One hundred eighty-seven years after the colonies broke away from the Mother Country, viewers in the homes bordering the path around the Falls were able to witness an amazing bridge-building effort that spanned the Atlantic Ocean. The event was the live broadcast of “The Ed Sullivan Show,” which 50 years ago this week first featured a British group called the Beatles. The relationship between the two countries was forever changed.
Sullivan was known for great Sunday night family entertainment and sometimes pushed the edge. The 1956 guest appearance on national television of Elvis Presley forever changed the way people think about hound dogs and the appropriateness of hip motion, but that is a story for another time and place.
The arrival of the Beatles changed the way female fans reacted to performers, the way guys styled their hair and chose the clothes they wore, and connected the world like it had never been connected before. It truly was “a really big shoe,” as Ed was fond of saying.
Those who were there have vivid memories of the first and the many subsequent appearances. The Beatles’ music spanned generations and was woven through many aspects of society. Their front-center stage position in popular culture gave them the opportunity to send the world messages on love, peace, the environment and many other causes. The heavy messages in some of their songs were contrasted with many “just plain fun” lyrics in others.
They were philosophical. They were inspirational. John Lennon’s line, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one,” was an example. It was a lesson we still have not learned.
Their last live performance together was in January 1969, just short of six years after that first appearance on the “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but their music continues to live on, most recently in a box set released Tuesday.
Fans of their work might have a hard time picking out a favorite as they relived the years. Their feet may have moved along the dance floor as the music drifted through their ears. There were so many. No doubt a number of radio stations will give a fair amount of air play to their music this week.
There are school connections beyond what might have taken place in our music classrooms and concerts. Marching band routines on football fields made a connection to sports. We once used the lyrics of “Hey Jude” as a theme in a graduation presentation. With only a little creative thinking, their other lyrics offer themes for presentations on just about any topic one might want.
It’s hard to imagine any other artistic performance that had the impact of that appearance on the Sullivan show. The world may not be a better place, but it is a smaller, more connected world. Some argue that music is the universal language. The music of the Beatles is known worldwide and transcended whatever dialect may have been spoken in a faraway land. After spending time in India, they wove that genre into some of their music and shared it with the rest of the world.
There never will be another breakthrough appearance of a similar musical group on “The Ed Sullivan Show” because that venue no longer exists. Regardless, few could argue with the power of music and impact that these four musicians had on society.
Today’s schools feel the pressure to focus on the academics and the important stuff that can be tested and measured. Unfortunately, the arts and music sometimes have been put on the back burner as a result.
Music tells stories. It persuades. Through it, emotions flow, perhaps more easily than in any other format. The world, and our schools, would be a sad place without music. The Beatles made our world a brighter place, and not just because of the lighters that people held up as they swayed to “Hey Jude” in outdoor stadium settings. We experienced that one night, and it was magic.
Fifty years is a magic number. Every so often life gives us excuses to be nostalgic.
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