***This Just In***
Forgotten Hits learned this morning that the CBS Television Special "The Night That Changed America" is SO good ... and contains SO many highlights ... that it will be expanded to two-and-a-half hours on Sunday, February 9th ... now airing from 7 pm - 9:30 pm Chicago time (8 pm - 10:30 pm Eastern and Pacific)
Exciting news to be sure!
We heard from Andrew Solt this week ... he's the guy who owns the rights to ALL of the Ed Sullivan Show archives ... and it sound like there'll be LOTS of BIG doings going on in relation to The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show fifty years ago this weekend.
(In fact, watch for our special salute on Friday as we look back 50 years ... Scott Shannon will also be saluting Beatlemania on The True Oldies Channel all weekend long ... and, of course, on Sunday Night ... EXACTLY 50 Years Ago TO THE HOUR ... CBS Television will be broadcasting "The Night That Changed America", an All-Star Tribute to The Music of The Fab Four, featuring a reunited performance of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving Beatles ... on the very same stage they graced some 50 years earlier for their very first U.S. appearance.
Hi Kent ~
It has really been a tidal wave these last few weeks! I don't really have anything to say or add to what has been published in papers, etc. except that the concert a week ago tonight was absolutely magical and it could not have been a greater pleasure than it was. Awesome.
It went perfectly. The artists performing Beatles songs did a masterful job. But, of course, the fact that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed on stage together and separately was an unforgettable moment for the books -- one of the great moments of my life and for everyone I talked to who was in attendance would agree. It was as good as it gets.
The special this coming Sunday night will blow people away. It is a rare, wonderful moment in music and Beatle history. Set your DVR's. You will want to watch it again and again -- especially the last half hour.
Ken Ehrlich and his Grammy team did a fantastic job. Could not have gone better!
Best,
Andrew
OK, now I'm more excited than ever! (And I'm sure there'll be plenty of vintage Beatles / Sullivan clips sprinkled throughout the evening as well. I mean how could there NOT be!!! lol) We watched The Beatles' first complete performance this weekend and it's STILL exciting to see the crowd's reaction all these years later. (You can own a copy of ALL of The Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show performances, too ... ordering link below!)
Click here: The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles | Ed Sullivan Show
As for the line-up, it's outstanding.
Maroon Five will kick off the show EXACTLY the same way The Beatles did some fifty years prior by performing "All My Lovin'" ... they then jump ahead a year and treat us to "Ticket To Ride".
They will be followed by Keith Urban and John Mayer performing "Don’t Let Me Down". Next up ... Ed Sheeran doing "In My Life" followed by "Let it Be" by Alicia Keys and John Legend and "Revolution" by Imagine Dragons.
We're then treated to Katy Perry's rendition of "Yesterday", followed by the reunited Eurythmics for their take on "The Fool On The Hill."
Then check out these special pairings: Brad Paisley, Pharrell Williams, Cirque du Soleil for "Here Comes The Sun", Dave Grohl and Jeff Lynne for "Hey Bulldog", Joe Walsh, Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison (George's son) for "Something" followed by Gary Clark Jr., Joe Walsh and Dave Grohl for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". (A little mini-tribute to George in that set!) Stevie Wonder then wraps things up with his rousing rendition of "We Can Work It Out" before Ringo and Paul take the stage.
Let the mass hysteria begin!
Ringo kicks things off by performing three of his Beatles classics: "Matchbox", "Boys" and "Yellow Submarine", performing with his All-Starr Band. Then Paul takes over with his band and treats us to "Magical Mystery Tour", "Birthday", "Get Back" and "I Saw Her Standing There".
And then the magical moment of Paul and Ringo reuniting to perform a song The Beatles themselves never got a chance to do live ... the complete opening medley of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" into "With A Little Help From My Friends" (with Ringo Starr in the Billy Shears role, just like he should be!!!)
The whole evening then caps off with Paul and Ringo ... joined by Cirque du Soleil ... performing The Beatles' biggest hit ever, "Hey Jude".
This is CAN'T MISS entertainment ... and it all kicks off at 7:00 Sunday Night (Chicago Time) ... filmed at The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on the very same stage that The Beatles themselves performed on fifty years earlier ... at the very same hour back in 1964. (Who would have EVER thought?!?!?)
re: Other Fab Comments:
>>>I watched Ringo and his All-Starr Band perform "Photograph" ... Peter Frampton was one of the guitarists ... I don't know who the other oldies were. (Clark Besch)
Forgotten Hits learned this morning that the CBS Television Special "The Night That Changed America" is SO good ... and contains SO many highlights ... that it will be expanded to two-and-a-half hours on Sunday, February 9th ... now airing from 7 pm - 9:30 pm Chicago time (8 pm - 10:30 pm Eastern and Pacific)
Exciting news to be sure!
We heard from Andrew Solt this week ... he's the guy who owns the rights to ALL of the Ed Sullivan Show archives ... and it sound like there'll be LOTS of BIG doings going on in relation to The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show fifty years ago this weekend.
(In fact, watch for our special salute on Friday as we look back 50 years ... Scott Shannon will also be saluting Beatlemania on The True Oldies Channel all weekend long ... and, of course, on Sunday Night ... EXACTLY 50 Years Ago TO THE HOUR ... CBS Television will be broadcasting "The Night That Changed America", an All-Star Tribute to The Music of The Fab Four, featuring a reunited performance of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving Beatles ... on the very same stage they graced some 50 years earlier for their very first U.S. appearance.
Hi Kent ~
It has really been a tidal wave these last few weeks! I don't really have anything to say or add to what has been published in papers, etc. except that the concert a week ago tonight was absolutely magical and it could not have been a greater pleasure than it was. Awesome.
It went perfectly. The artists performing Beatles songs did a masterful job. But, of course, the fact that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr performed on stage together and separately was an unforgettable moment for the books -- one of the great moments of my life and for everyone I talked to who was in attendance would agree. It was as good as it gets.
The special this coming Sunday night will blow people away. It is a rare, wonderful moment in music and Beatle history. Set your DVR's. You will want to watch it again and again -- especially the last half hour.
Ken Ehrlich and his Grammy team did a fantastic job. Could not have gone better!
Best,
Andrew
OK, now I'm more excited than ever! (And I'm sure there'll be plenty of vintage Beatles / Sullivan clips sprinkled throughout the evening as well. I mean how could there NOT be!!! lol) We watched The Beatles' first complete performance this weekend and it's STILL exciting to see the crowd's reaction all these years later. (You can own a copy of ALL of The Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show performances, too ... ordering link below!)
Click here: The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles | Ed Sullivan Show
As for the line-up, it's outstanding.
Maroon Five will kick off the show EXACTLY the same way The Beatles did some fifty years prior by performing "All My Lovin'" ... they then jump ahead a year and treat us to "Ticket To Ride".
They will be followed by Keith Urban and John Mayer performing "Don’t Let Me Down". Next up ... Ed Sheeran doing "In My Life" followed by "Let it Be" by Alicia Keys and John Legend and "Revolution" by Imagine Dragons.
We're then treated to Katy Perry's rendition of "Yesterday", followed by the reunited Eurythmics for their take on "The Fool On The Hill."
Then check out these special pairings: Brad Paisley, Pharrell Williams, Cirque du Soleil for "Here Comes The Sun", Dave Grohl and Jeff Lynne for "Hey Bulldog", Joe Walsh, Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison (George's son) for "Something" followed by Gary Clark Jr., Joe Walsh and Dave Grohl for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". (A little mini-tribute to George in that set!) Stevie Wonder then wraps things up with his rousing rendition of "We Can Work It Out" before Ringo and Paul take the stage.
Let the mass hysteria begin!
Ringo kicks things off by performing three of his Beatles classics: "Matchbox", "Boys" and "Yellow Submarine", performing with his All-Starr Band. Then Paul takes over with his band and treats us to "Magical Mystery Tour", "Birthday", "Get Back" and "I Saw Her Standing There".
And then the magical moment of Paul and Ringo reuniting to perform a song The Beatles themselves never got a chance to do live ... the complete opening medley of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" into "With A Little Help From My Friends" (with Ringo Starr in the Billy Shears role, just like he should be!!!)
The whole evening then caps off with Paul and Ringo ... joined by Cirque du Soleil ... performing The Beatles' biggest hit ever, "Hey Jude".
This is CAN'T MISS entertainment ... and it all kicks off at 7:00 Sunday Night (Chicago Time) ... filmed at The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on the very same stage that The Beatles themselves performed on fifty years earlier ... at the very same hour back in 1964. (Who would have EVER thought?!?!?)
re: Other Fab Comments:
>>>I watched Ringo and his All-Starr Band perform "Photograph" ... Peter Frampton was one of the guitarists ... I don't know who the other oldies were. (Clark Besch)
>>>I don't know that this was supposed to be so much an "All-Starr Band" performance ... I was a little surprised to see Peter Frampton up there ... but I didn't really recognize anybody else as "being" anybody else! (Truthfully, I was a little surprised that Ringo didn't have his brother-in-law Joe Walsh up on stage with him ... especially since they were all sitting together anyway!) kk
Hi Kent,
FYI - from what I could tell, Ringo's Grammy band included Steve Lukather (Toto) on 12-string guitar, producer Don Was on bass and Kenny Aronoff on drums.
All best,
Billy Hinsche
The day after all the Ringo / Grammy talk we got a copy of his All-Star Band schedule for the Summer of 2014 ... confirmed are Todd Rundgren, Steve Lukather (of Toto), Gregg Rolie (Santana and Journey), Richard Page (Mr. Mister), Mark Rivera and Gregg Bissonette. The tour stops in Chicago on June 28th at The Chicago Theater. (kk)
That Tom Hanks produced CNN British Invasion documentary covered lots of ground WAY too quickly, glossing over important BRITISH parts for Beach Boys longer parts at times. Still, it was good. Why did they not show "The Wonders"?? That one hit wonder group?? Despite WLS playing AND charting "Please Please Me" in May of 1963 (actually March - kk) for three weeks, they WERE correct about WWDC in Washington, DC playing "I Want To Hold Your Hand" first. Some of the footage used was awesome to see non-grainy for the first time I'd ever seen it -- "Some Other Guy" at The Cavern and the clips from "Inside Pop" looked great. Nice of them to play the best song of the decade, "Look Through Any Window", too! Haha. When they ran thru all the Brit groups, the SOUNDS of each were so different from each other. Their take on Sgt Pepper was common, but I just considered it another great album when it came out. They make it sound like the Beatles albums were not special before, when in reality, almost EVERY album the fabs did, we hung on EVERY song and I still listen to an LP cut and start to hum what would be the next song on the album, even when I don't have that on my MP3 player today. They said DJs played the album non-stop three days? I, for one, listened to it a lot, BUT my number one for four weeks at that time was "It Could Be We're In Love" by the Cryan Shames. What Sgt Pepper DID do for the first time that was awesome, was run the songs into each other creating a longer lasting montage in your head than just the individual songs. By the end of the year, the Cryan Shames tried it with two songs on their "A Scratch in the Sky" LP and then a year later, an entire album side on "Synthesis". Chicago did similar in 1970 with the "Ballet for a Girl from Buchanon" set of songs. The Moodies started doing it also with 1968's "Days of Future Past." They continued it endlessly. A good tribute show with lots of classic song clips as well as obscure such as "Very Last Day" by the Hollies!
As was the case with Bill Buster, I did not see the world wide satellite broadcast of "All You Need is Love" when it was aired live. What was it that made Beatles fans like us MISS this important event?? I am about 100% positive we did not know about it in time, like we did the Sullivan '64 appearance.
The day after all the Ringo / Grammy talk we got a copy of his All-Star Band schedule for the Summer of 2014 ... confirmed are Todd Rundgren, Steve Lukather (of Toto), Gregg Rolie (Santana and Journey), Richard Page (Mr. Mister), Mark Rivera and Gregg Bissonette. The tour stops in Chicago on June 28th at The Chicago Theater. (kk)
That Tom Hanks produced CNN British Invasion documentary covered lots of ground WAY too quickly, glossing over important BRITISH parts for Beach Boys longer parts at times. Still, it was good. Why did they not show "The Wonders"?? That one hit wonder group?? Despite WLS playing AND charting "Please Please Me" in May of 1963 (actually March - kk) for three weeks, they WERE correct about WWDC in Washington, DC playing "I Want To Hold Your Hand" first. Some of the footage used was awesome to see non-grainy for the first time I'd ever seen it -- "Some Other Guy" at The Cavern and the clips from "Inside Pop" looked great. Nice of them to play the best song of the decade, "Look Through Any Window", too! Haha. When they ran thru all the Brit groups, the SOUNDS of each were so different from each other. Their take on Sgt Pepper was common, but I just considered it another great album when it came out. They make it sound like the Beatles albums were not special before, when in reality, almost EVERY album the fabs did, we hung on EVERY song and I still listen to an LP cut and start to hum what would be the next song on the album, even when I don't have that on my MP3 player today. They said DJs played the album non-stop three days? I, for one, listened to it a lot, BUT my number one for four weeks at that time was "It Could Be We're In Love" by the Cryan Shames. What Sgt Pepper DID do for the first time that was awesome, was run the songs into each other creating a longer lasting montage in your head than just the individual songs. By the end of the year, the Cryan Shames tried it with two songs on their "A Scratch in the Sky" LP and then a year later, an entire album side on "Synthesis". Chicago did similar in 1970 with the "Ballet for a Girl from Buchanon" set of songs. The Moodies started doing it also with 1968's "Days of Future Past." They continued it endlessly. A good tribute show with lots of classic song clips as well as obscure such as "Very Last Day" by the Hollies!
As was the case with Bill Buster, I did not see the world wide satellite broadcast of "All You Need is Love" when it was aired live. What was it that made Beatles fans like us MISS this important event?? I am about 100% positive we did not know about it in time, like we did the Sullivan '64 appearance.
Clark
Besch
I saw this special Sunday Night (actually turned off the lop-sided Super Bowl to watch it!) and I thought it was all-right ... keep in mind this is only a one-hour recap of a ten hour series ... so I expected we'll see a whole lot more when the entire series runs in May.
I agree that they did seem to get a bit off-topic during the last 20 minutes or so ... lots of time spent talking about Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Motown, etc ... ALL important and significant factors in '60's music to be sure ... but not much to do with the subject at hand, which was SUPPOSED to be all about The British Invasion. Still it was GREAT to see some of these clips again.
And for me that's going to be the key as to how much I enjoy this series ... seeing all those vintage clips again. (The only one I saw Sunday that I hadn't seen before was the one of Ringo behind the console in the recording studio, explaining how it worked ... how it could turn a guitar into a piano ... and then saying "Now you might ask why we just don't use a piano", further explaining that they had already turned that piano into a guitar. Funny stuff!
The other thing that was ESPECIALLY funny for me was watching the James Brown clip from the T.A.M.I. Show. Coming on literally 45 minutes after Bruno Mars' half-time performance at The Super Bowl it was remarkable to see James Brown execute those EXACT SAME MOVES ... 50 years earlier!!!
Looking forward to the full-blown edition ... I mean who on this list ISN'T going to watch that?!?!? (kk)
With all the recent Beatles Anniversary talk going on here in Forgotten Hits, FH Reader Dave Barry sent us this report:
A fellow collector made the mistake of visiting Pepperland as the same time a Beatles Faire was taking place in the Los Angeles area. Much of the Pepperland Beatles stock was at the Faire; he was very disappointed in the timing of his visit.
Did the Beatles really invade America 50 years ago? Yeah, yeah, yeah! On February 9, 1964, John, Paul, George and Ringo appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and began their first American tour. That same year they released "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and 30 other songs that hit Billboard's Top 100, at one point having the top five hits on Billboard's Hot 100 singles. The group's last paying concert happened two years later at Candlestick Park, but Paul McCartney apparently is in secret negotiations to play the Stick this year before it's demolished. For those without tickets, here are some spots where Sgt. Pepper still commands.
1. A Magical History Tour, Santa Monica
Liverpool-area native Gillian Lomax leads this 3 1/2-hour tour starting in Santa Monica, where she tells how John Lennon once spent a "lost weekend" there. The tour goes past Elvis Presley's home in Bel-Air where the Fab Four met the King; cruises Blue Jay Way in the Hollywood Hills, where George Harrison lived; stops at other Beatles-related sites in Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills; and ends in Hollywood at the Beatles' four individual stars on the Walk of Fame near the Capitol Records Tower.
I saw this special Sunday Night (actually turned off the lop-sided Super Bowl to watch it!) and I thought it was all-right ... keep in mind this is only a one-hour recap of a ten hour series ... so I expected we'll see a whole lot more when the entire series runs in May.
I agree that they did seem to get a bit off-topic during the last 20 minutes or so ... lots of time spent talking about Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Motown, etc ... ALL important and significant factors in '60's music to be sure ... but not much to do with the subject at hand, which was SUPPOSED to be all about The British Invasion. Still it was GREAT to see some of these clips again.
And for me that's going to be the key as to how much I enjoy this series ... seeing all those vintage clips again. (The only one I saw Sunday that I hadn't seen before was the one of Ringo behind the console in the recording studio, explaining how it worked ... how it could turn a guitar into a piano ... and then saying "Now you might ask why we just don't use a piano", further explaining that they had already turned that piano into a guitar. Funny stuff!
The other thing that was ESPECIALLY funny for me was watching the James Brown clip from the T.A.M.I. Show. Coming on literally 45 minutes after Bruno Mars' half-time performance at The Super Bowl it was remarkable to see James Brown execute those EXACT SAME MOVES ... 50 years earlier!!!
Looking forward to the full-blown edition ... I mean who on this list ISN'T going to watch that?!?!? (kk)
With all the recent Beatles Anniversary talk going on here in Forgotten Hits, FH Reader Dave Barry sent us this report:
A fellow collector made the mistake of visiting Pepperland as the same time a Beatles Faire was taking place in the Los Angeles area. Much of the Pepperland Beatles stock was at the Faire; he was very disappointed in the timing of his visit.
Did the Beatles really invade America 50 years ago? Yeah, yeah, yeah! On February 9, 1964, John, Paul, George and Ringo appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and began their first American tour. That same year they released "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and 30 other songs that hit Billboard's Top 100, at one point having the top five hits on Billboard's Hot 100 singles. The group's last paying concert happened two years later at Candlestick Park, but Paul McCartney apparently is in secret negotiations to play the Stick this year before it's demolished. For those without tickets, here are some spots where Sgt. Pepper still commands.
1. A Magical History Tour, Santa Monica
Liverpool-area native Gillian Lomax leads this 3 1/2-hour tour starting in Santa Monica, where she tells how John Lennon once spent a "lost weekend" there. The tour goes past Elvis Presley's home in Bel-Air where the Fab Four met the King; cruises Blue Jay Way in the Hollywood Hills, where George Harrison lived; stops at other Beatles-related sites in Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills; and ends in Hollywood at the Beatles' four individual stars on the Walk of Fame near the Capitol Records Tower.
(310)
582-1120;
www.amagicalhistorytour.com.
2. The Beatles Revolution Lounge,
Las Vegas
Walk past the Abbey Road Bar with a black and white striped floor representing the zebra crossing ("crosswalk" in American) on the cover of the "Abbey Road" LP and continue past a wall listing song titles by the Fab Four. Then enter a 5,000-square-foot lounge with a liquid-crystal-display ceiling covered with 30,000 dichroic crystals representing the song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." More Beatles musical fun is next door at the Cirque du Soleil show, "The Beatles Love." The Mirage, 3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd.;
2. The Beatles Revolution Lounge,
Las Vegas
Walk past the Abbey Road Bar with a black and white striped floor representing the zebra crossing ("crosswalk" in American) on the cover of the "Abbey Road" LP and continue past a wall listing song titles by the Fab Four. Then enter a 5,000-square-foot lounge with a liquid-crystal-display ceiling covered with 30,000 dichroic crystals representing the song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." More Beatles musical fun is next door at the Cirque du Soleil show, "The Beatles Love." The Mirage, 3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd.;
(702)
693-8300;
www.lightgroup.com/las-vegas/nightclubs-nightlife/revolution-lounge/about.
3. Chit Chat Cafe, Pacifica
The cafe hosts a Beatles sing-along with live music by the B2s (ages 16 to 65) focused on a theme like piano tunes or psychedelic songs. "We do it," said founding band member Jeannine Menger, "because of how much we love the Beatles." The sing-along is from 2-4 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month, and participants range from babies to seniors. Bonus: The Plastic Onion Band plays Beatles songs at the Chit Chat from 7-9:30 p.m. on the third Friday of each month. 5 W. Manor Drive;
3. Chit Chat Cafe, Pacifica
The cafe hosts a Beatles sing-along with live music by the B2s (ages 16 to 65) focused on a theme like piano tunes or psychedelic songs. "We do it," said founding band member Jeannine Menger, "because of how much we love the Beatles." The sing-along is from 2-4 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month, and participants range from babies to seniors. Bonus: The Plastic Onion Band plays Beatles songs at the Chit Chat from 7-9:30 p.m. on the third Friday of each month. 5 W. Manor Drive;
If you prefer singing solo, Café Royale in San
Francisco hosts Beatles karaoke night the first Monday of the month: 800 Post
St.; (415)
441-4099;
www.caferoyale-sf.com.
4. The Hollywood Bowl Museum, Hollywood
The Beatles played this venue three times, and its small museum displays a copy of their original contract, a short video of their 1964 show, an audio clip and photographs of screaming fans. 2301 N. Highland Ave.; (323) 850-2058; www.hollywoodbowl.com/philpedia/hollywood-bowl-history/rock-pop-jazz.
5. Pepperland Music, Orange
In this music store that specializes in hard-to-find Beatles memorabilia, customers will find buttons, records, T-shirts and even scarce and original Yellow Submarine mobiles. 850 N. Tustin St.,
4. The Hollywood Bowl Museum, Hollywood
The Beatles played this venue three times, and its small museum displays a copy of their original contract, a short video of their 1964 show, an audio clip and photographs of screaming fans. 2301 N. Highland Ave.; (323) 850-2058; www.hollywoodbowl.com/philpedia/hollywood-bowl-history/rock-pop-jazz.
5. Pepperland Music, Orange
In this music store that specializes in hard-to-find Beatles memorabilia, customers will find buttons, records, T-shirts and even scarce and original Yellow Submarine mobiles. 850 N. Tustin St.,
(714)
639-0909;
www.pepperlandmusic.com.
- April Orcutt, travel@sfchronicle.com
- April Orcutt, travel@sfchronicle.com
Several years ago we did a special look back at The Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, during which we shared many of your memories. If you'd again like to reflect back at this very special time, please send 'em along ... we'll probably stock pile them this week and then run 'em in bulk next week after the CBS "The Night That Changed America" special airs. (kk)
