No, not when Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play (we’re getting close to 100 years on that one, aren’t we?) but it was 50 years ago today that The Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show for the first time. There has been endless hype about this landmark event and I must admit I’m looking forward to watching the retrospective about it tonight on CBS. I remember that day well. I was so excited that my stomach was churning and I was happy to get a call from my friend Suzanne who decided we should spend the day distracting ourselves until the show started by roller skating around Santa Rosa. As a senior in high school, I hadn’t roller skated in years so I had to find my old clamp-on keyed skates that my mom had stored in the garage. I had long before given up wearing oxfords and I remember my Keds didn’t hold the skates on too well. I don’t recall who else joined us on our skate around town that day but it was a fun distraction until we heard Ed Sullivan announce, “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Beatles!”
I read somewhere that photos from the Ed Sullivan show were used for the cover for The Beatles’ Second US Album. I didn’t know it then but in looking at the photos on that album, I can believe they were from that day. What a perfect subject for my photo today because I still have all of my well worn Beatles albums.
