The Beatles‘ Ed Sullivan Show set changed rock ‘n’ roll, music in general, and the entire course of human history. No, that’s not going too far. Shockingly, George Harrison revealed he didn’t even rehearse for this seminal event. Here’s why — and why the performance mattered so much to him.
George Harrison got sick before The Beatles did ‘The Ed Sullivan Show
The book George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters features an interview from 1977. During that interview, George discussed the behind-the-scenes of The Beatles’ first Ed Sullivan Show appearance. “The Sullivan show was funny because I didn’t attend the rehearsal, I was sick somehow on the flight over on the first trip to the States,” he recounted.
Sullivan’s crew wasn’t all that helpful. “The band did a long rehearsal for the sound people, they kept going into the control room and checking out the sound,” recalled George. “And finally, when they got a balance between the instruments and the vocals, they marked on the boards by the control and then everybody broke for lunch. Then we came back to tape the show and the cleaners had been ’round and polished all the marks off the board.”
George Harrison discussed the ‘tacky’ aspects of ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’
George discussed what television was like during The Beatles’ early days. “It was sort of a bit tacky in those days, with the sound,” he said. “People would put amplifiers off the side of the stage so it didn’t spoil the shot.”
A reporter commented that he knew the Fab Four were under lots of pressure during their set. “We knew we’d had sufficient success in Europe and Britain to have a bit of confidence,” the quiet Beatle replied. “And we really needed a hell of a lot of confidence for the States because it was just such an important place.” The Beatles’ first Ed Sullivan performance would become a cultural watershed moment most remembered for the band’s energetic rendition of “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
How The Beatles’ ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ performed commercially
The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. It was on the chart for 15 weeks altogether. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was part of the album Meet the Beatles!, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks. It remained on the chart for 74 weeks in total, and its black-and-white cover remains iconic.
“I Want to Hold You Hand” was similarly popular in the United Kingdom. According to The Official Charts Company, the tune was No. 1 for five of its initial 22 weeks on the chart. Later, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” climbed up to No. 62 and remained on the chart for three weeks. On the other hand, Meet the Beatles! was not a hit at all in the U.K.
The band had every reason to be nervous when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show but they knocked it out of the park!
