CBS Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of The Beatles on Ed Sullivan

The Beatles perform on 'The Ed Sullivan Show'
The Beatles perform on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' (Photo Credit: CBS Photo Archive, Negative Code 27399-frame 32, © 1964 CBS Broadcasting Inc, All Rights Reserved)
Next February marks the 50th anniversary of the night The Beatles first stepped on stage to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show and CBS is celebrating the anniversary with The Night That Changed America: A GRAMMY Salute to The Beatles. Airing on February 9, 2014 (exactly 50 years from that groundbreaking performance), the two-hour special will feature contemporary artists covering the songs The Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show as well as other unforgettable tunes from their immense catalog. The anniversary special will also include footage from the 1964 show and other “archival material.”
 
An incredible 74 million people were glued to their television sets back in ’64 to see the Fab Four perform five songs. That episode of The Ed Sullivan Sullivan remains one of the most watched broadcasts in television history.
 
The special will tape on January 27, 2014, the day after the 2014 GRAMMY Awards.
 
“The Beatles are one of music’s most iconic groups, who won their first two GRAMMYs, including one for Best New Artist, in 1964 — the same year they took America by storm,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. “As the GRAMMY Awards are Music’s Biggest Night(®), it’s only fitting that we recognize this milestone moment in music history and pay tribute to this larger than life group and their enduring music and legacy.”
 
“Whether you were alive to witness it on television that night, or you’ve just known about it all your life, that first television appearance by the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show is historic,” said executive producer Ken Ehrlich of AEG Ehrlich Ventures. “To be able to celebrate this significant event 50 years later — and to the exact day, date, and time — with an all-star cast of GRAMMY participants shapes up to be one for the books.”
 
“That night 50 years ago on the Ed Sullivan stage, the Beatles delivered a momentous performance, and America witnessed a historic television event and the beginning of a new era in music,” said Jack Sussman, CBS Entertainment Executive Vice President of Specials & Events. “We are thrilled to honor these music legends with performances from amazing GRAMMY-winning artists who were influenced by the Beatles’ unforgettable music through the years and that incredible performance in 1964.”
 
Source: The Recording Academy
 
-Posted by Rebecca Murray

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