Imagine, it’s February 9th, 8 pm on the east coast, with you and your family sitting down after the family meal to watch the ‘Ed Sullivan Show.’ You and 73 million other Americans witnessed history, as four lads from Liverpool with long hair (long by those standards) were introduced by Ed as “And now, The Beatles…”
The Beatles’ first live performance in the US came on that night, changing music and America’s way of life forever. The Beatles performed “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” and “She Loves You” before stepping off the stage in the early portion of the show. They would come back for an encore with “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
The staff of the Ed Sullivan show was flooded with over 50,000 ticket requests for the February 9 show; the venue had a capacity of fewer than 400 seats. The Beatles were amazingly paid $10,000 for the night.