Before the Beatles arrived in America they had wondered if anyone would notice them when they were there. They wondered if anyone would come to watch them when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. They needn't have worried, there were 50,000 requests for the 728 seats in the Ed Sullivan theatre.
That night, 73 million viewers tuned in to watch... a record breaking audience. According to A.C. Nielsen it was 23.2 million households watching.
When Ed Sullivan introduced John, Paul, George and Ringo the live audience (largely teen-age girls) erupted with screams that didn't stop until the Fab Four left the stage. They performed two sets of five songs: “All My Loving,” “Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
And the world of rock and roll was changed forever...
