The Beatles: The Night That Changed America — A Grammy Salute

Feb. 9, 1964 marks a commemorative date as the British Invaded America in a way that would change pop-culture history.

The Beatles had arrived and gave their first U.S. television performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and now, exactly 50 years later through the same network, the same night at the same hour, the event was remembered in the CBS special “The Beatles: The Night that Changed America – A Grammy salute” on Sunday, Feb. 9.

Among the list of performers are starts such as Keith Urban, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, and John Legend.

Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Stevie Wonder Brad Paisley, Pharrell Williams,Dave Grohl, Joe Walsh, and a reunion of former Eurythmics partners Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart also add themselves to the roster.

The Beatles themselves will be represented by clips from the Sullivan show, on which they also appeared the following two Sundays in 1964.

They would do so once more in 1965, then furnished the program exclusively with what essentially were early music videos of some of their later tunes.

In 1964, among the songs that the Beatles sang that evening were “All My Loving,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and the Fab Four’s take on “Till There Was You,” from the musical “The Music Man.” 

CBS delivered a night to remember; a night that devoted fans had been waiting for with fervor.