The Beatles On Ed Sullivan: 45th Anniversary

Saturday marked the 45th anniversary of The Beatles' arrival in New York on their first trip to North America, and today is the 45th anniversary of the band's performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The Beatles arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport on Feb. 7, 1964 on the same airplane as producer Phil Spector (who would later produce Let It Be and John Lennon's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine albums). They were met at the airport by 3,000 screaming fans:

Upon arrival, they did a press conference in which they showed off their wit, which they actually displayed while getting off the plane, as well. (Note when Lennon gets off the plane, he is wearing a Lenin cap. Har, har.)

Two days later, they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Their first appearance on the show (they would later play on Feb. 16 and 23, 1964) garnered 73 million viewers. They played "All My Loving," "Til There Was You," "She Loves You," "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand."

Here is that performance:

As a sidenote, I am currently reading Philip Norman's excellent John Lennon biography, John Lennon: The Life. It's worth picking up.

To celebrate this anniversary, I'm going to listen to the entire Beatles catalogue tonight.