The Beatles‘ world-changing debut appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 will have its 50th anniversary celebrated with a two-hour special on US television.
The Grammy Awards have commissioned The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute To The Beatles for airing on the CBS network on February 9th next year – exactly 50 years since the landmark broadcast.
The programme promises ‘today’s top artists’ performing covers of the songs the Fab Four aired that night along side archive clips and ‘commentary’ from guest presenters. “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,” Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, has said.
“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.”
The Beatles took off for America in early 1964 soon after the US release of ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand‘ had truly kick-started Beatlemania in the States. Their first appearance on Ed Sullivan is claimed to have been witnessed by over 73 million viewers, and promptly changed the course of pop music forever.