Over the course of the past week, we have presented compelling cases as to why artists like Pat Boone and Ross Bagdasarian should be considered as worthy candidates for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction.
Today we move on to perhaps one of the most obvious choices of all ...
Ed Sullivan
How it is even remotely possible that Old Stone Face has never even been so much as nominated is beyond comprehension to me.
Every Sunday Night ... for 23 years ... Ed brought rock and roll acts into our living rooms on a daily basis. For many, it was the first chance to see and really experience the likes of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and many, many more.
And, under the guise of his weekly variety show, he was able to satisfy the kids ... and make these acts somewhat palatable to their parents and any other adults in the room ... as long as they were intermixed with the usual appearances of jugglers, comedians, Broadway acts, Ethel Merman, Jimmy Durante, Robert Goulet and Topo Gigio.
An appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show almost guaranteed an upward boost of 20 points or more on the following week's pop charts.
Sure, Ed had his favorites ... The Dave Clark Five, The Supremes, The Mamas and The Papas, The Fifth Dimension and a few others immediately come to mind ... but he wasn't opposed to putting on whichever new up and coming acts were creating a buzz in the music business ... and providing them with an additional boost of "credibility" along the way. This means that along with these "safe" acts mentioned above, so we also got Janis Joplin and Creedence Clearwater Revival alongside Tommy James and the Shondells, The Turtles and Gerry and the Pacemakers.
Ed was also a huge fan of black music ... and did his best to promote the Motown acts on a regular basis ... as well as artists like Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Dionne Warwick (another favorite of his), Leslie Uggams (ditto) and Aretha Franklin.
Allan Freed is in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for his contribution to the genre thru radio ... Dick Clark has been acknowledged for American Bandstand and his Caravan of Stars Tours ...
But NOBODY did more to make rock and roll acceptable to ALL generations watching his show than Ed Sullivan.
Fortunately, you can now view a number of these full-length performances on the Ed Sullivan YouTube Channel ...
https://www.youtube.com/@TheEdSullivanShow
You can read OUR salute to The Ed Sullivan Show (presented from BOTH sides of the screen) here ...
http://forgottenhits.com/forgotten_hits_interviews_andrew_solt
Isn't it time that The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame makes things right??? (kk)
