P.S.-Pooh Says...
"What day is it? - 'It's today' - squeaked Piglet. 'My favourite day' - said Pooh."- A.A. Milne
"There are places, and moments in America where this nation’s destiny
has been decided. Many are sites of war – Concord and Lexington,
Appomattox and Gettysburg. Others are sites that symbolize the daring of
America’s character – Independence Hall and Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk
and Cape Canaveral.
Selma is such a place.
In one afternoon
fifty years ago, so much of our turbulent history – the stain of slavery
and anguish of civil war; the yoke of segregation and tyranny of Jim
Crow; the death of four little girls in Birmingham, and the dream of a
Baptist preacher – met on this bridge.
It was not a clash of armies, but a clash of wills; a contest to determine the meaning of America.
...We gather here to celebrate them. We gather here to honor the courage of
ordinary Americans willing to endure billy clubs and the chastening
rod; tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who despite the gush
of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their North Star and
keep marching toward justice. ...The Americans who crossed this bridge were not physically imposing. But
they gave courage to millions. They held no elected office. But they led
a nation. They marched as Americans who had endured hundreds of years
of brutal violence, and countless daily indignities – but they didn’t
seek special treatment, just the equal treatment promised to them almost
a century before..."
"...50 years from Bloody Sunday, our march is not yet finished, but we’re
getting closer. 239 years after this nation’s founding, our union is not
yet perfect, but we are getting closer. Our job’s easier because
somebody already got us through that first mile. Somebody already got us
over that bridge. When it feels the road is too hard, when the torch
we’ve been passed feels too heavy, we will remember these early
travelers, and draw strength from their example...we honor those who
walked so we could run. We must run so our children soar." —President
Obama
“The only thing that’s different is the hair, as far as I can see. I give them a year.”
Ray Bloch Musical Director The Ed Sullivan Show,1964
On February 9, 1964 the country was still grieving after the assassination of President Kennedy in November. With still one foot in the 50s, the times "they were a changing". We were still living in black and white -literally and figuratively but 1964 was an extraordinary and pivotal year culturally, racially, and socially. The events that took place would forever change our identity as a nation. Generations would be divided. Women would question their roles. The Civil Rights Movement would take on quiet protest and unspeakable violence. This was the year of The Freedom Summer, The Free Speech Movement, the election of Lyndon Johnson by a landslide, the launch of The Great Society and The War on Poverty, the publication of The Feminine Mystique, Voting Rights, and the escalation of our involvement in Vietnam. A year that introduced Simon and Garfunkle, Betwitched, Mary Poppins, The Supremes, My Fair Lady...and it all kicked off with a visit from four lads from across The Pond.
"Now yesterday and today our theater's been jammed with newspapermen and
hundreds of photographers from all over the nation, and these veterans
agreed with me that this city never has witnessed the excitement stirred
by these youngsters from Liverpool who call themselves The Beatles.
Now tonight, you're gonna twice be entertained by them. Right now, and
again in the second half of our show. Ladies and gentlemen, The
Beatles! Let's bring them on."
Ed Sullivan February 9,1964
I
was not around to witness the launch of Beatlemania but my generation,
as all that would follow, would be forever changed culturally and musically by what would become known as Beatlemania.
“How do you find America?” Ringo Starr jokingly replied, “Turn left at Greenland.”
On February 9 the country tuned into a favorite Sunday night tradition, The Ed Sullivan Show, but it wasn't to watch TopoGigio. The Beatles had arrived in America and this would be their first televised appearance live on this stage! They were 4 mop topped kids from Liverpool with skinny ties and stacked heels and over 73 million people tuned in that night to witness the phenomenon known as The Beatles. It was amazing anyone could hear the boys at all amongst the screaming teens in the audience and throngs outside the Ed Sullivan Theatre. The screaming was so loud that Ed Sullivan scolded his audience that if they didn't quiet down he would "call a barber." So it was that night that a country in much need of diversion found it in the new sound, the new look and the personality of these four guys who would literally turn New York City, the country, and the world, upside down. 40% of everyone in the country watched The Beatles that night.
"I’ve heard that while the show was on there were no
reported crimes, or very few. When The Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, even
the criminals had a rest for ten minutes".
George Harrison
Imagine the thrill for us going on The Ed Sullivan Show,
especially when they told us it was the biggest show ever. I still
remember one of the producer guys coming into our dressing room just
before we went on and saying ‘It’s being watched by seventy million
people, you know’. It was like ‘Shhh. Don’t tell us that now. Tell us
later’. But then, when you look at the tape, we don’t look nervous".
Paul McCartney
Not everyone welcomed The Beatles with adoration. In Newsweek's cover story their reviewer wrote:
“Visually, they are a nightmare: tight, dandified, Edwardian/Beatnik
suits and great pudding bowls of hair. Musically, they are a
near-disaster: guitars and drums slamming out a merciless beat that does
away with secondary rhythms, harmony, and melody. Their lyrics
(punctuated by nutty shouts of “yeah, yeah, yeah!”) are a catastrophe, a
preposterous farrago of Valentine-card romantic sentiments.” “…the odds are they will
fade away, as most adults confidently predict.”
Their music has become the soundtrack of our lives and even after 50 years no, no matter their age, can deny the extraordinary impact they
had. This was not a "flash in the pan"-many who followed and imitated
certainly were, but The Beatles changed the game
and even those who
feared Rock n' Roll could not ignore them. The Beatles would make a total of three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show-all in black and white-the final appearance on August of 1965 was one day before they launched their North American Tour at Shea Stadium and one week before The Ed Sullivan Show would be broadcast in color.
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