Beatles' 'Ed Sullivan' appearance rated rock's top TV moment

The Beatles perform on the "The Ed Sullivan Show" in New York on February 9, 1964

July 25, 2000
Web posted at: 9:54 a.m. EDT (1354 GMT)

In this story: Elvis, Michael Jackson, Madonna lead list Three national anthem renditions RELATED STORIES, SITES

NEW YORK (AP) -- February 9, 1964. A British band from Liverpool takes "The Ed Sullivan Show" stage and sends waves of teen-agers into screaming convulsions across America, bewildering millions of parents.

A new top 100 list from VH1 and Entertainment Weekly magazine says that was rock 'n' roll's biggest TV moment -- the day Beatlemania hit the states and stayed.

The Beatles' U.S. debut even topped the 1968 comeback of the King.

An estimated 73 million people were watching that night in '64 -- about three times the audience of an episode of this summer's TV blockbuster "Survivor." John Lennon was so nervous he taped song lyrics to the back of his guitar.

As Ringo Starr explained, the band didn't realize until it arrived in America how important Sullivan's Sunday night showcase was.

For a generation of rock 'n' rollers, it was the moment they knew they wanted to be stars. "I remember thinking, 'This can be done. I can do that,"' singer Billy Joel said.

Elvis Presley's comeback special four years later, his return to radio after years of B movies, was No. 2, and deemed more important than the King's 1956 debut. The 1968 return at least showed those swiveling hips; in 1956, the camera only shot him from the waist up.

Several selections were more important in retrospect as historical movements rather than memorable moments, such as the premieres of MTV, "Saturday Night Live" and "American Bandstand."

Other moments in VH1's top 10 included Michael Jackson's first moonwalk on the 1983 "Motown 25" special, the Live Aid telecast in 1985, Madonna's "Like a Virgin" performance on the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, and The Who's appearance on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" in 1967.

The most bizarre selection: No. 17, the man who crashed Bob Dylan's 1998 Grammy Awards performance with "Soy Bomb" written on his bare chest.

The most recent: Ricky Martin's performance at the 1999 Grammy Awards, one of 28 events from the 1990s.

The list also includes three performances of the national anthem: by Marvin Gaye at the 1982 NBA All-Star Game in Detroit, by Whitney Houston at the 1991 Super Bowl, and by a crotch-grabbing Roseanne at a 1990 San Diego Padres game.

The Beatles made the list seven times, Madonna and Michael Jackson are each on it five times.

VH1 plans to air selections from the list in a series of five one-hour specials on VH1 starting July 31.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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