Posted on 02/09/2014 7:47:02 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Musical moments that capture the attention of a national audience - and beyond - never seem to be in short supply.
Last week, Bruno Mars set a ratings record with 115 million people watching his Super Bowl performance. A few months ago, the talk was about Beyonce’s surprise album. And there’s still discussion of That Miley Moment at the MTV Video Music Awards.
But moments that spark a musical revolution? A dramatic altering of the pop culture landscape? A true moment for historians to analyze? Rare indeed, which is what makes the 50th anniversary of what is considered the start of Beatlemania so remarkable - and so unlikely to happen again.
“The media has gotten so fragmented now ... there’s 50 things in a marketing plan for an artist today,” said Revolt TV President (and former MTV executive) Andy Schuon. “The ability to fan that fire and to give it the kind of intensity that ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ could get doesn’t exist today.”
Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ performance on “Ed Sullivan,” their first appearance in America. Nielsen says 45 percent of all TV sets in use at the time were tuned into the broadcast, with fans and the uninitiated alike gathered shoulder to shoulder in their living rooms. The Beatles landed on a trigger point when they hit America. It was a pop culture sonic boom spurred by talent, timing and luck that’s still rattling the windows.
“This was a seismic shift in American culture and it gave the teenagers not only a voice but a way of being, a way of thinking that had never occurred before,” Beatles biographer Bob Spitz said.
(Excerpt) Read more at kens5.com ...
You nailed it. The music didn’t even wear well
ROFLMAO!
By definition, a moment in time cannot repeated.
I loved it!
So cool to see Paul and Ringo playing together!
Ed
Wasn’t it, though? Absolutely great show, celebrating one of the all-time great bands of history!
Ed
Can you believe Yoko is almost EIGHTY YEARS OLD??!!
Wow, you’d have never thunk it...
Ed
Jimi was murdered??
Never heard that one!
The only thing I would have done is have George’s son join Paul and Ringo, and Julian Lennon join them...
Ed
I always like the Rolling Stones more. The Beatles were still good, definitely not in my top 5 favorite 60s bands.
The conclusion is as reasonable as the sixties were unreasonably hectic.
“They could also take another band’s song and do it better tan the originals. For instance “Twist and Shout”.”
Oh my God, no!!! That is perhaps their worst trashing of another’s song. Just awful. It sounds like a parody.
“Bruno Mars set a ratings record with 115 million people watching his Super Bowl performance.”
The Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show happened on an ordinary Sunday night in February, 1964 while Bruno Mars appeared at the halftime show of Super Bowl XLVIII...NO comparison!
Why is it that the ‘70’s is usually associated with Funk, Soul, Punk and Disco music when it was far more “eclectic” than that? Even Steely Dan’s first real album wasn’t released until 1972. Their album “Aja” hit BIG in ‘77...Too many other bands and albums to list here!
ff
Funny, all the Beatles haters will come out, but it’s a worthy exercise for people who know and love rock to list all the innovations they were responsible for: fuzz bass, backward recorded solos, double and triple tracking the same guy’s voice, string accompaniment with no other instruments, the “concept” album, and on and on.
“When a male and his voice voice goes through an electric amplifier it has a direct effect on the midbrain of receptive women of child bearing age.”
Verrry interesting! I was 15 when the Beatles performed on Ed Sullivan & I could not understand the female hysteria. Applauding & cheering music you like is one thing but....
Only later did I learn that girls were screaming for Elvis in ‘56 and Sinatra even earlier than that. Later came the performers that had women hurling their undies onto the stage.
It all starts to make sense now.....when I was in the Army & talking on tactical radios in the field, female soldiers would tell me I sounded like an airline captain & late night DJ put together. Hmmm.....
I was 2 and 1/2 and living in suburban Philadelphia, and the first time I heard of (or heard) the Beatles was their ABC cartoon series on Sat. mornings starting a couple of years later.
ff
(who took the B train to the Dakota one day during my NYC vacay last spring, saw the entrance thereof and also Strawberry Fields across the street)
In “Tallahassee Lassie,” Freddie Cannon concludes the refrain with, “She’s my Tallahassee lassie down in Fla.” Upon first hearing it, many Southern Californians, myself included, thought he was singing, “She’s my Tallahassee lassie down in West LA,” i. e. West Los Angeles.
It was pure entertainment. Even lil ol' Yoko was dancing (did remind me of Elaine's dance skills on Seinfeld)!
Paul and Ringo sang their hearts out and, yes, their voices cracked a little now and then, but they still got me rockin'. And I did enjoy all the entertainers. All were very professional and, in my opinion, did justice to the Beatle songs.
I've been a Beatle fan since I was 13 when they first appeared on Sullivan. And I am not ashamed to admit it. There is no comparison to the music and entertainment of today. And they did it all without the internet, big show production, gimmicks, etc. And that is what I think I love and appreciate about them even more today.
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