted 70 million viewers. Another fun fact: The venue now known as the Ed Sullivan Theater has a seat capacity of 728. CBS received 50,000 ticket requests for The Beatles' first performance.
Percentage of American households that tuned in:
Evening Standard/Getty ImagesGoing back to the viewer numbers: 45.3% of American households watched that first performance from The Beatles on 'Sullivan.' Nearly half of the entire United States watched this live! Those kind of numbers are insane! Few other events truly united the country quite like this.
Songs played
Evening Standard/Getty ImagesThe Beatles performed five songs during their first appearance on 'Sullivan.' Their mini-set was broken into two parts. The first part featured “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You” and “She Loves You.” The second part featured “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
Moments in TV history that matches The Beatles On ‘Sullivan’
Evening Standard/Getty ImagesZero. Seriously, there really isn't another music moment quite like this in history. The timing of The Beatles was truly something else. Never forget that the U.S. was still in mourning after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Beatles brough incredible joy to a country -- specifically its youth -- that was so desperately needed.
