Brian being told that Ed Sullivan wants to speak with him and his childlike glee is maybe my favourite thing I‘ve read in Pete‘s book so far

(Extract from Pete Shotton‘s, John Lennon - In my Life)

The Beatles performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in Miami, 16th February 1964

The Beatles with Ed Sullivan posing for the press after the Ed Sullivan show rehearsal (1964).

"Chorus girls watching the Ed Sullivan television show at the Roxy Movie Theater dressing room, 1958."

Photographed by Peter Stackpole.

SAM COOKE "[I Love You] For Sentimental Reasons" The Ed Sullivan Show (Dec 1, 1957)

Ed Sullivan playing golf with Clark Gable, circa 1950.

"When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again"

— ELVIS' VOICE, BEFORE AND AFTER: Elvis singing the same tune, first at the verge of turning 22 years old and then at his 33 years old.

Again, one of my favorite Elvis songs. Whenever I listen to Elvis singing this on the '68 comeback special I feel like it's such a blessing. Really! Watching your fav artist performing the songs you love the most is always delightful, and testifying the way he's creating something new, overcoming himself, it's just the most!

Some people will say Elvis' aging voice didn't fit the tunes he recorded in the fifties, but for me his performances of the same song over the years shouldn't be compared in a "this is better/no it isn't" kind of way, because they are not the same indeed.

Elvis surely sounded quite different performing "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" in 1968, and the variation on the sound is not only due to his voice itself. The 50s recording of that song it's a typical 50s tune with the characteristic "doo-wop" background singing (by The Jordanaires), while the late 60s performance is an acoustic version, a jam session, with the only background singer being Charlie Hodge and no "doo-wop" at all is added to it. It's sounds different, but in good way. Elvis' hoarse, full-bodied voice is just magnificent sounding. Maybe, just maybe Elvis' voice was indeed so strong by 1968 that it would be more of a fit to a more sensual song among his 50s recordings, such as "Paralyzed" or "Anyplace In Paradise" - both from the same album where "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" comes from (Elvis' 2nd studio LP) - but I appreciate very much the way the song sounds in his matured voice anyway.

I like sharing those before and after performances of the same tune just out of fun, because I appreciate all of them and I think Elvis added to the tune when he sounded different performing the same song quite a few years after when the tune was first recorded by him. You can pick your favorite, sure, but speaking bad about one of the performances is not fair since they are so nonequivalent. I prefer Elvis' mature voice, always, but I do love both performances.

“When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show), January 6, 1957:

“When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" (Live on the NBC "Singer Presents Elvis" TV Special — "'68 Comeback Special" — taped on June 27, 1968.

the band on the ed sullivan show/1969

THE BEATLES with ED SULLIVAN after their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. February 9, 1964.

Sixty years ago today

On Feb 9, 1964, a Sunday, I was on a day-trip skiing in Colorado, an outing from my boarding school in Colorado Springs. There were about a dozen of us along with a faculty chaperone in a rented bus. We knew the Beatles were going to be on Ed Sullivan at 6PM Mountain time so we cajoled and wheedled and pleaded to stop somewhere to watch it.

We finally succeeded in convincing the chaperone and bus driver to stop in Fairplay and we piled in to the tiny hotel there, hoping it had a TV, which it did....in the dining room. As I recall we had the room to ourselves, so when the show came on we pushed our half-eaten hamburgers aside and watched in reverent silence. My young brain couldn't quite comprehend it, but my world had changed by the time it was over. Rock'n'roll had taken over my brain. Yes, I was a Stones man, and yes, the Beatles were largely a pop group, but the music was the thing from that day to this day.

"I love rock'n'roll, put another dime in the jukebox, baby!" - Joan Jett.

Here's my yearbook picture from 1965:

Billy Preston, Ray Charles and His Orchestra, "Agent Double-O-Soul"

Come for the suit, stay for the funky dance moves that BP busts.

It was sixty years ago today, Sgt Pepper taught the band to play!

On the Ed Sullivan show!

Happy sixty year anniversary of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show!!!!!!

SAM COOKE "You Send Me" on The Ed Sullivan Show (Dec 1, 1957)

Don't you find cute when Elvis messes up onstage? I do. Amazingly nothing he could do made him look bad in any way. This is (I believe) my favorite live performance in which such thing happens. 🥹

He warned, ladies and gentleman, "It's a new one." 💖

October 28th, 1956: Elvis Presley and the Jordanaires performing live "Love Me", during Presley's second appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. His Sullivan's debut was in September 9, 1956, and he would come back one last time on January 6th, 1957. ⚡

About the October 1956 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show:

Following an innocent act by an Irish children’s choir called The Little Gaelic Singers, Elvis Presley took the stage and sang, “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Love Me Tender.” After Señor Wences’s ventriloquism act, Elvis returned to perform “Love Me.” During this song the camera moved in for a close-up of Elvis’ face, and then, as if on cue, he smiled and snarled his upper lip. The studio audience went wild. Elvis closed with another performance of his hit, “Hound Dog.” Again viewers were shown a head-to-toe Elvis. Source / More about Elvis' appearances on the Ed Sullivan show, read here.

Elvis Presley performing live on the Ed Sullivan show (October 28th, 1956, second appearance on this TV show).